Susan Dohse: The First Gospel Wave and Sanctification
TRANSCRIPT can be opened in different tab/window.
Do Christians Really Have a Clue? I’m Just Asking!
Notice: it is not, I repeat, NOT the goal of this post to criticize the following brother for what he posted on Facebook. I’m just posing a question. Is that ok?
Nevertheless, here is the post:
“At the beginning of last year, I set up 30 chairs in our youth room and started praying that God would bring in the young people that were supposed to be a part of Dunamis Youth. I told our 10 faithful youth to start praying for God to fill the seats. Tonight, at 7:10, a young man, who came late because of basketball practice came in and sat down in the last empty seat!! Praise God, I’m gonna go set up more seats!”
Per the usual, because it sounds good (the modern-day Good Churchkeeping seal of approval), the following comments ensued preceded by revealed forethought demonstrated by their length:
huge PRAISE! great job!
God is good
Awesome! I hope you have so many you have to build a new building! Keep doing what your doing man.
WTG Matt!!
Woohoo!!!
That gave me chills!!!! That is awesome!!!!
Praise God!
I think us “dancers” may have to find more room and a new spot to stand at(: haha
WONDERFUL!!!
That is wonderful!!!
That is just AWESOME Matt!! GOD IS GREAT!!
Good thing Matt! More empty seats & more prayers! God is good!
Matt!! Here is YOUR Word for the day!! (Maybe, really, for the rest f your life!) 1 Cor. 1:6!!!
thats wonderful MAtt! when do you meet?
The jury of fourteen is in with their judgment (sorry about slipping with the no-no word) verdict: “God did it.” Oh really? How do we know that? Why exactly would God send them? Is it God who fills the 25,000 seat auditorium at Joel Osteen’s church? Some say “yes,” others would say “no.” How do we know? Do we know positively that God filled those chairs? And if He didn’t, is it alright to make such assumptions because they’re feel-good assumptions? Does positive + feel-good = truth?
Ok, let’s assume God sent them. Why would he? I didn’t ask the brother why he thought God would; he may have a very good reason, but the first part of this story is far too indicative of our church culture:
Q: Why would God send them?
A: Like, because of the gospel dude.
Q: What’s the gospel?
A: Like, you know, what Jesus did for us man.
Q: So, is that all you are going to teach?
A: Duuuuude, of course not!
Q: So what are you going to teach?
A: Dude, I have it all planned out. We are going to start by teaching through “Crazy
Love” written by the Chanster.
Q: Then what?
A: Dunno dude, depends on the next biggest gig to come out man.
All too often, church strategy can be summed up by one goal: get more people here to talk about Jesus. And that usually entails talking about what other people say about Jesus, not anything derived from deep study by local church leaders.
In fact, “strategy” sounds really unspiritual, no? That could be why most local churches really don’t have a clue as to why they are here and what they are doing. But it’s not complicated. Christ’s mandate to the church is not, “get people saved.” His mandate to the church is “make disciples.” Christ doesn’t want a bunch of saved people—He wants disciples. Christ is savior. True. He is also Lord. Equally true. And the goal is to have disciples whose lives are “built on a rock” by “[hearing] these words of mine and [putting] them into practice.” That’s a biblical goal: teaching disciples how to put the full counsel of God into practice so we have lives built on a rock. Lives that also preach the gospel. Biblical thinking, biblical praying, and biblical doing. All of God’s counsel, and ALL of God’s people. Every moment of church life should be working towards doing that as much as possible. And I contend that it takes planning, good communication, and knowing why we are here and what we are doing.
Fill chairs. Sure. But why?
paul
The “That’s Cool!” Hermeneutic and Discernless Christianity
The above video is all the rage among Christians on the net and Facebook. “Cool!” “Awesome!” “Beautiful!” And of course, theological commentaries that cannot be backed with Scripture in the least. At last weekend’s Crowns concert, they thought it would be “cool” to do the same thing. Is this not the standard for truth in our day? Coolness. Oh, and I have a problem that maybe someone can help me with: there is a verse of Scripture in either Psalms or Proverbs that speaks of the mind that is an open door to everything. The person just opens the door and invites in everything that knocks. Got to find that verse! (free book for anyone who finds it).
While the talent can be appreciated, I just don’t know what part of Exodus 20:4 Christian’s don’t understand. By the way, Church on the Rock in Monroe, OH is in the process of rebuilding the giant Jesus that is the laughingstock among unbelievers in Ohio (according to unbelieving locals, God struck the first one with lightning and burned it down). Christians need more focus on what Jesus said and not what he supposedly looked like. Sorry to be a party-pooper.
”In the form” and “anything” seems clear to me. But of course, Moses was talking about idol worship, right? So, shouldn’t Jesus always be the focus of our worship? Or is the exception when we make images of Him? Idol worship isn’t idol worship when we make a form of Jesus? But He is in heaven, right? I’m I just putting too much stock in nouns, verbs, and prepositions?
Also, in a contemporary Christianity that is falling all over itself to “make much of Jesus,” do these drawings really exemplify His glory? Why would we want to lower Him to such images? And drawing Him upside down? Geez, what’s that all about?!
”To exemplify the artist’s talent.” Exactly.
And at the end where he throws and splatters paint all over the finished product, which is Jesus—I know that’s accent, but dunno, makes me uneasy.
And by the way, why are all of these pictures ALWAYS of a suffering Jesus looking down with a crown of thorns on His head? What about the Jesus that returns on a white horse dressed in a vesture soaked in blood and a sword that He will use to smite the nations? Still waiting for that one.
paul
Extending Grace?
