Redeeming God

Liberating you from bad ideas about God

Learn the MOST ESSENTIAL truths for following Jesus.

Get FREE articles and audio teachings in my discipleship emails!


  • Join Us!
  • Scripture
  • Theology
  • My Books
  • About
  • Discipleship
  • Courses
    • What is Hell?
    • Skeleton Church
    • The Gospel According to Scripture
    • The Gospel Dictionary
    • The Re-Justification of God
    • What is Prayer?
    • Adventures in Fishing for Men
    • What are the Spiritual Gifts?
    • How to Study the Bible
    • Courses FAQ
  • Forum
    • Introduce Yourself
    • Old Testament
    • New Testament
    • Theology Questions
    • Life & Ministry
You are here: Home / Archives

It May Be Your Church

By Jeremy Myers
6 Comments

Close Your Church for Good; Chap 1, Sec 2.
Previously, I suggested that a church may exist in your community which may not appear “Satanic,” but nevertheless has ‘Satanic” origins. I asked what you would think about such a church.

* * * * *

The shocking truth is that such churches do indeed exist in most of our communities. We donโ€™t realize they are there because such churches are not blatantly Satanic. They are not hidden from sight, and many of us may drive by such a church every day on our way to work or when we pick up the children from school. Many of us have friends who go to such churches. Some of us even attend one. The church I described above may be your church.

No, I donโ€™t believe that Christian churches are actually worshipping Satan when they sing about Jesus, pray to Him, or teach the Scriptures. And no, this is not another book which condemns the Catholic Church as the Great Whore, or the Seeker Sensitive Church for compromising the Gospel, or the Emergent Church for succumbing to postmodernism. I am not condemning any denomination or particular way of doing church as โ€œSatanic.โ€ My concern is much more basic than that and focuses not on a form of church, but on the institution of โ€œchurchโ€ itself.

I believe that nearly every church in America, no matter which denomination, no matter how large or how small, has adopted certain values, practices, and goals which do not follow the way of Jesus, but the way of Satan.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Close Your Church for Good, Theology of the Church

A Church in Your Town

By Jeremy Myers
10 Comments

Below are the opening few paragraphs in a book I am writing called Close Your Church for Good. More is on the way. Feel free to comment and provide suggestions (even spelling and grammar corrections) as I go.

* * * * *

Imagine that a Satanic Church exists in your town. Though they have never done anything overtly Satanic that you are aware of, certain members of the surrounding community are uncomfortable with such a church existing, and want it shut down.

The church members argue that they have the right to exist just as much as any church, and have embarked on a community relations campaign to improve their public image. They change their name to โ€œThe Church of the One World Hope.โ€ Their services begin to copy those of a typical Christian church. They meet on Sunday mornings. They sing songs. They listen to an encouraging sermon by one of their leaders. They even start โ€œoutreachโ€ programs for the community. They host an after school program for children and volunteer down at the homeless shelter. Some of their members serve on school boards and another gets elected to the city council.

Slowly, the voices of protest fade away, and over time, people forget that the church had Satanic origins. The church is accepted among the other various religious groups in the community, and allowed to coexist with them. For a while, the church actually becomes the most prominent church in the community. It has the largest building, the most people, and the biggest budget. It gains power, prominence, and authority. Nothing, it seems, can slow its growth.

How would you respond to such a church? What would you think about its continued existence? Would you hope and pray for such a church to close?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Close Your Church for Good

My Future Books

By Jeremy Myers
2 Comments

I have always wanted to write books. So far, I have written three, am in the process of writingย four others, and have developed rough outlines for about twenty more.

You canโ€™t find them on Amazon, or any other bookstore. Why not? Because theyโ€™re not published. But then, itโ€™s hard to get published when you never submit any work to a publisher. I have never even submitted a query letter.

Part of this, Iโ€™m sure, is fear of rejection, but as Iโ€™ve thought about writing for publication over the past few years, Iโ€™m actually quite relieved those three books are not published. As I read them now, I shiver at some of what I wrote.ย  I have changed so much over the past few years in my beliefs and general approach to life, I would be ashamed of those books if they were in print now.

