Monday, December 7, 2009

In limbo

A Lot has occurred since my last post.

I became a father.
I lost my job.
I began questioning the direction of my life.

I suppose that it's normal to question what God wants you to do when your world is turned upside down and then inside out.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Truth


"But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."

-Bob Dylan

I think religious people get upset when you suggest that all they really care about is money. I know I care about money. In fact all of us care about money. Our whole lives revolve around getting more of it so we can exchange it for other stuff. I hear a lot of talk about our capitalist society and how that is the American way. I don't know if that's a good thing. The pursuit of wealth is obviously a flawed one, like chasing the wind you can never get enough or ever be satisfied if money is your desire.

Sadly it is the desire of many Church's who have bought into the lie that they need more of it. I hear preachers on TV asking for money and leveraging the Gospel to get more money. They say things like "If you give you will be blessed with 10 times the amount you gave" If they really believed that they would give away all their money to the people watching.

Don't get me wrong, I think you need to be wise with your money. In the Bible what you do with your money is a reflection of your heart. What we invest in, reflects what we really care about. God doesn't want your money, he wants you. Jesus said, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." The model of the Church should follow this. Don't worry about money, you can't take it with you anyway.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

What my wife and I learned when we turned off the TV

Rachel and I have been cableless since late July. We decided to give up our cable so we could afford to sponsor a child through Compassion International. Here are Five things not having cable taught us.

1. We communicate more.
Rachel and I noticed that we have been praying together more, sharing about our day more and growing more in our relationship. It's amazing how much television can steal from your relationships.

2. We get more done.
I can't even tell you how many hours I must have wasted watching things that I wasn't really interested in watching. I think all of us have been 15 minutes into an infomercial thinking to ourselves "I have better things to do, but I can't help but learn about this new food processor". We noticed that when the TV is off more chores get done and we aren't pressed for time like we used to be.

3. Real giving should cost something
Sure we miss it, and that's the point. Every time I want to turn on the TV to watch the Cubs lose I remember that I can't because a little boy is getting the food and education he needs to have a better start in life. This is a small price to pay for the betterment of our fellow man. It's really the least we can do.

4. We read more and listen to more music
I have read so much more since we got rid of cable. Also Rachel and I have started going back to the Library (remember that place?) Yeah, you can get books FOR FREE! Also I have more time to pull up some music and just listen. It's also great to dance with your very pregnant wife!


5. We are more connected

And not just with each other. We are more connected with our friends and relatives. It's so easy to lose track of relationships when we let the TV suck our life away. Also I don't fret about all the negative stuff in the news and with the internet I'm still connected to the news without all the fluff. Plus I don't watch commercials...

That's it folks. God has given us relationships, and intimacy can only be built when we invest in those relationships. Unplug from the world and plug into the heart of God.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

A review of Northpoint Online.

I got to the Church about 4:30pm to get everything set up to watch Northpoint Online in our auditorium. As I sat there getting the screen ready and put on some music. While listening I go a feeling that this was the first thing I have ever done in Ministry where I had no expectations and it felt really good. I sat in the Church alone with the lights dimmed and put my feet up on the pew in front of me. I listened to Andrew Phillip as I heard the rain begin to hit the roof making an almost rhythmic serenade of water and music. I just sat in that empty room staring at a blank screen. It is moments like this in ministry that really give me opportunities to evaluate what exactly I'm doing. As the Worship Started I had one student there and two more followed. It was just the four of us watching a worship band in the middle of our Church. We watched and at the end of it one of my students said it was like having Big Stuf camp at our Church.

And really that was the best description I can give for Northpoint Online. It was like having a really cool Church service on the screen. The only thing that felt kind of strange was the Worship. I don't know what it is about music but live bands are just...well, live. Don't get me wrong, Steve Fee and his worship band are one of the best at what they do. The new Song Glory to God is a great song and one of my favorites. To be honest though I would rather have the Steve Fee band or a great band on a screen leading worship than many of the worship bands I have seen.

