Rick Nier...Woo!

Worship begins with an acknowledgement that we need someone or something. Without that acknowledgement, we have no need to worship anything. After all, if we have no need of anything external, why are we giving away our worship? Inherent in worship is a giving away of some part of ourselves. Our reverence. Our regard. Our honor. Our homage. Our time. Our talents. Why give this away to anything when we see no need of that person or thing? But we do have needs. And no one or nothing fulfills that need except for God. Indeed God does meet all our needs. He meets them gloriously. He meets them with riches found in Jesus. We need God to do so. We need Him like no metaphor can fully explain. This acknowledgement of our need begins our worship. It’s not worship simply because we have a need. It’s worship because our needs have been met. It’s a reminder to ourselves that none other can meet these needs. It’s a heart full of thanks and praise that we give to Him for meeting those needs.

Some books grab you by the cover. This is despite the common knowledge that we should not judge a book so. Some books grab you by the title. It's sharp, witty or currently relevant. Some books grab you by the author, because you are familiar with something they've written before. But some books grab you by content. Such is the case with Christ-Centered Leadership: The Incarnational Difference by David L. McKenna. I was handed this book by my conference superintendent and instantly wondered if this would be a book I would have to read. (No one tell my superintendent I said that.) Though I always have a stack of books waiting to be read, I felt an urge to move this up to the top. Convenient, since I was given the book the day after I had just completed a couple of others I had been reading. McKenna is from the same corner of the Church that I am, so I had heard his name before, though this is hist first book I have read. He has served as president at three different colleges. N...

We're teaching the children of our church the books of the Old and New Testament. In order to do this, I have been sharing the highlights of each book with them and then teaching them a motion or sign language sign to help them remember each book. We've been doing this for a while, so we're up to 1 and 2 Thessalonians, when I came across this fun little section in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. Paul is teaching about the last days, the main theme in both of his letters to the Thessalonians. He's trying to calm down those who were afraid they had missed the big day of Jesus. Wouldn't you be? But check out how Paul 'encourages' the...

You know how you can read the Bible for years and still make new discoveries? Not all of them are great. Here's an example. I was reading John 20. Verses 19-23 tell us that the disciples were behind locked doors (scaredy-cats) and that Jesus doesn't respect locked doors. He comes in and has the nerve to offer them peace and the Holy Spirit. Sweet, right? It's not even Pentecost yet! They should be doing some pretty awesome stuff. After all, this would be the first group to receive the Holy Spirit power in the New Testament era.  But then we keep reading. Verses 24-25 tell us where Thomas got his doubting moniker. Verse 26 tells us 8 days pass and the disciples are all together again. They're still behind locked doors. For this I have two theories.  a. They are a bunch of morons who never learn that locked doors won't keep out Jesus.  b. They were wanting Jesus to show up, and since He showed up the last time they locked the doors, they locked them aga...

I have some problems with this book. But if I were to focus on those issues, Martin Thielen would probably say that is part of the bad religion that leads many to no religion. The Answer to Bad Religion is not No Religion  is a great premise. Martin argues that too often people opt for no religion based on the bad examples of Christians practicing their religion poorly. Rather, he argues, and I agree with him on this point, that the answer is good religion. If Christianity is true, then striving to live by its principles is a good endeavor. Being imperfect people, we will fall short of the perfect ideals of a holy God. Of course, logic tells us that just because sinners (of which I am one) do not live out the truth perfectly does not mean we should abandon the truth. What remains would be living a lie. Not a great idea. On this, Martin nails it. What he does is to give examples of bad religion. He hits several of the usual suspects, but doesn't beat a dead horse. Then he segu...

Its harder than it looks. That's what one of the teens said after a student led night. I wanted to respond with, 'Yeah, that's why it's called a job.' But that might have been misconstrued as harsh. Besides, if we're being honest and nice about things, we could say this about most things.  If we are to actually look back and consider what high school was like, it was harder than it looks. The other people, to whom we continually compare ourselves to, also have a job which is likely harder than it looks. And it would be nice if someone looked at our responsibilities and realized that we're not sipping lemonade with our feet in the sand. Unless, of course, your job is to taste test lemonade while sitting on the beach. Then your job is not harder than it looks. And we all hate you. Having said all this, just because a job is difficult does not mean we shouldn't work at it. And in the context of youth ministry, we should also be sharing it with ...

I love the idea. I hate the idea. Those were my first thoughts when I first heard about Frames from the Barna Group. The idea is that you are much too busy to read full-length books. So they are going to give you powerful ideas in more manageable amounts. Instead of a 200-300 page book, you’ll get a 90-page book, full of eye-catching info graphics that convey the same information. Like I said, I love it…and hate it. I hate it because it communicates that we don’t have to make choices. We can continue to work at this extremely unhealthy pace and still not have to choose between things that matter. But I love it, quite frankly, because this is where we are at. I can stick my head in the sand and pretend that things will change. Or I can reach people where they are at. Honestly, where I’m at. I got this from my good friends at Youth Worker. They give me stuff and ask that I post a review. With them in mind, I would say that this is a great resource for teenagers and college studen...