I am having great difficulty with answering some of the questions in my First Place 4 Health Bible Study. The questions have to do with extending grace to others in order to influence their belief in God, and offering grace to others because grace in an undeserved gift from God. I went to my favorite online dictionary to broaden my perspective on the word grace. There were definitions from Christian theology to Greek goddesses, luck to a blessing said at a meal- 21 different definitions for the word grace when used as a noun.
I went to the concordance of my trusty New Scofield Reference Bible and looked up the many verses from both Old and New Testaments that contained the word grace and gained more insight about the word.
How to answer the two questions from my Bible Study requires me to answer two other questions first:
1) Whose grace am I extending, God’s or my own in order to influence others in their belief in God? (The study question was: How might your extending grace to others influence their belief in God/)
2) Whose grace do I offer to others, God’s or my own? (The study question was: If grace is an undeserved gift from God (not a reward that is earned), then how should that affect our attitude about offering grace to others?)
Grace is an undeserved gift from God. My salvation is because of His grace. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Eph. 2:8,9 I cannot offer salvation to others, only God through His grace can save; therefore, I must conclude that I extend a human act of grace to others in hope to influence their belief in God. ( Right?) Which definition of grace do I extend? Kindness and compassion, love, mercy, favor, disposition to serve another, a privilege conferred? It certainly must depend upon the situation and person. (Right?) I can only offer human expressions of grace to those around me and I must offer those expressions with humility and as acts of service.
There are numerous times we offer too much grace to our believing friends and that in turn creates an unhealthy spiritual environment for all parties. We can keep extending grace to sinning friends so that it becomes a shield or an excuse for their continuing in wrong behavior or sin. There is a place for biblical confrontation and great care and discernment must be used to determine when to extend grace or when to apply consequences.
Let me cite this recent example:
I returned to the First Place 4 Health Bible Study and Support Group after having been absent for over a year.( Paul and I were ministering on Wednesday evenings at another church.) The core group of women was still present, as well as several new enrollees. While listening to several of the core members I realized one was still discussing the same issue: how to keep from going to Tim Horton’s for mocha lattes. For the three years she had been with us in the group, she was still struggling with mocha lattes. (She had not lost any weight over the course of the three years.) To my horror, the ladies laughed it off and then began talking about deep fried Snickers, and other unhealthy snacks they preferred. The answer from the leader,” Well Dee, we’ll just have to pray for you this week.”
Where is grace in that? Dee should have been confronted about how she was taking the First Place Commitments and making them a mockery. She should have been given a plan for having success in making better choices that involved her husband and children to help hold her accountable. How was extending more grace to Dee influencing the new members to put off the unhealthy habits that created the fat rolls and put on healthy habits instead? It created instead a loophole for those new members. “When I consistently make wrong choices, there will be more grace extended to me”, is what they will begin to believe. In AA circles this is called “enabling the addict.”
Our First Place group should attend some AA meetings. If an alcoholic were to confess that they struggled with going through the drive through to purchase wine coolers, the AA leader and the other members would spend a large amount of time confronting that member and coming up with a plan for more accountability. How do I know that? I used to attend 2-3 AA meetings a week with Wayne ( my first husband, now deceased), and witnessed several times how weak members were confronted about their choices. No grace. They were rebuked, instructed in the rules of AA, and offered help to be victorious one day at a time. Why should we women who make First Place Commitments to eat healthy and follow the “live-it plan” be treated any differently? Come on, First Place Friends—stop using grace as an excuse for bad behavior!
susan
Guest Writer, Susan Dohse: Provoked by Her Husband
This cannot be accomplished if I stay at the foot of the cross contemplating my precious Savior’s death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus said to take up the cross and follow Him.
I asked my husband if I could write an article for his blog. With some reservation he agreed. Why do I want to write an article? Because my husband provokes me. To be truthful, he has provoked me from the very beginning of our relationship, and he continues to provoke me.
With purse in one hand and my trusty Scofield Reference Bible in the other I met Paul for the first time over coffee at Perkins. Not to be outdone, he pulled his Bible out of his briefcase and placed it on the table next to his laptop. Thus began the first of many provocations.
I teach school and am entering my 38th year of teaching. As a lover of words I chose to use the word provoke for a reason. According to the dictionary, provoke means to move a person to action, to goad or stimulate one into a renewed vigor or action. Therefore, the reason for the use of the word. Let me repeat: My husband provokes me.
Anyone who has known me for a while is aware of how much I cherish my personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is first my Redeemer, the author and finisher of my faith. He is my sustainer, my refuge in time of trouble. Without Him, I would be nothing. My husband knows my life’s story and in spite of that knowledge, wraps me daily in the healing arms of his love. But, dear friends, Paul continues to provoke me.
He provokes me to move deeper into the study of God’s Word, to listen with discernment to what is being said about the Word of God, to read with discernment what other “godly” authors write, and to speak with discernment.
Recently, Paul has provoked me to move from the foot of the cross to a greater joy and reveling; that being, doing the work that God calls me to do each day. Jesus taught his disciples how to have a servant’s heart by taking up the basin and towel. He warned his followers that there would be a yoke to carry, a harvest to glean, a going, a teaching, a discipling that must be continued until He comes again. This cannot be accomplished if I stay at the foot of the cross contemplating my precious Savior’s death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus said to take up the cross and follow Him.
When I became a believer at the age of 8, I experienced joy, peace, contentment, and a myriad of other emotions. When I close my eyes and remember the day I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior I can experience those emotions again. But, the joy, peace, and contentment I experience daily as I go forth to serve the Lord, applying His words to my life, go far deeper than when I first believed. I attribute this to being provoked by my dear husband.
I hope you have someone in your life that provokes you in the same way.
susan
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
leave a comment