The Gospel is “good news” that has the power to change lives.  God help us if we present anything but the full and clear truth of the Gospel.  God help us for standing up in the pulpit and throwing out a text of Scripture, then only to fly off the cuff with trivial issues for the next 30 minutes, which by the way is only showing your ignorance of the Gospel and your lack of study.  God help us for standing up in the pulpit without having wrestled with the text through diligent study as well as applying the same principles to our lives that we expect our hearers to follow.  God help us for standing up in the pulpit to only talk about the way things used to be while ignoring what God is doing today.  God help us for standing up in the pulpit and taking Scripture out of context because we’ve never taken the time to study out the context of the book or chapter, thus taking truths out of context and ultimately adding to or taking away from Scripture.  Preach the Gospel, the whole Gospel with passion and clarity and if you cannot stand up and Preach it accurately with compassion then don’t Preach it at all.

Some Gospel Myths I’ve actually heard from the Pulpit-

1. “What’s wrong with the church today is that we need to “get back to the old paths,” referring to Jeremiah 6:16, and then use this text to preach that “Southern Gospel” music is the only thing that honors God and that unless you read and hold to the KJV, you are a heretic bound for Hell.  Sorry, but God wasn’t talking about 1960 fundamentalism when he inspired these words.  He wasn’t talking about honky-tonk music that decided to add Jesus lyrics to its melody in the mid 1900′s and he definitely was not talking about the King James translation as the only inspired translation that we can read as English-speaking people.  Yes, I have actually heard Preachers say, “if you got saved out of the NIV then you’re not saved.”  It is so far from the truth it is almost comical.  However, the context of the passage is actually an exhortation for the people to get back to living out the truths of the Bible (God’s Commands) because their lives had spiraled out of control due to their lack of obedience to read it and thus live it.  If that’s what you’re talking about, then Preach it.  Otherwise, please don’t waste our time by adding to the Word of God. 

2. ”If you ain’t got old-time religion then you ain’t got nothing at all.”  Umm, what the heck does this mean?  The last time I checked, the Gospel is not a Religion and could you please define ”old.”  Would Paul have agreed with this statement?  I believe Jesus was quite angry with following traditional ideologies for the sake of tradition (study the Gospels and focus on Jesus’ dealing of the Pharisees). 

3.  “The Health Care bill is just another sign of the end times.  The world as we know it is coming to an end.  We just need Jesus to come rescue us from all this mess.”  Newsflash to all believers of Christ.  Our hope is not built on Washington.  Our hope is not built on a President who openly professes another faith.  Our hope is not built on a Christ-less government.  Our hope is not built on what happens in Congress; our hope is built on the finished work of the Cross.  Should we pray for our President and government?  Yes.  But the majority of them do not know Jesus, therefore how can we expect them to make Christian decisions?  How can we expect Washington to care about Abortion when they have never been radically transformed by the giver of life?  How can we expect Washington to fix the economy when they don’t understand that every good and perfect gift comes from above?  Maybe the problem in Washington isn’t the government; maybe its the church who has failed to be salt and light.  Maybe the problem in America is the fact that the church has become content waiting on a place (Heaven) that we haven’t been called to yet; while having little to no impact on the one (World) Christ died for.  Instead of building up walls to keep us out of the world; maybe we should consume the world with the Gospel. 

• The Gospel is not about our prosperity.
• The Gospel is not about a list of moral guidelines to follow and if we fall off the white line then God is going to smack us with his ruler.  This is nothing less than Deistic Moralism.
• The Gospel is not about mixing a little bit of Jesus into your life while you try to live out the American Dream.
• The Gospel is not a set of religious ideologies filled with traditionalism.
• The Gospel is, “He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Corinthains 5:21.  That’s Good News that changes lives.

    Here is a word of exhortation: The Bible clearly states that we are to test and try every spirit.  Every believer should be able to discern every word that is presented from the pulpit.  In fact, Scripture commands us to do so.  If you are part of a church that does not clearly and accurately Preach the Gospel, then you will be held accountable before God for not clearly discerning truth and allowing yourself or your family to sit under a false Gospel.  I trust that if you do not receive clear biblical truth from the pulpit that you will be obedient to the Gospel and find a church that does.

