Do not be a Paul Washer: A word to the controversialist

In the age of twitter, celebrity preachers, and relevant ideas there is a temptation to live our lives in light of controversies. We want to stir ideas and bring up things that no one is talking about. I will use myself as an example to see how this works. Part of my
Christian walk was a period that I call “the time when I got reformed”. I started listening to a preacher who is now very well known:Paul Washer. He was mainly known by his Youth shocking Message , a very convicting and very direct sermon. Washer’s style tends to be very confrontational and very harsh, yet I think he is a faithful preacher and many of the things he says are true. When I listened to him preach I was convicted of my sin I wanted others to hear the same kind of preaching soon. This affected me in several ways:

1 Fatalistic statements: Because of the conviction and the weight of his sermons and the many truths about the contemporary church, I started to share many of his quotes in social media. I really wanted to stir up hearts and get a bunch of hypocrites converted. The thing is that many of my convictions at the moment didn’t translate into practical repentance in my own life, which made my statements fatalistic because I affirmed myself by what he said.

2. Experimental doctrine: While felt affirmed by what Washer said, I quoted him to numb my conscience to the conviction I felt. I thought that I was spiritually right because I heard his sermons and read his books, assuming that this was automatically imputing his experiences to myself in the subjects of holiness, prayer, evangelism, and missions. As with any author or preacher we may follow, we can soon assume we are like them simply because we like them. 

3. We need the word and the Holy Spirit: So many of the things I used to quote to “convert” people from their hypocrisy were attempts to make them feel the weightiness of Washer’s words. The problem is that no one needs Washer’s words. They need to hear the word of God and experience the work of the Spirit. This is not to demean  wise, thoughtful authors who write or preach about christian doctrine. But we must recognize that what makes them reliable is the word they preach. The pointedness of a powerful statement doesn’t have any power unless the Spirit is in it and for that we need to submit to the word first. The things we want people to get convicted from are not necessarily found in what Washer, Calvin, or Dever says but in Scripture itself, since these men are students of scripture, not self. Rely on the word as your first source in order to make loving statements.

4.  Context: It took me a while to understand that men like Washer speak from a particular cultural context that to which I can partially relate, because I’m familiar with it. But we must not assume that what they are saying is their first attempt. There may have been former conversations and an attempt to persuasion with a calmer, nicer tone before they preached the cutting words that I listened to. If our first attempt is harsh, we may lose an opportunity to bring somebody to Christ by the way we deal with them.

5.  Paul Washer doesn’t want you to be like him: We can name many of our favorite preachers and authors and they will tell us that they don’t want us to be like them but like Christ. The goal of a godly role model is to redirect us to the cross and the life of Christ. Washer will admit to being in error and making mistakes, and we should learn from this that even the people we highly esteem have limitations. They would even feel pain that their statements have been misunderstood by us in giving us affirmation in our pharisaism or the way we frame them on twitter.

Getting caught in controversies should not be our goal. Even when we see problems in churches or people’s lives, making strong statements won’t change things by itself. We need to begin working for change by prayer, trusting the Lord in His power. This is not saying that you shouldn’t share quotes or statements that have impacted your life or given you sobriety the way they exalted who God is. This is simply to say that God is the one who initiates and the one who works, and we must see ourselves and others as instruments. Before we begin to act like loose canons, we must first have an experiential submission to the truth. Be encouraged brother and see that God is at work. Pray that any sermon and any book you read would impact you by becoming a reality within you and not just because you like it or think is cool. Otherwise I will have to ask you, “Why are you like this? I am talking about you!”

1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Thanks to Kyle Gregory for the edition of this blog in order to make it readable.

What are we giving our lives for?

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

In Christian circles there is a cool Christian brand phrase: “Give your life to God”. This phrase is mainly a reference to the sacrifices of people in church history. But when the phrase is used today, it is usually a vague desire to give our lives for an undefined cause. My desire is to give some definition to why we should seek to give our lives to God:

1. Giving our lives - The language of giving our lives may sound noble but one important question we need to ask is, “What are we giving our lives to?” Our lives in a sense are precious gifts from God, that we don’t have the freedom to just throw away. If we lose our lives it must be for a good reason.

2. The relevance of our lives - In church history we see martyrs who gave their lives for the gospel,whether because of their sound preaching or their efforts to make the gospel known. They didn’t give their lives because they were consumed with themselves but because they were consumed with Christ.

