I recieved this email from my pastor and I thought I would pass it along to all of you here. Feel free to respond or simply reflect as you will. I warn you now that it's long but it's worth the read. As you go over this, take the time between each section and reflect on the impact of your own life and be brutally honest with yourself in your responses, whether in response via post, or within your own heart.
_____________________________________________________________
Dear Beloved Church (and friends of Oasis),
I know that it is likely some of you will not have received or read this email until after this Sunday's worship gathering, and that is okay. The principles will still apply for any week. My hope is that you will be encouraged and challenged to apply it to whatever day you happen to read it. I basically am going to present you with a series of challenges. And regardless of who you are, how often you connect with Oasis through a worship gathering or some other meeting or ministry, or whether you have ever connected with Oasis at all, I hope you will consider taking these challenges. I can guarantee that if you do, your life may never be the same.
What I am not going to do is write an entire sermon out here in this email. I am just going to get right to the point. These are not going to be deep, theological principles and challenges that will require you to do a lot of contemplation or reflection. Most of them can be answered fairly quickly. Most of them can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". In fact, we answer these questions with a "yes" or "no" every week, whether we recognize it or actually consciously say it or not. These challenges are always in front of us. I am just going to bring them to the forefront of you mind right now. Consider this a confrontation. However, a loving confrontation. I have no desire to force anything upon you. Its your computer; you can walk away from it whenever you want to. Its your inbox; you can hit the delete button if you so choose. So, without any further ado, here is my series of questions/challenges to you (JUST A WORD OF WARNING... I am not going to pull any punches. Some of these questions may cut or hit a tender spot. You may even find you will be tempted to get defensive at times. Perhaps you will even begin to make excuses why you don't have to be confronted with such questions. In such case, that's fine. Just walk away. But if you are up for it, give it a try.). Okay, here we go:
1. How much time have you spent reading God's Word, the Holy Bible, today? Yesterday? This week? This month?
Would you believe that in a recent Gallup poll taken of more than 20,000 of professed Christians who attend church on a regular basis only 16% of them said they read the Bible daily. If that trend is also true among Oasis, that means if we have 60 people, less than 10 of you actually read your Bible every day. Less than 50% (48%) actually read it at all... EVER! And less than 10% of Christians who regularly attend church have read the Bible all the way through.
Where do you fit in those polls?
Do you want to do better? Stop making excuses for why you do not/cannot/choose not to read the Bible. It is our source of nourishment. There is no other alternative to growing stronger in the Christian faith.
2. How much time have you spent in prayer this week? Who have you prayed for? Who have you prayed with? Is prayer a regular part of your daily life?
If you read the statistics about Bible reading and felt ashamed, then I am sad to say that the trend is not much different when it comes to prayer.
We have the opportunity to approach God in conversation. To tell Him about what we are dealing with at the moment. To ask Him for His advice. To tell Him about what brings us joy. To give Him our burdens and things we are anxious about. And the best part is, He WANTS to hear all of that. But looking back over the past week, how often did you actually talk to Him? If it is not a regular part of our lives, it will usually slip our minds and we just never will.
What will it take to make prayer a regular part of your life?
3. Do you sing songs of worship to God? Or is singing just not that important to you? Do you make excuses for why you do not sing songs of worship to God?
I would bet almost no one would disagree with challenge #2, that all Christians should pray. We understand prayer. In fact, most Christians probably actually pray more than they sing. If I were to ask this question to a group about singing worship to God, I would probably get a host of different answers: sometimes, all the time, never, or "I can't sing", or even "I worship without singing" (I am NOT saying it isn't possible to worship without singing, but I am asking us to be challenged in this area for a moment).
If you ask Christians which is the more important practice, the answer will most likely be prayer. Why? Because it is the act that we have been taught for years. We are taught to pray from the time we become Christians. For some of us, we are taught before we are Christians as part of our bed time activities, or when a crisis hits our lives. Prayer is good as it is a necessary element for the Christian to communicate with the Lord. We take our requests to Him, and we pray for our lost friends and families. The Bible tells us to pray at all times, to pray without ceasing. We cannot eliminate prayer from our lives and expect to know God more. We cannot live from day to day without coming to Him in quiet meditation. Prayer is one of the foundations that a believer must base his faith upon. If we are to truly know God and build a relationship with Him, prayer must be a vital part of our lives.
