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I Support a Woman’s Right to Choose…

By Jeremy Myers
47 Comments

I Support a Woman’s Right to Choose…

womens right to chooseI am not talking about abortion. …Not yet anyway.

I support a woman’s right to choose between paper and plastic at the grocery store.

I support a woman’s right to choose what kind of light bulb she uses at home.

I support a woman’s right to choose whether or not she and her family have health care.

I support a woman’s right to choose what kind of food to put her children’s lunchbox.

I support a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a gun.

I support a woman’s right to choose when, where, and how to discipline her children.

I support a woman’s right to choose her religion and whether or not to talk about it in public.

I support a woman’s right to choose how she defines marriage.

I could go on and on about all the ways I support a woman’s right to choose.

But what I find so sadly ironic is that the same people who support a woman’s right to choose about whether or not to terminate her pregnancy are often the same people who do not support a woman’s right to choose all the things listed above. They want to give women the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, but they don’t want to give women the right to choose between paper and plastic.

You know a great business idea for somebody? A puppy abortion clinic. Or maybe a kitten abortion clinic. You know how many stray dogs and cats there are on the world? Wouldn’t it be great if a pet owner could take their pregnant cat or dog into a clinic and have all the little puppies or kittens aborted? Then they wouldn’t have to deal with the mess of delivery, and standing outside Walmart for hours on end trying to get rid of puppies and kittens to strangers.

I am jesting of course, but do you know what would happen if somebody started an abortion clinic for puppies and kittens? There would be outrage! You might even get arrested for cruelty to animals. Who knows? Maybe someone from PETA would come and bomb your clinic.

And yet most people think nothing of it when we talk about aborting children. A woman has a right to choose what to do with her body.

But that’s just it. It is not her body. It is someone else’s body. A child’s body. It’s a little girl or a little boy. Do not they have the right to choose what happens to their body? Tell you what…. I support a woman’s right to choose as long as that same right is extended to the little girls and little boys. Let them be born and then when they are old enough to understand, give them a choice about whether they want to live or die.

People talk about how conservatives wage a war on women. I think it is time to start talking about the war on children. And unlike the so-called war on women, the war on children has millions of casualties.

Millions of babies have been killed, slaughtered, burned, and destroyed.

In this ongoing war on children, more children have been killed than all the Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Are you “Pro-Choice”? This post probably won’t convince you to change your mind. But if you want to remain “Pro-Choice,” please start to be consistently “Pro-Choice” and let women (and the rest of us) have the right to choose in the other areas of life as well.

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: abortion, Discipleship, pro-choice, right to choose, war on women

Stop Saying “God Bless You”

By Jeremy Myers
214 Comments

Stop Saying “God Bless You”

Stop Saying God Bless YouOne of my pet peeves is how some Christians use “God Bless you” as a sort of greeting and salutation. This is how the conversations often go:

Christian: Hey, Jeremy! God bless you!

[We talk about something…]

Me: Well, I gotta run.

Christian: Okay! God bless you!

Me: Uhh. Yeah. Thanks.

I know. I know. They want me to say, “God bless you” back. But I don’t do that. (I might say “Bless you” after someone sneezes, but that is something I learned from my wife… which I heard goes back to some old wive’s tale about losing part of your brain when you sneeze…)

How Do You Respond When People say “God Bless You”?

When someone says, “God bless you,” what I want to say is: “He has. And He’s blessed you too. So let’s stop talking like religious nuts and have a conversation like normal people.”

I mean look, if you only say God bless you because you want someone to say God bless you back, is that really going to be much of a blessing for either of us?

Also, can we really call down the blessing of God upon our lives by appending every conversation with the words “God bless you”?

I always wonder if men who say this greet their wife and kids the same way when they leave for work or get home in the evening. “I’m leaving for work! God bless you!” or “Honey, I’m home! God bless you!” I really doubt it. But then, since I’m not a “God bless you” sayer, I don’t really know what happens in “God bless you” homes.

God Bless You and Other Christian Lingo

Worse yet are the conversations that not only begin and end with “God bless you” statements, but are also full of statements like, “What a blessing! …An answer to prayer! …God is so good. …That just blesses my heart. …Oh, bless your soul! …Praise Jesus! …Amen!”

I am not much of a conversationalist, but my conversations with people like this usually end much quicker than normal. I have written about this before in a post called “This Video Really Spoke to My Heart.”

