Category: Deconstruction

Andy Stanley Strikes Again-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

They do not know nor do they understand; They walk around in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken- Psalm 82:5 NASB

We live in an age of crumbling foundations (Psalm 11:3-4). 

Beliefs and doctrinal views once thought to be foundational to Christianity and one-hundred-percent settled in evangelical circles are now “up for debate”.  Once trusted sources of truth are leading the way in questioning previously settled issues of the faith.  Thanks to these blind guides many Christians are asking themselves the question: “did God really say that?” about a myriad of different topics (Matthew 15:14). 

 Andy Stanley, the lead Pastor at Northpoint Community Church in suburban Atlanta is an evangelical leader who bills himself as a conservative while actively attacking foundational truths of the faith. In past statements, interviews, books and sermons he has poked at the foundation of biblical inerrancy. In my opinion he has displayed a lack of respect for the Bible, even recommending Christians minimize the use of Scripture in witnessing and church services in the name of making Christianity “more accessible” to non-Christians.

As if. 

As a general rule, I make a point of criticizing ideas rather than people. It is not my intention to pile on anyone. My aim here is to report the news and clear up any misconceptions about what the Bible has to say concerning issues. You the reader get to decide what you think about said issues.  

So here goes:

Andy Stanley’s church is sponsoring a conference billed as the premier event for Christian parents with LGBTQ children. The marketing material for the conference encourages Christians to “stop taking sides” and find a quieter “middle space” on the issues of homosexuality and gender identity. The speakers chosen for the event include two men who are married to other men and a “theologian” who has “deconstructed” his views on homosexuality and come out the other side convinced the Bible is A-Okay with homosexuality as long as the relationships are “committed and loving”. 

Here’s the thing:

There is no such thing as a “middle space” when it comes to homosexuality and the Bible.  Nor is there an honest middle space or a path to neutrality concerning gender identity. The Bible is unequivocal about a number of different topics: homosexuality and gender are two of them (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17-18, Romans 1:26, 1st Corinthians 6:9, 1st Timothy 1:9-10). 

Period. 

In recent years it has become popular to insist: a) the Bible does not really say what it appears to say about homosexuality. b) The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with homosexuality. c) The Biblical text was changed by overzealous scholars sometime around 1800 to make it more condemning of homosexuality. d) Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Therefore, it is okay under the New Covenant as long as the relationships are consensual, loving and committed.  

None of those views hold up to scrutiny. 

The sin of Sodom was a combination of sexual sin (homosexuality) coupled with a general disregard for the well-being of people (Genesis 19). Leviticus has always been condemning of all sorts of sexual behavior including homosexuality. No one has rewritten the New Testament or misinterpreted any of the Greek words. The Bible says what it says when it comes to sexual sin (not just homosexuality). It is true, Jesus is silent on the issue of homosexuality. However, to Jews homosexuality was a settled issue. Homosexuality was forbidden and the Jews universally agreed it was a sin. There was little point in discussing a settled issue the Jewish people had right. Jesus did tackle divorce, remarriage, the sabbath and myriad of other issues the Jewish people had gotten wrong.  Paul was not silent on homosexuality. This makes sense, he was the apostle to the gentiles. Many gentiles routinely practiced homosexuality. Homosexuality was far from a settled issue in Rome, Greece or Asia Minor.  For more information on these topics I highly recommend The Gay Gospel? By Joe Dallas and What does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality by Kevin DeYoung. Both authors treat the subject biblically while showing compassion for strugglers. 

All that being said: 

I have no idea what the unpardonable sin is. However, I do know it’s NOT homosexuality (Isaiah 1:18, 1stCorinthians 6:9-11, 2nd Corinthians 5:17, 1st John 3:2-4). God does not classify sinners. As far as He is concerned an unsaved person is an unsaved person and a repentant sinner is a repentant sinner. Christians should not treat homosexuality differently than they treat any other sin. All sinners looking for a relationship with Jesus and seeking a lifestyle of repentance should be welcomed into the family of God and loved as if they were Jesus Himself (Mark 9:41, Matthew 25:31-45). 

All that being said:

The church should never embrace an activity God forbids just because its socially expedient to do so. That just might be the working definition of giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). 

And finally:

 There are few people in the church today who feel more isolated or who are more in need of love and support more than Christian parents of LGBTQ kids. I know this because I volunteer a good chunk of my time with two different organizations who offer support groups for parents with LGBTQ kids. If you are a parent with an LGBTQ child or know someone who is. I suggest you skip Andy Stanley’s conference and look up Portland Fellowship instead (www.portlandfellowship.com). Portland Fellowship offers excellent in-person and on-line Bible-based support for parents. All support is designed to help parents love their children well without affirming ungodly choices because that is the path Christians are called to.

How to Stop Bitterness Before it Ruins Your Life-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish- Psalm 25:17 NIV 

Bitterness. 

It’s a big problem (Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 4:31, Acts 8:23). It’s an even bigger temptation.  

Life in a chaotic, sin-sick world just kind of invites the sin of bitterness.

Anyone who lives long enough we will be treated badly by someone for absolutely no reason at all. At some point, the people we thought were trustworthy will turn out to be anything but. Bad things happen to people who least deserve it and most of us will lose someone we love long before we feel its time for them to go. If we experience enough loss, hurt, pain and/or betrayal, before long, bitterness becomes rooted in our hearts and our souls begin to suffer. 

Sigh.  

The book of Hebrews warns against bitter roots because bitterness distorts God’s image within us. The Bible teaches the defiling that comes as a result of bitterness goes on to cause harm to those in our sphere of influence (Hebrews 12:15). The writer of Hebrews gives the WHY of avoiding bitterness but says nothing about the HOW of staying free of bitterness.  

David shows us the how.  

