I’ve written over the past few weeks about evangelism. And I’ve gotten a bit of flack back about it. A few stones have been cast my way, which I really like. It always leads to conversation and thought. Here’s my question for my current stone throwers:

When was the last time you were face to face with a non-believing person, invested your life in theirs and shared the Gospel with them?

Often times I feel like I’m arguing theory or theology with people who have no practical knowledge of it at all. Much of what was argued was my method. I believe that for people care to know about Christ, they must first know what Christ has done in your life. Otherwise we are talking about mere words, facts, and theory. So first of all what is the Gospel. The Gospel as I believe it is the good news that Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to this earth, lived a sinless life, and died to pay the penalty for our sin so that we might become the children of God through faith alone in Christ alone. If we accept and follow Jesus we are become a people ransomed and redeemed from judgment. Secondly we have the Great Commission (take the Gospel to others). So this message goes for all of us. We have the Gospel. We have the Great Commission. What are we doing about it?

Are we out and amongst the people? Are we offering a remedy to a hurting and broken world?  Are we sharing not just the message, but also our lives? There is a cost to this. It’s not easy. But I can promise you one thing… it will never be boring.

So we’re loaded and actually leave on time. 9 students. 4 leaders. Good ratio for investment. We spent lots of one on one time with students. Over the weekend we camped, went whitewater rafting and rock-climbing.

Rock-climbing was amazing. It’s one of my favorite things to do. For something that really pushes students out of their comfort zone, this is the thing to do. Most of the kids we work with are never pushed to be more. And that point was so evident on the rock. You’d see them climb half way up, get frustrated or scared and try to quit. But ‘ah ha!’ this time was different. I’ve spend enough time with all of them to know where their limits are. So I instructed them to not let the kids down if there was any doubt that the could keep going.

It happened over and over. They’d start going and want to quit. But then something happened… they weren’t allowed to. Once they realized the only way they were getting down was going up to the top, their demeanor changed. They hit adversity and kept going. Every time we saw it, they pushed past where they thought they could go. They accomplished more than they thought was possible. They began to believe in themselves.

After a morning of victory, they were a different group in the afternoon. More confident. More assured. They approached every climb differently. It is amazing what what kids can do when they actually believe in themselves.

This has been one of the great hurdles of sharing Christ with them. They balk at challenge. Accepting Christ seems easy. Following Him is a different story. Accepting and following is a HUGE challenge. It’s so big, it’s beyond them. Living for Christ is living outside ourselves. And for a moment in time, these student got to step out and feel what it is like to live beyond what they thought was possible.

Combine Christianity with Politics and what do you get? A bunch of mixed messages.

This is an excellent video on the Acquire the Fire: Battle Cry movement. It’s very even handed and brings up some good points.

My favorite moment: watch Ron Luce squirm as he’s asked about telling kids not to sell out on culture and ATF cashing in on it with their own merchandising. The funny thing is, I actually like Ron Luce. I just think that things have gotten off track.

Here’s my main beef:

The Battle Cry becomes an agenda to push Christian values and less about following Christ. This is where the danger lies. They are teaching the kids to strike out against the world because it’s immoral. I’m not arguing this fact. The world has always been immoral, that’s what sin is all about. This immorality is nothing new.

Why aren’t we teaching the youth to change the world through the power of Christ. Christ is the one who changes lives, not agendas or protesting. We’re becoming more militant and less loving. As we walk down this road, we become less and less like Christ.

Are we in a battle? Yes, but it isn’t against flesh and blood (Eph 6:12). If this is true, then why fight against flesh and blood? Where is pursuit of the Lord? Where is prayer? Christianity isn’t about morality, it’s about a revolutionary, all-encompassing, life change. Christ came to free, liberate and ransom the hurting and lost - not to condemn them.

In this video, are we any step closer to sharing Christ with the people who are protesting against the Battle Cry kiddos? News flash: we’re all sinners and no better than anyone else. Christ came to save us all, and some of us have stumbled upon His grace and live in it. It’s not about anything we did, it was a free gift for all. Some are in the light and some aren’t. It’s our job to love those who aren’t in the light, to share with them what Christ has done for them. That is it.

Our battle cry? Follow Jesus with every ounce of your being. Fight out the battle within ourselves versus our flesh. Love others. Love God. Share Christ. If we want a movement to change things, this is the only recipe. Otherwise we’re just angry and ranting with sweet Christian rock music playing.

When thinking back upon Palm Sunday and Easter, I began to think about Jesus and His views on politics. Christians have long tried to figure out which side he would be on. I read this great quote about “American Jesus” and his beliefs (not sure who said it).

“Several times during the week, I thought about telling my family what’s happened to Jesus in the United States - how he’s been kidnapped by politicians and preachers who decide what he does and doesn’t think. They speak for him, and it doesn’t always make sense. They say Jesus is ‘pro life,’ but he doesn’t seem to have a problem with the death penalty. And he thinks stem cell research - something that would save lives - is no different from murdering babies. They say he’s the embodiment of kindness, love, decency and compassion. But he hates gays, lesbians and Muslims. And he’s not too crazy about Buddhists, Hindus and the rest. Jews? He can put up with them if he has to.”

If you really boil politics down it is simply the pursuit of power and authority. Christ was pretty clear who has the power and authority: God. It’s his authority and power we should concern ourselves with. What happened to “seek ye first the kingdom of heaven…” Do we do that? How many times we use Jesus as a platform for our own agendas.

So it comes to this: is your life driven by an agenda or a calling?

We are called to follow Christ. Anything short of that is an fallible, self-serving agenda. It’s it about ’my way vs. your way’. But what about His way?

All I know is this - He’s less concerned with any of the political issues of the day and more concerned with the state of our hearts. 

 Will politics save our country? Nope. They never will.  Our only hope is prayer and a pursuit of Christ. His way will always lead to the hurting people, not towards picketing or pushing policy. That was his way. Jesus didn’t concern himself with politics, only people.   

Are we a Christian nation? Ha ha. Don’t even get me started on that one…

Expectation and Anticipation (Palm [A])

Jesus Christ, I think upon your sacrifice
You became nothing
Poured out your blood.
Many times, I’ ve wonder at your gift of life
I’m in that place once again
Yes, I’m in that place once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I’m humbled by Your mercy and I’m broken inside
Once again I thank You,
Once again I pour out my life

Now You are exalted to the highest place
King of the Heavens, where one day I’ll bow
But for now, I’ll marvel at Your saving grace
I’m full of praise once again
Oh I’m full of praise once again

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I’m humbled by Your mercy and I’m broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

Thank you for the cross
Thank you for the cross
Thank you for the cross, my friend

And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I’m humbled by Your mercy and I’m broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life

-Matt Redman “Once Again“