When Candy asked about the service time, the pastor confirmed what their website said: 10 a.m. When we arrive, they tell us to sit anywhere.
After fifty agonizing minutes, they say, “Thanks for coming. The service will start in about ten minutes.”
They used the old bait and switch tactic on us.
Consider these four discussion questions about Church #30:
1. We just endured an agonizing Sunday school. They must think they’re clever, but I feel manipulated. They should be honest and say church starts at eleven.
How might people feel tricked or misled about your church’s practices or the information posted online?
2. We sing old-time hymns with piano accompaniment. They sing with vigor.
How might people characterize the singing and worship at your church? Is their assessment acceptable?
3. One man wears a lapel pin of the Baptist flag. He thinks his pin is a conversation starter, but his dogmatic discourse pushes me away.
In what way might our words, passion, or doctrine repel people?
4. Today we heard a powerful message and worshiped God with people passionate about singing, but their bait and switch trick to get us into attending Sunday school remains my key memory.
What parting memory do people leave with from your church? (If they don’t come back, you made a bad impression.)
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Once the People Read Luther’s 95 Theses They Pushed for a Change He Hadn’t Intended
Though most Protestants know of Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses, few have ever read them. Here’s why:
First written in Latin and then translated into German, neither of these versions of Luther’s ninety-five theses helps us as English-speaking readers. Several English translations exist, but their formal language, complex sentence structure, and unfamiliar terms make them hard to understand.
The fact that Martin wrote his original document five hundred years ago in another culture further complicates our ability to understand them today.
So difficult to comprehend, few people invest the time to wade through Martin’s ninety-five points of contention. And most who try give up after the first few.
Understanding Luther’s 95 Theses
In considering Luther’s ninety-five points of debate, it’s important to remember that they don’t stand alone. Many build upon prior items.
If some of his theses seem contradictory, it may be because there exists a fine line of distinction between what Martin opposed and what he approved. Or that we fail to grasp his subtle nuances.
When Luther’s followers distributed printed copies of his ninety-five theses, they essentially went viral and sparked a religious rebellion. Many mark this as the birth of the Protestant Reformation.
Support from Others
However, aside from Martin Luther, many notable theologians and ministers breathed life into this movement, too. They helped advance the cause, of which Luther played a part.
These include John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli, along with William Tyndale, Jan Hus, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, John Knox, and George Wishart, among others. Some were peers, some preceded Luther, and others followed him, yet their common goal was reform.
In determining a date for the onset of the Protestant Reformation, the most accessible one is October 31, 1517. This is the day Martin Luther stepped forward to post his ninety-five theses.
As such, many assign this date as the beginning of the Reformation. And they put Luther, the man behind the list, as its chief advocate.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
If You Are a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, Then You Live Here as an Alien
Peter writes his first letter to Christians scattered about in pagan cities. He first calls them exiles (1 Peter 1:1). He also refers to them as foreigners (1 Peter 2:11). Though foreigner is accurate, I prefer the label of alien. It has an otherworldly connotation.
The point is that they don’t fit in where they are. They are outsiders subsisting in a society that doesn’t understand their thinking and their way of life. They live in a culture that is opposed to Jesus.
Peter doesn’t tell them they need to adapt and settle down. Instead he tells them to live careful lives, hold onto their awe of God, and refrain from immorality.
They are to persist as foreigners, as if they are just passing through—because they are.
Foreigner or Citizen?
They are citizens of the Kingdom of God, children of the King of kings. Their allegiance is to God. Their real domicile, their eternal home, is in heaven.
Holding onto this perspective, they realize they are here for the short-term.
With eyes fixed on Jesus, they maintain their earthly status as foreigners, as exiles, and as aliens—both in an actual physical sense and with a faith-filled, future-focused, spiritual expectation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Prosperity Is Not a Bad Word, and We Must Start Embracing It as Good
A popular pastime today is to decry prosperity as an evil that plagues the world. These folks think that all people who prosper are greedy and selfish—though some are.
They advocate taking from those who have and give to those who have not. In truth, these people aren’t interested in helping the poor as much as they are envious that others have more than they do.
They miss the point that God wants us to prosper.
The Bible has much to say about prosper and prosperity. We often think of prosper in terms of money, but it also applies to other areas of our life.
Our family can prosper. We can prosper by enjoying good health. And we can prosper in intangible ways when we lead a God-honoring life.
Consider some of what the Bible says about the idea of prospering:
God plans to prosper his people and not harm them, plans to give them hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
God told Jacob to go back home and he would prosper (Genesis 32:9).
You will prosper more, and then you will know that I am your Lord (Ezekiel 36:11).
God made his people prosper while they were in Egypt (Acts 13:17).
Some of these verses apply to individuals, while other passages have a broader audience, but the point we can glean from all these verses—and many others in the Bible—is that God loves us. And he wants us to prosper.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
But many people desiring prosperity, miss the point of why. They think their prosperity is for their benefit and theirs alone. Taken to an extreme we end up with a prosperity gospel and a prosperity theology. Don’t go there.
