Trust AND Obey » joel osteen

Visiting – It’s hard work being a good guest

Dave Miller — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:09:34 +0000

This is part six. Here are parts one, two, three, four and five.

Now the work really begins, and not just because you can’t wear your pajamas anymore. (Actually, I’ve visited some churches where pajamas would be fine!) You’ve got to get yourself and your family all dressed and ready to do something really difficult and unpleasant: walk into a strange church where you (probably) don’t know a soul.

Attend the prospective church on a typical Sunday morning. Don’t go for the first time on Easter, Christmas, special events, etc. You want to see a ‘typical’ service if possible. If you happen to go to a church for the first time and there is a guest preacher, special event or other non-typical event, plan to go again the following week. Do not judge any church on only a single Sunday’s attendance. A good rule of thumb is that you’re not qualified to evaluate a church until you’ve attended at least three times.

The exception to the ‘three visits’ rule is if you find something biblically amiss the first time; like a woman pastor or a Joel Osteen video in a bible study class. There’s really no reason to go back unless it is to advise them to revise their website to reflect reality.

Playing Games

I don’t recommend that everyone do this, but there are some subtle tests you can perform to help evaluate certain aspects of the church during your visit. Perhaps ‘running a play’ would be a more accurate description than playing games.

All the lonely people; where do they all belong?

At two different evangelical megachurches, I stood along the wall of the narthex/commons area all by myself and just kind of looked around. I met people’s eyes whenever possible as they were walking by and nodded or smiled at them. I did this three to five minutes prior to or just after the service. Not a single person stopped to talk to me in either place. The preaching was very good at both churches; the music was acceptable but not great at one, and downright irritating at the other, but this was a deal breaker for me.

I was fishing for a greeting, trying to look as lost and vulnerable as I could, but didn’t succeed in catching anyone. People doing what I was doing should get noticed, and someone (anyone!) should stop and say hello at the very least. (Romans 12:13)

When I ran this play at Parkside Church in Bainbridge, Ohio, a man named Douglas came up to me almost immediately and started a conversation. It was mostly small talk, but it was enough to make me feel welcome and when we parted ways he said he hoped to see me again. Eight months later I still remember his name, so he obviously made an impression. I really, really like Parkside church; unfortunately, it is about a 45 minute drive from my home.

“Hi. My name is Dave Miller, this is my (first, second, third) time here. How long have you been attending?” That’s my standard opening line when visiting a church. Usually, rather than waiting to be approached, I find a man about my age, walk up, put out my hand and ask the question; then I shut up and listen. There are also a few standard follow-up questions that I’ve used depending on the situation.

Do you have family here too?
Where did you go to church before?
Would you say this is/was a pretty typical worship service?
What do you like most about this church?
Does the pastor have any tattoos or piercings?

I’ve never actually asked the last question of anyone, but include it just to make the point that there really isn’t anything that is too far out-of-bounds to ask when visiting a church. If there is anything you are concerned about or just want to know, ask!

Grading on the curve

When you get to your car after the service, write down the names of the people you met and a few short impressions of your experience. After you get home, go over your list of primary and secondary criteria and assign a letter or numerical grade to each if you can. Write down your general impression of the church in more detail and include the input of your family as well. After visiting three churches, each more than once, you can start ranking them.

Remember, there is no perfect church. Don’t be disappointed when you don’t find a church that receives a perfect 10 rating. Part of being a Christian is compromising with fellow believers on non-essential issues (Romans 14:5). As long as the essentials are present (Preaching the whole counsel of God, sacraments are rightly observed, discipleship is practiced and encouraged) the rest is just a subjective decision.

If you made a personal connection with someone, you really hit it off and made fast friends, don’t discount that as unimportant. Personal connections with fellow believers are a big part of being in Christ. This is especially true for your children. If your kids have a connection, that should carry quite a bit of weight when it gets to making a choice.

