The Ragamuffin Blog

Faith: There's an App for that

Today I want to continue the conversation we began a couple weeks ago about the big "P" word: pornography. Porn is a booming, multibillion dollar industry that continues to grow in both scope and accessibility with personal technology. It's big money, and for scores of men and their families, it's big trouble. Millions of men have fallen victim to addiction, with some sources suggesting as many as 90% of men struggling with pornography in some capacity.

Today I want to talk about kicking this addiction once and for all. The truth is, pornography is something you can subtley find your way into, but for men, it is not something you can subtley get out of. It needs to be rooted out with tenacity. No more pussy footing around. No more frolicking through the field of personal indulgement at the expense of your family and health. Dig your cleats in and resolve to do what it'll take to finally become the man or woman you were created to be. Here are 4 practical steps to finally begin to move towards healing and freedom in this area:

 1. Repent. First of all, you need to get honest with yourself and God. Porn is first and foremost a heart issue. If you have a problem, say it. If you have been repeatedly sinning against God by looking at women who aren't your wife, call it that. No more pretending it isn't there or soft talking yourself into thinking it's getting better, call it blatant diobedience and fall on your face before God. 

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." -Acts 3:19

2. Confess. Porn addiction is spiritual bondage that is often rooted in secracy. If you want to be free, you have to come out with it. That means if you're married, you are going to have to get honest with your spouse and tell him or her what you've been doing. Yes, this is going to suck. Yes, it is going to hurt. It is going to be really, really hard. But you have to do it. Until you do, it will always be something that divides you. 

If you're not married, find a Christian friend of the same sex that you both trust and admire and confess it to them. (Your dog doesn't count.) This is a very important part of both the forgiveness and healing process. 

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." -James 5:16 

3. Band Together. The bottom line is that you can't go at it alone, nor were you meant to. Following Jesus is a team sport. The church is God's design for spiritual growth and health, and it includes a bunch of other people who all have their own junk; people who need you just as much as you need them.

You need to find a group of people who desire to worship and follow Jesus faithfully, and then resolve to do it together. If this is a small group, great. If this a "celebrate recovery" group, great. The point is to seek to follow Jesus alongside people who: love Jesus first and foremost, who know you and your junk and love you anyway, and who will help you walk faithfully. 

"Two are better than one...If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up...Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

4. Software. Let's bring this conversation back to where it started: technology. I love tech and it is a big part of my life, but this is where a lot of people go wrong. Sure, some people prefer strip clubs, buy hard copy magazines, and the like, but for most, it is the laptop or cell phone that is the bane of their spiritual existence. Like an alcoholic carrying around a flask in his pocket, it's far too easy to access in a moment of weakness.

If I am talking about you, you need to get some accountability software. Quality accountability software will block you from being able to access the junk you shouldn't be looking at. It'll remove the temptation altogether because it won't even be an option. Most programs will also email a report of your browsing history to a trusted person of your choosing for an extra level of accountability. It is a must-have for those struggling in this area.

Here are some resources I highly recommend:

XXXchurch.com - XXX Church is solely devoted to helping people who struggle with pornography. This site is packed full of helpful articles, forums, counseling, software, even an online recovery program. Men, women, and couples, this is a great place to start. 

X3 Watch - Courtesy of the folks at XXX Church, 'X3 Watch' is acountability software for your computer, phone or ipad. It monitors your browsing activity and sends weekly reports to an accountability partner of your choosing. If you don't have any iPhone, this is the best option that I am aware of. If you do have an iphone, I recommend going with SafeEyes.

SafeEyes - This is hands down the best accountability software I've seen. It will automatically block sites and media you don't want yourself or others coming across, and record usage for a trust 'admin' to see. It's a bit more costly, but well worth the money. This is the best way to go for your iPhone, iPad, and Mac or PC.

YouVersion - This is a FREE bible app developed by our friends at LifeChurch.tv. It can be downloaded on any smart phone, where you can read the bible anywhere, get notes & passages for live events (like at Mosaic each week), and sign up for a bible reading plan that will give you select passages of scripture to read each day. Take what has been causing you to struggle, your phone, and turn it into a source of strength. THIS IS A MUST!

