Have you ever been hiking at night? If the woods are dense enough, almost no moonlight or starlight penetrates the thick canvas of the forest roof. When you turn your headlamp on, the immediate area in front of you lights up, and everything else is draped in blackness. You can see clearly for maybe thirty feet, then after that it tapers quickly back into pitch black. There’s a certain amount of faith that you have to walk in when you are night hiking. You have to trust that the trail will take you where it is supposed to go. You have to have faith that the trail itself is safe, even if it runs alongside a step cliff or next to a rushing river. You trust that the noises you hear are really just big squirrels and not hungry bears looking for tasty, out of shape and slightly plump, stray hikers. So you hike in faith, knowing for sure only what lies 30 feet in front of you and hoping that you’ll reach your campsite before Roscoe the Mountain Man jumps from the shadows to demonstrate to you his deep knowledge of the movie “Deliverance.” It really is exciting. Believe me. Try it sometime. Well, I am on a night hike of sorts right now, figuratively speaking. All of us that have entered into this amazing adventure that is following Christ are on night hikes. Our destination is certain: the Kingdom of God. Our trail is firm: the Path of Righteousness and the Way of the Cross. Our light, The Holy Spirit, illuminates all that we need to know in order to navigate through the world that is shrouded in the darkness of sin. The path that I am currently on is not one that I ever thought that I would take. It is a crazy trail that already has seen miracles, struggles, leaps of faith, and mighty acts of God. And we're only at the beginning. My hiking companions are my wife Brandie, and my three sons, Sam, Jack and Luke. It is a journey that we would love to share with all of you, if you want to read along.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Are some churches trying to be too cool?

Interesting article here about churches that are trying too hard to be hip and cool. I really have to agree with the author of this article. In an attempt to be reach culture, churches are desperately trying to imitate everything around them and it just comes across as, well... fake.

As someone who has worked in youth ministry for a LOOOOONG time, I first noticed this trend here. Youth ministries and youth pastors that try too hard just end up being cheesy and shallow. I think that this is why Young Life has been such a successful ministry. Young Life has always insisted that their ministry is relational. It is not based on glitz, glam, leaders having gelled hair and skinny jeans, or being cutting edge. I mean, I am pretty sure that Free Fallin' was sang at least once at every Young Life camp this year, and that song is far from cutting edge...its 21 years old. No, YL is simply adults (being themselves) sharing the love of the Gospel of Christ with teenagers.

Simple formula huh? Make a friend and share Jesus with them. The Holy Spirit doesn't need for us to make worship into a fancy light show with shocking and "cutting edge" sermon titles for Him to work. What He wants are hearts that genuinely love others and are willing to share their very lives them.

Can you imagine a church like that? I can.
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