JamesLaws.com

I know that is the question on all of our readers minds. Alright, so that probably isn’t true but none the less I believe an explanation is in order.

I have been really busy. I didn’t say it would be a good explanation. I have been really busy at work on the release of our new website. As soon as it’s up I will let everyone know. There have also been some other big projects going on here at work that have been really consuming all of my normal moments of contemplation. I am not sure when this will change so I apologize in advance.

There have also been a lot of things going on at the church of course. Fixing processes, casting vision, hanging out with the best church goers in Cleveland, you know, that sort of thing. I will definitely be sharing more on that later.

In light of all of this I will be skipping this weeks Bible Exploration post but I will be posting our Matthew overview in a couple of days. If you are completely lost on what you are supposed to be reading please refer to the www.youversion.com reading plan.

Thank you all for your patience.

Week 3 is over and I believe I am going to have to reevaluate my reading schedule. I seem to fall behind and then have to pay catch up every other day, Oh well, no one said it was easy. I trust every one is still on schedule as well.

Here are our week 3 stats:

• Genesis = 11 Chapters
• Psalms = 7 Chapters
• Matthew = 7 Chapters

That is 94 chapters read during the journey so far. This is an exciting week. This week we finish the book of Matthew.  Well, here is our week 4 reading schedule.

I will share me favorite passage of week 3 in a later post.  Happy reading.

Today I would like to introduce you to a friend who I care for a great deal. They are currently struggling with their faith and are exploring the possibility that all that they have believed is a lie. I say exploring but this friend is further along than that. He has questions but do any of us have answers?

I have invited him to share his feelings and pose his questions here to you and the world to see where the conversation might lead. Please leave your negative criticisms at the door and lets have an open dialog filled with respect for all views. Here are the start of some of his thoughts.

Why I now reject the Savior whom I used to love?

This is the first in several blog entries. My Identity will be disguised so I can feel free to speak my mind. You see I used to be in the “ministry”. I have served on staff in several churches of varying denominations over the course of several years.  I have been involved in many different methods of evangelism in many parts of the country. I still work closely with church leaders and ministers from time to time who think that I am still “one of them”.  You have undoubtedly labeled me in your mind as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but please give me the chance to explain?

The best way I can describe it is a hunger? I wanted nothing more than to worship and lead others in worship. I was IN LOVE with Christ. Tears would come to my eyes when I thought of how he had removed my sins from me. Any doubts that came into my mind would be rejected. After all I should just have faith in God. Lean on and trust in Him. Not in my own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 was my favorite, but why? Because I have been taught that faith is a virtue, something to strive for. It is the essential ingredient in salvation. Without faith it’s IMPOSSIBLE to please God! With faith all things are possible. If it defies my logic my logic is wrong. I completely agreed with all this until recently. It didn’t happen all of the sudden. I was wooed to the dark side over the course of my entire Christian “experience”. Remember those doubts that I kept rejecting? Some were about the very existence of God at all. Good thing I didn’t need proof. But if I did even nature cries out that there is a God! And the Bible testifies to it! Sure it is filled with outrageous claims such as the Earth being created in 7 days. But that wasn’t meant literally! Everything else was. It is the final authority! Absolute truth!

Ex-ChildofGod

Any comments?

Can anyone else feel it getting a little tougher. The year has begun and our schedules have started to fill up. Share with everyone what has been having an impact on you from you daily reading.

Here are your week two statistics:

• Genesis = 12 Chapters
• Psalms = 14 Chapters
• Matthew = 7 Chapters

That with last weeks reading brings us to 69 total chapters read. Great job everybody. Be sure to comment each week to let us no you are still on the journey. Suzanne, we haven’t heard from you recently…are you still with us? Also, here is week three’s reading schedule.

Here is the passage that has been having the most impact on me.

Psalms 17:3  You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

The Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death are in th tongue. Everyday I speak more words than I can count. Many of those words are spewed out with very little thought of what they will accomplish and who they will effect. This passage has encouraged me to not allow aimless words but to purpose that my mouth will please the Lord.

What about you? Anything challenging coming out of your daily reading?

I am not saying that this is the case for all churches but it is definitely worth a closer look. There has been a lot of discussion on the first century church lately, at least on this blog and it has really got me thinking. One of the greatest advantages they had was the fact that they were the first. No expectations, no programs, not too many traditions…just a mission and endless possibilities to fulfill it. What if we actually put ourselves in their sandals? What could the church today actually look like without any of the preconceived ideas that we take into almost every religious gathering? So let’s dream together for a moment. As we dream let’s also remember that our mission is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. That is, we are to reach those who have no relationship and assist in strengthening those on the journey. Are you ready?

Let’s start with Sunday mornings since that seems to be the center of all of our church activity. Let’s strip the scene bare for just a moment. Don’t back out yet, perhaps some of these things can come back in the dreaming process but for now we just want a blank canvas.

Here are some the things that no longer exist.

• No more refreshments
• No more ushers
• No more band
• No more music
• No more overhead or videos
• No more sound system
• No more stage lights
• No more preacher
• No more sermons
• No more announcements
• No more corporate prayer
• No more facility
• No more structure
• No more anything…just a bunch of people who want to make a difference for Jesus sake.

So there you have it. No more barriers. Now here is where your active participation in the dream is completely required in order for the dream to have life. Here is what I am asking you to do. Get as many eyes on this blog post as possible. Ask your friends and family to read this post and comment their thoughts on the questions I am about to ask. Let’s all dream together. Now on to the questions…

With everything stripped away, what is missing for us to accomplish the great commission? What would you add to position the church to impact lives with the gospel? If nothing were off limits, what would you do or implement to reach people for Christ and “be” the church?

Let’s get this conversation going…what say you?