If there is anyone in all of the Bible who had a whole horde of one-hundred-percent legit reasons to become super bitter and didn’t, it was David. David was marginalized by his Father (1st Samuel 16:1-11) and despised by his brothers (1st Samuel 17:28-29).  His first wife turned out to be horrible (1st Chronicles 29).  Saul hunted him down like an animal and attempted to murder him out of simple jealousy (1st Samuel 17-31). On top of all that it took a good, solid fifteen years for God to fulfill the promise He made that David would be king (1st Samuel 16:1-13). Rather than allowing the disappointment, confusion and betrayal he experienced to turn him into a bitter person, David instead, chose to become a better version of himself at every turn. 

The life of David teaches us five things about avoiding bitter roots: 

Always tell God how you feel-  

Even a cursory reading of David’s psalms reveals an outrageous level of honesty on his part. David told God in no uncertain terms how much he loathed his enemies (Psalm 140:1-5). He frequently asked God to avenge the injustices done to him (Psalm 35:11-17, Psalm 109:6-15). He reminded God all the time that it was His job is to judge the wicked and he wasn’t above telling God He needed to get on it (Psalm 5:3-6). He also openly accused God of deliberately hiding from him (Psalm 10:1, Psalm 13:1).  In all this David models a healthy way for Christians to handle potentially destructive feelings. He didn’t attempt to crush his feelings or attempt to hide them. He didn’t pretend like he was somehow above having a bad day or going dark.  Instead He worked through every negative, ugly feeling he had with God until he got to the point he could genuinely praise God for His goodness (Psalm 10, Psalm 35, Psalm 59, Psalm 140, Psalm 109). When we take our fears, frustrations and disappointments to God He does not turn away from us, nor does He judge us for having feelings, even really, really negative feelings. Instead He comforts us and empowers us to process through our feelings in a way that prevents bitter roots.  

 It’s okay to feel but feelings should never run the show- 

It could be argued that David was very vocal about his most negative feelings. However, he never let those feelings drive the bus. David chose to what was right and pleasing to God even when he had been legitimately wronged and had good reason to seek revenge (1st Samuel 18:9-11, 1st Samuel 19:1-9, 1st Samuel 24, 1st Samuel 26). David understood that revenge does not bring us relief from our pain. It only compounds it (Leviticus 19:18, Romans 12:19).

 Listen to those who have your best interests at heart- 

In 1st Samuel twenty-five David was insulted in a big way by a horrible man named Nabal (1st Samuel 25:1-11). David spent some time reflecting on the situation and before long became angry and bitter towards Nabal (1stSamuel 25:12-13). He headed back to Nabal’s house to exact revenge. On his way there, David met Nabal’s wife Abigail and she gently but firmly reminded David he was better and God had more for Him than petty revenge (1st Samuel 25:23-31). David immediately saw the wisdom in her rebuke. He reversed course immediately and God blessed him for it (1st Samuel 25:32-35). God often brings a voice of reason into our most bitter moments. It is wisdom to heed those voices. 

 Learn to praise God in the dark- 

David understood one danger of bitterness is that it can easily turn our hearts against God. If we allow bitterness to run its course we will begin to see God as the cause of our pain rather than the source of our comfort. Making the effort to find the good and then praise God for it acts as a protective shield against bitterness (Psalm 23:4, Psalm 71:20-22, Isaiah 49:13).  

Never hold a grudge- 

No one in all the Bible (except Jesus) was more willing to forgive than David (Matthew 6:15, Colossians 3:13). His willingness to let go of grudges enabled him to avoid the sin of bitterness and feel compassion and even love those who had done him wrong. David’s willingness to forgive is a key reason He was called a man after God’s own heart. 

 I have done my time in the pit of bitterness. 

 I have also (by the grace) of God escaped bitterness in situations that by all rights had every reason to make me a bitter angry jerk.  Through it all I have learned it is way easier to prevent bitterness than to pull oneself out of it.    

Our World is a Busted up Mess-What can we do to fix it?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I- Isaiah 58:8 NIV 

Our world is awash in what can only be described as systemic brokenness.   

Individuals are broken. Families are broken. Culture is broken. Political systems are broken.  

It’s really kind of gross.  

The collective brokenness has led to an epidemic of sexual deviancy and gender confusion, personal woundedness, political bedlam, cultural decay, addiction, offense, psychological damage, loneliness and wrecked relationships.  

Sigh. 

On a practical level this means most folks don’t even know which bathroom to use anymore and biologists are the only ones “qualified” to define what a woman is or isn’t anymore and some of them struggle.  Politics are so fractured the two sides cannot even have a rational discussion anymore. Few bother getting married any more and half of marriages end in divorce. Public schools are propagandizing kids with sex education so weird and revolting it would have been considered hardcore pornography just a few years ago. Sadly, people have become so isolated the government is thinking about ways they can help solve the burgeoning loneliness problem. 

 Everywhere we look people are separated from God and each other. 

 It sucks. A lot.  

Followers of Jesus sincerely believe God has a better plan for this world than what we are seeing and experiencing at this moment in history. One fundamental facet of Christian theology is the belief Jesus came not just to seek and save the lost— but also to bind-up the broken hearted and bring beauty from ashes (Luke 19:10, Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 61:1-3). Christians believe redemption is about more than just individual people getting into heaven. Salvation is about redeemed people experiencing abundant life as we journey our way to heaven and bringing heaven to earth with our actions and attitudes (Matthew 6:10, John 10:10, Matthew 5:13-15).   This faith we have in Jesus’ ability to repair, rebuild, heal and transform should drive us to be a part of the change we want to see in our culture, our educational structures, our political system and in the lives of the people we love.  

Sometimes we struggle with the how.  