Here’s what I do remember.  I remember thinking that the church looks like a factory that investigates little lab rats in order to watch their tendencies with the expectation of producing a formula to control the environment.  I remember feeling like as long as I was in this controlled environment that nothing on the outside really mattered.  What is the dilemma here?  The major problem with this mentality is that I was stuck in a culture that didn’t effect “the culture.”  I was in an environment that was merely holding hands and looking at each other all while keeping our back turned from the very culture God called us to reach. 

If we build up walls within the church, how can we ever be a city within a city?  If we expect those who do not know Christ to come into our buildings and look like us and dress like us and talk like us, how can we expect anything less than a production of ”lab rats,” who just run around in their controlled environment looking for a way out?  However, when the church experiences the presence of God it will create a movement that will break all barriers of race, status, personality, tradition, and heritage.  It will consume the city.  God is so much bigger than our tradition and our preference.  My plea is that we won’t shrink the Gospel down to “this is how we’ve always done it,” so we can build status while forgetting to do ministry. 

Stop focusing on the God who was and relentlessly puruse the God who is.  I’ve been around the conservative movement my whole life and growing up in the late 80′s and 90′s you heard a lot about the conservative resurgence that took place in the 50′s and 60′s.  There was a big wave of mass evangelism going on during this era that flooded the church.  People were coming to Christ by the droves, the pews and altars were full, and people were faithful and passionate. 

There is nothing wrong with looking to the past as a rich source of strength and encouragement.  But if the past never compels you to do anyting in the present then you are bound for failure.  “If we are not progressivly moving in the presnt toward the future then we will be stuck in the past.”  Let me flesh this out- What I find in the church is a great priority placed on what God did rather than what he is doing and can do.  I respect the move of God that took place in the 60′s but I wasn’t there.  The people that I minister to were not there.  Thousands of people sitting in our pews were not there either.  What I’ve found is that the church is putting so much emphasis on what God did back then, that we expect everything to look like it did back then as well.  If our music isn’t the same, if our formalities and structures aren’t the same, if our dress isn’t the same, if our methodologies aren’t the same then God is just STUCK.  Let me plead with you:      

1. God cannot be put into an equation or formula-I do believe there is such a thing as irrerevent worship of God but no man can tell me that A+B=THE MOVE OF GOD.  Does God have boundaries and guidelines? Yes, read your Bible!  My plea to you is please don’t tell me that just because God did it up big way back then that it has to look that way today.  I hardly think that the worship service that took place in 1 Kings 18 at the base of Mt. Caramel remotely resemembled the resurgence of 1960. 
2. Generations are lost because you are stuck-I believe that the most evident stronghold that this mindset has tainted is our youth.  They do not understand the logic of what is promoted within the majority of our churches.  Why do you put so much emphasis on what God did, and rarely ever praise him for what he is doing?  Does that mean he can’t do that now?  Does that mean that he won’t use me?  Does that mean that God has already done his most glorious and powerful work?  Students are totally lost within the culture of this mindset because it completely ignores what God is currently doing in them.  Sure, they look different, talk different, have different interests, they may even desire to worship different, but can you prove that God is not working in the midst of their lives?  Does God’s Word limit every culture in every place in every time to a certain method of worship?  My plea to you is to move on from the past and relentlessly pursue God today.
3. He is the same yesterday, TODAY, and forever. As I study the implications of worship in the Scriptures, I find that worship is primarily individual and internal.  True worship is between the worshipper and God.  If I’m not worshipping God daily and consistently then when I engage in a corporate service, i’m really not worshipping.  If I’m solely stuck on what God did, how he did it, why he did it and expect that move to look just like it did way back then, my personal worship is dry and thirsty.  When we remove our traditional glasses and read the Scriptures with un-biased eyes, we will find a God who never changes.  The same God that brought the world into existence; the same God that walked with Enoch; the same God that brought fire down from heaven; the same God that let John lay his head on his chest; the same God that walked on water; the same God that sat in the middle of a house full of sinners; the same God that hung on the Cross and shed his blood for my sins, is the same God I have the privilege to worship and experience today.  Sure, the way I experience him and the setting in which I sense his presence will be a little different than Enoch, David, Peter, Paul, and John; yet he is still the same.  So I want to focus on the God of today, the God who is-not just who was.  My plea is that you will do the same because I may not appreciate all that God did way back then but I know without a doubt he is waiting to do big things TODAY!                   

