Pastor Youcef's Letter and the American Church

Check out this letter written by Pastor Youcef from prison.

Pastor Youcef's letter really gives us some perspective about American christianity. Here are some thoughts I have about American christianity after reading Pastor Youcef's letter:

1. Does how and what your church teaches you from God's Word prepare you to be willing to lay down your life for the sake of the gospel? Does your church teach you to GLADLY suffer for the gospel?

2. Those who worship in American churches tend to be horrified at the idea of suffering for the cause of Christ, but Pastor Youcef, in the tradition of our first century brothers and sisters, considers it a high honor. Are you willing to lay down your life for Christ? If not, why not?

3. Is the standard of salvation we practice in America the true measure of salvation? In the early church, people were willing to lose jobs, property, and even life for Christ on the day of their salvation. In Iran, you have to be ready to suffer for the faith starting on the day of your salvation. In America, we declare people born again after they have accepted a very simplistic explanation of the gospel and recited a prayer without ever having taken the time to count the cost of becoming a Christ-follower. Why have we separated the two ideas of "Savior" and "Lord"? If you haven't confessed Him as Lord of your life, how are you of Christ?

4. Pastor Youcef mentions to his congregation in his letter that he wants to remind them of the verses they study together EVERYDAY. The Korean church gathers early every morning for prayer. In America, believers wont show up for a weekly or montly prayer gathering at their church. Beyond that, we struggle with choosing between baseball games or going to worship on just one morning a week.

5. While our brothers and sisters around the world practice a christianity that expects them to lay down their life for the cause of Christ, we are asking questions like: "what progams do you have for my kids?", "how does that pastor make me feel?", "what color is the carpet?", "how long are the services?".

6. What are we communicating to our brothers and sisters in places like Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and China when we are too scared to go on a one week mission trip to Estonia or London, never mind the Middle East, and yet they have to live permanently in those spiriutal climates?

The American church is soft and weak. The metaphor holds: we build cruiseships and not battleships; we pamper customers instead of preparing soldiers. In many ways, I'm ready for persecution to come to the American church. If Billy Graham is correct in claiming up to 80% of Southern Baptists are actually unbelievers, and I tend to agree with him, then our churches will be cut by up to 80% when persecution comes. We will know who is truly of the Lord. Growth formulas, program driven models, and glitzy pomp and circumstance pastors conferences will be gone. We will be exhorting each other to remain faithful even during the moment of our hanging or beheading. We will be figuring out how to support our church members who are unemployed and homeless because of their stand for Christ. We will be reminding each other that Jesus is worth it when our children are taken from us "for their own protection". This is the reality in which many of our brothers and sisters live. To us, their plight is a distant phenomenon, to them, it is simply what it means to be a Christian.

I'm grateful for Pastor Youcef's example to me as a Christ follower. I'm praying for him so much. I'm in awe of him. His joy and confidence in the midst of his suffering, his strong letter of encouragement from his prison cell to his flock, and his determination all indicate there must be a special dispensation of grace given to the martyr by Christ in the final hours. It reminds me of Stephen smiling from ear to ear while being stoned to death. If and when we are ever called on to lay down our lives for the cause of Christ, it will be difficult to be sure, but there will also be the grace of Christ like we have never known it. We would truly participate in His suffering. I pray I will have the faith of Pastor Youcef. God is good.

Church Life Series Update

I'm continuing the Church Life series in midweek worship. We are studying the critical components of the local church that when done biblically, create an environment inside of which the Lord does His glorious work of life change in us. Things like church membership, church discipline, biblical preaching, the correct gospel, biblical organizational structure, and the like. These are the factors that should matter to the Christ follower when finding a church, when evaluating their own church, or when planting a new church. These are the reproduceable factors anywhere in the world, in any ministry context. These are the marks of a healthy church.