 I don’t know everything there is to know about everything (clearly). Nevertheless, there is one thing I know for absolute certain: we cannot lead anywhere we refuse to go.  Therefore, there will be no healing in our world without some heartfelt and brutally honest self-examination on the part of all Christians. Even those who sincerely FEEL they are doing just fine from a spiritual perspective (2ndCorinthians 13:5). I know this is a wildly unpopular perspective in the church, however, I have come to believe with all my heart, mind, soul and strength that the one thing holding the world back from a real and much-needed revival are Christians who are reluctant to admit there might possibly be sin in their own lives.  

Seriously. 

God will not transform our sin-sick culture until Christians get their own houses in order (1st Peter 4:17) and not a moment sooner. This means we must recognize that no matter how good we are or how far we’ve come God wants to take us further and make us better. Growth and personal transformation prepare us to lead others out of their brokenness.  

Prayer is a critical step in any process of transformation.  There are some things that cannot happen without serious prayer (Mark 9:29. Daniel 9:3, Acts 14:23) Sadly, numerous studies reveal the typical western Christian prays a grand total of three minutes a day. Seriously. It’s true. Three minutes. We spend five hours a day on our phones and three minutes a day in prayer.  I assume those who read this blog are above average in this area. Which simply means we need to be praying all the more for our average and below average Christian counterparts. God moves when His people want Him to move. Prayer is the way we show God we’re serious about wanting Him to move.  

If we are going to fix our mess we must look for areas of brokenness in our little corner of the world and then chip away at the ugliness we see with equal measures of grace and truth (Ephesians 4:32, 2nd Timothy 4:2, 1st Peter 4:10).  When we make space in our lives to get to know a single mom or engage with a homeless person, or simply take time to talk with our neighbors it gives us the right to speak truth into people’s lives (Ephesians 4:15). No matter how we choose to do it, it is critical we seek the Lord for creative ways to engage the messy, broken, difficult people in our world. Christians were saved to be salt in our world. Salt is a preservative, it keeps things (and whole cultures) from going bad. However, salt cannot preserve anything it doesn’t come into contact with (Matthew 5:13). Relationships are a messy but necessary piece of healing brokenness.  

As we prayerfully engage others, it’s equally critical we understand our role. Our role is to do our part and trust God to transform people. We must constantly remind ourselves God is God and we are not and fight the inclination to try and control outcomes. We cannot make anyone do anything. Outcomes must be left to the Lord but He moves when we move.  

How we Move out of Spiritual Infancy into Maturity-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,now that you have tasted that the Lord is good- 1st Peter 2:1-3 NIV

Recently, I read a news article about a rare genetic disorder affecting children that results in speech delays, seizures and ultimately childhood onset dementia.  The disorder is usually detected around age five. Sadly, the prognosis is terrible. None of the kids live to adulthood. In a very real sense these kids grow old before they grow up.   

The article was fresh on my mind when I started reading Hebrews five: 

By this time, you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.But solid food is for the mature- Hebrews 5:11-14  

The ultimate aim of the Christian life is spiritual maturity (2nd Peter 1:3-11, Ephesians 4:15-16, Colossians 1:9-11).

Every Christian starts out in exactly the same place: spiritual infancy. No one is born a Jesus follower. Every single person begins their faith journey in a place where they understand little or nothing about the Bible or what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. A Christian is fully mature when they have committed to obeying the commands of the New Testament, can extend grace to others, forgive others, can control their own impulses and can teach and lead others (John 14:23-24, Philippians 2:12-13, Titus 2:11-13, Hebrews 5:11-13).   

A Christian can stop bearing fruit or begin to develop weird spiritual confusion because they never grew up in their salvation and became a spiritual adult (1st Corinthians 13:11).   In one sense Christian growth is simple, anyone can grasp the principles of Christian growth and achieve maturity.  It wasn’t meant to be rocket science. Yet, in practice growing can be tough. In order to grow we have to fight our natural predispositions towards sinfulness, pride, laziness and the notion we can do it in our own power. We can’t. Christian growth is impossible without the continuous help of the Holy Spirit. We must ask the Holy Spirit daily to empower us to do six things:     

Purposefully let go of wrong behaviors and attitudes- 

 A critical key to growth in our spiritual journey is the continued process of intentionally letting go of wrong behaviors and attitudes. Every behavior the Bible tells us to let go of is an ordinary, natural part of our fallen nature but antithetical to our new life as Jesus followers (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:5-10, Ephesians 4:20-32, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8). Sometimes this process of letting go of the old is called “crucifying the flesh” or “taking up your cross” (Luke 9:23). Whatever you call it, it’s a critical first step after salvation in spiritual growth, without it, spiritual transformation is impossible.  

Make a practice of distinguishing good from evil in everyday life- 

Christians become mature through a purposeful practice of discerning good from evil in day-to-day life (Hebrews 5:14). We do this by taking every opportunity, situation, attitude, behavior, television show, podcast and relationship we come across and looking at it through the lens of the Bible. If the Bible indicates that thing is harmful we walk away from that thing for the sake of our spiritual health and growth (Colossians 3:5-13, Ephesians 4:17-32, 1st Corinthians 6:9-20). Doing this on a regular basis will not only make us mature but also wise and discerning (Hosea 14:9, Proverbs 18:15). Bonus.  

Meet consistently with other Christians for worship and teaching–    

Contrary to popular opinion, the “church thing” is not an elective activity for serious followers of Jesus. Christians need to bounce ideas off of each other. It keeps us from getting weird in our theology and thinking (Hebrews 10:24-25, Proverbs 27:17). Furthermore, Christians are a body (1st Corinthians 12:12-27). An arm (or any other body part) cannot continue to grow apart from the body it is supposed to be attached to. It will die. Spiritual growth works much the same way.  