The greatest honor for me was to stand up on Wednesday, November 18 and preach her funeral.  Of all the great memories that I have of my grandmother, most of them all have to do with Jesus.  She preached her funeral long before November 18, 2009.  Her life can be defined by one word, which is grace.  Her life exemplifies the unlimited, unmerited, and inexhaustible grace of God.  ”All of grace is her story, all the way from earth to glory.” 

Grace radically changed her life, it changed mine as well.  There are many Christians that do not resemble the life changing grace of Christ in their lives but my grandmother not only talked it, lived it, walked it, she fought the fight of grace as well.  You see, grace is more than a one time event in the life of a believer.  It is more than a principle.  It is more than an abstract idea.  It is more than doctrine.  It is the continual working of God in the life of his children.  It is humanity fellow-shipping with divinity.  “Grace is not merely about getting humanity to Heaven; it’s about brining heaven down to humanity.”  Grace radically changes lives!  Just the mention of his name would bring tears to her eyes.  Just the conversation of the goodness of God would make her weep and cry for joy.  She loved the way Jesus desired to be loved.  She followed the way Jesus desired to be followed.  She forgave the way Jesus desired for us to forgive.  She lived the life of grace.

It was truly my highest honor to be able to publically express the kind of life my grandmother lived.  The greatest thing about her life is the same grace that formed this world out of nothing and brought it into existence; the same grace that made man in the image of God; the same grace that God sent his son to the Cross to die and bring hope to all of humanity; the same grace that changes lives; the same grace that brought my grandmother safely home, is the same grace that sustain us until we meet again.  Today, she is face to face with grace waiting on the awesome reunion day when we will all be rejoined together and for all eternity worship the God of grace.  But until that day comes, I want to grow in the grace of Christ while standing on the shoulders of a true spiritual giant-my grandmother (Melvina Sadie Grace Barbary).

He spoke of sitting in a worship service not too long ago and listening to a preacher who preached a message on the subject of sex and purity.  The preacher held up a rose in front of the congregation and told everyone that he wanted them to smell his rose, so he threw it out in the congregation and told everyone to pass it around and savor it.  He then began to preach a less than average, un-biblical message on sex.  He threw out statements like, “you don’t wont syphilis do you?  Everybody’s smiling and having a good time at the party until they realize you’ve got herpes.”  He then proceeds to degrade the issue and asks for his rose back, which by this time is broken into pieces and the beautiful rose petals are scattered everywhere.  He then holds up the broken rose and shouts, “who would want this?”  Matt says, that everything within him wanted to stand up and say, “JESUS WANTS THE ROSE.”  Isn’t that the beauty of the Cross?  Isn’t that the Gospel?  Isn’t that the benchmark of our faith?  Couple things are resonating within me from this illustration.

• No one leans against the Cross and says, “come get you some of this.”  I’m sure the content of what the preacher was preaching had truth within it.  But truth without love is nothing more than legalism, which is quite detrimental to the Gospel.  The Gospel shouts, “he made him who knew no sin to become sin for US, so that WE might become the righteousness of God.”  No one gets to lean on the cross.  That’s not the message of the Gospel.  The message of the Gospel is that we all need the Cross and there is room for every one of us.  If you think you’ve arrived you’ve missed the message of the Cross-you’ve misunderstood the Gospel.  Jesus wants the filthy, dirty, unsavoring, unholy, unrighteous, and less than worthy rose.  That’s the Gospel.