These overreaches miss the basic biblical truth that God wants us to prosper. He wants to bless us. But why?
God told Abraham, “I will bless you and you will in turn bless others” (Genesis 12:2). This means that God’s blessings are not for us to consume or to squander in conspicuous living.
Our blessings are to share with others. As God is generous with us, may we be as generous toward others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Daily Scripture Reading Guides Available Now from ABibleADay
Every year I intentionally explore the Bible, reading a few chapters each day. Some years I focus on the New Testament and other years, the Old Testament, but usually I read the entire Bible in a year.
Will you join me this year?
To guide us, the Bible reading guides are now available. Get your Bible reading plan today.
Chronological Bible Reading Guide
New last year was a chronological Bible reading plan. This year it’s tweaked and improved, based on feedback from the inaugural offering.
Though a comprehensive chronological reading of the Bible requires a lot of details that won’t fit on a concise handout, it is possible to make an approximate chronological reading guide by putting the books of the Bible in order.
Following this Bible reading plan only takes 12 to 15 minutes a day. And each Tuesday, I’ll blog about a passage from that day’s reading.
If reading the entire Bible in a year seems too big of a task, scale back to a more manageable goal. I have a series of other Bible reading plans to guide you. Pick the one that works for you:
Read the New Testament in a year (3 to 4 minutes a day, Monday through Friday)
Read the Old Testament in a year (10 to 12 minutes a day)
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
As we pull into the church parking lot, we realize our daughter attended preschool here, many years ago. What we don’t know is that we will experience a laity led service.
Consider these four discussion questions about Church #29:
1. We amble in and one woman approaches us and mutters to herself, “Where’s the guest registry?” She moves toward an ornate wooden stand that holds nothing. As she searches for the missing book, I walk past her.
How ready is your church to receive visitors?
2. The minister is gone, and a member fills in. Though not an accomplished speaker, I applaud what she’s doing. In fact, members lead the entire morning. It is a laity led service.
Can your church hold a service without your minister or staff? If not, what should you do?
3. They invite kids to come forward for the children’s message as music plays. Though the song is appropriate for preschoolers, the five who come forward are much older: later elementary through high school.
What traditions does your church persist in even though it no longer makes sense?
4. During the message, someone passes us a clipboard with a sign-in sheet. I watch the clipboard weave its way in the rows ahead of us. I’m so distracted that I never reconnect with our speaker.
What church practices distract people from hearing the message and worshiping God?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Luther Studied to Become a Lawyer to Please His Father
Hans Luther, a German peasant, and his bride, Margaret, who came from the middle class, committed their lives to each other. Though having different social backgrounds, Hans pledged to work his way up in life. He promised to provide for Margaret and their future family in the way she grew up.
Devout Catholics, Hans and Margaret welcomed their firstborn into the world on November 10, 1483. The couple baptized their baby the next day on St. Martin’s Day. It seemed fitting to give their son the name Martin.
As Hans worked in the mines, Margaret, a stern disciplinarian, taught little Martin the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed. The Luthers celebrated Mass each week. They instilled in Martin a love for singing, both in the church choir and at home with family.
Consistent with the Church’s teaching of the day, young Martin learned of a Jesus who not only came to save but who also judged, demanding holy living and exacting a dreadful wrath over those who fell short. This tough teaching gripped Martin and caused him great agony for the first part of his life.
At eight years old, Martin started school. He learned Latin from strict teachers who governed with harsh discipline. Despite the school’s rigid setting, he performed well.
At age thirteen and showing promise, Martin continued his education. He progressed through a series of schools, as was the practice of the day for students with potential.
Luther’s Career Dilemma
This prepared him for a professional job, possibly in law, which his father desired for his son. For the most part, Martin accepted his dad’s career preference. A highly respected occupation, a career in law would provide Martin with a good income.
But Hans could afford to pay for only part of Martin’s schooling. As the accepted practice of the day, the lad would try to make up the difference through begging and street singing.
Despite this, Martin relished learning. He desired to honor his dad by becoming a lawyer, even though young Martin felt occasional pulls to serve God and the Church, a profession that lacked both the pay and the prestige of law.
At eighteen, Martin began the final phase of his education, which his dad could now fully cover. An excellent student, Martin soon earned his bachelor’s degree and then his masters two years later.
Yet he continued to struggle to balance his personal worries about spiritual issues of sin and punishment, as taught by the church, with his father’s push for him to pursue law.
Martin vacillated between honoring the wishes of his dad—a man he both loved and feared—and responding to God’s call. Despite not liking the legal profession, Martin chose to follow the wishes of his father.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
We Dishonor God by Persisting in Sin Because We Assume His Grace Will Cover It
A highschool friend heard about the doctrine of eternal security—which some people shorten to the more accessible mantra of “once saved, always saved”—and latched onto it. She took God’s grace for granted.