Let the word of God get into you-  

The Bible was never intended to be a book we read strictly for information or knowledge. Knowing facts about the Bible is critical. Without a foundation of solid theology Christians get weird. That said, the ability to recite the Bible forward and backwards is futile if our knowledge does not have a transformative effect on our thinking and behavior.  In order for the Bible to transform us we have to read, think about and meditate on the word of God constantly. It is the only way to change our behavior from the inside out.  

Pray about everything- 

I am convinced God wants us to ask Him for stuff (Matthew 6:11, Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 21:22). However, I am also convinced that if all we ever do is ask God for stuff we will miss out on the most important aspect of prayer: connection with God (Mark 11:16-18, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42).  In order to connect with God, we must pray about everything all the time (1st Thessalonians 5:17). 

And finally. 

We must encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13, 1st Thessalonians 5:11, 1st Thessalonians 4:18). When we choose to encourage others, we see the good in people and the world around us. When we see the good we inevitably see God’s hand in the everyday things going on all around us. Seeing God work increases our faith. Increased faith leads to increased maturity.  Boom.    

Where we’re at with the Gender Debate-

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.Let all that you do be done with love- 1st Corinthians 16:13-14 NKJV 

Satan is alive and well and partying it up on planet earth.  

This spring at a YMCA in Springfield Illinois, sixteen-year-old Abigail Newton became uncomfortable with a transgender female (biological male) using the same women’s locker room as her girls’ swim team.  When her parents expressed concern over the situation YMCA administrators dismissed their objections and Abigail was suspended from the swim team.  

Meanwhile in Washington State: 

A bill has passed into law allowing children as young as twelve to live in tax-payer-funded youth shelters while receiving tax-payer-funded “gender affirming care”. This “healthcare” (hormones and surgery) can be accessed without parental consent or even notification.  In the once great state of Washington, it is now “abusive” for parents to object to or attempt to interfere with an underage child’s gender transition. 

These situations are not isolated occurrences of lunacy.  

This is because most public universities have been teaching gender theories (multiple genders, we are the gender we think we are etc.) as fact for decades. As a result, there has been a “trickle-down effect” in education. The idea there is a smorgasbord of genders to choose from is now taught in public schools beginning in the pre-school and elementary years because that’s what teachers have been learning in college for more than a decade.  Fewer teachers in red states advocate for radical sexual propaganda to be taught and the ones who do are quieter about it than in blue states. Nevertheless, that does not mean gender is not an issue everywhere.  

Gender propaganda is impacting public policy on every level. Women are forced to compete against biological men in women’s sports, anyone who sees this as unjust is written off as a bigot and snubbed in polite society. Pronouns are a huge deal these days, using the wrong one or “mis-gendering” someone, even on accident can cost you a hefty fine in many cities. Forty-four percent of young adults believe mis-gendering someone should land a person in jail. In eighteen states anyone can use whatever restroom they wish. Men can identify as women capriciously, making it possible for men to enter female-only spaces anytime they wish, regardless of how they are dressed or whether or not they have fully transitioned.   

Here’s the thing: 

This is the new normal and things will likely get worse before they get better. This because gender ideology has deeply spiritual roots. Anytime human beings in large numbers begin to ignore the evidence for God found in creation they eventually fall face-first into idolatry (Galatians 5:19-21). When this happens the whims and wishes of fallible human beings take the lead and God’s wisdom is either disregarded or treated as “damaging”. This inevitably leads people down a rabbit hole where their thinking becomes confused and darkened (Ephesians 4:18, Romans 1:18-32, 2nd Timothy 3:1). Wrong thinking inevitably leads people to embrace strange ideas about life and sexuality.  

This is where we’re living right now.  

Modern-day idolatry is focused almost entirely on the worship of self. Every aspect of our culture encourages people to do what feels good and to accept, nurture and embrace with open arms their most “authentic self”. Unfortunately, because humans are fallen beings our most authentic self is typically confused, chaotic, sinful and prone to believe all sorts of deception. The things that feel best to us are often the most detrimental to our mental and spiritual health. 

Sigh.   

The only way out of this rabbit hole will be an incredibly far-reaching revival that impacts people everywhere, including those in the highest levels of government and education. Pandora’s box has been flung wide open and Christians need to get busy figuring out how to live in and make a difference in this brave new world.  

 So, what do we do?  

This is not the time for wishy-washy pandering to the feelings of sinners, nor is it a time for cooperation with the world (Colossians 2:8). The body of Christ cannot compromise on this issue. We must be firm that there is no such thing as a third, fourth or sixty-third gender option. God made male and female (Genesis 1:27). That’s it. Period. Christians should support public officials who embrace a traditional view of gender. We should refuse to purchase products produced by companies who openly push radical sexual views and theories. Gender ideology is a powerful social contagion that cannot be allowed to infiltrate the church. Christians should leave churches where gender theory is taught as fact or acceptance of gender theory is encouraged by leadership. 

 However.  

 It is equally as important to be kind and that we do our best to speak this hard truth with minimum vitriol (Ephesians 4:15). This is not a time for cruelty or name-calling. These issues are deeply spiritual; therefore, this is a time to set aside our own agenda and desires and make the time to pray with other believers for our culture. We must understand that for the most part, these folks really do believe what they say they believe about gender. Countless numbers of people today are victims of a powerful satanic deception. They have been taken captive in their thinking by the enemy (Matthew 24:4, 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-10, 1st Peter 5:8). We should never fault the lost for being lost (Luke 15:4).  Instead we ought to do our level best to extend the compassion and love of Jesus while we lovingly hold firm to the timeless truths of Scripture.     

How Should we Respond to the Sparkle Creed?

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment,but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ– 2nd Peter 3:17b-18a NASB

Every once in a while, I have to decide whether or not I’m going to hop on a bandwagon and write about something that’s getting a lot of attention in the news cycle. 