• Have we esteemed second-rate traditional issues over the heart of the Gospel?  I’m not talking about justifying a lifestyle of sin through the message of the Gospel.  The Scriptures are replete with the expectation of living a life that honors the Sacrifice of the Cross as well as rebuke for continuing to live a lifestyle that is disobedient to the Gospel.  However, the message of the Gospel is one of Grace and love, not a  checklist of self-righteous deeds.  Do we make people stumble over our preferences to get to the Cross?  If we are, then we are bringing  extra-biblical ideologies into the Gospel message and that is nothing more than heresy.  Jesus wants the rose JUST AS IT IS.  The church of Ephesus was praised for their good deeds, for their endurance and courage to faithfully preach the Gospel, and their knowledge of the Truth.  But they were rebuked for one important element: they lost their love.  God help us to live and speak the reality of the Gospel.  Jesus died for the rose just as it is.

Today I am celebrating my awesome wife.  I think when it comes to fairy tale stories no one even comes close to what Trista and I have.  Some would say we started dating at the age of 3, which is pretty close but in fact our journey began at the ages of 12 & 10.  From Tuesday night Christian skating (don’t laugh too hard), Berea High football games, to youth group and Cades Cove (another laughable moment for Trista and I) you will find a love that is inseparable. 

One of the greatest moments I hold very dear to my heart is the day I asked Trista to marry me.  May of 2003, at Folly Beach (Charleston, SC) with a crop plane and about 1,000 people I’ve never met, I asked my best friend to marry me.  We just celebrated our fifth anniversary and I can honestly say that I love my wife more today than I ever have.  I want to give you a few things about Trista that I absolutley adore.

1. My Best Friend-Can you read someone’s mind?  Can you have a conversation with someone without saying a word?  Pretty freaky I know, but Trista and I are so much alike it’s scary.  All she needs to do is take a look at me and she knows exactly what I’m thinking and how I feel about a situation.  Whether, its yelling at the TV while watching Clemson football, sitting in a tree stand, cleaning fish, watching a scary movie, or just spending time together, there is no one on planet earth that I would rather be with than my wife.  I’m in love with my best friend! 
2. Amazing Mother-My love for Trista has grown deeply through her love for our son, Patrick.  Just to watch her teach him how to pray, devote her entire schedule to his deepest needs, and love him unconditionally is indescribable for me as a husband and father.  I cannot wait until the day that Patrick fully understands just how much he is loved and cared for by an amazing mother who I believe will receive countless rewards from our Heavenly Father because of her Proverbs 31 characteristics.
3. Faithful Follower-Almost 10 years ago I surrendered my life to full-time ministry.  I knew that the moment I surrendered to the call God placed on my life that Trista would support me no matter what.  I still talk about being  a missionary to Africa one day and she says, “when do we pack our bags?”  I feel sorry for anyone in ministry that does not have the faithful support of their spouse.  I will go on record and say that no one is invested in ministry as much as my wife.  No one loves the students God has called me to as much as my wife.  No one connects as much with the students God has called me to as much as my wife.  No one plans and prepares for the students God has called me to more than my wife.  It’s not something I expect from her, it’s something that she absolutely loves to do.  You see, almost ten years ago when I surrendered to ministry God gave me someone who felt called as well.  He blessed me with someone who wanted to impact people with the life changing message of the Gospel.  He blessed me with someone who wants to faithfully follow Him.

Today, I want to publically tell my wife how madly in love I am with her.  Trista, I want you to know how grateful I am that you are in my life and without you I wouldn’t be half the man that I am today.  Today, I want to celebrate my immense love for you.  Much love, BABE!!!