I'm delivering this series with a style very different than our congregation is used to seeing from me. I'm reading from a manuscript instead of memorizing it and delivering it without notes. I'm doing this on purpose. First, I want to teach and not preach these biblical principles and this style is forcing me to do that. Second, I want to be very precise in what I say about a lot of detailed information because the audios of this series will be used a lot in the future at NEHBC. When the series started, I was very nervous about using this format. I was certain that by week three, nobody would be coming. Who wants to go hear Nathan read a paper on a week night about issues that not many people are talking about? But interestingly, attendance has gone up. I'm getting lots of positive feedback. As one man told me, "I wish someone had taught me this stuff 30 years ago, I'm seeing things completely differently now."

While I still think the delivery is awkward and I am uncomfortable doing it this way, to be sure, the spirit in the room during the teaching time and the genuine, biblical fellowship taking place after the worship service is telling me that the Lord is in this. I never ceased to be amazed that when you talk about the things the Lord wants to talk about, it will rarely draw a crowd, but those that come will be given by the Holy Spirit the eyes to see and they will see.

Glory to God.

I suppose a season of numerical growth and facility expansion at NEHBC is a good time to discuss this issue. What is the measure of a church? How do you know if your church is “successful” or “on the right track”? As westerners and people trained to be corporate types, we tend to measure the local church in the same way we measure our secular businesses: numbers. How many buns are in the seats? How much money is coming in? How many square feet is the facility? People raised in a church who end up at NEHBC, frequently point out that we talk very little, in fact almost rarely about these things. The reason is quite simply because…who cares!

Since the New Testament church was launched by the Holy Spirit of God in the Middle East in the 1st Century, we can rest assured that the western, corporate mindset is not God’s measure of a local church. The local church has no geopolitical nationality, but is rather “homeless”, as she has as her Head, Jesus Christ, who has no nationality in His deity, and as her home this place called Heaven. Since we can establish that the concept of the local church is not tied to a particular country or region of the world, but is rather temporarily here from another world, we can confidently conclude that every local church in every part of the world should be able to be measured by the same measures. The measure of a local church in America must also be the measure of a local church in Indonesia as well as in Tanzania. Clearly, a western, corporate mindset is not the measure of a local church. 

So, if the measure of a church is not western, corporate numbers, then what is the measure of a church? Check out 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: “I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” Thomas White, Vice President of Student Services at Southwestern Seminary, once wrote that, “changed lives are the mission of the church, not the measure of the church.” Our mission is to make disciples, but the number of disciples we make is the not the measure of a church. If it is, then we have some big biblical problems we can’t solve. Let me point out just one:

• “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” With all due respect to my reformed friends, God’s mission is to save as many people as possible; ideally, everyone. Yet, what did Jesus say in Matthew 7:13-14? Narrow is the gate that leads to life AND FEW FIND IT. Another time, Jesus said, “In that day, many will say, “Lord, Lord”, but I will say get away from Me you evil doer, I never knew you.” God’s mission is to save as many as possible, but only a few people relative to the potential number are actually going to be saved. If numbers are the measure of a ministry, then God’s ministry is a failure. Do you really want to go there?

Dr. White is correct, changed lives are the mission of the church, but not the measure. It is not ultimately about numbers. (Now, to be sure, I’m not arguing that numbers are irrelevant—they can indicate something is wrong or that a less than healthy ministry is taking place—but, they are not the final arbiter on spiritual endeavors. They are not the final measure of a ministry.)

So then, what are the measurables of a local church? Look back at 1 Corinthians 3:6-7: we sow seeds and water them, but ONLY God brings the growth—spiritually and numerically. In the local church, spiritual and numerical growth is God’s department. That is what the verse says, unfortunately, not many believe it to be true. We are not responsible for numerical or spiritual growth. Can you believe that? Such a statement is completely foreign to our western, corporate mindset, but there it is in black and white. Growth is not our department.

