Rob Bell Universalist?

If you haven't read on several Christian blogs, or news articles, Rob Bell is making waves. I know of a lot of people that enjoy his books, and enjoy hearing him speak and preach. I personally have read his Velvet Elvis book and it personally concerned me. BUt since I usually do so much writing, I want to hear from you.
Rob Bell is coming out with a new book that will go over details of hell, and heaven. The description of the book given has led many pastors (like myself), theologians and followers wary of Bell's position on hell. The description is as follows:

"Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering."

Many have commented on this: Kevin Deyoung, the original article by Justin Taylor and even John Piper who said "farewell to Rob Bell." sending people to Taylor's article.

But the issues with Rob Bell aren't new and go much deeper and I believe are deeply rooted in the Emergent Movement (the modern eras liberalism). Here is an article almost 3 years ago speaking about concern for Bell's teaching and preaching at Pulpit Magazine. John MacArthur also wrote his concerns for the direction of Rob Bell (and the Emerging Church movement) in his book "The Truth War".

But keep in mind these things:
1. No one has read the book (though Taylor says he has read several chapters)
2. Though Rob Bell could be espousing universalism
3. We need to be faithful to reading our Bibles more than Bell, or anyone else.
4. Regardless of your viewpoint of Bell, you must be firmly grounded in Scripture when reading or discussing topics like these.

So instead of putting forth what I think (as I think Deyoung, Taylor, and Pulpit mgazines article does enough), I want to hear from you.

1. IF Bell is teaching universalism, why would this be wrong?
How should we deal with Rob Bell and universalism?
(what I mean by this question is some have called him a wolf in sheep's clothing, a heretic, an awesome pastor, a great leader, a visionary---should the teaching be labeled heretical, unbiblical and if so then how do we handle the situation with Bell, or others that think this way?)

2. What implications does universalism have in regards to God's wrath?

3. If Bell does endorse universalism does this mean you will not watch any more NOOMA videos!??!

I would love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

Be Blessed

Riding on Empty

When I was a kid I can remember a lot of my dad various oddities. One of them was how he handled the car and its gas. My dad was famous for playing Russian Roulette with how long he could go without filling his truck up with gas. I remember riding and seeing that light go on, and two or 3 days later thinking, "wait he still hasn't been to a gas station?" (Which by the way we had at least 3 gas stations within a mile of where we lived). When I finally got my license I did not want to play this deadly game of cat and mouse. Even today, I fill up when the gas level gets a quarter of the way,even half! (I apparently have some damaging dysfunction) I just felt nervous as a kid that we would break down, or run out and be stuck somewhere if we didn't fill up. Isn't this picture similar to the Christian life?
As most ministers, and lay leaders know, you can only go so far without filling up. Some people try to ride the spiritual high's of Christian concerts, or mission trips, or even preaching, or teaching, or leading a group to keep them going. (I so aptly in college called this the Christian "Crack-High") As a leader, I am constantly expelling emotionally, physically and spiritually to people in my congregation, my friends, and my family. I ride around on "E", the spiritual gas tank blinking ever so brightly in my mind, yet try to keep going by teaching, preaching, counseling, mentoring...or basically doing the stuff that still focuses outward.

Now there are a million good books, and good Christian authors who have talked about this subject but I think it deserves (and so do you) a nice reminder. If you do not fill up, you will crash, plateau, be more susceptible to sin, break down, and burn-out. We need to fill up.

1. Being refreshed and nourished by God's Word.
One of my favorite passages to read, and reflect upon is Psalm 119. This Psalm has a main focus on God's word, commands, laws, decrees, (you get the hint). How beautiful they are, how wonderful they are, and how they teach, instruct, uplift, encourage, and nourish us.

In John 4, Jesus is hungry, thirsty. He speaks with a Samaritan woman who is drawing from a well. Jesus confronts her by asking her for a drink. They talk, and Jesus says this in John 4:13-14: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Obviously Jesus is speaking about eternal life through him, but he draws upon the picture of physical water that gives nourishment or sustains life into His everlasting fulfillment of those who come to Him.

It reminds me of when I work out. I drink gallons of water, as I am thirsty, as well as tired. The water just refreshes me, and helps me to continue working out. As cheesy as it may sound, filling up on Jesus through His word, quenching your thirst in knowing who He is, and remaining in Him nourishes us so that we may go out and teach, preach, share and live the gospel out.

One other passage I want to share is Deuteronomy 8:3, where God is telling the people that they must obey his commands and not forget who got them there and who provided for them. He says, "
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Clearly we must recharge, and live, feed, nourish ourselves on the word of God.