 As a I general rule I just say “no”. 

Angry ranting about the unrelenting moral decay in our world feels really good.  However, eventually it gets super old and kind of tedious. Peevish complaining helps no one and changes nothing. Furthermore, bitter ranting has a way of transforming Christians into a weird cartoony version of our calling (Matthew 5:13-16, 1st Corinthians 13:1-3).

Sigh. 

This week I decided to break my rule and rant a little before offering a response. 

It all started when I saw a report on secular news channel concerning a church trend I had never heard of before this week: The Sparkle Creed.  Apparently, the Sparkle Creed has been a thing in a number of progressive churches for a couple of years now. It is the brainchild of Satan and the Reverend Rachel Small Stokes. 

This is it in its entirety:

I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural.
I believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God.
I believe in the rainbow Spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity.

I believe in the church of everyday saints as numerous, creative, and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in wonder.
I believe in the calling to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love.
I believe, glorious God. Help my unbelief

 Amen.

The Sparkle Creed is a steaming pile of bad doctrine wrapped up in woke twaddle. One need not be a Pastor, Bible scholar or even necessarily a Christian to see and understand this so-called creed is a total departure from historical, biblical, orthodox Christianity (1st Timothy 4:1). 

Sadly.

The architect of the Sparkle “Creed” is a member of and a teacher in a denomination that exchanged the truth of God for a giant pack of lies years ago (Romans 1:18).  Therefore, her teachings should shock no one. This is simply what happens when a “Christian” pastor or teacher has no connection to spiritual reality, biblical truth and/or Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20, Colossians 2:10, Colossians 2:19). When human beings lean on their own limited understanding of life and faith things are bound to go south and they clearly have (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The Sparkle Creed is the byproduct of apostasy (Jeremiah 8:5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3). There are two types of apostasy. The first is the one most Christians think of when they think of apostasy. It’s when an individual professing Christian turns their back on the church, ditches sound doctrine and goes off do their own spiritual thing. Whether or not these folks ever really knew the Lord at all is open to debate. Different schools of thought (and theology) have differing opinions on the subject. In one sense it doesn’t really matter. What matters, is that these folks have departed from the faith and are no longer a functioning part of the body of Christ (1st Timothy 6:20-21, 2nd Timothy 2:17-19).  

The other type of apostasy happens when the organized church of Jesus Christ leaves sound doctrine and loyalty to Jesus in the dust to follow deceitful spirits and teach things that appeal to the unredeemed (1st Timothy 4:1). This is not the first-time in history churches have become apostate. The same thing happened in the Middle Ages. That apostasy eventually led to the Reformation. 

The church was designed to be a preserving influence in the culture (Matthew 5:13-16). Therefore, apostasies always affect more than just the church. When churches depart form truth it impacts everything. Crime goes up, governments go bad and people in general, become much ickier and more violent. 

It’s just what happens. 

The question for followers of Jesus is: what do we do about it? Do we clutch our pearls in horror? Do we lament the loss of biblical truth?  Do we weep and cry and wail over the moral drift? Do we scream and yell about all the dirty rotten heretics who are attempting to take over the church? 

Yes. 

All of those are acceptable responses. For a minute. 

Then it’s time to get a grip. We must remember the Church of Jesus Christ will never be defeated by anyone or anything including woke pastors and the Sparkle Creed (Matthew 16:18). Jesus is still firmly in control. There will always be a remnant who love Jesus and stay faithful. Period. 

However. 

It is critical we do our part. Our part is to know truth, live truth, love biblically and stand firm against the encroaching madness (Colossians 1:13-23, Romans 12:1-2, 1st Corinthians 16:13, Ephesians 6:11). 

Doing our part might mean having an uncomfortable conversation with a Christian brother or sister who’s being pulled into Sparkle Creed kind of thinking. It might mean leaving a church that’s in the process of going woke.  It might mean rethinking how we educate our kids. 

It definitely means loving messy people who need Jesus. 

When we choose to do those hard things, we become pleasing to Jesus and the solution to all the confusion in this world (Matthew 25:21, Matthew 5:11-12, 1st Corinthians 3:13-15)

What is Spiritual Captivity and How do we go There?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning– Ecclesiastes 4:13 NIV

The book of Daniel begins with what appears to be nothing more than a bit of context: 

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.  And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace- Daniel 1:1-3

However. 

Daniel 1:1-3 is more than simply the prelude to the story. The intro to the book of Daniel is actually the grim fulfillment of a prophecy given to King Hezekiah more than a hundred years before:

The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 2nd Kings 20:17-18 

Hezekiah did not respond to the prophet’s words the way one would expect, i.e. with sorrow, alarm and a panicky appeal to reverse the predicted outcome. Instead, Hezekiah made light of the prophet’s disturbing forecast. Hezekiah’s apparently laisser-faire demeaner strongly indicates he was more than willing to trade the destruction of his nation and the future enslavement of his own flesh and blood for peace and prosperity in his time (2nd Kings 20:19).

Here’s the thing:

Hezekiah was not an awful person nor was he a negligent leader. To the contrary, Hezekiah is described as a uniquely good leader and stand-up guy. He destroyed the places of pagan worship scattered throughout Judah and removed all traces of idolatry from the Temple (2nd Kings 18:1-7). When faced with certain defeat from a bordering nation he prayed and literally begged God to save the nation and against all odds Judah remained at peace during Hezekiah’s reign (2nd Kings 18:9-19:37, Proverbs 3:3-5). Hezekiah was not a bad leader or person. Up until that moment Hezekiah appeared to be a good, God-fearing man driven by love for God and a desire to see his people living righteously and in safety.  

So. 

