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Christians like to claim that we are guided by Scripture and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

But I was recently talking to my insanely wise and beautiful wife, Wendy, and she pointed out that the two things which seem to guide and control Christians are actually fear and guilt.

We are guided by fear and controlled by guilt.

My wife used the example of a typical church-missionary relationship. When raising support, some missionaries use guilt to get others to support them. They shows pictures of starving children, or tell stories about how people without the gospel are headed for hell. But then, when they are on the missionary field, and not much is happening through their ministry, they feel compelled to embellish what they are doing so that it the money which people are spending on them is well-spent. They are afraid that if they “tell it like it is,” the money will stop.

But when they send glowing reports of all that God is doing on the mission field back home, those in the pews feel even more guilty because they don’t see God “working” in their own life in the same miraculous ways. They feel guilty that they are not following Jesus overseas.

The missionaries also get put up on a pedestal so that when they return home on furlough, they have to conform to a certain standard of holy behavior which matches the pedestal that has been built for them. Furthermore, even though the missionary may be exhausted from working overseas, they feel compelled to visit people in their homes and go speak in a myriad of churches just so that they can maintain their financial support.

And on and on it goes, in an endless cycle of fear and guilt.

Fear and Guilt in Church

Of course, this cycle goes beyond just the relationship between churches and the missionaries they support. Guilt and fear are at the heart of preaching, of doing what our pastor says, of attending church regularly, and of putting on the smiley face for Sunday services.

The pastor wants to prove that he is worthy of his pay (even though he is afraid he is not), and so must use manipulative practices to keep people coming to church and giving their money. He fears that if he does not keep this up, he will lose his job. He also fears that his sermons are not as good as the ones the pastor down the street preaches, and fears he will lose his people to that other church. The pastor, robbed of life by fear and guilt, uses fear and guilt to control others.

People fear displeasing their pastor, since his is “the man of God,” and so often do what he says without question, because he speaks for God and knows what God wants better than they do themselves. The people, living under fear and guilt of what will happen if they do not obey, do not have the freedom to follow Jesus for themselves.

People are afraid to miss a Sunday service because of what others will think or say about them. Fear and guilt keep us returning to situations where only more fear and guilt get piled upon us.

People are afraid to let others know about their sins, temptations, struggles, and doubts, and so put on a smiley face for church services and Bible studies. Since everybody is doing this, nobody realizes that everybody is afraid that others will discover who they really are, and feel guilty that they seem to deal with issues and temptations that nobody else faces. Fear and guilt keep us from being honest and from opening up to others about our struggles.

What’s the solution?

I think we all struggle with fear and guilt in numerous ways. We experience fear and guilt in our jobs, our marriages, our families, and our finances.

But I also believe that Jesus wants to free us from both. I do not think we were meant to live life wrapped in the chains of fear and guilt.

How do we break free?

We follow Jesus.

He will lead us into freedom. The journey is long, but it is a journey worth taking. As we walk with Jesus, we will discover that the one person who knows everything about us is also the one person who loves and accepts us completely. When we come to that realization, the fear and guilt begin to wash away, and we are able to begin to live in freedom with other people as well.

If you are struggling with fear and guilt, let me recommend three things.

First, don’t become fearful or guilty about struggling with fear and guilt. Just recognize the fear and the guilt.

Second, let Jesus know that you want to be led by Him instead. Just tell Him. And keep telling Him.

Finally, trust that Jesus will lead you. Over the course of the next couple years, as you learn to live in recognition of your fear and guilt, and as you learn to trust that Jesus is leading you to where He wants, you will look back over your life and see how much more liberated and free you have become. You will be shocked at how much more forgiven, loved, and accepted you feel.

Do you struggle with fear and guilt? Do you even know that you struggle with it? Do you use it to control others? What sort of strategies have you found helpful in seeking to liberate yourself and others from fear and guilt? Please share below!

You will never believe how Jesus spent $3,150,000,000 in 2014!

By Jeremy Myers

51 Comments

Arthur Sido recently brought to my attention that in 2014, United States churches spent $3,150,000,000 on church buildings.

$3,150,000,000

And this amount is down 80% since 2002!

I wrote about this in one of my books (I cannot recall which one), and I have written previously on this blog about how churches spend money. See:

But it recently occurred to me that since Christians are the representatives of Jesus Christ on earth, since we are His ambassadors, since we are the “Body of Christ,” this means that when we spend $3,150,000,000 on church buildings in one year, it is Jesus Christ spending this amount of money in one year.

We are spending HIS money.

And it really made me wonder … If Jesus had $3,150,000,000 to spend, do I really think He would spend it on church buildings?

Somehow, I really, really doubt it…

The Church is an Elect People

By Jeremy Myers

13 Comments

The church is a group of God’s elect (cf. Rom 8:33; Eph 1:4; Col 3:12; 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Tim 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1-2; 2:8-9; 5:13; Rev 17:14). As we have seen previously, Israel is another group of God’s elect.

The real difference, however, between Israel as God’s elect and the church as God’s elect, is that while not all Israelites were regenerate, every member of the church is. Of course, this is only true of the invisible, universal church of God; not the visible and physical “church” down on the street corner or identified by some denomination. All people who are spiritual members of God’s church are elect.

Did the Church Replace Israel?

In looking at the election of the church, it is important to recognize the similarities between God’s election of Israel and God’s election of the church.

First, it is popular in some circles to say that since Israel failed in her God-ordained mission to the world, the church has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. Though Paul seems to hint at this sort of idea in Romans 9–11, I believe that this is not what Paul is teaching there, and that Israel was not set aside, nor did Israel fail in her mission.

Let me present the problem differently.

If Israel has been “successful,” how would the outcome have been any different? Would we not have the Bible? Would Jesus not have come? Would Jesus not have died? Would the church not have been born?

The answer to all such questions is clearly “No.”

The only “failure” on the part of Israel was to recognize the Messiah when He came. But this was not exactly a failure in regards to her role as God’s chosen nation, but was a failure she shares with all people on earth who do not believe in Jesus for eternal life. Just as God desires for all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), God desires all Israel to be saved as well (cf. Paul’s sentiment in Rom 9:1-5).

So the only “failure” of God’s chosen people Israel was that they failed to enter into God’s elect church when it was formed. For vast numbers of Israelites, this “failure” continues to this very day, as it does for the majority of people on earth.

So Israel did not fail in her God-given vocation. She succeeded.

Through her came the Law and the Prophets, the promised Messiah, and the birth of the church, all of which are blessings to the entire world, which was Gods’ ultimate goal and purpose for Israel.

Therefore, we must never say that the church has replaced Israel or that because Israel failed, God has selected a “new chosen people.”

Never! God’s election of the church is not due to His setting aside of Israel, but rather due to the fulfilment of His plan and purposes for Israel. The church is an outcome of the fruit of Israel’s success; not her failure.

God never desired that all people on earth would become Israel. Israel is a nation with her own people, customs, culture, and laws. God did not choose them because their customs and culture was better than everybody else’s. No, He chose one group of people as a way to call all people to Himself.

God never wanted all people to become Israelites; He wanted all people to maintain their culture and customs, just as Israel had, but do so in connection with Him. This new communion of people who live in connection with God is what we now think of as church. The church is God’s assembly of all people from every tongue, tribe, and nation who live within their own customs and culture as members of His family. Why did God choose Israel? Not to make the whole world Israel, but to make the whole world His.

This helps us understand God’s election of the church.

If we understand why God chose Israel, then we can also understand why God chose the church.

If Israel’s task was to call all people to become God’s people, then this is the church’s task as well.

Just as Israel was called to provide a witness and a testimony to the surrounding people about the goodness and graciousness of God, to be God’s voice, hands, and feet on earth, and to call all people to turn from their destructive ways and follow God’s righteous ways instead, so also, this is the task of the church (cf. Col 3:12; 1 Pet 1:1-2; 2:8-9).

Israel was chosen to be a blessing to the world, and when the church lives up to its calling, it too will be a blessing to the world. To be a blessing is the purpose for which God has chosen the church.

Furthermore, if we understand how a person became a member of Israel as God’s chosen people, then we can also understand how people become members of the church as God’s chosen people.

How did a person become an Israelite? For the most part, they were born into it.

So also with the church. We become members of the church by birth—not by physical birth, as was the case with the Israelites, but by spiritual birth; by being “born again” (John 3:1-8).

And if one enters the church through the new birth, then this also means that one enters God’s elect people through the new birth.

People sometimes think that Christians are members of the church because we are elect, when in reality, it is the other way around: we are elect because we are members of the church. By joining with Christ, the Elect One, through faith, we automatically become members of His Body, the church, and thus become numbered among the elect (Vance: Other Side of Calvinism, 379). We are elect only because we are in Him (Eph 1:4).

Election, Redemption, and Service

This truth further leads to the proper conclusion about the relationship between election and redemption.

Just as election does not lead to our membership within the church, but is rather a result of being incorporated into Christ’s Body, so also, election is not what leads to our redemption, but is rather the result of redemption.

We are thinking of election backwards if we think that we are only in Christ because God first forgave and redeemed us. The truth of redemption and election is that we are redeemed because we are in Christ, and as a result of being in Him, we are elect.

Christ is belittled if we think that God first forgave and redeemed us and then put us in Christ; we should rather believe that it is only in Christ that we have received redemption and forgiveness. Christ is also belittled if we think that God first chose us and then put is in Christ; it is rather that those in Christ share in his election, and so are chosen in him. … When people enter into Christ then not only does his death become theirs, but his election becomes their election (Marston and Forster, God’s Strategy in Human History, 151, 154).

The election of the church, then, follows the same patterns we have seen previously with the election of Israel and the election of Jesus.

Election is not to eternal life, but to service. This is true of Israel, Jesus, and the church.

In eternity past, God did not choose who He would unconditionally and irresistibly bring into His church, but rather, decided that all those who believed in Jesus and in so doing became members of His church, to them He would give the task of being a blessing to the world by sharing serving one another, declaring God’s grace, and loving others just as He has loved us.

If you want to read more about Calvinism, check out other posts in this blog series: Words of Calvinism and the Word of God.

Reconciling Mark Driscoll

By Jeremy Myers

36 Comments

I am sure you have heard about Mark Driscoll and his recent resignation from Mars Hill in Seattle.

This post is not really about Mark Driscoll, but about how his resignation is a symptom of a wider problem in Western Christianity.

As much as I never really cared for Mark’s preaching, approach to ministry, or theology, I always felt a bit sorry for him. He was another victim of the corporate, celebrity-style Christendom that operates under the word “church” in most of the western world.

About ten years ago I listened to a sermon by Mark Driscoll in which he publicly stated his desire for Mars Hill to become the largest church in the United States. It had already been recognized at that time as the fastest growing church, and he wanted to leverage that growth into the largest congregation. Yet according to recent news releases, by January 1, 2015, Mars Hill will be no more.

I think people around the world are finally starting to wake up to the fact that when it comes to church, bigger is not always better. Of course, this doesn’t mean that smaller is better either.

Church is not about “how many” at all. It is not even about “how.”

In a culture which says “It’s all about you,” we need to reawaken to the fact that Church is all about “who.”

Who is the church about?

Jesus! He is the sole head.

Who is the church about?

People meeting together for friendship and fellowship.

Lots of people point to the description of “two or three” in Matthew 18 as the minimum requirement for church. I personally don’t think this text has anything to do with how many people are needed to “do” church, for church is not actually something we do, but is something we are.