And so a part of me has hesitated to write anything else. What if I write something, and it gets published, and then I change again? If I canโ€™t believe what I thought and taught ten years ago, what if the โ€œmeโ€ of ten years from now feels the same way about the โ€œmeโ€ of today?

But Iโ€™ve recently realized that it doesnโ€™t matter. I need to write. I love to write. I just love writing. When I write, I write primarily for me. I write to think. I write to learn. I write to remember. I also write to amuse myself.

And so I donโ€™t really care if anyone reads. Sure, Iย want people toย read what I write, but if they donโ€™t, it doesnโ€™t matter. I will still write because I write primarily for me.

The problem, of course, is that publishing companies care if people read. They need people to read. If people donโ€™t read what an author writes, publishing companies donโ€™t make any money. So publishing companies donโ€™t care too much about how good the content is, or if it is insightful, thought-provoking, or helpful. They are primarily concerned with one question: Will it sell?

And how do they know if something will sell? Generally, the main thingย they look at is if the author already has a large audience. This is why mostย book deals go to radio personalities, famous politicians, rock stars, sports professionals, motivational speakers, and mega-church pastors.ย Such authorsย have a ready-made audience who will buy their book, even if the content stinks.

This is why no-name authors rarely get published, even if they have the greatest content in the world. Take The Shack by William P. Young. Though he submitted it to numerous publishing houses, nobody would publish it. Religious publishers thought it was too controversial, and secular publishers thought it was too religious. Nobody thought it would sell. After all, who was William P. Young? So he started his own publishing company, and the rest is history. One could fill a book with stories like this. (But unless youโ€™re a well-known author, you probably couldnโ€™t get it published!)

Iโ€™m not saying that I have a book like The Shack inside me. But like William Young, I am a nobody. I donโ€™t have an audience. I donโ€™t go on speaking tours. I didnโ€™t run for president. Iโ€™m not on the radio. I am not the pastor of aย mega-church. Also, most of my books would be too controversial for the average publisher to touch.ย 

But Iโ€™ve decided to shoot for publication anyway. However, since I donโ€™t have an audience (other than the few readers of this blog), and so that I donโ€™t have to write โ€œwith the publisher in mind,โ€ I am going a different route, a route I believe is the publishing wave of the future. Iโ€™m going to publish electronically for eBook readers like the iPad, Kindle, and Nook. This process is cheaper for everybody involved, makes it easier for books to go viral, and keeps me from having toย worry about anย editor who might be having a bad day.

And yet I still need input, feedback, and the eyes of others to find misspellings, grammar mistakes, and sections that don’t make sense. So rather than just write a book and put it out there,ย I will write the chapters and post them here on this blog in sections. Then, when the book is all done, I will compile the entire thing, including any helpful suggestions, and make it available as an eBook.

Iโ€™m going to start with a book I referenced in my previous post, Close Your Church for Good. Check back soon for chapter 1.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books by Jeremy Myers, Theology of the Church

Small Church, Mega Church, No Church

By Jeremy Myers
12 Comments

Brad Powell’s book, Change Your Church for Good, is actually a revised edition of a 2007 book by the same name. Essentially, it is just another book about how a pastor took a struggling church, made a few tweaks, and it isย now a thriving mega church. The emphasis is onย developing leaders and casting vision for the future. It’s a decent book if you’ve never read a book about such things.

However, as with all such books,ย the strong implication is thatย if you make similar changes, your church can become “mega” too.

To be frank,ย I’m tired of these kinds of books.ย I am sure Brad Powell is an excellent pastor, a great man, and a fine leader. He’s a fairly decent writer, handsome, and has done quite well in becoming the pastor of a mega church. I wish him continued success.

But the truth is that for every pastor who changes a struggling church into a mega church, there are a 1000 pastors who do the same things, lead the same way, and try the same changes, but still see their church decline. It’s not just about working harder, or having bigger faith, or pressingย on until you see the blessing, or choosing leaders carefully, or sharing your life, or being passion ate when nobody else seems to care (all things Powell talks about in his book). Lots of pastors do these things, and their churches still die.