Passion, Passion, Passion, and more Passion-For those of you who know Guy Roberts, you know exactly what this statement means.  When it comes to life, ministry, preaching the Word, family, and friends you know that he is passionate.  After almost 30 years of ministry you would think contentment would begin to set in.  You would think distractions such as apathy and futility would take over.  But that’s not what you find.  Every conversation that I have is always fueled with passion.  Passion to do more, to preach more, to be in center of God’s will, to be all that he can for the people God has called him to, to just be passionate.  I hope that of all the major lessons I’ve learned from Guy Roberts that I will never get to the point in my life and ministry that all I want to do is just make it to the finish line.  I want to run as fast and hard as I can all the way home.  I hope that one day I can be as passionate about Jesus Christ as Guy Roberts?  Who do you have in your life that compels you to sit at the feet of Jesus? 

Study to Live, Not to Preach-One of the greatest struggles of preaching and teaching the Word of God is solely diving into the Scriptures for someone else, rather than for yourself.  If you are not intentional about feeding on God’s Word for you, then you won’t have much to give.  Someone said, “If there is mist in the pulpit, there is fog in the pews.”  The great tragedy in many of our pulpits today is that many people in the pew are hungry because the person behind the podium is starving himself.  I will never forget the first night I really had a chance to sit down with Guy Roberts and talk about ministry.  The greatest principle he gave me that night over dinner was, “study to live, not to preach.”  The greatest truth I could ever preach to a congregation of people is the truth that I personally have received, struggled with, digested, applied, and lived out for myself.  If I am living off the truth of God’s Word then I will never stand behind any podium without something of substance and value for the people.  Do you have anyone who creates a hunger and thirst in you for God’s Word?       

A man who is TOO BIG to come down off his platform and serve is too small to be on that platform-Most of you probably already have a list of individuals who you know of that fit into this category.  If ministry was only about preaching His Word to a certain group of people, then we probably wouldn’t have so many guys abandoning the Call of God.  At the heart of ministry from a biblical perspective is servant hood.  John 13 depicts this great truth.  Jesus humbles himself and washes the disciples feet to show them his heart for servant hood.  When it comes to ministry the truth still remains, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Over 6 years of ministry with Guy Roberts, I can honestly say that I have never seen someone who is more passionate and concerned about the church out of the pulpit as he is while he is in the pulpit.  Can you identify anyone in your life that models servant hood?

Today, I thank God for testimony and example of Guy Roberts.  I am most grateful, for I know that God placed him in my path as someone who can lead me into the image of who God wants me to be–like his Son.  I will forever stand on the shoulders of this man as my spiritual giant.  Who is yours?        

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some thoughts on Celebration–Influence, Love, and Family.  Be sure to check it out.  

This is also an exciting time of year for me, “FOOTBALL IS HERE!”  Fall is in the air, which means tail-gating and smash-mouth football.  This is an exciting time to be a Tiger fan.  I haven’t drank the purple kool-aid when it comes to Dabo being our saving grace, but there are some things about him that I love.  He is passionate, you can’t argue with that.  He is a straight shooter.  What you see is what you get.  He is going to put the best 11 players on the field, guaranteed.  His job depends on it.  We have all learned by now that contracts mean absolutely nothing.  Bubble screens will not be our go to play, and when it’s 3rd and 15, we won’t throw the ball 5 yards and pray for a miracle.   

This is an exciting time to be a Tiger also because of the unknown.  Who knows what Parker is going to do?  Who knows if the offensive line is any better?  Who knows if CJ spiller will have a break-out year?  Who knows if our defense will be as good as they say they are?  I do know that I’m ready for some ribs from sticky fingers, the sea of orange, death valley, Howard’s rock, tiger rag, the HILL, and new possibilities.  

It’s opening week (Middle Tennessee).  I expect there to be a lot of mistakes early on, perhaps due to the hype and the nervousness.  I think reality will settle in quick.  I’m going to take the Tigers by 17.

There are several guys in ministry that I follow and I just had to share this post that rocked me from Summit Church in North Carolina.  This post was written by one of the College ministry workers at Summit Church (Sharon Hodde).  I hope you are blessed by reading this.

“At least once a week, I consider dropping out of ministry.  I’ve heard Mark Driscoll refer to this kind of weekly day-dreaming as “bread truck Mondays”–every Monday he wakes up and thinks about quitting his job and driving a bread truck. Why?  Because driving a bread truck gives you just enough distraction to be stimulating, without requiring you to really think at all.  I can sympathize.