I have been thinking a lot lately about my role in life. What God wants me to accomplish? What can I achieve? And a bunch of other things. In the end I have determined that I have a calling but not necessarily a destiny. I have a mission that God wants me to accomplish but I don’t have an inevitable outcome. What I have is an opportunity is to leave a legacy. Here are a few key differences between destiny and legacy.

• Destiny says I am entitled
• Legacy says I am responsible

• Destiny looks for “it” to happen
• Legacy strives to make “it” happen

• Destiny relies on fate
• Legacy relies on faith

So which is it for you? Are you destined for greatness or have you been given an opportunity to do something great? And what are you going to do about it?

I hope everyone has had a great journey during week 1 of our Bible exploration. If you are following the YouVersion.com 1 year reading schedule here is a list of you week one accomplishments.

• Genesis = 12 Chapters
• Psalms = 16 Chapters
• Matthew = 8 Chapters

Congratulations on a total of 36 chapters read. What I will try to do each week is share the passage that stood out the most or had the most impact to me. So during week 1 the passage that effected me the most was Psalms 16.

Psalms 16:1-11 A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. [2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” [3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. [4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. [5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. [6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. [7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. [8] I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. [9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. [10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. [11] You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I really needed to read that today. I think I will be praying that psalm for the whole week. So what passages stood out to you? Comment and share it with the rest of us.

Without further ado, here is your reading for week 2.

So, by show of comments, who is still on this Bible Exploration?

Kevin has a fire lit underneath him and you can start to follow his series here and here. Basically some authors have made the claim that the way the modern church operates is completely unbiblical. While I would not argue that many churches handle themselves in an unbiblical way, to make such a wide accusation shows how little we have learned and how many of us in church leadership roles still think we know everything. And that is why I am writing this post; because with all that the first century church didn’t have, they did have a few advantages. Here are my observations.

1.  They were the first.

The first century church really was clueless. They didn’t have experts telling them how to “do” church. There were no books to read or seminars on the subject. There were no other churches to emulate. There was just a group of people that knew they had to tell as many people as possible about this Jesus and learn how to serve him the best they could. They were uncluttered by the 10,000 ways to “do” church and therefore could explore any that they wanted. For some reason we have lost that liberty.

I do believe that there are a lot of great people teaching some great things about church planting and I strive to learn all I can but at times we can get so caught up on the right “way” to do things that we lose focus on the right reason to do things…which leads me to my next point.

2.  They were learning motive over method.

As I stated in an earlier comment, Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian church was that they were not properly considering the “why” of their gatherings. He didn’t tell them they were not taking communion in the wrong way but with a wrong focus. They were not wrong in using their spiritual gifts when they got together but they were wrong in excluding the outsider from the experience. Paul really didn’t care about “how“ they “did” church or their methods in gathering. He did care, however, in the purpose of their gatherings. He didn’t want to see the church become a social club where people tried to be better than each other but a community of missional believers that wanted to reach others with the gospel message. Motives can be a powerful force.

3.  They cared more about Theology than Methodology.

And thank God that they did. Who knows where we would be if the majority of their time was spent trying to create the “right” way to “do” church. The divinity of Jesus…who cares about that if we don’t know whether we should meet in houses or larger owned facilities? Atonement, grace, the Holy Spirit…none of those things matter if we can’t figure out whether we should sing hymns or rock songs.

The first century church and a few centuries after were more concerned about understanding the nature and heart of God and getting that message out than the method that we use to share it. In fact it was their theology that drove their methodology and not the other way around but that’s the subject of another post.

What I take away from the first century church.

I want my motives to be God’s motives and my methods to be whatever reaches people for Christ…everything else is just smoke and mirrors distracting me from the real mission. What say you?

At least while being recorded. It seems that every time I listen to the bible the person always has an English accent and always tries to add some dramatic flare. In the end it just sounds silly. It is as if we want the Bible to sound old so we need an old world sounding accent. That’s fine for the KJV but not the ESV. The ESV is supposed to be a modern rendering of an ancient text so it should sound modern when read…at least in my opinion.

In checking the many tools at my disposal for our one year bible exploration I clicked on the reference of Genesis 1 in my post sharing this weeks reading schedule. One the next page there is a link that says listen. Go ahead and click it and enjoy.

My favorite is verse 26. The reader states the passage like it is some kind of epiphany some where on the level of, “This would taste even better if we added garlic.” It made me laugh. I hope you find as much enjoyment from it as I did.

If you have been to our church over the past two weeks you know that I believe we go into resolutions with the idea that they will probably not make it through the year. It seems we have been conditioned to not fulfill these annual aspirations. This is not to say that we shouldn’t make them but that we must find ways to strengthen them.

Craig Groeschel has a great post on goals and how we can utilize these tips to make resolutions that last. He gives 3 great characteristics of a great goal.

1. A good goal is specific.
2. A good goal is attainable.
3. A good goal is written.

You can read his whole post here. I know everyone else put up these kind of posts up yesterday but I couldn’t because I was busy fulfilling one of my resolutions. So here are my resolutions for 2008. Hold me to them.

1. Personal
   • Lose 35 lbs.
   • Go to the gym 4 days a week.
   • Go to bed by 11 pm and get up by 6 am daily. (Buy a new mattress)
2. Relational
   • Serve Angela more than I serve myself. (This has many levels, which I have written down somewhere else ;) )
   • Reconnect with long distant family and friends. (At least one contact a week.)
3. Spiritual
   • Read the Bible in a year.
   • Pray daily. (Although I pray frequently, there are days that I get to busy and when I am too busy to talk with God than I am too busy period.)
   • Fast one day a month. (This is a practice that I have let slip.)

These are the few that have been stewing in me for a while. If anything else gets added I will let you know. What are your resolutions?