Christianity 2.0.4: Why Perceptions Matter

Preface to Christianity 2.0

 

There are 4 reasons why perceptions matter.

1. What people think about us, influences how they respond to us.

Peoples attitudes and perceptions drive their actions.  If their attitudes about Christianity are already negative, we are already at a disadvantage.

2. What people think about us, should help us be more objective.

We need to be more objective and transparent.  When we go to church and hang out with Christians, we are seeing the faith through rose colored glasses.  Outsiders are trying to tell us that we are not being honest with ourselves. 

We are what we are, not what we tell people we are.  People will not be swayed to embrace Christianity by our words, our multimedia services or our new coffee shop.  They look at our daily actions. 

3. What people think of Christians can change.  

Attitudes and Perceptions can be changed.  As the study in 1996 shows, Christians were seen highly favorable. By addressing the issues of outsiders and living more Christ like, we can again be seen as living examples of our faith.

4. What people think of Christians reflect personal stories and interactions.

This is the hard one to face, personal experiences from outsiders about being treated cruelly by Christians. 

We live in the world, not of it.  However, currently stating that you are a Christian in the world of outsiders, can attach to you personally unwarranted labels of Hypocritical, Judgmental and so forth simply because of the perceptions of outsiders.

Finally, Jesus was concerned about the reputation of his father in Heaven. Are you?

Your life, words and daily actions are living examples to others of what God is like.  And they are watching.  Just tonight, I was eating with my family in a restaurant and when the food was served, we all held hands and prayed before eating.  A few minutes later, the 20-something waiter came up and commented on how awesome it was to see us praying in public as a family. He said that it rarely happens anymore. 

If you are still not convinced that perceptions matter, I wish you could hear some of the stories shared by respondents to the surveys.  

One single mother left the church after Christians told her she would never be an effective parent and she needed to find a man.

Another women now feels Christians have no compassion when she asked her fellow Christians what she should tell a gay friend.  The Christians responded with something about burning in hell. 

Another women frequently asked her womens group about how to handle marital problems.  She was told she was being to liberal and needed to be more submissive.  The following year, her husband who was the Men's Ministry leader, was charged with domestic violence charges against his wife and she has now left the church and her husband. 

My own wife's grand father, tells his daughters that they are going to burn in hell for not going to a Lutheran Church.  I told them to ask him where it says that in the Bible? 

Are you starting to grasp the problem? 

Millions of Generation X and Y adults are disengaging from churches and Christians because they say they do not want to be associated with the perceptions of Christianity. Not only that, but they are vocal about it.  Go to your local bookstore and see how many books are on the bestseller list that are atheist attacks on Christianity.

Today, we are losing the spiritual battle with these Generations and it's our own fault.  

It's time we woke up. 

 Part 5

Christianity 2.0.3: Should We Care?

Preface to Christianity 2.0

Happy New Year!  I am sitting in a hotel lobby tapping this out still waiting to close on my house and move in.  I want to send a big thank you to Dante for keeping Legacy Dad updated during the holidays. Thanks brother!! 

Jesus said the world would hate us and Christians certainly go against the modern day "do whatever feels good" attitude but shouldn't outsiders just repent and accept the truth of Jesus?   Many people try this route with outsiders with little success and actually cause more damage. 

As Christians, we often want to preach the good news but we fail to exhibit the other side of Jesus.  Grace.  See John 1:14.

Embracing truth without embracing grace leads to legalism.  Just as grace without truth leads to compromise.  Still, the Barna research shows that Gen X and Y say they rarely see Christians display the following traits:

Service, Compassion, Humility, Forgiveness, Patience, Kindness, Peace, Joy, Goodness, and Love. 

I witnessed this example firsthand over Christmas.  My In-laws have attended a small town conservative church for over 20 years, yet recently after attending my church and my sister-in-laws church they started to see their church in a different light.  They saw very judgmental attitudes, hateful remarks about homosexuals and sermons on how Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.  This led them to leave their church, a church they literally helped build and remodel, and attend a more Evangelical church in their area. The told everyone they simply needed to move on and grow more spiritually.  The reaction from friends was dismissal, rumors and some friends not even speaking with them.  This church is a perfect example of the "us versus them" mentality and further the negative traits that outsiders are referencing. 

Outsiders claim that we lack grace and this leads them to the perception that Christians are no different than anyone else.

Still the question remains, should we really care what outsiders think?  I think the scarier question is this: What if outsiders are correct about the current state of Christians?

The real question I think we need to ask is this?

What are we failing to portray to the future generations of our faith and outsiders?

If we are lacking in the grace department than we need to take a long hard look in the mirror and we should care about the future generations of our faith.  A recent study showed that Protestant Churches in the US on a whole spent only about 1/8th of their money on youth programs as opposed to 5/8ths on adult and elder programs.  What do these figures tell you about the future of our churches? 

If we, the Christians, have not been modeling the Christian faith properly than we share in the burden of fault but we also hold the key to the solution. 

In the past few months, while researching this subject, I have often brought up this discussion with outsiders and they almost always agree.  I also ask if they found a movement or church that was more based on the traits they claim we lack, would they return to church or be involved with this type of organization and most say yes or they would at least be willing to give it a try.  

In Part Four: Why Perceptions Matter.  We will look at why outsiders perceptions and attitudes matter and why it is mainly our fault.  

Again, I stress that these findings are not easy to face but it is important to examine them and correct our personal walks as well as influence our churches and friends to look at these findings as well. 

Part 4

What is God's Will for me in 2009

WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR MY LIFE?
Hebrews 13: 1-6 (Amplified Version)

1LET LOVE for your fellow believers continue and be a fixed practice with you [never let it fail]. 2Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers [in the brotherhood-being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.3Remember those who are in prison as if you were their fellow prisoner, and those who are ill-treated, since you also are liable to bodily sufferings. 4Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous. 5Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)!
6So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?


There are many themes through this text in scripture:  Brotherly Love, Serving Others, Godly Marriages and Godly Character.  In a men's bible study this morning we talked about all these different aspects of our Christian walks and what does God require of us now that we are believers.  It is funny how the Holy Spirit works at times, because at tonight's service, one of our pastors preached on Holy Living (Colossians 3) and what it means to try and step toward an Abundant Life with Christ in 2009.

Before we try and change the world or the world's perspective on us, let's try and take a look at our own character and our character traits.  We will be measured, and without Christ, we will find that we are lacking in the end.  God gave us his Son Jesus, who in turn, gave us his Holy Spirit who lives within each one of us who know Him by Name.  The only name that is worthy- Jesus Christ.   If we work on the last thing that was mentioned first, which is Godly Character, you will notice how the rest of those themes:  Serving Others, Brotherly love and Godly marriage envelopes into the rest of our lives.  

New Year Resolutions

 New yearsHAPPY NEW YEAR!  TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOREVER AND EVER - AMEN 

New Year's Eve is just around the corner and we are all another year older.  Some of us may have made resolutions last year and others have said that they don't believe in resolutions.  Some of us said that we were going to lose weight and others said that they were going to live healthier.  Whatever your lot in life, the New Year does have a tendency to have us reflect on what was and what will be.  Unfortunately, the last few months have brought a tremendous amount of financial crisis into the world markets.  Economists and scientists are predicting global recessions, others are predicting deflation for the US and still others are looking for end of the world type of philosophies.  Let's take this discussion to a more positve light.  As we open our Bible's to Philippians 4:12, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength." 

As Lance has pointed out in the beginning of this website is that "the ultimate goal of Legacy Dad is to create this in our children: Security in their Hearts, Significance in their lives, Strength for the future, The "Real" Essential Life Skills, Spiritual Morals as A Compass." 

We can do this through Philippians 4:12-13.  We can start by leaving a legacy for our children to follow.  This starts with fathers being responsible with the gifts that God has given each and everyone of us.  We have to learn to be faithful in our walks and with our stewarship toward serving. This includes financial, emotional, physical and mental security for our children to see in us in order for them to achieve these same attributes.  What Paul is saying here is the doctrine of contentment.  It shouldn't matter what anyone else has or what we want, it should matter with us being content with what God has given us.  Being thankful and content when we are either hungry and suffering or full and blessed.

We have had the experts tell us that spending trillions of dollars to bailout Wall Street and Banks is the answer for our greed and uncontrollable debt.  We, unfortunately, have become a Nation of debt and greed.  The faster the technology, the more our desire is for more.  It is not our fault, or is it.  Can we control that desire for more in each one of us. The answer, of course, is not more debt and not leaving a legacy of unpayable debt to our children's children.  We need to be responsible for what God has given us to be steward over.

This brings me to the end of 2008 and looking forward to 2009.  After several discussions with a really good pastor friend of mine, we have decided that this could not be a better time for the church to reach out to those in need.  Pure religion in the eyes of our Father God is that which takes care of widows and orphans and avoids the ways of this World.  Now is the time for us to plan ahead on how we can help our church communities and our local communities.  What better time to follow Jesus's example of the two greatest commands.  

As we prepare to be better stewards, let's think about what we are going to teach our kids in 2009.  We can choose to show them to worry about the unknown (read Mathew 6 on "worry") or we can choose to live more responsibly and to be content with our gifts and our lots in life.  We can choose to serve our neighbor and open up our homes for those in need.  Remember, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

When I think about my 401K and my mortgage and my life savings and my dreams and aspirations, I can truly say that this is a year when I have real peace about the unknown.  First and foremost I plan on showing my wife and kids what it means to acknowledge God in all my ways and to put Him first.  Next, I plan on showing them how their daddy will pray and read his Bible and finally, I plan on being a better neighbor and friend to those in need.

What about you?  What do you plan on doing in 2009?  What "Kingdom" difference are you going to make in leaving a legacy for your wife and kids? For their wives (husbands) and kids? 

Merry Christmas

Luke2_10-12 

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 14"Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

 21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

 22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[b]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[c]

 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
 29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
      you now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
 30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
      and for glory to your people Israel."

 33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

 36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

 41Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

 49"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 51Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Footnotes:

Pray often

So tonight we lost our power for almost two hours.  It was my wife and three kids (Trey-4, Audrey-3 and Isabella-20 months) and we had my niece coming from Arkansas with her brand new baby boy.  So the power goes out and we are trying to figure out what to do.  The temperature outside was negative 4 degrees farenheit, not to mention what the wind chill factor was.  Decisions had to be be made and where we were going to spend the night.  I finally asked Trey to come sit on my lap and we prayed to our God.  We asked him to protect us and this house and to be with us.  I am not kidding when I say that it took a few moments for power to turn back on.  He said to my wife, Kate, “What happened?”   Kate replied, “they fixed our lights”, and he said, “Who? , The Lord?” And then Kate, said, “Why yes, the Lord!”  The best part of that was Trey running around the house, upstairs and downstairs, turning on all the lights as he sang, “Our God is so good, so strong and so mighty, there is nothing our God cannot do…”.    What I learned is that we need to be more like kids when we worship and praise the Lord God Almighty!

Worship-full;init_  

God is good all the time, all the time, God is good!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbOhzE3zRaA&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]

James 5:16 -Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
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