The message Andy gave was great and spoke plainly to the matter at hand. I am always impressed in the way he can make it seem like he is talking to a room of 5 people. It's personal and well thought out. Anyone who knows me knows that Andy is somewhat of a hero of mine. Not that I idolize but when I see someone who has natural talent combined with a great work ethic and desire to always get better, it's impressive.

I can see this service grow well beyond the four that came to watch. I can see it become something that is not really controlled but something that is organic because the spirit of God can not be contained to a building or an hour of Church. This is something that any Church could take advantage of if they were willing to keep their hands off of it. What I mean is provide a place for people to just come and watch and that's it. There is no prep. Plug and play video teaching has become a more common practice but this is something a little different. Northpoint Online gives you the ability to attend, to be present and not be caught up with trying to get things done. It also gives you the freedom to just build relationships. This I feel is probably the most beneficial thing about NPO.

After the Service the four of us headed to the most spiritual place we could think of "Taco Bell". We sat, joked, ate and had a good time. I saw in that moment that maybe Church should be more about moments like this.

We didn't have hundreds attend, we didn't have people baptized in the dozens, we didn't have re dedications. We did however have some good conversations and perhaps the start of something that only God can do if we are willing to just log on, and connect.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Entitlement.

In the Bible there are a group of people that get a lot of bad press called the Pharisees. The Pharisees where a group of people who were charged with the protection of the Jewish faith and were some of the most important people in society at the time. If you know much about ancient history you know that the Jewish people have been through a lot. They have been killed, enslaved, ruled over, transplanted, relocated, and the cycle has repeated several times.

The Pharisees were formed as a kind of natural backlash to all the outside influences they felt were poisoning their culture. After all, it was mostly the fault of the leadership turning to other gods or allying themselves with people who were not righteous.

Many times God would command His people to purge themselves of these outside peoples in order to keep His people holy and dedicated to Him. In the Bible this usually doesn't go well for the Jewish people and for whatever disobedience transpired God would turn the Jewish people over to what they wanted. This of course would lead to the cycle I mentioned earlier.

This is why to me it's strange that this would be the time that God sends His Son to tell the Pharisees; a people who have been entrusted with the protection of the Jewish culture, that they are hypocrites. Jesus goes so far as to tell them that prostitutes and tax collectors will enter the Kingdom of God before them, if they even get in at all.

This of course was extremely offensive because Jesus was showing the true nature of these religious people. He was uncovering them and showing everyone what they were really about. They were about being seen. They were about looking good, dressing up and giving money. They were about keeping the Law on the outside. They were about going to Temple every Sabbath. They were about tradition. They were focused on the outside, while on the inside they were dead.

The Pharisees had an obvious problem, they felt entitled to all that God had promised them. They were Jews and descendants of Abraham. How could they not feel that God was on their side? They had the Law of Moses, they were a people chosen by God Himself to be set apart and they would receive salvation.

However, somewhere along the way they had lost focus on what was most important and became more concerned with Religious practice than the Will of God. This I fear is the fate of many Churches.

We have seen God do some pretty incredible things and I believe God wants to give us even greater. But here is the problem, some of us can start to feel entitled. You may have been serving in a certain ministry for years and it's slipping out of your control. You may be a regular Church attender and feel that this gives you certain privileges. You may tithe regularly and think you deserve a ministry that fits your style. You may be a Sunday School teacher and think that you are the only one who can teach your class. You may be a Christian who hasn't given your all to God ever.

These ministry positions we hold and the leadership positions God has given us do not belong to us, and they are always temporary. When Gods Vision is no longer out front leading and guiding us the end is near. When the way we did ministry trumps what is effective, the end is near. When we look for reasons to not help our neighbor the end is near. When we think God needs us, the end is near.

This is a warning. God will give us over to our desires. He will let our ministry become about our entitlement and not about His Glory. He will spew our lives from His mouth and find us unfit for Kingdom work. Why? Because when we become more concerned with our Doctrine than we are with loving people we have become the Sons of Hell. When Doctrine trumps loving our Neighbor, the end is near.