2. Walking, running, exercise, play a sport.
This comes out of left-field for some as they wonder how do I fill up by running, walking or exercising? Plenty. My morning time used to consist of walks until I changed to the current devotion time I have now. But I love to worship and fill up by working out so physically i feel the affects of what I do. God gave me the body I have, I am called to take care of it in all circumstances (1 Cor. 6) so why can't it be a form of worship or a time of refreshing. We know physically that when we work out we relieve stress, anxiety. We know that when we do a form of exercise consistently we prolong life, and improve the quality of that life. So how can it not be tied to the health of our spiritual lives? Physical exercise has proven that it can help, and most certainly be an aid in nourishing us.

3. Devotion
This has been an area that I have done a much better job at. I used to never be able to get up early for anything. But for the past 4-5 months I have made a diligent effort to get up around 6am. I try to use most of that time to get into God's word, and memorize Scripture passages, and have an open dialogue with God (my version of prayer so to speak)
This time can be a time for whatever you want it to be. You can devote yourself to anything that brings to mind the joy, and love of Christ. You can pray, you can read the word, or listen to worship music, fast, sing, or even dance. All the things I just listed can be found in Scripture and are a form of worship, praise and filling up on some Jesus juice so that we can be encouraged, nourished and well.
This is essential if we want to make it in leadership, and if we want to be effective in our walks with God (esp. with circumstances always changing).

Think of it like this: Think of the times when you feel closets with Christ. For me I feel invincible, but I also feel more loving, caring, empathetic and I learn more about Scripture. I feel so full that I have to share the knowledge that I have learned from His word. The filling up is meant to do just that: share, teach, worship, etc... But it is also to care for you, nourish you, remind you, and love you through Christ life giving Spirit, to that we share with the world we live in.

Be Blessed

Clearing Up Misconceptions (part I)

I have been involved in ministry for 8 years now, and been a full-time pastor for almost three. (I know I sound like I have weathered years and years of ministry=sarcasm of course) Sometimes I feel like when I ask someone if they go to church or if they are involved in a church, I get some interesting but similar responses.

I hear:
1. I believe in God but not organized religion
2. I had a bad experience with a pastor or church (though they never proceed to explain why they are not attending currently)
3. I didn't like the pastor or the music (still with the unexplained reason for no current attendance)
4. I'm too tired, I work a lot.
5. I sleep in on Sundays.

These are not the things I want to say to Christ when I stand before Him. Second my first question is usually what do you think church is? I find the conception of church is very skewd and wrong. Let me answer some general questions about church first before we dive in:

1. Do you have to go to church to be saved?
Answer: No
2. Does going to church make you holier/better than other people?
Answer: No
3. If you do not attend church does God love you less?
Answer: No

The problem I have run into is there are so many people who are willing to say they believe in God and love him, yet do not want to serve him, love him, or have fellowship with His people. The sad reality is Scripture clearly indicates that God's people will want to have fellowship together.

Therefore, I am going to give you 4 reasons why as a believer you should be in church fellowship with a local church every week. (if not everyday)

1. Church is about about fellowship.
Now unfortunately this Christian jargon gets thrown out for any meeting or gathering of church people to eat, have fun, and basically do anything with the word fellowship other than how Scripture actually uses this word.

Fellowship is the Greek word (koinonia) it means a close association of believers or a communion of intimate participation of like-minded people. This term was used extensively by the NT early church. If you don't know this word, listen to the person who usually like to quote consistently how we should be like the early church!
The early church and the author Luke used it for a reason: as noted fellowship was of an intimate nature and involved participation which symbolized this same relationship with Christ. I don't have a lot of room but here is a basic run down using all the verses that describe what the early church fellowship looked like:

They were together and had everything in common
they met together everyday corporately and privately praying, praising and learning God's word
they spent time in each others homes
they were one in heart, mind and soul
they shared wealth, land, material possessions and provided for those who could not provide for themselves.
(Acts 2:42; Acts 4:32-35; 5:12-16)

Fellowship with a church is more than just showing up, but if you are not showing up at all, how can you really be participating in Christ' vision, His picture of true community and fellowship.

2. Scripture indicates that believers always in some way worship corporately.
There isn't a place in Scripture that indicates one should be disconnected from the people of God or that they should not be a part of a corporate group. From the OT we see God's people lived, worshiped, and praised God together:

Nehemiah 8:2,5: "Ezra stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion....he opened the book of the Law. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the Great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and responded, Amen! Amen! Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground."

And in the NT:

Acts 2:46-47: "Everyday they continued to meet in the temple courts......praising God..."