But why is it that all people do not sing? How is it that people go to a church gathering week in and week out and never once lift their voice in song? Isn't singing a part of our worship expression to God? Is singing only for the talented? The fact is there are many churches all over America where people simply will not sing. It is as if they are refusing to for one reason or another. If you hold the belief that the word "sing" is mentioned so many times in the Bible because it is an important act, then how can someone go through life without practicing it in worship? Sadly, many of these same people will sing to the radio in their cars. Why is that? Is it education? Is it a lack of knowledge of the Bible? Is it lack of passion for God?
When you sing, you are offering your worship to the Lord. You are using one of the most powerful tools that has the ability to touch the emotions of people, and also bless and touch God. Music has always been a powerful instrument in the Bible. Walls fell down when instruments were played. We cannot deny the power of music on the human level, as well as to Christians. You don't even have to ask a non-Christian if they like music or if it moves them, the billions of dollars spent annually speaks for itself. Lost people sing, too. They do not sing because they are talented, but because it is enjoyable and it makes them feel good.
If you refuse to sing you are missing out on a great treasure in your worship experience. You are, in a sense, being disobedient to God. You can't sing unto the Lord "a new song" until you first sing unto the Lord "a song". Some may say that David was only saying what he felt. While that is true, if the Bible is the inspired word of God, then it is from God. Revelation 5:13 says, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!'"
There is singing in heaven even now and will be for all time. Why not practice now?
4. If someone were to ask you, "What is God doing in your life right now?" how would you answer that question?
To be able to answer that question means we have to be aware of the reality that God is always at work. He is always working all around you and in your life. Likewise, He is always inviting you to become involved with Him in His work. In order to join Him in what He is doing, we often have to make adjustments to our lives. His invitation to us to join Him causes a crisis of belief which requires faith and action on our part.
Could you explain to someone else what God is doing, how He is moving you to take action and join Him in what He is doing, and what kind of affect that is having on your faith?
5. Do you come to gatherings of the church ready? Expecting to meet with God? Or are you distracted? Are you a distraction to someone else?
Tough questions there. Perhaps one more to add is... do you come at all? Have you been saying, "I really need to go to church more?" but you don't ever make that statement into a reality? What's stopping you?
Ask yourself this question: "What is my primary purpose for going to a church gathering?" And then, "Am I missing the it?" The book of Ephesians seems to indicate that the primary role of the church gathered together is for maturity, growth, strength, comfort, and to spur on one another toward good works. This is why we preach and teach when we are gathered. This is why we sing. This is why we pray. This is why we share in the Lord's Supper. All else is secondary.
One of the questions above was, "are you distracted," or "are you a distraction?" It is easy to put yourself in a position to be distracted. It is also easy to become the distraction for someone else. As long as we aware of the magnitude of what the gathered church is, and the reality that God's presence is among us and wanting to meet with each and every one of us, then it will most likely make us a little more aware of distractions, and thus eliminate all possibilities of either being distracted or being the distraction.
6. Answer this question: "On a scale of 1-10 (1 = we barely know each other; 10 = we are best friends), my relationship with Jesus Christ is a __________."
Do you know what it would it take to increase that number? Let me give you a hint... the answer is in challenges 1 through 5. The best way to get to know God is by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you. And that experience comes packaged in the form of living out the first 5 of those challenges.
The fact is, if you want a "10" relationship, you can have it. There is no reason why it cannot be attained.
Final Thoughts
I am going to be real honest with you. In the past 7 years or so I have really hesitated to make such bold and challenging statements for reasons of not wanting to sound so dogmatic and legalistic. But the plain truth of the matter is this: you will never experience the quality of Christian life that God intends for you to experience if you are not at least making efforts in the above areas.
If it makes me legalistic to say that, then I suppose I am a legalist now. But I don't think it does. Rather, I think it is just being responsible as a pastor. To withhold such challenges to you would be to neglect the shepherding duty that is entrusted to us by Jesus.
If you made it this far in the email, then my prayer for you is that you have been challenged, not offended. The Gospel can be sharp and pointed at times. Sometimes it comes to us gently and we are comforted by it. Other times it comes to us like a roaring lion or a two-edged sword, and it wakes us up with a load roar or cuts us deep with conviction. Leslie Newbigin said that the Gospel is like a pharmacon: it brings both life and death, depending on its recipient. To some who hear the tough challenges of the Word of God, they are convicted at heart and receive it. Thus bringing a renewed life and passion to their soul. While others may hear the challenges of the Word, and rather than receive it, their heart is like a hardened stone and the Word bounces off without any change. Thus confirming the death that is already present.