What happened? How did such a good guy go so terribly wrong? Well. I believe the answer is buried between the lines of a couple verses in 2nd Kings: 

Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them- 2nd Kings 20:13

When asked about the visit he responded with: 

They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”- 2nd Kings 20:14

I do not believe God was angry with Hezekiah for showing the Babylonians the treasures of Judah. It was certainly not the wisest strategic or political move. However, it wasn’t the problem, his focus was.

Hezekiah’s focus went from being entirely on God and the welfare of his people to be entirely Hezekiah-focused. In just a few short sentences the king uses personal pronouns a total of six times. He talks about” his” palace, “his” storehouses, “his” gold, “his” armory and “my treasures. His, his, and mine, mine, not so much as a word was uttered concerning God’s provision or God’s goodness or God’s glory.

It was all Hezekiah all the time. 

Hezekiah experienced a change in attitude that can take place in anyone—even those who sincerely love God and are called to His purposes. The change of heart he experienced was subtle at first. It took place gradually. As a result, Hezekiah did not even see that he was focused on entirely on himself and motivated by his own success and comfort rather than on what was best for his people and glorifying to the God he served. The end result of his self-focus was the eventual destruction of the nation he loved, seventy years of Babylonian captivity and the enslavement of the man who very well could have been his own grandson (Daniel). 

Yikes. 

This passage ought to serve as a cautionary tale to all of us because we just so happen to live in an age of self-focus, self-love, self-worship and self-centeredness and dwell in a society that values self above others. Every. Single. Time. 

Seriously. 

God despises self-focus (Romans 2:8, Philippians2:3).  He knows that even good, godly people who permit themselves to become self-focused stop caring how their present actions will affect future generations. Even the best people start valuing convenience over righteousness anytime self-worship becomes a part of their operating system (2nd Chronicles 28:3, Jeremiah 19:5, Ezekiel 20:31).  Self-focus is spiritually blinding. It causes even believers to reject obvious truth. 

Self-focus that’s left to fester always ends in moral decay and some sort of captivity (2nd Timothy 2:26, Colossians 2:8, Acts 8:23, 1st Timothy 3:1-3). 

Just like it did with Hezekiah.  

Breaking the power of our self-focus is a tough but necessary thing if we want to be like Jesus and bless others (Philippians 2:1-16).  

Here’s the thing though:

It’s almost impossible to see our own self-focus in a culture where self-promotion, self-worship and self-centeredness is all regarded as virtue. Getting free of the curse of self-focus requires a willingness to take a hard look at our lives. It requires a ruthlessness in evaluating our attitudes and mindsets. If we want to free ourselves from the curse of thinking about ourselves we have to be willing to humble ourselves and flat-out ask God to show us the stuff in us we really don’t want to see or deal with.

When we ask God to give us freedom the curse of self-focus God frees us from captivity and releases us to be a blessing.

What Does it Really Mean to be Defrauded of our “Prize” (Colossians 2:18)?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments


You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:7 NASB  

The Bible is filled with intriguing little passages that act as hooks to pull us in and get us thinking more deeply. I came across one the other day in the book of Colossians: 

Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind- Colossians 2:18 NASB

The words that got my attention were “defrauding” and “prize”. The apostle Paul seems to be presupposing two realities every serious Christian ought to consider.  

First—is the whole notion of “a prize”. The Apostle obviously believed there is a prize Christians can earn. He also believed we should actively and even aggressively go after and protect those prizes (1st Corinthians 9:24, Philippians 3:14). Second—there seems to be a way Christians can be cheated, deceived or swindled (defrauded) out of their prizes. 

So: 

What is the prize? 

What does it mean to be “defrauded” of the prize? 

How exactly does this defrauding take place? 

The prize itself is not much of a mystery. The prize discussed in Colossians 2:18, 1st Corinthians 9:24 and Philippians 3:14 are clearly the eternal reward believers in Jesus receive for a living a faithful life. Jesus and the Apostle Paul both spoke at length about the whole notion of believers obtaining rewards (prizes). According to Jesus Christians will be rewarded for all manner of things. Including, but not limited to: loving their enemies, faith, goodness, kindness, authenticity, personal sacrifice, financial sacrifice and personal faithfulness to and confidence in God. Apparently, these eternal rewards are multiplied any time we continue to keep the faith, behave righteously and point others to Jesus in the face of personal suffering, hardship and persecution (Matthew 6:1-8, Matthew 10:42, Matthew 16:27, Luke 6:22-23, Luke 6:35, 1st Corinthians 3:8-9, Ephesians 6:7-8, Colossians 3:23-25, Hebrews 10:35, 2nd John 1:8).  

Because there is a prize at the end of the Christian life that we can earn or lose out on. It only makes sense for us to figure out what things are most likely to cause us to lose out on the prize. No one in their right mind wants to lose out on a prize. Seriously.

For the record:

God is not a tyrant looking for an excuse to rip blessing and eternal reward out of the hands of those who have worked hard for Him (Hebrews 6:9-11). God is good and He wants to give His children good gifts (Luke 11:13, Ephesians 4:8, Romans 11:29).  

That being said,

 When we allow sin, hardship or disappointment in God to cause us to become disobedient or to send us off on a spiritual tangent we stop earning the reward we had been earning. Furthermore, there are those who become so disillusioned with God for the above-mentioned reasons they literally stop serving Him. When we stop serving God out of anger, hurt or anything else we have automatically been defrauded of our prize. We will go to heaven but that’s it. There won’t be any “well done good and faithful servant” stuff to look forward to when we get there (Matthew 25:14-21, 1st Corinthians 3:14-15).  Knowing this is not a cause for despair or fear but rather a reminder to act wisely in all areas of life and faith.  