Maybe this is just the “overcritical me” coming out to snarl at the super-spiritual Christians again. If so, I’m sorry. 

But what about you? Do you say, “God bless you”? Why or why not? Am I making too much of this? (Probably so) 

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Christian lingo, Discipleship, God bless you

God is like a Cosmic Cowboy

By Jeremy Myers
20 Comments

God is like a Cosmic Cowboy

God a Cosmic CowboyThe following comes from an email that was sent in to me through the “Contact Me” form on the right sidebar. I asked the sender if I could post it on this blog for others to respond to, and was given permission.

If you were talking to someone, and they said something like this, what would you say?


Most days I feel like Iโ€™m being herded. By the church. By politicians. By my job.

Especially by God.

God is like a cosmic cowboy herding me toward certain death, and I am the only one who seems to know it. I keep telling myself that I’m wrong. That this cowboy God can be trusted. But I’ve heard rumors about where he leads cows, and I’m not sure I’m going to like it. I certainly don’t like it now.

He pushes and prods me in one direction, which is a direction I don’t want to go. So far it’s been nothing but dust and barren, windswept landscapes.

Behind me is the clear water, cool shade, and green grass. Why couldn’t I have stayed there? Now Iโ€™m surrounded only by tumbleweed, gritty sand, and glaring sun.

God herding cows

I don’t mind if the cowboy is leading me to greener pastures. You know, Psalm 23 and all that. But it’s been ten years of desert so far, and there is no end in sight. I can’t go back, because I don’t know the way. But if I have to stay here in this desert till I die, well, the slaughterhouse is preferable to that…

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I wandered off into the woods to die.

Can I trust God? I mean really trust Him?

If so, how come it seems like He’s playing some game with my life? Like God is playing Russian roulette, but it’s my head at which the pistol is pointed?


So what would you say? The person said they would read the comments, but would probably not respond.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, following Jesus, God, Psalm 23

Discipleship and the Unbeliever

By Jeremy Myers
16 Comments

Discipleship and the Unbeliever

We often think about discipleship being only for believers, but what about discipleship and the unbeliever?

Is there such a thing as discipleship for the unbeliever? Can unbelievers be discipled?

discipleship and the unbeliever

To hear some Christians and pastors talk about it, discipleship begins the moment a person believes in Jesus for eternal life. One of the first steps of discipleship, we are often taught, is baptism, and disciples of Jesus should also get involved in a community of believers, tithe, pray, and attend a Bible study. These sorts of things are what often characterizes a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Since most unbelievers do not do such things, it makes no sense to talk about discipleship and the unbeliever.

I want to challenge that idea. I believe unbelievers can be discipled and should be discipled. Though most of discipleship is for believers, there are also numerous aspects of discipleship for the unbeliever.

Reconsidering Discipleship and the Unbeliever

If current followers of Jesus sought to engage in more methods of discipleship with the unbeliever, I think we would see more people believe in Jesus for eternal life, and thus, more people become fully devoted followers of Jesus. But when we say, “Our first task to to convert people, and after that, the process of discipleship begins,” we neglect a vital and critical element of the evangelistic process.

Here are three reasons why we should practice discipleship with unbelievers.

The Definition of “Discipleship” and the “Unbeliever”

When it comes to the issue of discipleship and the unbeliever (and almost any other issue of theology as well), it is essential to define the key terms. In this case, what is meant by “discipleship” and the “unbeliever”?

Discipleship is the process or act of learning to become like someone else. It is roughly equivalent to the terms “student, learner, or follower,” though my favorite synonym is “apprentice.” When we think of discipleship as only being a student or learner, we usually think of sitting in a classroom or auditorium and listening to someone lecture at us while we listen attentively and take notes.

The idea of “apprentice” however, includes not just learning about something, but also doing or practicing what is learned.  Discipleship is following someone around to learn from them, observe them, so that the learner can ultimately do the same things as the teacher. The disciple, when fully trained, is just like the teacher. The word “apprentice” carries this idea best.

Notice, of course, that apprenticeship can begin before a person really knows anything about the trade or craft they are trying to learn. Someone can even be an apprentice even if they are not certain they want to practice that trade or craft for their entire life. Some people become an apprentice as a way of testing the waters.