If you don't agree with this you may need to read the Bible. Jesus said this to the Pharisees in the book of Matthew 21:43-44

Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the Kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.

Have you ever been to a Church like this? Have you ever been to a Church where it just felt dead? Have you ever been to a Church that felt like God held no presence there? Maybe God decided to take His Kingdom to another Church that was reaching the lost. Perhaps God can remove His Kingdom and all that's left is a building and a people gathering every Sunday.

Just because we meet every Sunday for Church doesn't make us the Kingdom. Just because we pray and take communion doesn't mean we are the Kingdom. Just because we have a worship band doesn't mean we are the Kingdom. God's holy spirit in us and the fruit that only He can produce through us makes us a part of His Kingdom.

If this doesn't disturb you than you may not be saved. If this doesn't make you wince than you may need Jesus. If this does trouble you than you have heard the call. Do Kingdom work, don't be entitled. Don't lose sight of the Will of God. Stay close to Him in all things. Place the word in your heart. Follow everything He says. Love God, love people, serve both.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Christ Holds It All Together

15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20 The Message

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

1938

Anyone who knows me knows that I love comic books. I find it a medium of entertainment that is still light years ahead of books and movies. And most people know that I love Superman comics as well. Superman has always been one of my favorite superheroes, yet for as much as I love Superman I find Superman's arch nemesis Lex Luthor just as fascinating.

Here is a guy who is easily one of the smartest people on earth and yet he always gets beat by Superman and not because Superman is more powerful but because Luthor has a fatal flaw and that flaw is pride.

What's interesting about Luthor is that it doesn't matter how smart he is or how clever is plan for world domination is. His pride is always the thing that trumps his smarts...every single time.

Pride is so easy to see in others and so hard to see in ourselves. If I'm really honest I can see that there are a staggering number of mistakes I've made that I would not have made if I just would not have been so prideful.

What is it in us that pulls the other way? What is it in us that knows we should react one way but so badly want to react the other? Isn't "getting even" the first thing that pops into our heads when someone wrongs us, Even if getting even hurts us further?

Are all of us mini Luthor's with our own issues with pride? Maybe. I think exposing the pride and owning up to it are the first steps to dealing with it. I know people who can't work for anyone but themselves because their pride gets in the way. I know people who have gotten a divorce because someone in the relationship just couldn't be wrong ever.

I deal with it every day, not just in others but myself. It's an on going battle that doesn't seem to end. Like a comic book, that keeps going with the same Characters, fighting the same battles.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Born

I've been thinking about the reality of God in our lives lately. Actually I've been thinking about the perception of the reality of God in our lives and how it affects our behavior.

A couple of nights ago my Dad asked me If having a microchip implanted in my brain as a baby that would record my entire life for review by him would have changed or would change my actions. This led to a lengthy discussion of how I thought it would affect my actions for only so long, but after I realized that there were no immediate consequences and I had behaved my way out of any previous beliefs that I had, I would eventually just do whatever I wanted to do.

I think this is why relationship is such a critical component to the Christian faith, without it we are just a walking tape recorder gathering data for our heavenly father to review. Even with the threat of some sort of reprisals or punishment for our actions we would eventually just do whatever we want. Basically "Law and Consequence" aren't enough for us to live our lives the way God wants us to. We require something more. We need relationship.

My Dad said this about the subject "I think that if I were God and I let people know that I was watching all the time and they did something wrong anyway, I would be really disappointed"

This is evident in every relationship we are in. We do what we want to please us.

People don't live like there is a God watching them at all times. We just don't. Does this mean that we don't truly believe in Him? I think we find that peoples behavior is the only way to gauge what they truly believe. This realization that the reality of God in our lives is only acknowledged when it's convenient or easy reveals a sobering truth that we are selfish bastards.

Bastard: a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate child.

From the moment we were born we have not truly known our heavenly Father, and yet he makes Himself so readily available. His Grace goes beyond our illegitimacy and He still accepts us for who we are, never wanting more from us, just wanting more of us.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Direction

Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light."