But even if we say that church exists where there are two or three, nothing is said in Matthew 18:20 that when these two or three gather, one of them needs to stand up and give a sermon. Nothing is said that when these two or three gather, they need to sit in a circle with their bibles open on their laps, discussing a particular text or point of theology. Nothing is said about prayer or music or food.

It is best to think of church as you think of family.

Do you ever talk about going to “family”? Of course not. You are a family.

Do you ever plan regular family events? Well, sometimes. But these are rarely set in stone for all time, and you never assume that what you do in your family is what all families everywhere should be doing as well.

But even when family events are planned, true “family” most often occurs outside and away from these family events. True “family” happens as life happens. True family occurs at 4:00 in the morning when someone has a bad dream or wakes up with a stomach ache. True family occurs when memories are formed while buying celery at the supermarket. True family occurs when everybody laughs at a joke about peas on the curtains. If you tried to package and export these family events to all other families, it wouldn’t work.

How did I get onto this topic after beginning with a discussion about reconciliation and redemption of abusive leaders?

For Mark Driscoll, I hope that he does not enter into another form of Christian leadership any time soon. It’s not because he is disqualified. Far from it! He might be more qualified now then ever before. It is just that modern Christian forms of “leadership” look nothing like the leadership modeled by Jesus.

For all the fans of Mark Driscoll, I hope that rather than simply turn to another celebrity pastor or mega-gathering for their weekly fix of preaching, they see that Jesus Himself wants to lead them into the biggest adventure of a lifetime.

And as for all the critics of Mark Driscoll, I hope there is absolutely no gloating whatsoever. What happened to Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill is extremely sad, and anyone who gloats is in danger of the exact same problem.

Ultimately, I hope that western Christianity in general learns from what happened to Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill.

I hope we learn that reconciling and redeeming abusive church leaders begins with reconciling and redeeming the church itself.

The problem is not the church leaders. Church leaders are some of the victims of a church structure that functions as God never intended.

So let’s abandon our power structures, our titles, our positions, our platforms, our offering plates, and even our buildings and campuses.

Instead, let us turn to love. Love for our neighbors. Love for our enemies. Love for our family.

Let us not rush to get fallen leaders back into positions of authority. Let us not rush to get anyone into any position of authority in the “church,” for there is no authority other than Jesus Christ, and there is no church other than the family of God.

This post was part of the November 2014 Synchroblog. Here are the other contributors:

Justin Steckbauer – The Servant Leader: A Radical Concept
Mary – Can I Get A Doctor?
Glenn Hager – The Man Of God Myth
Lisa – Forgive
Peggy Brown – Abi and November’s Synchroblog: Spiritual Abuse and Redemption
Edwin Pastor FedEx Aldrich – Shooting Stars: Of Scandal, Abuse, Restoration, and Systematic Failures
Tara – Forgive Us Our Sins As We Forgive Those…
Liz Dyer – Sorry

To Vote, or Not To Vote … That is NOT the Question

By Jeremy Myers

17 Comments

Your vote probably will not matter very much. The people you vote for probably won’t win. In fact, if the people you vote for do win, they will probably turn out to be just as corrupt as the people you voted out. And don’t think for a second that you are going to effect change in your city, county, state, or country by casting a vote on election day. Change doesn’t happen that way. True and lasting changes happens only through lives submitted to Jesus Christ, which is true of very few elected officials, and even if we did elect Christian politicians, it would not be right for them to impose Christian morality on the rest of society like some sort of Christianized Sharia Law.

Nevertheless, you need to go vote.

Over the past couple years I have read numerous books and articles from various Christian pastors, teachers, and authors who argued that Christians should not vote in elections. They used many of the arguments I used in the opening paragraph above.

And you know what? I do not disagree.

But I still vote. And so should you.

Why?