So when it comes to discipleship and the unbeliever, it seems logical that an unbeliever could seek to learn from Jesus and become more like Jesus in his or her life, before they ever make the commitment to follow Him completely, and definitely before they come to believe in Jesus for eternal life. Discipleship can be a way for an unbeliever to try to figure out who Jesus is, what He teaches, and what it means to follow Him.

This becomes even more true when we seek to define the term “unbeliever.”

The term basically means “someone who doesn’t believe.” Based on this definition, no one is technically an “unbeliever” for everybody believes something. When speaking about “unbelievers” we need to ask “Unbeliever about what?”

Yet even when it comes to issues related to God, Jesus, sin, the Bible, and a whole host of other Christian teachings, there is nobody is a true “unbeliever.” Even someone who is an atheist is likely to believe that there was a man named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago who died on a cross at the hands of the Romans.

Obviously then, he term “unbeliever” is relative. Everybody believes something.

The Twelve Disciples

So again, when we talk about discipleship and the unbeliever, we can see that no matter what a person believes or doesn’t believe about God, Jesus, sin, Scripture, and  a whole host of other Christian teachings, there is always room for us to talk with a person about what they believe (or don’t believe) and hopefully bring them to a place that is somewhat closer to the truth revealed through Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures.

And if we help someone to believe a truth about Jesus (or God, Scripture, etc) that they didn’t believe before, does this not cause them to learn about Jesus and follow Him a little closer than before? Is this not a form of discipleship? Of course it is!

In some sense, it could be argued that everyone is following Jesus.

But the fact that we can engage in discipleship with the unbeliever is also seen in the very life and ministry of Jesus Himself.

Jesus Engaged in Discipleship with Unbelievers

Jesus is the best example of how to perform discipleship, and it is fairly obvious from a quick reading of the Gospels that Jesus engaged in discipleship with unbelievers.

Don’t believe me?

Judas the disciple
Judas was a disciple of Jesus and an unbeliever

Tell me, was Judas a disciple of Jesus? Of course he was! He is frequently referred to in the Gospels as a disciple, and specifically, one of the Twelve.

Then there are all the multitudes of people who followed Jesus around to listen to His teachings and receive His healing and observe His miracles. John 6:60-66 (and other texts) reveals pretty plainly that many of these people who followed Jesus — who are called “disciples” — did not believe in Jesus, that is, they were not “believers.” They were disciples and unbelievers.

This alone should show us that it is not impossible to talk about discipleship and the unbeliever. Jesus discipled unbelievers, and let them follow Him, and taught them, and trained them, and called them to an ever-increasing faith and obedience to Him and His way. Some turned away and stopped following, while others continued to follow Him.

Even then, none of His disciples fully believed everything Jesus said. Judas, of course, we have already talked about, but prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, not even Peter, James, and John believed that Jesus would die and rise from the dead. So in a sense, when it came to the death and resurrection, all of the disciples were “unbelievers.” (See my message on the Six Denials of Peter.)

Discipleship is a Process

All this points to the fact that when it comes to discipleship and the unbeliever, there really is not “beginning” point of discipleship, just as there is no end point either.

No honest disciple of Jesus ever thinks they have “arrived” and have become a perfect and fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is always a process. It never ends.

It also seems that discipleship never really begins either. The only real “beginning” of discipleship is the moment of physical birth. At that point, the Spirit of God begins to draw us, pull us, and woo us toward Jesus. Our parents, whether they were “Christians” or not, begin to teach us things about God and this world (even if they weren’t around and even if they taught us horrible things, they still teach us). This too is an aspect of discipleship.

As we grow, we adopt a worldview about the universe, humankind, what is important in life, and what happens after death. All of this is an aspect of discipleship.

It’s not a matter of who is in and who is out, but is an issue of proximity to Jesus. Someone is a disciple of Jesus if they are being drawn closer to Him daily.

One book I read a while back which presents this idea well is The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich. They somewhat argue that the journey of faith doesn’t really begin until a person recognizes the existence of God, but even then, this point of faith is long before a person actually believes in Jesus for eternal life and becomes what we might call a “Christian.”

Another book I have read on this is Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden. Here is a chart that comes from his book which shows the connection between discipleship and the unbeliever.

Stage of Discipleship - Ogden

You can see that he refers to people who haven’t believed as a “Pre-Disciple” but the point is fairly clear that to get a “Pre-Disciple” to become a disciple, you need to engage in discipleship. In his chart, you want a Pre-Disciple to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. How would you get a person to believe that? Through discipleship!