I pray for you as I send this word. And I pray that you will be blessed having received these words with a glad and sincere heart.
I love you church.
_____________________________________________________________
Dear Beloved Church (and friends of Oasis),
I know that it is likely some of you will not have received or read this email until after this Sunday's worship gathering, and that is okay. The principles will still apply for any week. My hope is that you will be encouraged and challenged to apply it to whatever day you happen to read it. I basically am going to present you with a series of challenges. And regardless of who you are, how often you connect with Oasis through a worship gathering or some other meeting or ministry, or whether you have ever connected with Oasis at all, I hope you will consider taking these challenges. I can guarantee that if you do, your life may never be the same.
What I am not going to do is write an entire sermon out here in this email. I am just going to get right to the point. These are not going to be deep, theological principles and challenges that will require you to do a lot of contemplation or reflection. Most of them can be answered fairly quickly. Most of them can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". In fact, we answer these questions with a "yes" or "no" every week, whether we recognize it or actually consciously say it or not. These challenges are always in front of us. I am just going to bring them to the forefront of you mind right now. Consider this a confrontation. However, a loving confrontation. I have no desire to force anything upon you. Its your computer; you can walk away from it whenever you want to. Its your inbox; you can hit the delete button if you so choose. So, without any further ado, here is my series of questions/challenges to you (JUST A WORD OF WARNING... I am not going to pull any punches. Some of these questions may cut or hit a tender spot. You may even find you will be tempted to get defensive at times. Perhaps you will even begin to make excuses why you don't have to be confronted with such questions. In such case, that's fine. Just walk away. But if you are up for it, give it a try.). Okay, here we go:
1. How much time have you spent reading God's Word, the Holy Bible, today? Yesterday? This week? This month?
Would you believe that in a recent Gallup poll taken of more than 20,000 of professed Christians who attend church on a regular basis only 16% of them said they read the Bible daily. If that trend is also true among Oasis, that means if we have 60 people, less than 10 of you actually read your Bible every day. Less than 50% (48%) actually read it at all... EVER! And less than 10% of Christians who regularly attend church have read the Bible all the way through.
Where do you fit in those polls?
Do you want to do better? Stop making excuses for why you do not/cannot/choose not to read the Bible. It is our source of nourishment. There is no other alternative to growing stronger in the Christian faith.
2. How much time have you spent in prayer this week? Who have you prayed for? Who have you prayed with? Is prayer a regular part of your daily life?
If you read the statistics about Bible reading and felt ashamed, then I am sad to say that the trend is not much different when it comes to prayer.
We have the opportunity to approach God in conversation. To tell Him about what we are dealing with at the moment. To ask Him for His advice. To tell Him about what brings us joy. To give Him our burdens and things we are anxious about. And the best part is, He WANTS to hear all of that. But looking back over the past week, how often did you actually talk to Him? If it is not a regular part of our lives, it will usually slip our minds and we just never will.
What will it take to make prayer a regular part of your life?
3. Do you sing songs of worship to God? Or is singing just not that important to you? Do you make excuses for why you do not sing songs of worship to God?
I would bet almost no one would disagree with challenge #2, that all Christians should pray. We understand prayer. In fact, most Christians probably actually pray more than they sing. If I were to ask this question to a group about singing worship to God, I would probably get a host of different answers: sometimes, all the time, never, or "I can't sing", or even "I worship without singing" (I am NOT saying it isn't possible to worship without singing, but I am asking us to be challenged in this area for a moment).
If you ask Christians which is the more important practice, the answer will most likely be prayer. Why? Because it is the act that we have been taught for years. We are taught to pray from the time we become Christians. For some of us, we are taught before we are Christians as part of our bed time activities, or when a crisis hits our lives. Prayer is good as it is a necessary element for the Christian to communicate with the Lord. We take our requests to Him, and we pray for our lost friends and families. The Bible tells us to pray at all times, to pray without ceasing. We cannot eliminate prayer from our lives and expect to know God more. We cannot live from day to day without coming to Him in quiet meditation. Prayer is one of the foundations that a believer must base his faith upon. If we are to truly know God and build a relationship with Him, prayer must be a vital part of our lives.