This verse has been really pressing me towards giving up more, surrendering more to God. I am beginning to see a bigger connection to my contentment with life and my willingness to do as God says. The more I submit to His principles and His word the more I enjoy my life and the more fulfilled I am. It's strange because it involves giving up the things that I think make me happy but really aren't good for me.

It's like having a soda in one hand and a glass of water in the other. The soda tastes good and makes me feel better, but the feeling doesn't last and I get more thirsty. The water on the other hand quenches my thirst and I feel better (in a different way) and the feeling lasts.

What we put in our bodies matters physically. It can make you feel good or depressed depending on what you eat. People who eat right and exercise seem to be happier and have a better attitude. I think this translates into our relationship with God as well. What we allow in our minds truly affects us. Jesus understood this when he talked about what we look at. Our senses are a gateway to our soul. And what we put in will come out.

This is why I think so many people I know that have been Christians have given up or stopped walking with the Lord. They have behaved their way out of their beliefs. And the fruit of their life reflects the attitudes of their hearts and what they have compromised on. I think deep down all people admire those who live a life of Character. People who put others first and live by faith are admirable no matter what faith they belong to. But getting there is not easy, it takes staying on the narrow path. It takes discipline, and that is what is lacking in today's Christian.

What we put in our minds will guide our life. Our eyes serve as the compass of our life in more ways than just physical direction. Andy Stanley says "Direction, not Intention determines Destination" It's so true if we look at the outcome of many events in our lives. When we planned for one thing to happen and it didn't work out the way we wanted. It's usually because the path we have chosen doesn't line up with our hearts intention. I've never known a person to accidentally love God and love people and live by faith. I have known many people who have turned away from the love of God because they took a path they never intended on taking.

What path are you on? Does your direction line up with your intention?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I'm probably going to have to delete my Myspace now

I just joined twitter. www.twitter.com/benjaminbowman

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Turning it around

The other night in class a couple of us were talking about how God loves to take things that once stood for something and turn them around. There are so many examples in the bible, Paul for example was an enemy to all Christians but an encounter with Christ turned him into possibly the most sold out Christian ever. But there are examples in peoples lives today. I guess that's what our testimonies are, God turning us around. I think God loves to do this. God loves taking what we did wrong and using it for his Glory. It's such a great thing to be a part of. It's not through anything we do but it's who God is. An encounter with Jesus leads to life change. Thank you God for turning things around!

"It's just a matter of time before it turns around"

Friday, February 20, 2009

Will

I have been noticing a theme in my personal bible study and time with God. It's been a message that I think God is really trying to establish and root into my heart. It's a simple one, "Just do the will of the Father" Last night during worship we sang about being like our heavenly Father. One of the girls there told us about how her grandfather had just died and even as his organs were failing him he was still praising God. Then in the midst of worship Andrew (www.lionandlamb.org) shared with us a verse in revelation about Christ revealing himself as the Lamb and doing just the will of the Father and having the Fathers heart. While we prayed and worshiped I came across a passage in John 8:28-29 which Jesus says “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”

I think doing the will of the Father is something that Jesus understood so well. It was all he did and all he came here to do. So may you learn to do nothing on your own but only what your father does. This is something that I am still learning about and just now starting to understand. Thank you God for revealing this truth.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Hearts

There is this great verse in Mark where Jesus quotes the Prophet Isiah. He basically says to the group of religious leaders there that they Honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. This verse has been heavy on my heart because I think of how many times I sing to God or talk about Him and yet my actions and thought life have separated me from Him. We have a God that loves us just the way we are, I think it is important to remember that. Yet, He loves us so much that He doesn't want us to stay where we are spiritually. This inner desire to be closer to the Father is what keeps us going as Christ Followers.

So where ever you are on your walk with the Lord, remember that He loves you and more than anything He just wants your heart.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

What is it about?

What is the bible about to you?

Open Discussion go!