Category: Thoughts

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I’m Not Alright

“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus…” John 3:1-2

I’ve heard various stories about why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Personally I believe it was because he was curious about Jesus, and as the Scriptures point out, it was very evident that God had sent him to teach them a new way of finding right standing with Himself. However, Jesus was not popular with the Pharisees. In order to be accepted by his own people Nicodemus had to seek Jesus out in private.

I love the song “I’m Not Alright” by Sanctus Real. I never had permission to not be alright for a long time as a Christian. Over the last several years things have changed and now I feel free to not have it all together. I understand that my goal is to become more like Jesus, but as long as I am alive, I will always battle my fallen nature. I just wonder, why is it that the church has created an environment where people have to act like Nicodemus did? Why is it that people don’t feel free to walk through our doors and freely say without the fear of judgment, “I’m Not Alright!“

  • I wonder how many lives would have been saved if people could say, “I’m Not Alright” and not be preached at?
  • I wonder how many pastors, who eventually ended up giving into moral failure, would still be preaching if they could have said, “I’m Not Alright” and not be shunned or abandoned?
  • I wonder how many teenagers would have grown up and raised their families in church if they would have had the freedom of saying, “I’m Not Alright” without being branded in a youth ministry?
  • I wonder how many people could have received hope and grace or found redemption if they had the freedom to say, “I’m Not Alright!“

Why is the church afraid to let people be broken and to seek answers? The honest truth is, growing up, at least 85% of the answers I received to my questions, were essentially “Just trust me” or “That’s what the Bible says” (without a Scripture reference or with a Scripture reference out of context). Could it be we are afraid for people to ask questions to seek healing for their brokenness because our faith and our beliefs have been based on what we were told to believe, so beyond that, we really don’t know how to extend help to people? We don’t have answers because we only know what we’ve been told to know?

Check out the video below and then join the conversation: “Why does it seem the church has created an environment where people cannot be honest when things are “Not Alright?”

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What’s Weird About Our Modern Church? By Francis Chan

Here is just a little snippet of the message from Francis Chan at this year’s Catalyst Conference: (This is worth seven minutes of your time)

Where would your life as a Christian align itself in comparison to the New Testament Christians we read about in the Bible?

Where would our churches fall in with the New Testament Church as recorded in Scripture?

All great things to think about. Thoughts?

Thanks to Jeremy Ownby for pointing out this video was available on Facebook

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Watch Out for the Devour

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:8-9 [Full Context]

I admit, I’ve been on a personal journey to confirm that what I was taught at a younger age is correct and to affirm what I believe Scripture teaches for myself, so I still have ‘Aha!’ moments…a lot! I had a pastor who used to push down people’s throats that the “man of God deserved double honor,” so we were never allowed to question him. Later in life I learned that this statement was pulled out of context. 1 Timothy 5:17 says that an elder who directs the affairs of the church WELL deserves double honor in his compensation, especially those who preach and teach…key word…well, this has nothing to do with questioning an Elder when they have fallen off the reservation!

Anyway, all of that to say, my eyes were opened tonight at 1 Peter 5:8-9. I find it interesting that it is written to “Elders” and “Young Men.” The warning is to “Stay Alert!” that our enemy, the devil, prowls around seeking who he may devour. Sure, this is applicable to all Christians, but it is specifically written to Elders and young men. A friend contacted me this week. She found out that her former pastor has been involved in a sexual affair. I was heartbroken for that man, his family, the church, their people and their leaders. It seems to be coming to the surface more and more. What greater victory could we as pastors and church leaders give Satan than to dishonor God in our calling? To abuse our office? To open ourselves up to devour?

Notice, the verse says, seeking who he may devour…I went through a marriage course by Bruce Wilkerson with my wife. He used the analogy of a traffic light. We all give off a signal. Red light, I’m not available. Green light, I’m looking…I’m open & available! Satan is prowling to see if your light is lit up green, and if it is, you’re open to attack! Pastor, Elder, young man…if you are married, you better be putting off the right signals. It goes beyond sexually too. It’s applicable to any moral and ethical standard that the Bible calls us to.

Pastors are highly competitive people. I wonder what would happen if we stopped looking at each others’ ministries to see what one another is doing and how many we are running, and started devoting ourselves to prayer for one another?

…Stay Alert!

Thought?

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An Open Letter to Dr. Terry Jones

Dear Pastor Dr. Terry Jones,

I write this letter with little hope that #1 you would read it and #2 that it would make a difference, but I feel something should be said, whether the advice is heeded or not, that sir, is your choice.

As a fellow Christian pastor, I urge you to stop your blatant disregard of the Christian faith. Your continuation of your planned burning of the Koran, not only makes you a disgraceful American it disgraces the core teachings of the faith you claim to follow and represent.