The three most common reasons for being defrauded of our prize are:

Hurt and anger-

Getting hurt or becoming angry (even if the anger is directed at God) does not automatically cause us to be defrauded of anything. God does not penalize people for suffering personal hurt or pain. He’s not a jerk. However, hurt and anger that develops into bitterness or unforgiveness can lead us into all sorts of spiritual trouble (Hebrews 12:15, Acts 8:22-23, Matthew 6:14-15). Bitterness is a poison that literally defiles us as people and makes us spiritually unfit for good works (Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:13). Once we are unfit for doing good we are spiritually done in (Matthew 5:13, 1st Corinthians 3:14-15).

Bad Theology-

Theology matters, but not because God punishes us for holding the wrong views. It matters because wrong beliefs or wrong thinking about God and life always lead to wrong behavior (Matthew 15:18-20). This is what Paul was warning the Colossians about in Colossians Chapter two. The Colossian Christians were in danger of buying into wrong beliefs that would inevitably lead them into sin and away from God (Colossians 2:4-19, Galatians 5:7).

Disappointment in God- 

In a fallen world it’s easy to become disappointed in God when we feel He hasn’t given us what we wanted most, or He didn’t stop someone from mistreating us in some way (Matthew 13:40-42, John 5:28-29). If those feelings are not worked through the bitterness that develops will rob us of our belief in God’s goodness (Hebrews 11:6). When we lose faith in the goodness of God, we are not far off from being defrauded of the reward we would have had. 

Sometimes Christians feel skeezy for looking forward to eternal reward. 

They shouldn’t. God clearly wants to reward His children for their faithfulness. He promises the rewards we earn will be worth all the effort it takes to keep from being defrauded out of them (Revelation 22:12).  

Why Don’t we Hear From God?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law- Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV 

Okay. I’m going to get really real for just a minute and say the quiet part out loud.

Sometimes God feels distant. Really distant.

Like radio silence distant.

This sensation can get emotionally and spiritually messy really quickly because we derive comfort, peace and security from knowing God sees our needs and hears our cries (Psalm 61:1-3, Psalm 28:2). Whether it’s through answered prayer, a Bible passage that speaks to our situation or a still small voice that guides us through the complexities of life, anyone who really loves God wants to hear from God (Psalm 63:1, John 10:27).

This is even more true when the going gets tough and life gets challenging, uncertain or just plain hard and sucky.  Radio silence in these moments is beyond discouraging. It can challenge our belief God is good. (Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 42:9, Psalm 43:2, Psalm 22:1).  It just gets worse when we feel like we are doing our level best to keep the lines of communication open and still—nothing, zero, nada. That still small voice that guides and directs our steps is painfully quiet. 

Sigh. 

Nothing is gained and much is lost anytime we give into the very human temptation to give up our faith, get angry or place all of the blame on God in these moments, nor should we turn to sin or worldly ways of coping to fill our empty places, dull our pain or relieve our frustration in these seasons.  The best thing we can do when we feel God is far away is to keep our hearts open and use our situation as the jumping off place for some self-examination and perhaps a change of approach. There are a whole bunch of really good reasons why we don’t feel the presence of God or hear His still small voice, some of those are: 

We don’t want to- 

Sometimes we think we want to hear from God but we don’t. Not really—mostly because deep down in our heart-of-hearts we have a niggling little hunch God might just have something to say to us we have zero interest in hearing.  Most of us have been guilty at some point of desperately wanting to hear from God in one area of our lives while we entertain some ugly sin in another area of our lives. Truth-be-told God usually addresses the sin that’s holding back our spiritual growth before He blesses us with a clear direction or a deep sense of spiritual peace (Hebrews 12:1-2). It’s critical we remember no sin is worth stunting our spiritual growth over or shutting down communication with the God of the universe (Matthew 5:30, 1st Corinthians 15:34). It’s just not.   

We do and we don’t like what he says- 

Alas, we are all human, and sadly, one aspect of being human is an inclination towards moments of stupidity, willful blindness and obstinacy. Sometimes we do hear from God and we don’t like what He has to say so we ignore Him (Hebrews 12:25). Typically, what happens in these situations is God wants us to forgive someone we don’t want to forgive (Matthew 6:15, Ephesians 4:31, Hebrews 12:15), or He wants us to repair a relationship that would be personally embarrassing for us to deal with. Other times God wants us to look at our own actions in a situation where we have chosen to lay the blame on the actions or attitude of the other guy. Whatever the case may be, it is always in our best interests to ask God if there is something we’re just not seeing when He feels far off.

We’re just too dang busy-

Okay, so this is a big one, because we have made busyness into badge of honor, an indication of righteousness and a weird little idol in our Christian culture. Busyness in none of those things. The Bible is clear, we are least likely to connect with God when we are spinning around in a flurry of over activity. Conversely, we are most likely to connect with Him when we slow down and seek Him in a spirit of quiet trust (Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 37:7, Psalm 46:10, Hebrews 4:1). Sometimes all we have to do to reconnect with God is take a day off from our striving and make Him our priority (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

We want to be in charge of how he communicates-

Most of the time God speaks through His word (the Bible) or in a still small voice that leaves an impression on our spirit that we should do or not do something (2nd Peter 1:3., 1st Kings 19:12). God rarely communicates verbally and when He speaks through other people it’s usually just them talking in a wise way that hits home with our situation (Matthew 10:20). It’s fairly rare for a person to get a bold prophetic proclamation that clears up all their confusion concerning a matter. As a general rule we should always look to the “normal ways” God communicates rather than expecting Him to be dramatic in His communication.

All that being said: 

 God is always with us even when we don’t feel His presence, hear His voice or understand what exactly is going on (Joshua 1:5, Psalm 91:3-4, Hebrews 13:5).  He never leaves us or forsakes us. God is always moving us towards the end goal of being more like Jesus and sometimes the road to that end is a bumpy one where we feel alone even when we’re not (1st Corinthians 15:49, 2nd Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10). In those times must remind ourselves that God’s love never fails and He never walks away. 