So what’s the answer?

Maybe, just maybe….our goal should not be to become a mega church. (Gasp!) Maybe, just maybe, the sign of success is not necessarily a bigger budget, bigger buildings, and more people. (Double gasp!) Maybe, just maybe,ย size hasย nothing to do with church effectiveness, and even if you get more bodies, bucks, and bricks, you still may not have aย “church.”

I’m beginning to think that the key to being a church is not getting more people into the church building, but getting more people out. When is someone goingย to write a book called, Closeย Your Church for Good?….that’s a book I’d like to read. Maybe I’ll write it.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Theology of the Church

Will this Rock in Rio?

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

I recently wroteย ย that Jim Petersen’s book, Church Without Walls, made it into my list of top ten books. This book shares some of the principles and ideas which guided his ministry among unchurched Brazilian students. I liked the book because the principles he shares encapsulate my thinking from the past five years about the kind of life I want to live among the people at my job and in my neighborhood.

But principles are one thing; stories are quite another. Don Duntch of Quest Ministriesย recently told me that stories reveal where God is at work, especially stories of people gaining freedom in their lives and in their thinking.

So it was with great excitement that I recently learned about a book by Ken Lottis, who was Jimโ€™s ministry partner in Brazil. The book is entitled Will This Rock in Rio? and is basically the story of what Ken and Jim did in Brazil.

Now that Iโ€™ve read both, I can say that the two books go together. While Jimโ€™s book is informative, Kenโ€™s is inspirational. While Jimโ€™s book affirmed my thinking, Kenโ€™s encouraged me to actually start reading John with someone. While Jimโ€™s book answers the โ€œWhyโ€ and โ€œHow,โ€ Kenโ€™s books says โ€œGoโ€ and โ€œDo.โ€

I believe that if you read one book, you must read the other also. If you are a person who wants to love and live among the people who will never โ€œcome to churchโ€ both books are โ€œmust reads.โ€

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Discipleship

Plan B, C, D, E…

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Plan B by Pete Wilson is a great book for reviving hope in a person whose life has gone terribly wrong. Through biblical truths and stories, it shows that although life may not turn out the way we planned or imagined, we can trust God to resurrect something good from our shattered dreams.

Part of me wishes I had read this book about two years ago when I was going through a very difficult and trying time in my life.ย So if you or someone you know is going through the loss of a job, or the death of a loved one, or facing a divorce, this book contains some good ideas for recognizing that God is a God of detours, that He is sovereign over shattered dreams, and He can heal any wounded heart.

However, there seemed to be a glaring omission from the book, which I have come realize in my own path through pain and uncertainty, and it is this: Things don t always work out. Every story in the book pointed to the idea that even though life may take a turn for the worst, in the end, it will all work out. Joseph goes to prison, but becomes the second in command over Egypt. Joshua faces hard times in the wilderness, but leads the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. A man commits adultery and loses his job as a pastor, and almost loses his wife, but then gets to go on a speaking tour around the country helping others in the same situation.

The message of the book seems to be: Have things gone wrong? Don t worry. It will get better soon.

Sadly, this isn’t always true. Does God redeem and rescue? Yes! A thousand times, yes! But does He always? No. At least, not in this life.

Take John the Baptist. He proclaims the coming of the Messiah, and with Him, the Kingdom of God. But he gets arrested, and instead of getting freed, ends up getting beheaded. This was not the rescue he hoped for.ย  All the prophets had similar stories. The writer of Hebrews says that many of them were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, and sawn in two. There is no happy ending to being sawn in two.

Don’t misunderstand.ย I’m glad I read Plan B. It helped me a lot with my own questions and issues. I just think it sometimes painted too rosy of a picture that does not fully fit with either Scripture or reality.

Of course, no one wants to read that sometimes you may lose your job, go into bankruptcy, have your children die,ย  get divorced, contract terminal cancer, and finish out your days in suffering and despair. And since a book like that will never get published, there’s always Plan B.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Discipleship

How a Drunk Jesus Picks up Women

By Jeremy Myers
5 Comments

I am reading Will This Rock in Rioย by Ken Lottis. It’s a fantastic book, and I willย review it on this blog later this week. In it, he explains how he and Jim Petersonย invited Brazilian men to read the historical document of the gospel of John and ask two questions as they read: “What does this book say about Jesus?” and “If what it says is true, what shouldย our response be?”

As I read, I began looking for opportunities to do the same thing. On Friday,ย I met a man named Jamieย  just hanging aroundย outside myย office.ย We talked for aย few minutes, and then sensing an opening, said, “Hey, do you want to read a book about Jesus with me and talk about it?”

“I would love to!” he said. We read John 1 that day and talked about it for about an hour. Then we ran out of time.

Today he came back and asked to read andย talk some more. For the next two hours we read and discussed John 2-4.ย Below are some of the comments he made as we read. You won’tย hear these in any sermon…

John 2: Jesus turning water into wine
When Jamie read that Jesus turned sixย containers of water into wine, he said, “Hey, Jesus brought aย six-pack to the party!” And when he read that each container held 20-30 gallons, he did the math, and when he realized that Jesus just made about 150 gallons of wine, said, “Man! I wish Jesus could come to one of my parties!”

I wanted to weep. Not because I was offended by Jamie’s comment. Far from it. Jamie saw immediately who Jesus is: Someoneย who was fun to hang out with.

John 4: The woman at the well in Samaria
When he read that Jesus sat down at a well with a woman and asked her to draw some water for him, he remembered what Jesus had done with the water in John 2, and said, “I know what’s coming! It’s going to be a well of wine!” It didn’t turn out that way, of course. But when Jesus said, “Go,ย call your husband and come here,” he laughed out loud and said, “I see what Jesus is doing! He’s trying to get it on with her!”

It was the bestย “Bible study” I have ever been part of.ย His remarks were so fresh, honest, real…and insightful. And no, I never corrected Jamie’s thinking. To be honest, I didn’t have to. All I did was laugh along with him, then say, “Wow, I’ve never looked at it that way before.ย Let’s read on to seeย what happens.” And of course, Jesus doesn’t get drunk, and He doesn’t take the woman off to His hut. He just loves people, has fun with them, and invites them to believe in Him for eternal life. How simple and refreshing.

Bad Christian, Bad!
I must tell you, however, that part way through, a Christian that I work with saw what we were doing and asked if he could join. Inwardly, I groaned, but Jamie cheerfully said, “Yeah! The more the merrier.”

I felt bad as the discussion went on, because I had to keep telling this Christian to stop talking (heย went on and on and on…and on). He kept wanting to go off and talk about the baptism of the spirit, and fasting and praying, and the importance of getting water baptized, and how infant baptism was not enough, and how we need to go to church, and pray in faith,ย really meaning it in our heart, and trusting God, and obeying God, and get on our knees before God, and ask God to do his will in our life, and read the Bible, etc., etc., etc.

At one point, he told some story about how even though the thief on the cross didn’t get baptized before he died, he really did get baptized because it rained on him. WHAT? Every time he started to talk, I wanted to pull my hair out, and I could tell that Jamie was getting more and more confused.

Oh, and heย was presentย when Jamie thought that Jesus was hitting on the woman at the well. He didn’t laugh.

Sigh….

On a completely random way of ending this post, I saw a Hasidic Jew playingย an electric guitar tonight while dancing and rapping. He was amazing on that guitar! Watching him rock like Jimi Hendrix while his curled side-burns bounced around as he danced is a sight I never thought I’d see. It’s a crazy world.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship

Be a Miracle

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

I believe that God can (and does) perform miracles in this world at various times and places, often (but not always) in response to the prayers of His people.

However, as followers of Jesus, we need to realize that God often wants to work in and through us in โ€œnon-miraculousโ€ ways, which are actually quite miraculous. It all depends on our Spirit-inspired creatively and our definition of a “miracle.” Let me give some examples.