Why does it matter?

If you have hung here, you might be wondering, “Why does it matter?”

Here’s why:

People make discipleship way too difficult. Discipleship is often thought of as this magical and mysterious process by which a new believer gets transformed into this miracle-working Saint.

But there is nothing magical or mysterious about discipleship. There are no secret steps or secret handshakes. You learn to follow Jesus the same way you learn everything else: you spend time doing it.

And as long as we put up this artificial barrier between “believers” and “unbelievers” we end up focusing most of our time and effort on believers. We hold Bible studies for them. We do training sessions for them. We have get-togethers for them.

But as soon as we dump the barriers to discipleship (“Oh, you can’t come to this group until you become a believer”), then everyone is welcome at any time. As soon as we realize that discipleship is not just for believers, but is for everyone, then we can begin to realize that discipleship is not program or a church activity, but is a way of life.

We are always learning and always teaching. We are engaged in discipleship with unbelievers when we talk to friends at lunch. When we interact with our neighbor over the fence. When we behave with honesty and integrity at work. All of this is discipleship, both for us and for those with us.

In the end, I believe that pondering the issue of discipleship and the unbeliever actually enables us to understand discipleship better, and helps us live as better disciples of Jesus Christ.

What are you thoughts about discipleship and the unbeliever?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, faith, following Jesus, unbeliever

Publish your Book with Redeeming Press

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

Publish your Book with Redeeming Press

Get publishedWant to get your book published? Do you have a manuscript and are seeking a publisher, or are thinking of writing a book, but don’t know where to begin?

Let me introduce you to Redeeming Press!

Redeeming Press is publishing the way it was meant to be. It is publishing with generosity and grace. It is publishing that focuses on the author rather than on profits.

Almost exactly one year ago, I decided to start a publishing company.

I saw then, and am even more convinced now, that the publishing industry was rapidly changing, and that most publishing companies in the world were not properly adapting to these changes. In fact, most of the publishing companies were actively fighting against and trying to hinder the changes!

So I started brainstorming about how a publishing company could operate which would take advantage of some of the publishing methods in a way that would:

  1. Allow new and undiscovered authors to get published
  2. Allow books to get into print more quickly
  3. Allow authors to receive a larger royalty payment than normal

After several months of brainstorming, talking with others in the publishing industry, doing hundreds of research on publishing methods, and reading dozens of books about publishing, I ended up with a process for book publishing which accomplished all three of my goals.

Benefits of Redeeming Press

PUblishing at Redeeming PressThrough my brainstorming, I think I found a way to “redeem the press,” that is, to remove some of the negative elements of the publishing industry, and add in some elements and principles of the Kingdom of God, specifically, elements of truth, generosity, and grace.

  1. While most publishing companies want authors who have a big “platform,” Redeeming Press primarily cares about big ideas. If you have a book which presents truth in a fresh way, we might be interested in publishing it.
  2. While most publishing companies take a year or more to get your book into print, we can get your book into print within a few months.
  3. While most publishing companies pay their authors 10% royalties, we created a payment structure that allowed authors to make 30% royalty payments on their book (and even up to 45% in certain circumstances).

Redeeming Press

Redeeming Press Projects

Currently, Redeeming Press is working with three authors, and we are talking with about a dozen more. Updates on who these three authors are and what books they will be publishing will be announced soon over at Redeeming Press.com

If you are an author (or want to be one), I invite you to consider publishing your book with Redeeming Press.

Head on over to Redeeming Press.com to get started.

Oh, and while you are there, sign up for the Redeeming Press newsletter. The newsletter will give you updates about authors, newly published books, and some tips and suggestions for writing and preparing your own book for publication. Besides that, in a week or two, newsletter subscribers will get a shortened and condensed version of my Book Publishing Instructions. 


