I recently received a little birthday gift from my awesome church staff for Borders and used it to pick up another C. S. Lewis book and Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Mark operates one of the most well-known pastor’s blogs on the web and serves the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

I’ve jumped into chapter one and love the principle already. Chasing the “wild goose” is basically an ancient Celtic way of saying “pursue the Holy Spirit.” Mark speaks of life as an adventure of chasing God, Who always manages to remain just out of reach. This life of chasing is filled with risks and pain, but that’s all part of it.

I’ll update you on my thoughts later, but chapter one is worth the purchase!

Tomorrow we kick off our Men’s early morning Bible study at 6:15 a.m. I invite you to come if you have the time and can get out of the bed. It’s a challenging time together, in spite of the donuts and coffee.

This semester, we’re going to be studying from the book Because We Love Him by Clyde Cranford. It’s all about “embracing a life of holiness.” Frankly, it’s one of the single best books I’ve ever read on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Cranford was a personal disciple-maker and spent untold hours pouring his living beliefs into young Christians.

He died prematurely, but not before making a mark on many believers and leaving behind this great work. I’d encourage you to get a copy (click the photo) and dive in. It’s life-changing.

Chris Forbes is kind of a ministry marketing coach. In fact, that’s the name of his web site, www.ministrymarketingcoach.com. He meets a need that exists today within Christian circles of leadership by coaching church leaders toward success. He currently has 2 free ebooks available on his web site, and here’s the link to his download page. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »

It has taken me several days to sit and write my conclusions about the Discovery Channel documentary on The Lost Tomb of Jesus. I find it ironic how dramatic the title seems when the tomb is neither lost (they’ve found it), nor does it contain Jesus (”He is not here; He is risen…”). Kind of like those “lost books of the Bible” which are also not lost, nor are they in the Bible. Overall, this film is intriguing drama at best. It’s very entertaining and gives a glimpse into the world of modern biblical archaeology.

The makers of the film, particularly the Director Simcha Jacobovici, seem to begin with some very unfounded assumptions. In the first few minutes, the entire debate is framed by the rather strong suggestion that the disciples must have stolen the body of Jesus and relocated it to a family tomb. Not only does Matthew, an eyewitness of the risen Christ, deny this charge in his gospel, but it seems rather hard to accept in light of the military protection of the tomb during the days following Christ’s crucifixion.

Names are slowly collected from the various ossuaries excavated from the tomb in 1980. A mathemetician then determines the statistical probability of these names not belonging to the family of Jesus. He eliminates one name because of a lack of connection to Jesus’ family, rather than allowing the unexplained name to contradict the theory. He then divides his odds by four (a randomly and arbitrarily chosen number) to account for possible bias (in the “facts”??). He concludes that there is only a one in six hundred chance that the tomb does not belong to Jesus.

A genetics labratory in Canada examines DNA from the dusty remains of “Jesus” and some from the remains of “Mariamne” and determines that they were not brother and sister. Jacobovici then brazenly asserts that they must have been husband and wife. The geneticist later explained that there could have been many other possible relationships such as being paternal cousins. Jacobovici adds to the assumptions that Mariamne must have been Mary Magdalene, who must have been an early apostolic missionary. Further, they must have had a son, referenced by John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This tall tale is given no credible evidence whatsoever.

Needless to say, the film proved nothing. It was well-presented, but what it presented was loosely pieced together conspiracy and cover-up theories concerning the resurrection, supposed marriage, lineage, and burial site of Jesus. In the end, Jacobovici, with little understanding of biblical Christianity, asserts that his findings pose no threat to the theology of Easter at all. Rather, he asserts, we simply need to see the ascension as a spiritual one as opposed to a bodily one.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus has been attacked before. Thus far, no credible evidence has ever been offered that has contradicted this central tenet of Christianity. Nonetheless, what bothers me most about films such as these is that they present romanticized pictures of the obscure possibilities of “what might have been.” Armchair theologians everywhere will utilize the information in negative ways, often questioning whether there are any important issues at stake or not.

The film? Well done. The theories supported by the film? Hogwash. The effects of the film? Unpredictable given our current biblically illiterate, culturally desensitized Christianity. We are well past the time to “study up” and prepare for the lies that will be circulated more and more concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as we approach the soon coming of Jesus.

“But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching…” -Titus 1:3

To every preacher of the Word, God has committed a sacred trust. He has called and commanded us to proclaim the content of His everlasting word week after week. There are many challenges to preaching as an effective means of communication today. We battle against popular sports on Sunday, longer work weeks which displace Sunday as “the Lord’s Day,” and the decreased attention span of Americans who are addicted to high-resolution, image-oriented marketing. But perhaps the greatest danger to preaching today is the preacher himself.

There is a constant challenge from within the field to weaken or water down the proclamation of God’s Word. Church growth gurus tell us that the world doesn’t want lengthy sermons anymore, but I would contend that the church is as much to blame for this trend as the world. Rather than giving into the pressure to preach all-positive little sermonettes, let us return instead to the biblical idea of proclamation.

One temptation the church has faced is to use the pulpit as a veritable soapbox, spouting the latest political or moral opinions without much scriptural backing. At best we often loosely attach a remote verse and contort its interpretation to fit the principle we desire to communicate. Or worse, we attempt to compete with the world by offering a better self-help message than that which may be found in thousands of bookstores in the self-help section. The pastor, instead of being a theologian before the congregation becomes a mere pop-psychologist.

Another obstacle to biblical preaching is the overwhelming tendency to compete with the world’s marketing strategies, a tactic doomed for failure. Lacking the resources and expertise for the field, the church ends up being seen as a cheap imitation of the culture. In our drive to stay “relevant” we forget that the Word of God, if preached accurately and passionately, is timeless in its application to the needs of mankind.

So, what is the purpose of preaching? It is to proclaim, to make manifest, and to put on display the content of the Word of God. John R. Rice said that our preaching should be filled with “profundity wrapped in simplicity.” It is not our task to make God’s Word interesting, neither is it justifiable to make it boring. The Bible has an intrinsic, transforming power all its own. It merely needs a herald, one who will announce the good news of God to a world gone mad.

If I could think of a word to describe the approach of the Old Testament prophets to preaching, it would be “simplicity.” In a culture of idolatrous self-gratification the prophets faithfully proclaimed their message of “thus saith the Lord.” The last thing the world needs on Sunday is a shallow rehashing of world events by armchair politicians or another self-help message in an age of self-obsession. Rather, let us put on display the Word of God, as it is.

We dare not dumb down the Word, make it boring, or market it to the flesh. Rather, we must live up to the command and the calling to proclaim it loud and clear. If we want to restore preaching to a place of prominence in our culture today, we must remain faithful to this basic task of being God’s spokesmen. The world may not like our message, but they will come to listen. We may end up in chains in the end, but as Paul said, “the word is not bound.” Let us unleash God’s truth to do it’s proper work in the hearts of mankind!