Even when He’s quiet. 

How to Spot a Bad Spiritual Leader-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock- Zechariah 10:3 NLT

  There are two different kinds of bad leaders and there is a world difference between the two.

The first kind of bad leader is an ineffective leader. Ineffective leaders are seldom terrible people.  They simply lack the knowledge, skills and/or personal appeal necessary to lead well.  They have the best of intentions and try their hardest but they just can’t get the job done. 

Conversely.

 The other kind of bad leaders is the worst kind of leader. The worst kinds of leaders are always quite capable. They tend to have a great deal of personal appeal and they understand how to get things done. However, because they are also oblivious, prideful, manipulative, power-hungry and self-absorbed they do a great deal of damage to those unfortunate enough to be led by them. 

Regrettably, the worst kind of leadership is not limited to the secular world.

 Sadly, American Christianity is infested with some of the worst kind of spiritual leaders. The worst kinds of spiritual leaders do far more damage than the worst kinds of secular leaders. This is because spiritual leaders are the mouthpieces of God in the body of Christ (2nd Peter 1:21, 1st Corinthians 12:7-11). Moreover, many mistakenly see spiritual leaders as God’s mini-me or stand-in.  As a result, many people (saved and unsaved) are incapable of separating the actions and attitudes of a spiritual leader from the will of God. It is not uncommon for individuals who were treated badly by spiritual leaders to erroneously believe it was God’s will for the leader to mistreat them. Consequently, they blame God for the hurt they experienced at the hands of a bad spiritual leader. 

Sigh.

 God will not bless sin, therefore the worst kinds of leaders are a principal reason why even many “successful” churches are powerless to convert sinners and make disciples. It’s one reason American Christianity losing people like rats fleeing a sinking ship. 

Satan is real (1st Peter 5:8, 1st Timothy 5:15, James 4:7) and not everyone who says they are a Christian really is (Matthew 7:15, Matthew 7:21).  Moreover, Christians are not robots who do exactly what God wants them to do all the time. Due to these and other factors, problematic leadership has been an issue in the Church since the dawn of Christianity (Acts 15:1-2, Acts 20:28-31, Jude 1-25). Additionally, the Bible warns us, as we approach the end bad leaders will become common in the Church (2nd Timothy 3:1-9). It is our responsibility as believers to be on the lookout for spiritual leaders who give indications of being dangerous leaders (2nd Timothy 3:5, 2nd Peter 2:1-22). Judgment is God’s responsibility (Ecclesiastes 3:17). However, it is our job to exercise discernment and protect ourselves and our families from the damage these leaders do.

 Bad Christian leaders are as diverse in personality as any other type of leader. However, there are certain hallmarks of these spiritual leaders we can all look out for. Those hallmarks are:

They universally misunderstand their role- 

Contrary, to popular belief a pastor’s primary responsibility is not to deliver a well-prepared message on Sunday mornings. The primary role of a Christian leader is to equip and prepare Christians to do ministry and serve others (Ephesians 4:11-12). Good spiritual leaders empower the people around them to become the best version of themselves. They value every person for who they are not just what they can do. Conversely, dangerous spiritual leaders view people as a means to an end. The end is always making themselves popular and influential.  

They tend to isolate themselves from those they lead- 

The worst kinds of spiritual leaders are frequently AWOL at church events and rarely interact socially with people in their congregations even though the Bible clearly commands them to do so. (1st Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7-8). Some isolate themselves out of pride. Others just don’t care enough about people to get past their own awkwardness in social situations. Yes, there are introverts and extraverts and there is nothing wrong with being an introvert. Furthermore, it is the height of emotional and spiritual immaturity to think a leader can or should be besties with everyone in a congregation.  That said, every Christian should care enough about others to go out of their way to make them feel comfortable in social situations. This is especially true of spiritual leaders. 

They demand blind obedience- 

Christians are called to a life of obedience (Deuteronomy 6:25, 1st Samuel 15:22, 2nd John 1:6).  Christians ought to obey leaders who are doing their level best to fully obey God. However, no one is commanded to obey a self-serving or evil leader living in contradiction to scripture. 

They are faultfinders- 

Bad leaders will read a great book like The Emotionally Healthy Leader or Emotionally Healthy Discipleship and immediately weaponize it to assess unhealthy or unspiritual attitudes in others. Bad spiritual leaders don’t self-reflect. This creates a situation where they can only see the sins of others, never their own (Jude 16).  

They don’t apologize- 

Even when it’s evident they should. An inability or unwillingness to admit wrong and apologize is an obvious indicator of a bad leader. 

They don’t have their own junk under control-

All humans struggle with sin; however, bad spiritual leaders are fleshly and carnal at heart.  Consequently, bad leaders struggle to keep their worst impulses in check. This leads to problems with sins like boastfulness, control, anger, greediness, lust, pride and dishonesty.  (Jude, 2nd Peter 2, 2nd Timothy 3:1-9, Matthew 23:23-33). 

Not all Christian leaders are bad leaders.

There are amazing pastors and teachers who pour themselves out for others. These men and women are worthy of the highest praise (Hebrews 13:7, Hebrews 13:17, Jeremiah 3:15) and should be treated with the highest level of respect. That said, Christianity is in crisis and much of the crisis is directly due to the excess of bad spiritual leaders in the fold. Christians must protect themselves and their churches from these men and women. In order to do this Christians must lead themselves well and understand what the Bible says about life and leadership. Bad leaders flourish in the midst of immature followers who lack the wisdom and spiritual sensitivity to see a bad leader or the moral bravery to walk away from one.  

For more on this subject…