When I got to the point where I had my list narrowed down to three candidates, I kind of knew in the back of my mind which was the right church for me. As I mentioned in a previous post I’m searching by myself, so if you are searching with your family, (Praise God if you are!) be sure to take their opinions into account too.

Next up: Narrowing down.

Keep It Shallow

Dave Miller — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:00:01 +0000

I was recently ‘de-friended’ on Facebook.

In the story of my life, I suppose it isn’t a very big deal, but I’m definitely a little saddened by it. I was de-friended by someone who I knew in high school and hadn’t seen or talked to in nearly 30 years. He didn’t like my politics or my religion, so he cut me off. It’s his Facebook, it’s his choice. I’m not angry about it, but I am a little sad.

What I’m saddened most about, I think, is that I failed to reach my friend with the good news of Jesus Christ. I think I came off as an intolerant, hyper-critical, “I’m better than you are,” Christian. Looking back at the messages and posts we exchanged, I don’t see any of that in what I wrote, but I have no doubt that he perceived my words in that way. I write as one convinced of the veracity of the Gospel and brook no untruthful, worldly foolishness.

I guess I have to keep reminding myself of this: 1 Corinthians 1:18.

A lot of people today don’t want to discuss deep subjects. “Keep it light, keep it shallow,” is their mantra. On Facebook it takes the form of posting pictures, silly videos, or hollow, pseudo-spiritual quotations. Some people just post about drinking and eating all the time; others just play games all day. In meatspace (as opposed to cyberspace), it takes the form of talking about the weather, sports or just gossiping. Some venture into deeper waters and talk about relationships and politics, but that is usually just among very good friends.

We seldom talk to casual acquaintances about deep, meaningful subjects; things like life and death, salvation and damnation, or right and wrong. American society fosters shallowness by showcasing the insipid and inane, by making celebrities of criminals and sociopaths, and by exalting people like Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer as “spiritual.” Meanwhile, Christians who discuss the person and work of Jesus Christ are shunned for being insensitive or even bigoted.

I guess I have to keep reminding myself of this: 1 Corinthians 1:18.

If I could say one more thing to my former Facebook friend, I think it would be this: I love you and care about you more than your ‘friends’ who just want to make your time on earth happy and carefree. Rejecting me as a friend doesn’t equate to rejecting the Gospel and I will pray that God will save you from yourself someday, just as He saved me. I’m not any better than you are, I’m just a wretched beggar who found some food and wants to share it with his friends.

“Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” is the highest truth for those who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord.

I guess I have to keep reminding myself of this: 1 Corinthians 1:18.

It is at the same time a joyful and depressing verse.

How’s Your Self-Esteem?

Dave Miller — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:18:29 +0000

Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness. – Blaise Pascal

Most American Christians have an unhealthy level of self-esteem – it is much too high.

The average American Christian has no concept of what John Calvin called the “Total Depravity of Man” and what R. C. Sproul calls “Mankind’s Radical Fallenness.” The average protestant preacher avoids the subject altogether, never mentioning sin, wrath, hell or repentance from the pulpit. Yet the Bible is replete with support for this teaching.

Hover over a few of these verses to get an idea for yourself: Genesis 6:5, Job 25:4-6, Psalms 51:5, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-23, Romans 3:10-11, Romans 3:23

You don’t even have to take the Bible’s word (God’s Word!) for it if you don’t want. Just open up Drudge Report or Huffington Post and read about the disgusting things that people do every day. It is enough to drive a man (or woman) to depression.

On the other side of this coin is where you will find many American Christians. They have fallen for the post-modern lie that self-esteem is the most important personal attribute that one can possess. Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer are two of the worst at perpetuating this lie under the guise of Christianity.

Knowing Jesus Christ is the only way to have a healthy level of self-esteem; high esteem for God and low esteem for ourselves. The result is neutral self-esteem – not thinking more of ourselves, or less of ourselves than we should.

The equation looks like this. On one side, I am a worm; a dead dog; a totally depraved, sinful, wretched excuse for a man. On the other side of the equation is Jesus, removing himself from heaven, taking on the flesh of a man and then suffering and dying for the likes of me. It doesn’t add up, does it?