If that doesn't work, say a few parting words to your laptop and then dropkick it out the window. No, seriously. If you do the steps above, get some quality software, and still find a way to look at things you shouldn't be on your phone or computer or tv, get rid of them. Trust me, it is better than cutting off your hand or gauging out an eye and it almost as effective. Do you really need a laptop, ipad, smart phone or cable tv? No. If you are still losing this battle, pull a "Joseph" and run like hell out the front door. Get rid of them.

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman." -Job 31:1

In wrapping up, as I said in my last post, addiction to porn is not the unforgivable sin. There is forgiveness and hope available. But the reality is that if you continue down that road, the consequences can be very real. I have seen guys lose their jobs, their families, and their souls as a result of an addiction that started out very small. You don't want that story. You can be completely free of this with the help of Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. For those reading this who are in the throws of this struggle right now, know that you are not alone. God is very close, even now, and He beckons you to turn to him so that He can save you from this.

Friends, I am praying for you today.

Tech, Porn and Steven Seagal

"Yes, I love technology, but not as much as you, you see. But I still love technology. Always and forever." - Kip, Napoleon Dynamite 

Technology isn't just useful or sexy, it's downright powerful.          

When we were preparing to launch Mosaic, we trained our launch team on how to effectively use common, everyday tech to spread the word about what we were doing. This was done more out of necessity than strategy, as we had little money to allocate to marketing. But it worked. Using free tools like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Vimeo and Wordpress, we were able to effectively create awareness and momentum. During one month in particular, we were even able to raise $30,000 in 30 days, almost all of which came from individual donors. In the end, we used common, everyday technology to help us launch with over 250 at our first gathering, while spending very little on "marketing." 

Social media is powerful. Technology is powerful.

But like any medium, in it there is capacity for both great good and for great evil.

Church Planting::Count the Cost

My dad gave this to me a very long time ago. I must admit that for a long time, I really didn't like it. I couldn't appreciate it's drab, almost cynical outlook on the task of church planting. It rubbed my vision and my idealism the wrong way. For my dad, however, I could tell it had become over the years a deep source of solace for him during difficult times; something he returned to regularly, perhaps to remind himself that he wasn't the only one to think and feel many of these things; assuring him perhaps that he wasn't crazy. There were others who had walked a similar road and along the way, had thought and felt many of the same things he had...and amidst it all, stayed faithful, pressing onward.

I couldn't fully appreciate all that this article had to say then. And I'm not sure I can fully appreciate it now, but I am getting there. Church planting is tough. Being the lead guy is tough. Pastoring is tough. Uncertainty is tough. Having a vision so big it terrifies you and no earthly idea how to see it come to fruition is tough. It is a tough road. So future church planters, take the words below seriously. He's not blowing smoke. Church planting is tough, so you'd better know that you know that you know that you're called. Past and current church planters, know that you are not alone and you are not crazy (well, okay, maybe a little bit:).    

"Attn: Future Church Planters -- Count the Cost," by Joe Boyd:

Don't Give Away Leadership Too Early

Photo RT: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Illustration-Mix/1355399

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was, “Don’t give away leadership too early.” Now I have to admit this was initially a hard truth for me to accept. I mean, shouldn't we strive to see the best in people? Isn't unleashing the potential of others a central part of leading? 

A Pastor's Response to Healthcare Reform

Like many Americans, I anxiously watched last night as Congress officially passed a bill that will overhaul the American health care system and cost an estimated $1 trillion dollars over the next ten years. As someone who is neither Republican nor Democrat, I found myself wrestling with a number of mixed feelings about this monumental event and naturally wondered what it might mean for my wife and I and our two girls in the future. I even wondered what it would mean for their kids someday.

I was unprepared, however, for the cyber onslaught that has since been unleashed by so many well intentioned, but justifiably angry republican Christians. I understand why many are upset. I share many of their concerns. But what struck me most was not their feelings of frustration or their disagreement with this huge decision that will directly affect most of our lives, but their use of spiritual and even Christian language to support and defend their political position.

That bothers me.

Perhaps we’d do well to keep in mind that God used Joseph to institute a highly controlled, big government program in Egypt to save the lives of thousands upon thousands. I’m not suggesting a direct parallel or that Obama is God’s instrument in a similar way today. But I am suggesting that we get honest about the fact that our cherished red-white-and-blue democracy is not a biblical mandate for governing a nation (or a church, for that matter). Be careful not to blur the lines between religion and politics, it is a lethal combination.

I think we would do well to hold in tension two realities: 1, it is not outside the realm of possibility that in the future God could choose to use something as bureaucratic and self-serving as big government to bring about good, just as he did in Joseph’s time. I am NOT suggesting that this is what is happening right now. But I can promise you that God is far more concerned with the health and survival of the poor and suffering than the taxation of America’s middle class (which by the way, represents one of the wealthiest segments of people on earth). Even if God has had nothing to do with the happenings in DC, that will always remain true. And although I personally probably wouldn’t have voted for this bill and am more than a little anxious about what all this might mean in the future, I rejoice over what this could mean for those who could not otherwise afford healthcare, particularly the urban poor and terminally ill.

2, more importantly, we need to turn to the wisdom of the scriptures that urges us over and over to not put our trust in those who hold power. Consider the words of Psalm 118:8-9: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” If you find yourself either suddenly inspired with great hope for the future or outraged that this could happen in our nation, you may be placing too much hope in the wrong thing. Jesus is the one and only true hope for humanity, the only one that will never fail us.  

I’ll admit that this whole thing scares me too. I worry about what it might mean over the next twenty years for our country and for my family. I worry about what it might mean for my kids and theirs. But God is bigger than governments and he has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. No matter what the future holds, He will always take care of us. And you know, perhaps it isn't such a bad thing for us to be reminded every now and then that we really aren't as in control of our lives as we'd like to think we are.  

My last word is for the leaders out there.

Last night I hopped online to find a frenzy of angry tweets and facebook statuses from pastors and spiritual leaders all over the country. Friends, please remember that your influence is no small thing. As leaders, your words are like a virus. For better or worse, they affect everyone around you. In times of anxiety and crisis, that influence multiplies as others look to you for clarity and direction. My question to you is this: what are you spreading? Are you acting as a voice of love and hope in this time of monumental change in which many are anxious and afraid? Or in your venting are you unintentionally spreading anger and cynicism to those around you, adding to their fear and unsettledness?

I urge you, my friends, to choose hope. Not hope in government or politicians or your own fiscal outlook for 2011 and beyond, but hope in Jesus. Look for your peace there. And help those around you to do the same. 

Another Church?

"Does Lincoln really need another church?" 

This is a question I get pretty regularly, and you know, it is a reasonable one. I was reminded of this a couple weeks ago when a groomsman at a wedding I was officiating asked me what I do. When I shared with him about Mosaic Lincoln, he was dumbfounded. For the next hour he drilled me with questions about church planting. It was a lot of fun! I have to admit I love these conversations; partly because I love talking about church planting but also because the conversation is never just about what I do, it's also about what's behind what I do: a love for God and a love for Lincoln.

When people from Lincoln ask me why in the world another church would be needed in a city like Lincoln, there are typically one of two assumptions behind it:

• 1, that existing churches are already sufficiently ministering to the entire city (a conclusion generally assumed by Christians)

• or 2, that having more churches in the city isn’t particularly desirable (a conclusion generally assumed by most everyone else).

Let's begin with the first. 

Lincoln does have a number of churches already, but are those churches effectively ministering to the entire city? 

Consider this:

• Statistics have consistently shown that while most Americans associate themselves with Christianity on paper, few are actually an active part of a faith community. That being said, nearly 140,000 Lancaster Country residents do not claim religious affiliation! Of those that do "claim" Christianity, stats suggest that as few as 25% are actually connected to a church.  
• Of Lincoln’s 30,000+ college students, less than 10% are reportedly a part of a faith community. 
• Between 1990 and 2000, Lincoln’s population grew 18%. Great to see that our city is growing! However, during this same time church attendance declined 2.7%. This reveals that while the city continues to add tens of thousands to its growing population, the reach of the church is actually shrinking.