3. Make The Gospel Great Again - The purpose of a call to give our lives is to make the gospel known. We are now ambassadors for Christ, ministers of reconciliation, children of God, and heirs of the Kingdom. This is what martyrs understood rightly, - it wasn’t a supernatural vision or revelation that gave them a willingness to die but a basic understanding of the Christian life which is to obey God and to go to all the world and make disciples. 

Our lives and our sacrifices count for something as we surrender ourselves to God in order to make Him known through us. The call to give our lives may end in martyrdom but either way it begins in selfless love for others. You probably never heard about celebrity martyrs, because there are none in heaven. Preaching the Gospel in places where the name of Christ hasn’t been mentioned or translating the Bible in foreign languages is humble work. Serving in places where we won’t be known and where there may not be books written about us may not be exciting. But how many saints in heaven we will meet whose names were never part of the Christian reading for seminary class or the top 10 christian reading list! Take courage and give the Gospel - the knowledge of the one true God through Christ - even if it costs your life.

I only have one life,

And that will soon be past;

I want my life to count for Christ,

What's done for Him will last. ~ David Livingstone

Loud Thinking: Do not be Anxious

Do not be anxious for anything, for the Lord hasn’t denied anything good to you, for His word says that everybody who trusts Him wont be disappointed and everything works together for the good of those who belong to Him.

May the wait, may the struggle, may the circumstances be hard to endure but hasn’t He empower you with the promise Holy Spirit to seal His salvation? I am so helpless when I trust my own device, when I often I look back  and regret of no getting what I want the easy way. what I need to understand is that the Sovereign God has allowed that to gives us time to appreciate the greatest gift we have which is to have Him.

Do not be anxious precious child for everything for eternal life can only be given to you through Christ and if you posses it, thats more than enough. Do not give room to the devil to make you think that Christ is not enough, do not let him twist your worldview to low your standards in order to do it the cheap way. 

Do not envy the unsaved, for yourself underestimate your position in Christ if you happen to have the same worldly standards, you have been made for more. You have been made for the Glory of God, then live in light of such truth. 

1 Peter 5:6-8 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Self support or supported missionaries? A realistic view of financing missions

This is a very important topic in which I've heard a lot of opinions from people who have spent more than 3 months in the mission field. This being said, there are very unrealistic goals that people set for missionary standards. But to explain further, let me define what I mean with self-supported and supported missionaries.

Self-supported missionaries are those who have a full time job in order to sustain themselves and do ministry at the same time. Most self supported missionaries go to certain countries to do professional work because proselytism of the Gospel is not legally allowed. Other self supported missionaries work part time because the church is not able to fully finance them, so they have to work as well.

Supported missionaries are those fully financed by churches or individuals. The majority of missionaries are supported directly or through mission agencies. They mostly live in places where it would be hard to make an income, even having a profession. 

Should missionaries be self supported or supported?

Depending on where they are, there are places where missionaries could never be fully supported by full time work, or by the local church. Even though the whole church could tithe, it would be impossible since in some countries, people make minimum wage or less. If there is a chance for a missionary to enter a country by using their profession or some form of business investment, that would be great; but this is not the case for every missionary. Let me give you an example, I've heard people say, "If ten people give ten percent, the missionary would make the average income."  If the ten people who give ten percent make minimum wage or less than minimum wage, they would be tithing between ten to thirty dollars a month, which means that the missionary would make one hundred fifty to three hundred dollars a month. 

With people earning that amount, how would they survive?

Normally in countries where people earn minimum wage, they survive because they are part of a family team, which helps financially, or they have already inherited a house or apartment.

Why do missionaries ask for financial help? Why don't they work to save money for the church?

They ask for financial help because that's how most of the New Testament missionaries were sustained (Luke 8:1-3, 1 Cor 9:1-23, 2 Cor 9). They're not just asking for money, but giving the opportunity to participate in the mission work of the Gospel. I've heard people say that missionaries should work in their furlough to earn their wages. Most missionaries who come for furlough endure intense work, spiritual warfare, and are drained by being in difficult places without the comfort of fellowship.

Although some missionaries willingly work because they enjoy laboring for the gospel, much of the work they do is under-appreciated. If you think missionaries do nothing, you should read the book of Acts and potentially repent.

How long should I support a missionary? 

Supporting a missionary until they can establish a church to support them can potentially be dangerous. People may not have bad intentions by thinking this, but the following should be considered:

1. Missionaries can become mentally clouded when they're concerned with raising funds for expenses along with evangelizing.

2. It's uncertain how long a missionary will need to have a self- sustaining church and there's question as to whether it's possible.