For me, there is a myriad of reasons why I consider quitting ministry on a weekly basis. Some days I’m burned out, some days I feel overwhelmed, and some days I feel unappreciated. And then there are the days when someone blesses me out and calls me everything short of the anti-Christ–those are the days when my friends and family have had to actively stop me from running away and never coming back.

But the MAIN reason that I often consider quitting the ministry, the one reason that I would ever seriously give heed to, is this: my motives for doing ministry are wrong.  There is a misconception that Christians get into ministry to resist the rat race of the secular business world. It’s well known that ministry doesn’t pay well, plus ministry is all about helping people, so it would seem to attract those individuals who are denying the temptations of the American dream. To go into ministry, we must be intentionally forsaking the idols that so many Christians chase after in the secular realm.

This is false.  For many, ministry is merely a Christian version of the worldly ladder of success. While that is not the primary reason that most ministers pursue their vocation, there comes a point at which the lines become blurry. You DO want to reach the lost and you DO want to love the world for the glory of God, but you also want to do it BETTER than everyone else. You want to be great. You want to be remembered as having done something truly remarkable in your generation.

Some ministers veil this desire with language about “doing something great for the Kingdom of God.” They don’t want to look back on their lives and regret their mediocre life’s work. They want to know that they left a mark on the world.  And while I don’t doubt that many of these ministers’ motives are pure, I must admit that mine often are not. I have that exact same passion–I want to do something truly great for God–but I am frequently measuring “greatness” according to the world’s standards, not God’s.

In doing so, I make the strenuous climb up the Christian ladder of success–I put pressure on myself to have a booming ministry, to be a great speaker and a writer, and to compare myself with those who do it better. And when I fail at these things, I feel like an inadequate minister. It doesn’t matter that I spent the whole week meeting one-on-one with students and teaching them to love Jesus more. That sort of ministry isn’t impressive. That sort of minister doesn’t get articles and books written about them.

If all you’re doing is meeting with students and your ministry is small, then you would seem like a pretty mediocre minister. You have the kind of ministry that many pastors would “despair at the thought” of spending their lives leading.  So it is on these days when I feel the pressure to out-perform my teammates, to be the best, the most successful, and the most original minister, writer, speaker and thinker–those are the days when I consider quitting. I think about leaving ministry behind and working at Subway, not because ministry is too hard, but because my call has gotten so thoroughly mangled. I think about quitting the ministry to intentionally take a job in which there is no ladder of success, and purge myself of the desire to serve God for any other reason than my sheer love for Him.

And maybe one day I will. For now, I am learning to be ok with mediocrity–not laziness, not complacency, or apathy–but mediocrity according to the world’s standards. Maybe I won’t have a ministry that the world judges to be a tremendous success. Maybe I won’t be able to tally up thousands of people who prayed the sinner’s prayer because of me. Maybe no one will remember me when I’m gone.

But those standards are not to be found in God’s economy. Sure, God wants all people to experience salvation–you see mass conversions all the time in Acts. But not everyone is a Paul, and God only asks that we do the best we can with the gifts we have. We are to love others radically, we are to speak boldly about Jesus, and we are to live a life that testifies daily to the Gospel. Nothing less, but also nothing more.  So even if you are mediocre according to this world, such a label does not matter as long as you are a good and faithful servant to God. This is hard for me to remember as I stand in the shadow of so many successful pastors and writers, but it is in those moments that I am reminded that worldly success, even when it’s achieved in a Christian context, will all be burned away. The big church buildings, the millions of books–they will all pass away come eternity. Those things can certainly be effective tools for God’s Kingdom, but they do not distinguish the sheep from the goats.”

• The Reason For God: Belief in an age of Skepticism Timothy Keller 
• The Joy of a Word Filled Family John Barnett
• Time to Get Serious (Devotionals) Tony Evans 
• The Next Generation Leader Andy Stanley
• The Deliberate Church: Building your ministry on the Gospel Mark Dever