Many churches pray for God to heal people who have cancer. But maybe God wants you and your church to love and entertain children who have cancer. Or maybe God wants you to set up free medical clinics for cancer victims in your community. Or maybe you can offer help to people who smoke and eat too much cancer-causing foods.

Many churches have building funds, and ask the people to pray about how much God wants them to give to it. But maybe, rather than pay for a new church building, God wants you to feed the poor in your community. The average church building costs at least $1,000,000. Do you know how many people that would feed? At $10 per meal, thatโ€™s 100,000 people you could feed! Not even Jesus fed that many!

Maybe, rather than praying for God to miraculously keep troubled marriages together, you can set up free marriage counseling through your church, which includes things like free babysitting, budgeting help, anger management, conflict resolution, and other things that married couples struggle with. For a couple in trouble, another couple offering to help is a miracle.

Maybe, rather than praying for God to bring people to your church to fill the pews on Sunday morning, you can go to their houses and change the oil in their car, mow their lawn, or help replace shingles on the roof.

These are just a few ideas. The possibilities for miracles in your community are endless. But most often, they donโ€™t occur by praying for them. Pray if you want to, but I say, โ€œStop praying for miracles, and just go be one.โ€ Itโ€™s trueโ€ฆmaybe you canโ€™t feed 500 peopleโ€ฆbut you can feed one, and you will be a miracle to that person.

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:31-37.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Commentary on Luke

No More Head Trips

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

I recently read Charles Foster’s book, The Sacred Journey, which, according to the back cover, is a book about calling Christians to go on a pilgrimage.

Prior to reading it,ย Iย imagined it to beย a book about going on a metaphorical pilgrimage, a spiritual trip within your mind. You know…recognizing that we are all “on a journey” and how we can take certain “steps” toย “progress” in our life of “following Jesus.”

But it became quickly clear to me that this is not what Foster meant at all. In his book, he calls Christians to go on a literal pilgrimage. Yes, that’s right. Getting off our butts, packing a bag (or just a change of clothes), and setting out (on foot is preferable) to go somewhere. ย The destination, he says,ย doesn’t really matter, because it’s the journey that counts. Foster’s book explains the biblical basis behind this idea, and recounts many of his own pilgrimage stories.

I kept on waiting for him to say, “Now if you can’t go on a literal pilgrimage, you can always stay home and go on a metaphorical, spiritual pilgrimage.” He got close to this in the last chapter, but he never really came out and said any such thing.

And so I became very uncomfortable with the book. I have a wife and three young kids. I have a job. I can’t go traipsing off ย into the wilderness just to see what happens. Sure, I may connect with God, but I may also lose my job, my house, and maybe my family. He didn’t speak about how his own wife and kids handle his frequent journeys other than to say that he leaves them behind and misses themย (p. 159). And of course, he writes books as a job, so he can take that with him. If I tried to take my job with me…well, I’d get put in prison. Those of you know what I do understand what I mean.

So while I enjoyed the book, and was challenged by it,ย I must conclude that most of us do not have the luxury to be a nomad.

But aside from that, is what he is calling for truly biblical? Certainly it is true that the Bible is chock full of examples of nomads, pilgrimages, and journeys. Yes, Jesus and Paul moved about. Yes, followers of Jesus have nowhere to layย their head. I can’t deny it.

But it seems to me that nobody in Scripture ever went somewhere just so they could connect with God, learn something about themselves, or grow on the journey. Whenever God’s people go somewhere in Scripture, it is so they connect with people, or more specifically, to connect people with God. A biblical pilgrim is not one who embarks on a journey to find himself, find God, or visit a holy site. Rather, a biblical pilgrim is one who embarks on a journey to find others.

So our “going” must be with people in mind.ย Foster did bring this out somewhat.ย For example, he says, “The purpose is not primarily to ‘inquire,’ but to meet: the ‘wise men’ are all the people you bump into, particularly if they’re on heroin and state benefits” (p. 141). But such statements are rare. I wish he would have elaborated and emphasized this point more.