3. You can unconsciously pressure a missionary to water down the Gospel in order to bring people to church at the expense of true converts.

4. You should think outside your bubble.

In conclusion, it doesn't matter what you think, research is needed. Missionaries often have to prove the legitimacy of their needs. It's easy read a book about missions but do we really think that missionaries who take the word to other nations deserve to be judged this way? Do you feel you're wasting your money by investing it in the expansion of the Gospel?

Take a look, pray, read your bible and pray again. There is a need for the Gospel and we participate by going ourselves or by supporting the robe of those who go. Is the kingdom of God not ours also?

               

                     We may think differently about how ministry should work without having to share the Gospel with our neighbor or we can talk about the experience of battle without ever having scars but I hope the Lord gives us a sense of living in the reality of the Gospel which we profess and to honor those who spread the good news.

“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!””

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Loud thinking: if the church had barriers

If the church had barriers all the walls of divisiveness would segregate to form groups of selective worshippers according to their race, social status, culture and language. If the church had barriers gatherings would have sections of worship where the rich would worship separately from the poor, where the white would worship separately from the African American and Latinos. If the church had barriers people would worship according to their countries, first world, deloped and third world countries in different assemblies.

But the church doesn't have barriers, for the rich and the poor have been bought by the same blood. For He has saved people from every ethnicity and every culture. For within the church there is not class of saints, as if one sinner could be better than the other; for the blood of Christ has made us new. We don't have different kind of believers, but believers on different kind of contexts where their context doesn't make their worth but their worth is in Christ. For in eternity the differences won't make any difference for the Lord will call all His saints MINE. 

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Loud Thinking: Secure in Christ

“…… If God is for us, who can be against us?”   Romans 8:31b. Who can present any charge against God’s children in order to steal that confidence which is in Jesus? May the devil try to use our past sin to attack our conscience, may he whisper about our insufficiency to obey God in the past. Also he may use present struggles to saturate your mind of how miserable your carnal body is, better is for you to quit than to keep fighting he says. For it is easy to forget who is our captain when the storm comes through, as if we're holding the wheels. Dear children doesn't matter who is around you if you are holding your Heavenly Father’s hand. His direction is his protection, although the path is narrow, it is safe.

Saints are untouchable, not by their spirituality or their efforts but because they belong to God in Jesus. God goes on their defense when the enemy tries to bully on one of His children, for they are under His care. He is our anchor, He is our rock, He is our shield, He is our castle, He is our Salvation, He is our Lord, He is our Father, He is our Mighty Fortress, how could we be stolen if such a great God hold us unto His hand for His Glory? For God is with you, nothing will shaken you, just never grow weary or get tired of knowing who is the God holding you.

Thinking out-loud: “Christian” is a cheap label

A sophisticated society can't rest until their morality is justified by some sort of creed.  The label:             “Christian”seems to be the cheapest of all of them. You can add theword "Christian” to music, books, ideologies and philosophies, which do not find any agreement with the Scriptures. It will be sold, it will be popular, it will be highly emotional, but it will lack of the divine certification since it evidently contradicts the Word which God inspired. A “Christian” song can have an angelical melody but its lyrics will exalt the supposed spirituality of men through humanism. A “Christian” book may have eloquent and fancy writing but be in clear contradictions to the Scriptures. We may “Christianize” a tradition but it may be full of humanism. 

Things that may be labeled as “Christian” can push morals and standards in order to fit into the pseudo       “Christian”category but never be a Christ centered object or practice. It may be introduced into a political system but not into the hearts of man, it may be a push into a reformation but with no conversion. In actuality it denigrates God and exalts men, the majority may agree with it but if God doesn't, it is not worthy of our time. 

The Christian label in people is the most deadly of all.  It can have its assurance in outward expression without ever entering the heart; it can be eloquently superficial but never truly appreciated.  It means to fake conversion without regeneration, you may pretend to be a new creature and still be an old one. 

We should be ashamed of our self preservation, because of it we don't call things by their name, and we would rather have people like us than please God. We participate in the demeaning of our Savior as we share approval of that incomplete philosophy of miss-labeling things as “Christian”that are not. By acting as if His life was not worthy enough, as if His blood were not sufficient, and as if His love wasn't great enough, we insult our Savior by making Him something common or cultural. The label is cheap but the life is costly, it demands our death in order to live in Him. True Christianity is not a label.  It is Christ-centered living and if the Gospel or the glory of God is not the main priority in one of the“Christian” systems then it's not Christian, it is religious self-deception.