But Jesus did that for those who call upon His name, for those who believe on Him.

Why?

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba ! Father !” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:15-17

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called ; and these whom He called, He also justified ; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:28-31

True Truth

Dave Miller — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:35:53 +0000

Contrary to believing in imaginary feelings, Christianity believes in objective, historical, revealed, actual, rational truth from God. – John MacArthur

If you’ve ever talked to someone about your faith, or religion in general, you’ve probably heard the words, “Well, that’s not what I believe.” And when you prod the person who says this, you ultimately come to the understanding that their belief is based upon nothing but their own feelings. It is an illusion. The god they believe in is a fabrication, a mixture of truth, mythology and outright lies. Their god has been created in their own imagination. To put a sharper point on it, they have created a god in their own image.

On the other hand, you may have talked to someone who used the words, “Well, that’s not what the bible says.” This is a person that you should listen to because they are referring to an unimpeachable source of truth, rather than their own thoughts and feelings. But you still have to have discernment skills.

Fred Phelps can tell you that the bible says that God hates homosexuals so we should all go protest at the funerals of American soldiers . Joel Osteen can quote 3 John 1:1-2 and tell you that it means that God wants you to be rich, healthy and beautiful; and that your earthly happiness is God’s greatest goal. Both these men claim to be Christians, but their twisted theology contradicts the truth.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. – 2 Peter 3:17-18

But you, beloved, build yourself up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” – Jude 1:20

The only way to stay out of the snare of false teachers is to know the truth. Not ‘my’ truth or ‘your’ truth, but the ‘true truth.’ The truth of the Bible that comes from God. Pray for wisdom and discernment, spend time in the Word and in prayer.

A Dearth of Discernment

Dave Miller — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:37:31 +0000

Biblical discernment is the skill that is lacking most among Christians in America today. This is the only explanation for the huge following that people like Joel Osteen enjoy. It takes only a little Biblical knowledge to refute claims like the following:

Osteen sez (at 1:53),

The scripture says in Ephesians 1 verse 4, ‘Long before God laid down earth’s foundation, he had us on his mind. Because of the sacrifice Christ made, we are a free people; and not just barely free, but abundantly free.

Hmm… Kinda sets off my Bible Radar. In my Bible, Ephesians 1:4 NASB reads,

…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love…

Funny how from that verse, Osteen can say that it was God’s intention that I would have lots of money and be healthy my whole life, free from poverty and sickness.

In an email devotional entitled, “Today’s Word” on July 25, 2006, Osteen wrote,

God desires above all, that we prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. (John 3:2)

Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria

God wants you to live a life of victory. He wants you to prosper physically, spiritually, emotionally– in every area of life. God also wants you to prosper financially to fulfill the destiny He’s laid out before you.

The poor guy can’t even misquote scripture correctly. That verse isn’t John 3:2, it is 3 John 1:2. Big difference. Here’s what my Bible reads for 3 John 1:2 NASB:

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

The ‘I’ in that verse is John, the writer of the letter; not God as Osteen says. And he is simply giving his friend Gaius a greeting in the traditional Greek manner; a prayer for prosperity and health and John adds that it is Gaius’ soul that he cares about prospering.

Sorry Joel, but it is clear that your desire, above all, is to lead people away from the Word of God by their wallets.

Luke called the Bereans “…more noble than those in Thessolonica” because they checked everything by searching the scriptures daily. Biblical discernment starts with reading your Bible and not believing everything you hear. Just because someone is on television, sells millions of books and has hundreds of thousands of followers, doesn’t mean that they are preaching the Word of God. Usually, it means that they are loved by the world. And as it is written in James 4:4 NASB, “…do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Do not be an enemy of God. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Check everything you hear and read (Including this article!) with the scriptures as the Bereans did so long ago. Read your bible. Learn the Word and beware the false teachers like Joel Osteen.