Acts 5:12: "As the apostles performed many miracles....all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade"


3. There numerous benefits of church fellowship:

A. You hear God's word preached and are reminded of who you are and how your supposed to live:
I had a youth onetime tell me that he loved coming to church/bible study because it reminded him of how much he needed Jesus and to live a different life. Church involves preaching of God's word,which includes praise, rebuke, instruction, correction and encouragement! (2 Tim. 3:16). This might have been why Paul emphasized greatly to Timothy while he was leading in Ephesus to "Preach the word..." God's word cuts to the heart (Hebrews 4:12) and when we hear it, it convicts us when we are living wrongly and encourages us to know we are forgiven and loved.

B. You grow spiritually.
One thing I constantly remind my youth of when they would get frustrated with those who do not attend bible study or church, is that they are no better than them for being at church. But they do grow more than they would. I can tell you this is absolutely true. We have a core group that attends all the bible studies, activities and missions that we have, and they are the most spiritually mature and discerning of the group. They grow because they are active in living out what they learn about Christ through the opportunities provided by the church. This helps them to become mature believers (Hebrews 6:1). This simply cannot be achieved effectively by one's self.

C. Many different issues are addressed:
For sake of time and space the church fellowship also helps:
Dispels false or wrong teaching (praying that your church is teaching correct doctrine as well)
Keeps members and leaders accountable.
Can address moral, and spiritual problems with members (adultry, abuse, gossip,--well just read any Paul book)
Can be a catalyst for local and international service and evangelism.

You get the hint. And I could write an endless amount of reasons why biblically you should be connected and committed to a local church. So really the question isn't why you do not go to church, but what excuses are you making for not growing, or corporately worshiping, praising and serving our God?

I stress the importance because Scripture stresses the importance of corporate worship:
Hebrews 10:19-25:
"let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another."

Notice the 4 things that is exhorted here:
Because we know about our new great High Priest (Jesus) and his grace and mercy toward us:

1. Let us draw near... (since we know Christ we should pursue, run after Him)
2. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess..." (nothing should sway our confession that our hope lies in Christ)
3. Let us spur one another by (encourage, rebuke and love one another)
4. Let us keep meeting together unlike those who have made a habit of NOT doing so..." (Let us then encourage one another by a general exhortation to meet corporately!)

Will McDonald sums up this idea perfectly:
"Without question we find strength, comfort, nourishment and joy in collective worship and service."

Be Blessed

Marriage part I

Recently I read that there were reports that illustrated that being married actually can improve your health and can make you live longer. First I thought of unhealthy engaged or married people who never exercised jumping for joy (then being completely out of breathe for exerting too much energy), but also that this makes sense biblically.
The article states that marriage, "...brings better mental and physical health, reducing the chance of premature death by 15 per cent..." Why? Because, "Commitment seems to provide networks of supportive and helpful relationships, beginning with the spouse or partner, leading to more healthy lifestyles and better emotional and physical healing."
**Note these studies are based on marriages that are loving and supportive**

How does Scripture illustrate this?
1. Genesis 2:18-
"The Lord God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
From the very beginning God saw that his creation of man should not be alone. God understood and created the notion of companionship. Pastor Jay Adams, believes that the essence of marriage is companionship. He says, "God did not primarily make Eve as Adam's helper...but as his companion. Adam too as all other husbands since is to provide companionship for her."
Who doesn't want a companion in life? As stated by Gen. 2:18, we were designed for it. Someone to weather storms, hard times, transitions in life but also to enjoy laughter, good times, vacations and transitions in life?
(I also understand that God calls some to singleness but being that this is not relevant to the topic I will not go into it)

2. Genesis 2:24:
"...man will leave...be united to his wife and the two will become one..."

Genesis furthers confirms the statistics of this study, a man will leave his family: with its comforts, finances, food, etc... to unite to his wife, and become one person. Now most think of this in a physical sense but it carries with it something much deeper.
THe word one is the Hebrew word echad, meaning oneness in unity not number. To gain better understanding of this we can look to the oneness of the Trinity. This word echad is used in terms of God (Duet. 6:1-2: Hear O' Israel, the Lord is one.") We know and declare God is one, yet that he expresses himself through the Son and Holy Spirit---their oneness is not questioned. The same with the man and woman---they leave themselves to become one in unity/ in complete oneness. This unity/oneness occurs because God designed marriage. He is the author of it, and his purpose for marriage is to display His glory. He kinda has a right to make marriage whatever he wants since he did create it. He recognized the feeling of Adam not to be alone, He created Eve, He presented her to Adam, and He deemed that a man would leave and unite himself to be one with his wife.

Cohabitation vs. Marriage
Naturally this would bring the topic of cohabitation up. I have had some argue that all the things in marriage can be achieved through cohabitation (defined as two people living together, sleeping together, acting like married couples yet not married). This has become increasingly popular in our nation and is done for various reasons: combined finances, love, afford a house, just feels right, etc. But this study finds that being in a loving and supportive marriage still exceeds the type of commitments made in cohabitation. Why?