One last post this week will give you just a bit more from my sermon this past Sunday. Enjoy! What purpose does the Church still serve? We might be less inclined to think the Church unnecessary if we experienced Christian discipleship like so many throughout history, or even those overseas, where persecution means so much more than someone else sitting in the pew you normally occupy or the sale at the Christian bookstore not including the series of novels you’re currently reading. If we found ourselves depending on the encouragement of our brothers and sisters and looking for another illegal copy of the scriptures, we might see a weekly meeting as irreplaceable instead of a check on our to-do list, something to be done before enjoying the rest of our day. Seeing Church as a means of survival instead of something to be survived changes everything. What does God want to accomplish through the Church? A look throughout scripture gives us a picture of what God is imagining the Church t...

I got to preach on Sunday, so I'm including a few excerpts on the blog here this week.  The early Church fathers clearly included belief in the Church for a reason. How do we know this? Well, it’s listed right along with their belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. While we would not likely find ourselves questioning the import of God, we might find ourselves tempted to see the Holy Christian Church as somewhat of a minor character, as if the writers of this creed were a high school or college student, looking to say a few more things so their paper will be the required length. It must have meant something to the Apostle Paul, who spent his life establishing churches in so many towns where he visited. It must have meant something more than having a group to collect a tithe from; otherwise it would not have been worth dying for. In our heritage, it must have meant something to John Wesley, who refused to evangelize someone unless there was a local church to ...

Yesterday, at church , I preached on church , to the church . In case you're wondering, yes, I noted the irony. I'm including some excerpts here for your enjoyment, review, or mocking...pick one.  “Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” ( Matt. 12:49-50 ). Saying this, Jesus gave us a picture of the Church being a family. Let me ask you a question. How many of you have been to a family reunion? How many of you have noticed that you have a weird uncle? How many of you go to great lengths to avoid that weird uncle? How many of you are starting to wonder if you are that weird uncle? Did you notice that Jesus leaves out those kinds of details when He mentions the spiritual family He has? No mention of the weird uncle, or the aunt that insists on hugs and smells like cheese. He also leaves out the overachieving cousins, the grandparents wh...

You know when you've experienced that constant nagging. That feeling of a continual poke or jab or itch. It's that annoying whatever that just won't go away. If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about. They pick and they poke until they get the desired reaction from their victim.  I have to imagine this was the sort of predicament Jesus found Himself in while in the desert, hanging out with the devil. Luke 4 tells the story.  Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,   where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Jesus was tempted by the devil. Its easy for us to think Jesus had a forty day fast and prayer meeting and then stared down three temptations from the devil. But that's not what it says. It says Jesus was tempted for 40 days. What must that have looked like? Was it just a bunch of questions from the devil?...

How's your memory? Have you ever forgotten...God? Francis Chan says we have, and I would agree with him. Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit is his call to action. But he knows what kinds of obstacles he's looking at in writing such a book. But Francis isn't scared, because the Spirit brings freedom. You might think that an entire book on the Holy Spirit will mean a whole lot of dancing, hands raised and talk of supernatural gifts. But you would be wrong. Francis takes the time to methodically answer our questions. Questions regarding why we need the Holy Spirit, why embracing a theology of the Spirit is nothing to fear and what exactly the Holy Spirit does. He writes in an engaging and simple to understand manner. He also motivates the reader to want more. Early and often he convinces us that if all we're accomplishing is done without the help of the Holy Spirit, then we're not accomplishing or experiencing all we should. Hon...

So recently West Virginia had an issue with their water. Who knew that mixing chemicals in would make it dangerous to drink, right? It was a big issue, but one that people took seriously and, at least for most people, has been solved. I found this quote from an article that intrigued me. " West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre reiterated on Monday that the water was safe, underscoring his point by  drinking tap water  in front of reporters."  That, my friends, is applying truth to action. It also made me question my own ability to apply truth to life. Let me explain. Recently, at a church potluck, the fun was followed by sickness. Now, as a germaphobe, don't even get me started on how the church is a breeding ground for illness anyway, with all the hand shaking and hugging and laying on of hands. As a pastor, I just trust that friendliness and spiritual practice is more important than the threat of getting ill. Plus, I assume either God is protect...

I have two rules when it comes to talking to anyone about being involved in youth ministry. Rule number 1 is simple.  Run .  Run far. Run long. Run hard. But, for all that is good and holy, run. Save yourself. Don't be the hero. Just run away.  Rule number 2 is a little more complicated. I only have the second rule because I know you won't listen to rule number 1. You'll assume I am joking. You'll think you will be different. You might assume I'm being over-dramatic, which of course would make you WRONG! I NEVER GO ABOVE AND BEYOND STATING SIMPLE TRUTH!  See, you're only asking for my opinion because someone came up to you and asked if you would drive the youth on a trip. Or maybe they asked you to provide some food. If you're young and hip, they may have asked you to teach a class or lead a small group, perhaps be a mentor. Way to be you!  Or maybe you're asking because you think hanging out with teens and doing all-nighters sounds ...