So then, what are we responsible for? Well, if God is responsible for the growth in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, all that leaves for us is the planting and watering. We must work hard to create the environment in which God can grow things. We set the table for God to do His part of the equation. Thus, the true measure of a local church is not numbers, but how well we are setting the table for God to work. How well are we doing the things that create an environment in which life change can happen? How healthy is our church? How New Testament is our church? How much does our church look like the church we see in the New Testament? The true measure of a church is her biblical health, not her size. I mean it when I say I’d rather pastor a healthy church of 80 than a non-New Testament church of 1,000. I would rather be a member of a healthy church of 80 than an unhealthy church of 1000 or 3000 or 5000. I admire pastors who are building healthy churches, not pastors who are building bigger churches. I hope I’m numbered among the former and not the latter.

So, if the true measure of a church is her health and not her size, then one must ask, “what are the New Testament indicators of a healthy church?”. To be sure, there are numerous indicators of a healthy local church, but some flow out of others and some are secondary to others. There are a few choice New Testament indicators of church health. Mark Dever does a good job numbering nine big signs of a health church: 1. Expositional preaching. 2. Biblical theology. 3. The correct gospel. 4. A biblical understanding of conversion. 5. A biblical understanding of evangelism. 6. A biblical understanding of church membership. 7. Biblical church discipline. 8. Discipleship. 9. Biblical church leadership. In fact he has written an outstanding book on the matter of measuring the health of a church called, 9Marks of a Healthy Church. I’d highly recommend it to everyone. I don’t agree with all of his application of these nine marks, but I do agree that these are nine big indicators of a healthy church. 

When they are done biblically, seeds are planted and watered, and the table is set for God to bring spiritual and numerical growth as He desires. Many at NEHBC who have been raised in the church know we are very different from what they are used to, some can’t quite put their finger on it. This is it. This is what sets NEHBC apart from what some are used to. We are much more interested in the health of our church than the size. I am more interested in this flock doing things biblically than I am in weekly attendance. There are a rapidly growing number of churches who are coming to understand that health must be the focus of the local church. I pray one day there are churches in every city who do things biblically. To pastors leading long established, program driven churches, entrenched in western, corporate mindset, the challenges are great. Practicing church discipline can split the church because afterall, that is definitely NOT going to draw a crowd. Expository preaching might not be embraced because that is not viewed as seeker sensitive and appealing to the unchurched who are looking for emotional and cathartic spiritual experiences. For a nine year old church like NEHBC that was birthed into this mindset, the path forward is much easier. Nonetheless, I’d appeal to pastors everywhere to chase after the biblical health of a local church rather than her size. The Lord will handle His department just fine.

I hope you can see how while the western, corporate measure of a local church cannot be applied to every local church in every part of the world, these biblical indicators of health can be applied. Every local church regardless of her context should be preaching biblically, practicing meaningful membership, practicing biblical discipleship, have a proper understanding of the gospel, etc. Restoring biblical integrity to the practices of our local churches would go a long way toward spiritual awakening in our churches which in turn would lead to revival in our countries. Simply put, when the focus is on church health, it is church done God’s way.

(By the way, on Wednesday nights, in midweek worship, I’m teaching a series on the local church called, Church Life. I’m using this series to teach our church family about a proper perspective of the local church. We are examining the biblical indicators of church health so we can know the measurable of our church. We just wrapped up a miniseries on church membership and next week we start a two part series on church discipline. Glory to God.)

how we ended up picking FBC Navarre as our home away from home?

Since FBC Navarre was the result of Nicole's research, I'll just share with you the process she followed. Two weeks before we left Houston, she was already checking out local church options on-line. Here was the argument she brought behind her suggestion as she rolled it out to me:

First, they affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 on their website. Very good. NEHBC belongs to a network of like-minded local churches, the SBC, who voluntarily cooperate together in ministry. There are more than 40,000 churches in the network. So no matter where we travel stateside, we first look for an SBC church. One of the requirements for belonging to the SBC is that a local church affirm a shared statement of beliefs called the BFM 2000 (no, not the 1963--that one is obsolete). This is NEHBC's statement of faith. One of the many advantages of belonging to a SBC church is that when you are on the road, you can easily identify other local churches that share NEHBC's positions on the key doctrines of Scripture. Like we do at NEHBC, other SBC churches also require all who teach the bible in their church to teach in accordance with and not contrary to the BFM 2000. So, the fastest and most effective way to identify a local church where your family can worship with a sense of spiritualy security and safety is at a church who affirms the BFM 2000. Look for it on their website. Another way would be to go to the SBC's website and do a church search based on the town where you will need a place to worship. The churches listed on that website affirm the BFM 2000. Most of the time, this is probably enough for identifying a local church while on the road.

Second, she checked out the pastor's training and noted he received his formal education at one of the SBC's six seminaries. Since a healthy percentage of the money you tithe to NEHBC in large part funds these seminaries, and thus makes you part owner, you should at least familiarize yourself with the names of these schools: Golden Gate (San Franscisco/West Coast), Midwestern (Kansas City), Southwestern (Fort Worth), New Orleans, Southern, (Louisville, KY), and Southeastern (Wake Forest, NC,--no, not the university, the town.) If a pastor has graduated from one of these schools, it is very likely a good indication that the local church you are considering is sound.

Third, it was close. Proximity matters. To be sure, we would drive an hour to worship if it was the only viable option, but close is better. This particular church is only five minutes from where we are staying.

Next time you are on the road looking for a local community of believers with whom you can worship on your sabbath day, consider following this process Nicole used.

why do we worship at a local church when we are on vacation?

Yesterday morning on the way to worship at FBC Navarre, FL, I reminded the kids of why it is important for us to go to worship on our sabbath day even while on vacation.

First, it’s the 4th commandment nestled in there with idolatry, murder, adultery, and stealing. Just because we are on vacation doesn’t mean we don’t go to worship. If the 4th commandment only counts when we are in Houston, which of the other nine also only count when we are in Houston? It's important for my PKs (pastor's kids) to know that even if daddy was not a pastor, we would still be in worship every Sunday. This isn't a pastor thing, this is a "we love Jesus so much there is nothing we'd rather do on our sabbath day than get together with a local christian community and worship Him" thing. Seriously--how could anything else compare to worshipping Christ? This first point ought to make us grateful we have so many local communities of Christians here where we live and ought to cause us to double our efforts to plant churches among UPGs. Never take the availablity of local churches along your domestic vacation routes for granted. It is an extreme spiritual luxury from God. Thank you, Lord.

Second, if possible, we need to establish a spiritual home even while out of town, and sometimes especially when we are out of town. Since we will be here for almost two weeks, if possible, we should establish a temporary church home; tie ourselves to a local community of fellow Christians. We never know what is going to happen to us while we are in town.

Third, in the early church, when Christians would travel by ship or overland, they were put up for the night by the Christian community in whatever town they were in at nightfall. They would also worship with the Christian community in whatever town they were in on the sabbath day--check out Paul at Philippi in the book of Acts: "being that it was the sabbath day, we set out to find a place of worship and finding none we went to the watering hole outside the city" (NLIV--"nathan lino international version). The early believers went to worship with a community of Christians on the sabbath day. Would Paul even recognize our convenienced based, man-centered, 21st century, American christianity in which we don't go to worship on our sabbath day because the Lord has blessed us with so much money and paid time off that we decide not to include Him in our vacation? Ouch! Call me legalistic....whatever helps you sleep at night. ;) Let me get back on the main trail here: today, a Christian community is the local church. Sure, due to our extreme wealth, we don’t have the tradition or culture of putting up Christian strangers for the night who are passing through our town--although we certainly should if the opportunity arises. Yet, we still must worship with the Christian community (church) in the town we are in. It’s good for us to see what is going on in other churches and it reminds us that we are all part of the KOG.

All in all, it was a good teaching moment in the car with the kids as we went to worship so I thought I'd share it here.