He said over and over that the destination is not what is important; it was the journey that mattered. However, he seems to have made the journey the destination. To me,ย the significance of the journey is not the journey itself, but the people on the journey.ย  It is not “Where are you going?” or even “How are you going?” that matters. Rather, the real questions areย “Who are you going with?” and “Who are you going to?”

And I think if you answer these questions, you will still go on pilgrimage, but it may not be to Jerusalem, Canterbury, or Rome. Instead, you may find yourselfย travelingย to the next cubicle, theย neighbor’s house, or the closest bar.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Books I'm Reading, Discipleship

The Ingrown Gospel

By Jeremy Myers
2 Comments

Ingrown toenails are painful. They make it difficult to walk and wear shoes.

There is also such a thing as an ingrown gospel, and it is just as painful.

The gospel, by its very nature, demands input from outside and demands to be put out in culture. If your gospel is not taking you out into the world to love, serve, and befriend those who would not “fit” in your church, and if you never allow someone fromย the outsideย to criticize orย challenge your life, or your church, you have an ingrown gospel.

And if you are never taking the gospel into other cultures, settings, and situations to see howย the gospel bothย transforms and redeems that culture,ย  and is itself transformed by the culture, you have an ingrown gospel.

For many Christians, the gospel is only about their own salvation. They know they are saved because they have believed in Jesus for eternal life, and while they wait to get swept up into heaven at death or the rapture, they sit around with painted smiles, singing hymns and attending church. Such a life is not a gospel life. This is not being a gospel light, but gospel lite. If the light is the gospel, the church has become a basket, not to carry it in, but to hide it from the world (see Matt 5:15).

The first step to correcting an ingrown gospel is similar to correcting an ingrown toenail. You gottaย dig it out, which can be painful.ย ย One way to dig out the gospel is toย invite input from the outside.ย We must invite criticism. Painful, harsh, criticism. Allow it to be anonymous even, if that will make it more honest. I know churches that actually pay atheists and people of other religions to attend their church and write a critical report of their visit. Maybe you could bring in Christians from another church tradition or from the other side of the world to come and find fault with how your church is accomplishing (or not accomplishing) your mission.

Once the criticism is received, we must not respond angrily in self-defense, but must move outside our borders, and take the gospel to others. We must bless, love, serve,ย encourage, heal, and restore.

This entire process is seen in Luke 4:18-30.ย Jesus taught the gospel in 4:18-21. Heย then corrected the people on how they were not accomplishing it (4:23-27). The goal, of course, was toย challenge them to become participants with Him in being a blessing to the world (cf. Bailey 2008:166). Instead, they tried to kill Him (4:28-30).

How do we respond to critics? Could it be that they are right? Has it ever occurred to us that the voice of the critics may actually be the voice of Jesus?

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:20-30.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Commentary on Luke

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 207
  • 208
  • 209
  • 210
  • 211
  • …
  • 243
  • Next Page »
Join the discipleship group
Learn about the gospel and how to share it

Take my new course:

The Gospel According to Scripture
Best Books Every Christian Should Read
Study Scripture with me
Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to my Podcast on Amazon

Do you like my blog?
Try one of my books:

Click the image below to see what books are available.

Books by Jeremy Myers

Theological Study Archives

  • Theology – General
  • Theology Introduction
  • Theology of the Bible
  • Theology of God
  • Theology of Man
  • Theology of Sin
  • Theology of Jesus
  • Theology of Salvation
  • Theology of the Holy Spirit
  • Theology of the Church
  • Theology of Angels
  • Theology of the End Times
  • Theology Q&A

Bible Study Archives

  • Bible Studies on Genesis
  • Bible Studies on Esther
  • Bible Studies on Psalms
  • Bible Studies on Jonah
  • Bible Studies on Matthew
  • Bible Studies on Luke
  • Bible Studies on Romans
  • Bible Studies on Ephesians
  • Miscellaneous Bible Studies

Advertise or Donate

  • Advertise on RedeemingGod.com
  • Donate to Jeremy Myers

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!

© 2025 Redeeming God · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Knownhost and the Genesis Framework