A brief look at the stats above reveals that the vast majority of Lincoln’s 250,000+ residents remain unreached by the church. 

However, our second assumption we began with begs the question “Is that really such a bad thing?” This is perhaps the most important question.

As we’ve already mentioned, the vast majority of Americans say they believe in God. Most even consider themselves to be “Christian,” and yet fewer and fewer are going to church each year. This dropout is happening at an alarming rate, particularly amongst young adults. (Lincoln has roughly 100,000 between the ages of 20 and 40!) Just about every denomination is feeling the hit as fewer and fewer are showing up each week and as thousands of churches close their doors each year.

Can you see the profound disconnect here? – so many people are interested in Jesus, even believe in Jesus, and yet fewer and fewer believe that the church really has anything meaningful to offer them. People aren’t losing their faith in God, they're losing their faith in the church. At the very least, I think we can agree that something needs to change.

This is the "why?" behind Mosaic Lincoln.

(For more on this subject, check out Tim Keller's excellent article "Why Plant Churches?")

Calling vs Choice in Church Planting

The first time I journeyed down the church planting road I kept coming across something I found to be quite obnoxious. Everywhere I turned – every organization, every denomination and every mentor that had been down this road before kept asking me about my “call.”

“Are you called to plant this church? When were you called? How were you called? Are you sure you’re called?”

It was obnoxious. What was this “call” that everyone was talking about and why were they making it into such a big deal? I mean, I thought I was called. I had been journeying with Christ for some time, loved people and ministry and felt like this was what I was supposed to do next.

But even so, just the idea that someone might count me as disqualified because I couldn’t recall some supernatural moment in which God said, “Therefore goeth Aaron to Toledo and planteth a church” really irked me.

Why couldn’t someone just choose to create something as beautiful and redemptive as a new Christ-centered, missional community with their lives? Wouldn’t God honor that? After all, isn’t this sort of thing precisely what he has called all of us to be a part of? Then why the insistence on something that at best seems, well, optional?

Well, I didn’t really get it back then but I think I am beginning to understand. You see, I continued down that road and low and behold things got hard. Actually, that is an understatement. The experience included some of the darkest months of my life personally, emotionally and spiritually. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. And I'd say it's just been in the past 18 months that I've finally got the pieces of my soul all put back together. It was a tough road, one in which I regularly struggled with feelings of deep anxiety, insecurity, loneliness and a powerful undercurrent of doubt.

That was a few years ago.

This time, however, the journey has been completely different. Unlike the first time, my calling isn’t a fuzzy ambiguous sense but a clear and undeniable call to Lincoln at this time. (I’d love to share more about this but that will have wait until another day.) And can I tell you something? It really makes all of the difference. Although the road will no doubt be difficult, this time around I journey it without any anxiety. No fear. No hesitations. Complete security in Christ. And that undercurrent of doubt? It has been transformed into a powerful movement of hope and promise.

So I think I am beginning to understand why a specific calling is so very important to a work as trying and unpromising as church planting. There’s just too much common sense that must be completely and regularly ignored. If you do it without a clear call, then you are just crazy. If you do it with a clear call, then you are obedient…and crazy.   

Ok, so going back to our original question: do you need to be “called” in some extraordinary transcending way to plant a church? Technically, although some would disagree with me, I have to say “no.” We all make a number of choices each day to either honor Christ or deny him, to serve our own purposes or to serve God's purposes in this world. Some of those choices are small and some of those big, but more often than not it still comes down to our choosing whether we will honor or dishonor God with our actions.

But that being said, planting a church is not just one choice, but tens of thousands of hard choices, often under hard conditions. It is extraordinarily difficult. It involves lots of heartache, lots of trials, lots of failure and it can be very lonely at times. Every church planter will tell you he has days when he seriously doubts whether this thing is ever going to work. I mean, statistics show that 85% of church plants fail in the first 5 years. There are a lot of good and talented men and women represented in that 85%! But it takes far more than talent and good intentions to plant a church.