She reasoned this creed allowed her to act any way she wanted, that she and God were in a good place in their relationship, and her behavior didn’t matter anymore.
In short she took this as a license to sin.
She thought she had her get-into-heaven card, and that was all she cared about. She disconnected her reality on earth from her future in eternity.
Though she rightly embraced God’s grace, she incorrectly assumed it came with endless abundance. This didn’t feel right to me. Surely she overreached and grabbed onto an unwise conclusion.
I tried to talk her down from her extreme position, but she wouldn’t listen.
Instead she clung to her steadfast belief that nothing she did from that point forward would have any bearing on her spiritual future. After all, she had said the prayer, so she was in.
I wish I had read Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians. I wish I had known about the sixth chapter.
In it Paul addresses this topic of sin and grace. The deeper the sin, the greater God’s grace. This is true. Yet some go too far and claim our ongoing sin serves to elevate God’s grace.
Paul says, “No way!”
When we follow Jesus we turn our back on our wrong behaviors (Romans 6:1-2).
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Do you call yourself a Christian? What does that word mean to you? What might it mean to others? Especially to those who aren’t part of our faith community? Let us consider if we should use Christian as a noun, Christian as an adjective, or Christian as something else.
Christian in the Bible
The word Christian does occur in Scripture, but not often.
Luke uses it twice in the book of Acts. He first confirms that the word popped up in Antioch (Acts 11:26). It was a label given to those who follow Jesus, that is, the Christ (the Messiah). Later King Agrippa uses it when talking to Paul at his trial (Acts 26:28).
Peter is the only other biblical writer who uses the word, Christian. He writes about those who suffer for their faith as followers of Jesus. He encourages them to not be ashamed but to praise God (1 Peter 4:16). Implicitly, when our walk with Jesus aligns so closely with him, that we face attack, this persecution, in effect, confirms our faith. Although unwanted, this opposition becomes a praiseworthy event.
Noun Versus Adjective
In each of these cases, the writers use Christian as a noun. This is an appropriate convention for us to follow. However, we often encounter this word misused as an adjective: as in Christian music, Christian movie, Christian business, Christian community, and Christian book, to name a few common usages. And singer Steve Taylor facetiously sang a song that mentioned a Christian cow. This jest certainly shows the absurdity of employing Christian as an adjective
Although the dictionary now permits using Christian as an adjective—no doubt prompted because of its common misuse—we must remind ourselves that this usage isn’t a biblical application for the word. Rob Bell writes that “Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective” (Velvet Elvis, page 84).
Yet even as a noun, Christian means different things to different people. Because of that it’s a label packed with misunderstanding. For this reason, I personally don’t like the tag of Christian, and I try to minimize using it. I prefer calling myself a follower of Jesus, or if I’m being overly confident, a disciple of Jesus. Yet to avoid confusing my audience, I sometimes resort to saying that I’m a Christian.
As an author who often writes books for the Christian market—that is, for followers of Jesus—I’m often confronted with the need to use Christian as an adjective for the sake of clarity. This results in admitting that I am a Christian author and that I write Christian books. (More correctly, I am an author who is a Christian—that is, I follow Jesus. And my books are for other Christians—that is, other followers of Jesus.)
My attempts to explain these two truths without using the word Christian, only confuses people and leads them to make wrong assumptions about me and the topics I cover.
Should Christian be a Verb?
I, along with many others, have advocated that love is a verb. That is, love isn’t how we feel or think; it’s how we act. We show our love by what we do.
I wonder if we would likewise benefit by thinking of Christian as a verb. Yes, being a Christian is about belief and faith, but if we don’t put our faith into action, what good is it? Can we have a true faith without doing good (James 2:14-19)?
Moving Forward as Christians
I encourage you to embrace Christian as a noun, stop using it as an adjective, and explore how you can turn it into a verb. This may be the most effective witness we can offer.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
We learn of this church when we spot their name in a local paper’s church directory. Still, we struggle to confirm their meeting time. We expect to experience a liturgical church service.
Consider these four discussion questions about Church #28:
1. We walk inside and a lady shares some basic information about the liturgy for today’s service. Without her help, we’d have been lost.
Whether you’re a liturgical church or not, how can you help people better navigate your service?
2. During the sermon the minister forewarns us we will greet each other later with a holy kiss. Though there’s only a handful of people, they’re all strangers. This is the creepiest of practices.
What does your church do that may cause people to squirm? (And before you say nothing, think harder.)
3. After the service they invite us to stay for fellowship. A neighbor and her dog join us. Though she missed the service, she’s welcomed anyway.
How do you feel about people skipping church and showing up afterward to hang out?
4. Even though it was hard to participate, some of this church’s strange worship traditions fascinate me.
Do your church practices and worship intrigue others or push them away? How can you make your liturgical churchservice more accessible?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