This post is part of the January 2014 Synchroblog, in which we were invited to share some sort of “New Beginning.” One of the options was to share about starting something new, so I chose to share about this new company. Here are the other participants to this month’s synchroblog:

  • Jen Bradbury – Enough
  • Abbie Watters – New Beginnings
  • Cara Strickland – Bursting
  • Carol Kuniholm – Acorns, King, Beloved Community
  • Done With Religion โ€“ A New Year, A New Beginning
  • Kelly Stanley – A Blank Canvas
  • Glenn Hager – Overcoming The Biggest Obstacle To Reaching Your Goals
  • Dave Criddle – Get Some New Thinking
  • David Derbyshire – Changed Priorities Ahead
  • J A Carter – The Year of Reading Scripture for the First Time
  • Damon –  New Beginnings: Consider These 5 Questions Before Tying The Knot
  • Jeffrey Kranz – Where To Start Reading The Bible
  • Joanna990 – On survival โ€“ my one word for 2014
  • K W Leslie – Atonement
  • Happy – my One Word 365 surprise
  • Michelle Moseley – Ends and Beginnings
  • Matthew Bryant – A New Creation
  • Liz Dyer โ€“ Itโ€™s a new year and time to make some new mistakes
  • Edwin Pastor Fedex Aldrich – Foreclosed: The beginning of a new dream
  • Jennifer Clark Tinker – Starting a New Year Presently
  • Loveday Anyim – New Year New Resolutions
  • Loveday Anyim – New Year Resolution Dreamers
  • Loveday Anyim – New Year Resolution Spets
  • Loveday Anyin โ€“ New Year Resolution Planners and Achievers
  • Amy Hetland – New Beginnings
  • Phil Lancaster โ€“ New Beginnings
  • Mallory Pickering โ€“ Something Old, Something New
  • Margaret Boelman โ€“ The Other Side of Grief

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: authors, Books by Jeremy Myers, get published, publishing, Redeeming Press, synchroblog

Is there Fear in Faith?

By Jeremy Myers
12 Comments

Is there Fear in Faith?

fear in faith

I know that “there is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear” but is there “fear in faith”?

Some might say that “If you believe in God and believe that God is love, then you won’t be afraid to do what He asks.”

That sounds great, until God actually asks you to do something risky…

Then there is great quaking in the boots.

Have you ever experienced this, or is it just me? What has God asked you to do recently that caused great fear and took great risk?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, faith, fear, love, risk

Jesus Died for This?

By Jeremy Myers
9 Comments

Jesus Died for This?

Would you believe me if I said I have never seen an episode of “The Simpsons”? It’s true. Not one. Nor Beavis and Butthead. Nor The Family Guy. Nor whatever “adult” cartoon is currently popular.

Anyway, I did find this funny though:

Jesus Died for This?

Obviously, Jesus did not die so that people could show up and sit in a pew on Sunday morning and snore during the sermon.

But here’s the real question: Did Jesus die so that people could show up and sit in a pew on Sunday morning and listen attentively to a sermon?

Of course not!

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sit in a pew on Sunday morning… I’m not saying that. All I am saying is that “attending church” on Sunday morning is not the final goal of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Yet if that’s true, why is Sunday church service attendance the one event that gets the most attention, the most glory, and the most energy poured into every week around the world?

I’m just askin’…

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: attending church, being the church, church service, Discipleship, Jesus

18 Questions for Re-Imagining the Church

By Jeremy Myers
18 Comments

18 Questions for Re-Imagining the Church

imagining the church

I spent a few posts this week (Questioning the Church, Extreme Church Makeover, What if You Were God?) talking about how you and your church and figure out what God wants you to do in your community with your time, energy, and money.

Part of this process involves imagining different ways of being church, different ways of loving others, and different ways of serving our neighbors.

Some people calling this “casting vision” but in my opinion, the word “vision” is one of those overused churchy buzzwords which makes most people gag. So following the ideas presented in books by Walter Brueggemann and Greg Boyd, I invite you to imagine what the church can be and do.

Imagine new ways of being the church, living within the Kingdom of God, loving others, serving the needy, and revealing Jesus Christ to others.

Here are some great “What if” questions to move you in the right direction: (Note: So I don’t pull a Driscoll… These 18 questions for re-imagining the church originally came from a post by Kevin Bussey in 2008, but I can no longer find that post.)