But why is it that all people do not sing? How is it that people go to a church gathering week in and week out and never once lift their voice in song? Isn't singing a part of our worship expression to God? Is singing only for the talented? The fact is there are many churches all over America where people simply will not sing. It is as if they are refusing to for one reason or another. If you hold the belief that the word "sing" is mentioned so many times in the Bible because it is an important act, then how can someone go through life without practicing it in worship? Sadly, many of these same people will sing to the radio in their cars. Why is that? Is it education? Is it a lack of knowledge of the Bible? Is it lack of passion for God?
When you sing, you are offering your worship to the Lord. You are using one of the most powerful tools that has the ability to touch the emotions of people, and also bless and touch God. Music has always been a powerful instrument in the Bible. Walls fell down when instruments were played. We cannot deny the power of music on the human level, as well as to Christians. You don't even have to ask a non-Christian if they like music or if it moves them, the billions of dollars spent annually speaks for itself. Lost people sing, too. They do not sing because they are talented, but because it is enjoyable and it makes them feel good.
If you refuse to sing you are missing out on a great treasure in your worship experience. You are, in a sense, being disobedient to God. You can't sing unto the Lord "a new song" until you first sing unto the Lord "a song". Some may say that David was only saying what he felt. While that is true, if the Bible is the inspired word of God, then it is from God. Revelation 5:13 says, "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!'"
There is singing in heaven even now and will be for all time. Why not practice now?
4. If someone were to ask you, "What is God doing in your life right now?" how would you answer that question?
To be able to answer that question means we have to be aware of the reality that God is always at work. He is always working all around you and in your life. Likewise, He is always inviting you to become involved with Him in His work. In order to join Him in what He is doing, we often have to make adjustments to our lives. His invitation to us to join Him causes a crisis of belief which requires faith and action on our part.
Could you explain to someone else what God is doing, how He is moving you to take action and join Him in what He is doing, and what kind of affect that is having on your faith?
5. Do you come to gatherings of the church ready? Expecting to meet with God? Or are you distracted? Are you a distraction to someone else?
Tough questions there. Perhaps one more to add is... do you come at all? Have you been saying, "I really need to go to church more?" but you don't ever make that statement into a reality? What's stopping you?
Ask yourself this question: "What is my primary purpose for going to a church gathering?" And then, "Am I missing the it?" The book of Ephesians seems to indicate that the primary role of the church gathered together is for maturity, growth, strength, comfort, and to spur on one another toward good works. This is why we preach and teach when we are gathered. This is why we sing. This is why we pray. This is why we share in the Lord's Supper. All else is secondary.
One of the questions above was, "are you distracted," or "are you a distraction?" It is easy to put yourself in a position to be distracted. It is also easy to become the distraction for someone else. As long as we aware of the magnitude of what the gathered church is, and the reality that God's presence is among us and wanting to meet with each and every one of us, then it will most likely make us a little more aware of distractions, and thus eliminate all possibilities of either being distracted or being the distraction.
6. Answer this question: "On a scale of 1-10 (1 = we barely know each other; 10 = we are best friends), my relationship with Jesus Christ is a __________."
Do you know what it would it take to increase that number? Let me give you a hint... the answer is in challenges 1 through 5. The best way to get to know God is by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you. And that experience comes packaged in the form of living out the first 5 of those challenges.
The fact is, if you want a "10" relationship, you can have it. There is no reason why it cannot be attained.
Final Thoughts
I am going to be real honest with you. In the past 7 years or so I have really hesitated to make such bold and challenging statements for reasons of not wanting to sound so dogmatic and legalistic. But the plain truth of the matter is this: you will never experience the quality of Christian life that God intends for you to experience if you are not at least making efforts in the above areas.
If it makes me legalistic to say that, then I suppose I am a legalist now. But I don't think it does. Rather, I think it is just being responsible as a pastor. To withhold such challenges to you would be to neglect the shepherding duty that is entrusted to us by Jesus.
If you made it this far in the email, then my prayer for you is that you have been challenged, not offended. The Gospel can be sharp and pointed at times. Sometimes it comes to us gently and we are comforted by it. Other times it comes to us like a roaring lion or a two-edged sword, and it wakes us up with a load roar or cuts us deep with conviction. Leslie Newbigin said that the Gospel is like a pharmacon: it brings both life and death, depending on its recipient. To some who hear the tough challenges of the Word of God, they are convicted at heart and receive it. Thus bringing a renewed life and passion to their soul. While others may hear the challenges of the Word, and rather than receive it, their heart is like a hardened stone and the Word bounces off without any change. Thus confirming the death that is already present.
I pray for you as I send this word. And I pray that you will be blessed having received these words with a glad and sincere heart.
I love you church.
