The Esteeming of Social Justice and the Abandonment of Gospel Proclamation

If you pay attention to the news media, you'll realize that the world holds the Bono's and the Oprah's of this world in high regard. What I mean is, if you dedicate your life to giving to the poor, you'll gain the attention of the world and most people will like you. Everyone loves generous people.

Don't get me wrong, giving to the needy is a good thing. In fact, Christians should be the most generous people on the face of the earth and the world should know us by our good works (Matthew 5:16). I'm afraid though that while the church may be anxious to gain the attention of the world for the sake of a good reputation, the ministry of proclaiming the gospel is being neglected due to the fact that it is seen as foolish and weird.

The "bullhorn guy" on the ladder is ridiculed, not only by hecklers, but by Christians also. They say that we simply need to be "the hands and feet of Jesus" by giving with our hands and not preaching with our mouths. Afterall, the saying goes, "Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words." This has become the modern church's great commission. It's a commission that is void of persecution...the world will welcome those who will keep quiet but give good gifts, even if that person is a Christian.

Let me offer some encouragement to my fellow laborers who are seen as fools in the eyes of the world and the church because of their diligence to obey God and proclaim the Gospel. I know you're worn out...I know it's easy to become discouraged thinking it's all in vain...I know how your ministry can go completely undetected within the walls of your local church and spat upon outside those four walls.

But remember your Savior. Remember WHO it is that stirred your heart that first time you stepped out and opened your mouth to preach that glorious Gospel message. With our eyes fixed on Jesus, our faith, love and zeal will continue to fuel us to faithfully proclaim His message. And remember that you have been entrusted with this message, seeking not to please men but to please God (1 Thessalonians 2:4). We know for certain that men will continue to view you as foolish and out of your mind; afterall, this is how they viewed and treated our precious Savior.

So continue to wear yourself out. Get up on that ladder and preach bodly; step out into the crowds and hand-out your gospel tracts...Christ is worth it. In fact, He is worth more than we can and ever will offer. And in the meantime, pray that through your gospel witness, God would continue to stir up laborers just like yourself within the church so that they may take that first step that you once took and open their mouths to proclaim the Good News!

Hillsong United Conference (pt. 1)

If you are familiar with contemporary Christian worship, then you have more than likely heard of Hillsong United the youth ministry of Sydney’s megachurch, Hillsong

Recently, Hillsong United held its annual conference here in Houston, TX at Grace Community Church (not to be confused with John MacArthur’s church. The weekend was packed with workshops, breakout sessions and concerts, all led by members and pastors associated with United.

My girlfriend and I had the opportunity to attend, thanks to my brother who works at The Houston Chronicle. Our first stop was in a workshop titled “Agents of Change”. According to the program guide, Hillsong youth pastor Chrishan Jeyaratnam would be exploring “some of the fundamentals of what it takes to create a great culture within our youth ministry”.

Speaking before a large audience, Jeyaratnam urged everyone to encourage our youth to believe in themselves and follow their dreams by speaking positive words of faith into their lives. This was the basic principal laid out in his message. He briefly stressed the importance of evangelism but never really explained exactly what he meant by it. In today’s wide wacky world of evangelicalism, this could mean anything.

What caught my attention were his comments on how to deal with young people who are falling into temptation and sexual sin. According to Jeyaratnam, there are two ways to prevent sinful behavior.

“It's really easy see a problem and jump on it by telling young people, 'you know what, you shouldn’t be sleeping around, you‘re sending yourself to hell, you‘re going to catch an STD'.”

Rather than "preaching against something", and this something being sin, his advice is that we “speak life” into their situation and use positive words.

“You can come into the situation and preach life into something…and encourage them to be who they are called to be.”

However, Ezekiel makes it clear that we are to “warn a wicked man to turn from his way” and if he continues in his sin, he “shall die in his iniquity” (Ezekiel 33:9). If we see someone blindly walking towards the edge of a cliff, the loving thing to do would be to warn them that the path they are on leads to a 1,000 foot fall and ultimately to their death.

Addressing the issue of sexual sin in the body of Christ, Paul orders the Corinthians to expel a brother who is willfully sinning. This sobering demand of excommunication only emphasizes the dreadful effects of sin and the urgency to discipline someone who is living a lifestyle that leads to death and corrupts the fellowship of believers. This principle was used to teach the offender a lesson and differs vastly from the Jeyaratnam’s idea to “speak life” into someone who is caught in sin. By disobeying the scriptures in this matter, he may actually be “speaking death” into a person.

He spent the final 12 minutes stressing the importance of “just having fun” in the youth ministry by telling stories of stunts and pranks pulled by fellow believers back in his church. Using John 10:10 to support his claim, he blames the enemy for stealing our fun and says Jesus came to give us an abundant life! Paul had a different approach for the youth of his day. He realized the trials, temptations and tribulations that lied ahead for young Timothy so he exhorted him to train himself in godliness (1 Timothy 4:7) and to preach the Word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). A far cry from simply “having fun”, Paul’s standard for Timothy were not bound by his age. In fact, Timothy was called to be an example in his speech, life, love, faith, and purity for all believers (1 Timothy 4:12).

While what may have seemed like an innocent and heartfelt message from Jeyaratnam, pastors and teachers who simply pamper the youth will only bring them grief in the end (Proverbs 29:21). Instead, let us promote young people to absorb themselves daily in the reading, preaching and teaching of scripture (1 Timothy 4:9). And in due season, may they grow up to be like a tree planted by the streams, flourishing and growing in the Word of God and yielding fruit for His kingdom (Psalm 144:12, Psalm 1:3).