And when the going gets tough (which is often), when those you have loved and invested so many months and years in decide to up and leave to go to the church on the other side of town with the new worship center, when all funds are gone and you are trying to figure out how your family is going to survive, when you feel like there is no possible way you can succeed and that for all practical purposes you are alone most days in this thing, you had better be either clearly called or be the most faithfully stubborn S.O.B. to walk God’s green earth. (In concrete terms, this means you do not have a history of flakiness, half-hearted committment, bailing on projects/people or rarely finishing what you start, but rather, you have a history of seeing things through to completion, resiliency in face of adversity and steadfast commitment.)

If that's you and other seasoned leaders have affirmed your leadership and are encouraging you to plant, then I say go for it! But if not, wait for the calling.

Our Greatest Work in Divine Movement

Our journey in planting a church in Lincoln, NE continues – and what an exciting journey it is turning out to be! Things are beginning to fall into place, God is stirring powerfully within us, preparing us for what is ahead, answering huge prayers, new possibilities are opening up, new people are joining us, new challenges are presenting themselves and God has been teaching us so much along the way.

In all of this, God has been teaching us one great truth that towers above the rest: There is simply no substitute for prayer.

I am learning that it is not only on one’s knees that great dreams are birthed, but it is in that place of submission and intercession that great dreams are also carried out to fulfillment. It is on our knees that great dreams become more than just dreams.

I know if we’re honest, most of us really don’t like that answer. Some have undoubtedly exited this post already to go find something more exciting and pragmatic. Leaders are doers. It’s just a part of who we are. But here’s the deal, if you insist on always doing at the expense of praying, you can count on your church being a truer reflection of what you can do rather than of what God can do. 

Think about it. When we work hard, cast compelling vision, make strategic plans based on our goals, create programs and initiatives to move us to where we need to go, steward our leadership well in seeing plans executed, goals accomplished and vision carried out (all good things by the way), but we fail to fall on our faces before God, who do you think typically gets the praise when things go well? You got it: leadership. When we refuse to pray, we unknowingly put ourselves in a position where we can now potentially take the glory for ourselves. Perhaps this is in part why God loves to display his strength in our weakness. We all need the reminding from time to time.

As we move forward in planting Mosaic-Lincoln, it has been incredible to see God begin to answer prayers in huge and unexpected ways. Some of the things that have happened in the last several months can only be explained by divine orchestration. Some of the things He is calling us to in the future can only be accomplished through divine intervention. Honestly, these things are terrifying...but they keep us on our knees. And I am finding that that is exactly where God desires for us to be – crying out to him on behalf of the city of Lincoln.    

You see, I am learning that when we lay our lives down at the feet of Jesus – when we surrender our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our successes and failures and all of the junk we’ve accumulated along the way – when we give it all up and begin to ask God for the things he desires, God loves to deliver.

When we begin to cry out to God for lives to be changed by the gospel, for captives to be freed from the addictions that enslave them, for the poor to be raised up from the ashes, for the broken to be put back together, for justice to reign, for new life to be breathed into our neighborhoods, for a movement of God’s grace to sweep through our cities, there is nothing that God delights in more than to say, “Yes.” But it all starts right here. On our knees. In prayer.

Gauging Spiritual Maturity

Perhaps no other factor plays a more central role in shaping a church’s ethos than how it measures spiritual maturity.

As an inherently spiritual community, the church’s gauge for spiritual maturity essentially defines success for its congregation. In other words, the church’s measuring stick identifies the goal that everyone ought to be shooting for. Is the ultimate aim to accumulate a wealth of theological knowledge? To be passionate about humanitarian issues? To be an outspoken republican? To become a central leader in the church? To live a life of simplicity? To not do anything "bad"? 

The easiest way to get a feel for how a church gauges spiritual maturity is by looking at its leadership. These men and women represent the kind of lifestyle, discipline and/or giftedness that is deemed worthy to lead (and thus most valuable) in that community. In a way, they represent the quintessential believer because they set the bar for what it means to be spiritually mature, or at least spiritually mature enough to lead everyone else.

If a church says that true spiritual growth is revealed by acts of compassion, but the majority of its staff has theology degrees and spends most of its week in the church office, then it is the latter that comes to be understood by the community as the standard for spiritual maturity. Although that church might really believe that spiritual maturity ought to be fleshed out through acts of love in theory, it is communicating through its own action that in actuality theological education is the ultimate gauge for maturity.

This is extremely important for leaders to understand because whenever certain qualities are considered more valuable than others by a community, that community will find itself attracting, developing and retaining people with those qualities. Over time, the community inevitably becomes a reflection of its leadership.

Don’t believe me? Take a moment to think of an established church near you that places a very high value on biblical knowledge. They probably teach through the scriptures verse by verse, use lots of big words with extensive theological meaning, regularly examine the original Greek and Hebrew texts, argue that one biblical translation is superior to all others, generally assume that people will bring a bible to church, encourages extensive note taking on Sunday morning and most of their staff have a seminary degree or its equivalent. Okay, are you picturing it? Now survey the general characteristics of that congregation. I’d venture to guess that the church you are picturing has a very high theological IQ compared to most churches. Chances are that its members (like its leaders) would blast most of yours in bible jeopardy. These are the sort of people they attract, retain and develop because that is how they have come to define spiritual maturity.

Although the details change, the story is always the same. Churches that use the Knowledge Gauge are really good at bible trivia and enjoy lengthy theological debates. Churches that use the Financial Generosity Gauge have white teeth, pleated pants and large budgets. Churches that use the Tolerance Gauge have a smorgasbord of sin issues and very few hard conversations. Churches that use the Faithful-To-Show-Up-Each-Week Gauge have apathetic congregations and less and less young people. Churches that use the Involvement-In-Church-Functions Gauge have very full calendars and lots of single women. Churches that use the Frugality Gauge have small budgets, organic produce and no parking issues. It all comes down to how you measure spiritual maturity and how that value is reflected in your leadership.     

So how does your church measure spiritual maturity? What is your gauge? What cherished "spiritual" characteristic is most clearly modeled by your leaders as the most important? Is there consistency between this and what your church says it values most? Or how about between this and what you are asking of your people? If not, what needs to change? And most importantly, what does your gauge say about what you believe as a church? Is it biblically sound? Or did it generate from somewhere else?

(In part 2, I'll be looking at the way Mosaic gauges spiritual maturity and how that fleshes itself out in the church. It's probably not what you think...)

Belong Before Believe (part 2)

Creating a culture where people can belong before they believe is a practical application of our first core value: Mission is why the church exists. At first glance this might not seem like a big deal. After all, many Christians would nod their head in agreement with this statement. The mind of the seasoned Christ follower might even jump to relevant passages like the Great Commission in Matthew 28 or Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9. However, it is in praxis that this core value often becomes problematic.

Every church has got to decide which voices they are going to listen to. In most churches, it is the loudest, most persuasive, most powerful, or sometimes just the most deliberate Christian voices that get listened to. But the conversation is essentially the same: everyone vouching for their own preferred brand of Christianity. Mosaic essentially ignores these voices of religion in order to better hear the voices of humanity.

There are always any number of conversations going on throughout Christendom that church people consider to be of immense importance. The details of these conversations are always in flux - traditional/contemporary, emergent/emerging, modern/postmodern/post-postmodern, and a never ending plethora of theological asterisks. But as a movement whose very purpose for existing resides outside of its four walls, Mosaic just isn't all that interested in engaging in such "internal" conversations. We want to spend the best of our time, energy, passion and creativity on connecting people to God who wouldn't normally associate themselves with church.

This doesn't always involve a choice. After all, we are not a divided humanity. At our core we all desire, need and long for the same things. Mosaic speaks into those things that are true of us all. However, in those times when we must choose, we will always choose to ignore the voices of religion and internal religious conversation in order to begin new conversations with those who do not know Jesus.