I do not make my case based on personal feelings. I base it through Scripture which is strong enough to stand alone:

I make my case through…

Jesus

  1. Where in Scripture did Jesus ever destroy (in any way) the holy books or the temples of worship for any other faith or religion?
  2. Matthew 5:9-12 Jesus said the “Peacemakers” will be called the Sons of God – You do not make peace by inciting violence with your actions of burning the Koran. It goes on to say,  “Rejoice and be glad” when persecuted for righteousness sake, not go seek revenge or go make a “statement” when you feel others have done you wrong.
  3. Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus tells us to “turn the other cheek” and to go out of our way to accommodate those who seek to harm us. I’m curious, how does your burning of the Koran fit with in these instructions?
  4. Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. He asks, what reward is there in only loving your brother? Even the Pagans do that. How is inciting our enemies loving them? How do you open the door for the Good News of Jesus Christ, by angering them? I don’t know, maybe the word “enemy” from Jesus’ day meant something else…I’m sure it did.
  5. Luke 17:11-17, Jesus performs a good deed, a miracle. One of ten men came back to thank him, it was a Samaritan. I am sure you are aware that the Samaritans worshiped differently than the Jews, this Samaritan could have looked at Jesus with great disdain, but he didn’t, maybe it was because Jesus didn’t incite him to violence and hatred, he loved him, healed him, did good to him. I wonder, how are your actions on September 11, 2010 in burning the Koran, follow in Jesus’ example? Where did Jesus burn the Samaritan’s holy book? Where did he “take a stand?” Um, maybe I missed something, either way, Jesus’ method led the man to faith.

Paul

  1. Look at 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, now go study the rest of Scripture. For every “act” of violence, hatred, or wrong done against Paul, where did he one time respond with a “protest” or “standing up against his foes” or any other demonstration of what was “right” in his eyes? Where? He preached the Gospel. His life was for Christ not his own.
  2. Check out Acts 14:19-22, Paul was stoned and left for dead outside of the city. I bet Paul got back up and made a protest against them for burning his Bible and attacking his fellow believers, don’t you? No, he went back into the city, preached the Gospel and encouraged the believers, declaring that one must suffer many hardships as a believer. It sounds to me that Paul did not need to “act” out in order to “stand-up” for his beliefs. He just lived them out, whether it cost him his life or whether he got to keep his life.
  3. Furthermore, check out Acts 17:16-34, Paul goes to Athens and is encountered with a people who followed many gods and different religions. I bet we see here where he goes and destroys their temples and their idols and their holy books. Oh, man, once again, a peacemakers approach. He actually “preaches” against them and uses them to contrast the Truth and the Gospel.
  4. We are instructed in Colossians 4:5-6, to be careful with how we deal with non-believers, to be full of grace and to be seasoned with salt, so that we may have an answer for everyone. I wonder how your approach on September 11, 2010, falls within these instructions?
  5. In Acts 16:16-40, Paul and Silas are in prison. They have the opportunity to escape, but they know that in doing so it would cost the guards their life, so they stay and because of that the guards come to faith. Unlike you, they were unwilling for their faith to cause another person their life. You sir, make a mockery of the Christian faith when General Petraeus warns that our American soldiers will have the risk on their life increased by your actions and you ignore it! You may be willing to die for your faith, but you are not a peacemaker when you are causing & increasing problems for others on your behalf. If one attack happens because of your actions and any soldier loses their life, their blood will be on your hands, so I guess you might be very proud of them sacrificing their life for your right to be foolish.
  6. In Romans 12:14-21, Paul urges us to BLESS those who persecute us and to not pay back evil for evil. How does your plan fit within that instruction?

The honest truth sir, there is no Biblical foundation for which you can say your actions are in the name of Christianity. What you are doing is in the name of Dr. Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center. Maybe its your way of getting a little fame and a little bit of news coverage, but you in no way are promoting the Savior Jesus or his teachings. You can twist Scripture all you want to make your point, people have done so for centuries, but you will be hard pressed to present grace and love through your actions. Our instructions are to go into all the world to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) as Christians we are called to represent Christ. You are not doing that and you are not paving the road for the Gospel to be preached, in fact, you are perverting the gospel, with a gospel of hate. Here’s a novel idea, arrange a massive prayer meeting not a Koran burning service, but then again, that may mean you think God is big enough to change the hearts of those you disagree with.

Sincerely,

Nick Carnes

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The Attitude of Gratitude

We are in-between sermon series at New Passion, so yesterday I did a solo message on the Attitude of Gratitude. Generic, I know.

However, the title is all telling. I believe when we are grateful, it changes our attitude towards God and towards other people. I shared at the end of the message a list of people I am grateful for at New Passion, I also shared a video that convicted me in areas I had been ungrateful (It’s definitely a must see video by Pete Wilson: Watch  HERE – *Correction from the message: It was not India, it was a house in the Dominican Republic).

Think about it:

  • How would our attitude about the job we hate change if you realized there are millions of people without a job and became grateful that we at least have a job?
  • How would our attitude about our difficult children change if we realized that some people can’t have kids or have lost their child at an early age and were grateful that we’ve been blessed with the children we have?
  • How would our attitude about what God’s not given us change if we became grateful that he’s already given us everything we need?
  • How would our attitude about…Change?

So, if you were at New Passion this past Sunday or if you weren’t, continue the conversation and share a little of what you are grateful for: