perception is reality

The other issue that we struggle with is this:

Pride

Spiritual pride to be specific. For too long, the church has tolerated a certain sense of spiritual pride where we actually believe that is our job to judge the sins of outsiders. We are intolerant of anyone else’s sin, but tolerant of our pride. How does that work? How is it that we can judge others, but not see that our own lives come dangerous close to those of the Scribes and Pharisees. These were the very people who spirituality Jesus was speaking against.
We have become arrogant, and guess what the research tells us? That Christians are intolerant of outsiders sin and judge them for those sins, Christians are extremely tolerant of our own pride; we do not feel God’s anger at our own arrogance. Even though His word says this, that He:

Opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6 NIV

Living into humility would go a long way to give the outside world a more accurate and Christ centered perception of His followers. I wonder if we adopted a more humble spirit as we approach other people, if the perception that we are judgmental would melt away for many?

I welcome your comments.

So politics, one of those hot button issues. So let's hear it...what are your thoughts? Do you think that Christians have elevated the power of politics as a Christian "voting bloc" to a level that is unhealthy for us all? do you think that our politics shape our spiritual life OR the other way around? honestly. Would love to hear from you all on this and the message.

So the last message was about the perception that people outside of Christianity think that all we care about is getting people "saved". This was a tough topic for me, because God has wired me with a passionate desire to see people come to faith in Jesus, it is the lense through which I see much of life. However, I have grown to see that the way I express my faith has as much to do with how I live as it does, what I say. I was challenged with the scriptures we used on Sunday to really think about how I view people: Do I want to see them "converted" to Christianity? OR do I want to see them spiritually transformed by Jesus? How about you? What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you think we are perceived as all about conversion? Do you see people as more than just spiritual notches on your belt? Do you actually have a belt that you notch?

Wow. I'm exhausted. I know people think it's funny that I crash hard after giving a message, but the only way to explain it, is feeling like I just prepped for a road race, gave it my all, and fell across the finish line. Today, was all that and then some. I would be really interested to hear your response to today's message. There were so many things that I could have added but didn't have time for. My hope and prayer is that I started spiritual conversations with you and your friends, your small group, your family. I would be interested in hearing your response to some of the questions that were on the outline today too. Here they are:

-What is your moral compass for life? Give an honest assessment of what factors truly give you direction with how you see right and wrong.
-How do you deal with scriptures that you don’t like? Make a decision to study and go deeper with these scriptures.
-Why do you think people see homosexuality as a greater sin than others? How can you help to change attitudes?
-What can you do to responded differently to this complex issue? Are there some practical ways for you to express compassion? What conversations do you need to have and with whom?

I'd like to add one: what would be a "third" way to respond to the homosexual community, OR to a homosexual person?

I was really excited that my Sbux friend, Sam was willing to talk with the Genesis tribe on Sunday. She and I have been talking about the current series for quite a while now, and kind of on a whim (Spirit prompting?), I asked if she would ever consider sharing her thoughts on a Sunday....and she said "sure!" Then I got a bit nervous (still working on this), because I didn't want it to look like, "Hey look at this I have a real, live, spiritual person!" and parade here around for all to see. My fears were silly of course, God showed up, and I believe that since all truth is God's truth, Sam really spoke to us...me for sure. What about you? How did you hear Sam's words? Were they fair? OR if you didn't hear Sam, what have been your impressions of other comments from those who are outside of Christianity in their critique of the Church?

So today was our kickoff to this new series, taking a hard look at how we, Christians are perceived by those who are outside of Christianity. So here's my challenge, ask your outsider friends to give you honest feedback on how they perceive Christianity based on how they experience you. Record your feedback here if you dare!

Pastor P

here are Amazon links to the books to which Pat referred this morning...

The American Church in Crisis
unChristian
Jim and Casper Go to Church
Final Roar

happy reading!