Because Christians are supposed to be the conscience of culture. We are to be the voice in the wilderness that calls our government to account. We are to raise the banner of peace and love when everybody around us is calling for war, bloodshed, and violence. We are to challenge the political abuse of power, the favoritism shown to the elite, and the partiality shows to the rich. We are to give voice to the weak and powerless, defend the defenseless, and raise awareness to the plight of the poor. We are to stand up for what is right when everybody else is heading toward wrong.

Granted, voting is not going to do any of this. Not really. But you should still go vote.

Why?

Because Christians and churches that do not vote have no right to then turn around and call to account those people who come into power.

In the 2012 Presidential elections, 4 million evangelical Christians did not vote who had voted in the 2008 elections. In 2012, President Obama won the popular vote by just over 3 million votes. I am not saying that all those 4 million evangelical Christians would have voted for Romney. They may not have. (In 2012, 21% of evangelical Christians voted for Obama.)

What I am saying, however, is that if any of those 4 million evangelical Christians who did not vote are unhappy with where our country is today, they have no right to criticize anything our government has done to get us here.

One prominent mid-western pastor encourages the people in his megachurch to forget about voting. He says it’s a form of idolatry. I know this because I listen to his podcast, which probably has tens of thousands of listeners on a weekly basis (maybe more). Yet I occasionally hear him also preach against many of the things our government is involved in, such as wars in the Middle East, the abuse and neglect of the poor in our cities, and the escalating violence of our police force.

While I value and benefit from much that this pastor says, I cannot take him seriously when he starts to call our elected officials to account for their decisions and the directions in which they are taking our country, for in all honesty, this pastor is one reason those officials were elected! He didn’t vote, and he invited everyone who listens to him to refrain from voting as well. If he doesn’t like what these officials are doing, he should have taken advantage of his right to keep them from gaining the power of that office by getting out and voting.

If a Christian did not vote in the last few elections, they can say nothing negative about the $17 Trillion in national debt we have laid upon the shoulders of our children, with the new war in Iraq, with how the numbers of poor people in our country have drastically increased over the past several years, with how Wall Street Bankers have been bailed out while the middle class get pummeled, with how the United States has handled Russia in their aggression with Ukraine, with what decisions the Supreme Court is making regarding gay marriage, with the legalization of marijuana in various states, with the treatment of illegal immigrants in our country, with how the government is handling (or mishandling) our taxes, with how your healthcare premiums are sky rocketing due to Obamacare, with how our cities and states ignore the plight of the homeless, with the rise in frequency of late-term abortions (or any abortion for that matter), or any of the other political and social issues that matter to you.

I am not telling you what your perspective should be on any of these issues, nor am I saying that if Romney had been voted in, much of this would be different. It might not be much different at all.

All I am saying is that if you did raise your voice by voting, you have no basis on which to raise your voice and criticize the government for the decisions it makes and directions it goes. Voting is not a replacement for being the cultural conscience, but it is the first step in doing so. If you want to call our leaders to account for their actions and decisions, then the first step in having the right to do so is to get out and vote.

Christians must raise our voices for the causes we believe in, and one way (but not the only way!) we can do this in the United States is by going out to vote.

Whenever I hear Christians (or anybody for that matter) complain about the direction of our government, the first question I ask them is, “Did you vote in the last election?” If they say “No,” then I tell them I don’t want to hear their complaints, for they are part of the problem.

If you don’t vote in elections, then don’t complain when elected officials behave badly.

The question is not “To vote or not to vote.” The only real question is “For whom should I vote?”

What REALLY controls and guides Christians: Fear and Guilt

Fear and Guilt in Church

What’s the solution?

You will never believe how Jesus spent $3,150,000,000 in 2014!

$3,150,000,000

The Church is an Elect People

Did the Church Replace Israel?

This helps us understand God’s election of the church.

Election, Redemption, and Service

Reconciling Mark Driscoll

To Vote, or Not To Vote … That is NOT the Question

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