What would happen if…

  • Followers of Jesus concentrated on sharing their faith with a lost and dying world?
  • Followers of Jesus prayed for the church across the street?
  • Churches didnโ€™t see other churches as competition but as allies?
  • Churches rejoiced when another church is thriving?
  • We realized our view might be wrong?
  • Their church is just as important to God as yours?
  • We recognized God likes variety?
  • Followers of Jesus didnโ€™t shoot their wounded?
  • We acted like Grace really is amazing?
  • We give Grace beyond the point of conversion?
  • We realized God likes worshipโ€“no matter what the style is?
  • Churches in a community partnered with each other to reach the lost and hurting people that God has given to them?
  • Churches didnโ€™t criticize other churches?
  • Followers of Jesus didnโ€™t nit-pick other believers, churches or ministries?
  • Followers of Jesus became part of the solution rather than being the problem?
  • We really prayedโ€ฆ?
  • Followers of Jesus could put aside differences in order to minister to a dying world?
  • Followers of Jesus really became one?

Do you have any questions to add to this list? Include them in the comments below? How do you and your church seek to find new ways to share the love of Jesus with others?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: being the church, church, loving others, ministry, mission, missional, service, Theology of the Church

What if you were God? How Would you Set up Church?

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

What if you were God? How Would you Set up Church?

As I try to dream and imagine what kind of “church” model best fits my personality and the cultural and historical context in which I find myself, I have slowly yet systematically stripped away everything I know and believe about how church has been traditionally done, and even how it is being done in the most innovative and progressive churches of our day.

In the process, I have found one question to be more helpful than anything else. It is a helpful question in developing a vision for church, but a dangerous question due to where it might lead. Do you want to ask it?

First, before you can ask the question, you have to clear your mind of everything you think you know about church. Start with as blank a slate as possible. Then, you have think about everything you know about God’s character: His mercy, love, grace, righteousness, and justice. You have to be willing to let people be people. You cannot coerce people, or force them to do what you want.

With “church” gone, and your mind filled with the character of God, ask yourself this question:

If I were God, how would I want church to look?

In other words, if you were God, and you were dreaming up how you wanted the church to be, and what you wanted the church to do in this world, how would it look? Since all power and knowledge are at my disposal, how would “church” look? What instructions would you provide?

if you were godWhat non-negotiables would you require? What would be the best way for God to expand His rule over the earth?

Once you have done this sort of brainstorming, look at your description.

That is the kind of church God wants you to be. You have just discovered what God might want to do in this world through you.

When Jesus came to this earth, He came to reveal God to us, and when He left, He told us to do the same thing. We need to reveal God to the world, and live like God to the world, to live the way we think God would live.

This way of visioning the church can also be applied to other theological and missional questions which are not necessarily about the church, but about God’s work in the world. For example, let’s say that you want to end global poverty. How would you do it if you were God? Rain down money from the sky? Is free money really the answer for the world’s poor? Maybe there is a better, wiser way to end global poverty. If so, what is that better way?

None of this, of course, means that your answers are the right answers, or that your solutions are the best way forward. But this process gets you thinking in a visionary way. 

Here is a video where people ask this sort of question. Interestingly, God has actually done some of the things the people suggest… but the most beautiful thing about the video is to see their eyes light up and wonder about the possibility.

Guess what? By trying to do some of the things we imagine God should be doing, God is actually doing those things through us!

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: be the church, being the church, church, missional, Theology of the Church

Extreme Church Makeover

By Jeremy Myers
20 Comments

Extreme Church Makeover

You know those “Extreme Makeover” TV shows? They have the Extreme Home Makeover where they completely remodel a house, and the regular “Extreme Makeover” where they transform a person.

I watched one of the regular Makeover shows a few weeks ago where they took some “loser” dads and turned them into “cooler” dads. It was amazing to watch the outward transformation take place.  One long-haired, bearded, overweight trucker ended up looking like a CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. They did the same thing with several other men on the show.

But I had to wonder if the changes in clothes and hair styles were going to make these men better husbands and better dads.

I kind of doubt it.

There is something similar going on in Christianity today.

extreme makeover church edition

 There is an attempt in Christianity today to resurrect the church out of the dredges of irrelevance by making it “cooler” than the way church was a decade ago. 

Churches have cooler names, like “The Summit” and “Mars Hill.” We install top of the line sound and video equipment to make the “church service” seem more like a concert. Every room is equipped with plasma large-screen TVs. The pastor wears jeans and a t-shirt and says “Dude” a lot. If you don’t make it to church, you can watch the sermon on your iPod instead.

However, in all of the effort to become cool and relevant, is the church becoming more effective? The answer depends on how you define “effective.”

For the church to become effective the way the Bible defines it, it’s going to take a lot more (or a lot less…) than blue jeans and plasma screens.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: be the church, church, Theology of the Church

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