Two things the article points out:
1. "...greater commitment confers greater benefit..."
2. "...marriage generally indicates a deeper commitment might explain why marriage is associated with better mental health outcomes than cohabiting. Cohabiting relationships tend to be less enduring. The most widely accepted explanation is that being in a committed relationship means better social support is available."

(with loving and supporting marraige in view)--WHy wouldn't a relationship based on a deep commitment to each and not on just sex, living together, money provide better mental health?

Living together doesn't mean your committed to each other, just as much as sleeping together doesn't mean your committed to each other. I spoke to a man once about his cohabitation, and told him he isn't showing the woman he loves that he wants to commit to her. Most women I know want to be reassured that your in it for good. They need to know that your are committed to protecting them, helping them, guiding them and not going to run away. This is similar for men: they want to know they are cared for, loved, and encouraged. I know for sure that I love knowing that I have someone in my corner, someone who will fight for me, protect me, and love me despite my numerous faults. It hopefully will make me a better husband, servant, and person. Cohabitation just misses the point entirely, and falls so short of the benefits of being in a Christ-centered agape marriage.

We view marriage in light of how Christ love the church:
Ephesians 5:22:
vs. 22: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..."

Paul emphasizes that the man should love his wife like Christ loves his bride (the church). The role of the husband imitates Christ' love for his church, even to the point of dying for her. The reason for this is that marriage is meant to display God's glory. What other manner of Christ leaving the Father, to cling to his bride to unite it to himself, dying for her because he loved her so much. Read onto verses 31-32:
Vs. 31-32: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

The point of the article is that a deep commitment illustrated by marriage improves mental health and physical health. Scripture illustrates that these are the numerous benefits of a Christ-centered, agape loving marriage, except that it has spiritual implications and benefits. When a man and a woman love each other, by displaying God's glory in their marriage, benefits will abide. I can only hope and pray that my own marriage will display this so that people will see Christ, and our oneness with him through the oneness of me and my wife.

Be Blessed.

"Till ....I get bored or dont want to be in it... do us part"

I don't believe in coincidences when it comes to God. Recently it seems the topic of marriage has come up several times. I recently taught the origin and purpose of marriage to our youth group, I have been researching passages for the past 2 months about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, I will be counseling a couple on an upcoming marriage, had a member of our church ask me for Scripture passages on marriage and I am currently and newly engaged to my beautiful fiancee. This doesn't seem like just chance, I believe God is motivating me to do something. So I have decided that I am going to take the next few blogs to explain from a biblical position marriage, divorce and remarriage. Now you must understand that I am also severely ADD and could change the subject at any moment, so do not be surprised if there is an article that captures my eye and needs a biblical perspective.

Let me first set some things straight:
1. I do not intend to try to explain marriage from a perspective of experience. I have not been married, nor have I have vast experience in the area of marriage. I do not claim to be a expert. With that said, I don't think you need to be an expert to give you biblical advice, nor properly give you biblical advice using God's word concerning marriage. I'm not an expert of trail biking, but I have read, discussed with others who have been in the sport much much longer that I have, understand its fundamentals, and done it a couple of times, but by far I am no pro.
I will give you resources to read from godly men and women who know more on the subject.

2. The subject of marriage will involve going into other subjects such as: pre-martial sex, homosexual relationships, co-habitation, the picture of Christ and marriage, men's roles as well as women. You simply can't separate marriage from these topics.

3. I am writing this because I am greatly concerned with where marriage is headed in our society (both outside and most importantly inside the church!). Marriage is being grossly mistaken for dating. Be together, sleep together, live together, but never really commit to each other. This is happening in the church as well as outside. Its disturbing to me that the church is supposed to be comprised of transformed people yet our divorce rate is no different than the world.

Here is what I will be covering:

1. What is marriage? Is it about love, companionship, sex? What is its purpose? What was God's design of marriage? What advantages are there to marriage?

2. If that is what marriage looks like then what about: living together (but not sleeping together), living together and sleeping together, pre-martial sex, and other types of relationships outside the bounds of marriage.

3. Once we have a clear idea of what the biblical concept of marriage is, we can proceed to divorce. Where are all the passages that discuss divorce? Is divorce okay? What about abuse?
What are the affects of divorce on children?

4. Finally what about remarriage? Who can be remarried?


Though you may not be in a position of marriage or maybe God has called you to singleness, but I think it is still imperative to have a biblical grounding in marriage. SO that if you do get to this point you will not be deceived by the worlds position (nor your assumed Christian position). I believe that our relationships that we pursue will benefit from knowing what God's position on marriage. Hopefully it will illuminate how wonderful and glorious it really is.

Be Blessed.