Get to know our New Associate Pastor - Richard Bulbring

Just posted a brief bio & profile of Richard here on our website.

You can meet Rich, his lovely wife Tamryn, and their two cute chillins' (Noah and Annabelle) this Sunday, September 16th. They arrived safely on island last night. 

Please lift them up in prayer as they settle in, find God's perfect place for them to live (I know, it's [insert your neighborhood here]), and begin this journey with us! 

Living together before Marriage: Two helpful articles & a question we should all be asking

Confronting cohabitation before marriage, I'm convinced, needs to be at the forefront of any strategy for healthy marriages over the next 20 years - in every church and for every every pastor, Christian counselor, and indeed every Christian. Whether you tend to be for it or against it, it is happening at an alarming rate and isn't going away. No less here in Cayman. This scenario is all too common among ex-pats in particular: A young single professional moves here and is looking for a roommate. He/she meets another young single professional of the opposite gender - maybe they even start dating or at least engage in a 'good-natured' flirtatious friendship - WA- LA!! "Why don't we be roommates?!" Problem solved.

Here are two articles suggesting that the problems are, in fact, just beginning:

This first one is actually from a secular perspective that was featured in The New York Times in April of this year. It provides very helpful statistics and insight as to why - Jesus and the Bible aside - cohabitation before marriage carries with it tremendous risks that the persons involved sort of unconsciously slide into. I am admittedly disappointed at the author's final conclusion. She almost seems to mount her argument only to 'give in' to the prevailing tide of cohabitation at the very end. Indeed, she fails to see the logical link between her assertion that 2/3 of Americans now see cohabitation as a step toward marriage (which she uses as a positive about premarital cohabitation) and the fact that this 'step' is likely still a 'test.' She seems to ignore that it is a test which no one can ultimately pass because the commitment that bonds together and sustains mutually beneficial living for both parties (ie. marriage) is noticeably absent - see next article.

This second one is from Family Life Today. It actually includes some overlap with the NY Times article (proving that, yes, the Bible does align with experiential, modern data - we should expect it too if it is truly inspired by God and authoritative for life!). However, it also debunks the helpfulness of "the trial run" theory from a biblical perspective. 

I just want to add one thought (okay, with a couple 'sub-thoughts'):

The question every person should be asking - married, single, child, elderly, teenager, potential premarital co-habitor. It comes from an often overlooked verse in the Bible:

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and the adulterous (Hebrews 13:4).

So two things. First, you may have heard someone say: "Does the Bible actually say not to have sex before marriage? It talks about adultery but that's once you are already married." You can say "yes" and, with a spirit of gentleness and love, point to Hebrews 13:4. The author, rather intentionally it seems, includes two situations that God will judge: (1) the "adulterous" (Gk. moichos), which refers to anyone who is specifically unfaithful to his/her spouse;  (2) the "sexually immoral" (Gk. pornos), which is a much broader term referring to anyone who engages in sexual activity outside the confines of marriage between a man and a woman. Premarital cohabitation, which despite anyone's best intentions and will-power, nearly always includes sex at one point or another falls into this latter category and was probably even an example the author had in mind while writing it.

Second, Marriage is to be held honor among all (ie. not just married people). So this verse is for my 8-year-old and 5-year-old also - Katie and I try to live out our marriage (through respecting one another, serving one another, being affectionate with each other, putting each other before even them) in such a way that they have a high regard for marriage. In other words, certainly any cynical singles who publicly scoff at married couples need to deal with Hebrews 13:4. Furthermore, the way you treat the girl/guy you just started dating, the manner in which you conduct yourself with your long-time boyfriend/girlfriend, decisions that you make with your not-yet-married partner reflects not only what you think about just marriage but also, according to this verse, what you think of the God who commands us to honor this gift He's given. 

So the question all of us should be asking: Will this decision honor marriage among the people around me?

These are people who are still looking for hope, looking for a different sort of life - Does your relationship reflect that difference?

(And now may God give us the grace and discernment to take these truths and apply it lovingly to conversations with our friends or apply it to our own cohabitating lives!)

A message about Porn (no longer just a problem for men...but, yeah, still a problem for men)

Below I've posted a concise and helpful sermon by P.J. Smyth (lead pastor of Godfirst church in Johannesburg, South Africa) about the Porn epidemic that is still running wild amongst Christians - and not just amongst men by the way. A couple summers ago I was speaking with a man who started and runs one of the largest Christian-based rehab centers for addicts of various kinds. He said the most surprising trend that no one knows about is that the majority of addicts amongst 18-22 y. olds are women and not men. I was floored by this revelation. Smyth addresses, in part, why this is the case.

Here are some of the quotes from the message that impacted me:

• "Every second, $3000 are spent on porn."
• "Porn is like trying to find out about a Beethoven symphony by listening to someone grunt a few bars."
• "Porn girls never say 'No.' So that imagery ruins proper relationships."
• "To Adam, Eve was perfect. She was his standard of beauty. Porn cuts that."
• "Sex in marriage is so important that the devil does everything to get us into bed before we are married and keep us out of bed when we are."
• "About 60% of the power of sin dissipates the moment you confess it to someone else."
• "The gospel and marriage teach us that I am way worse than I thought and way more loved than I thought."
• "Be a Churchill, not a Chamberlin."
• "Spending time in God's presence is one of the most underrated ways to deal with sin."

Summer Reading & Pics

Hi friends. It's good to be back on Grand Cayman (a.k.a. "The Rock"). Katie, the boys, and I enjoyed our time on leave immensely. So good, even while there were some adventures -- see near death in lightning storm, the leg infection from a dirty/overpopulated river, and a chigger bite infestation all of which were superfluously (and, frankly, needlessly) covered in my first sermon back. The four weeks away were capped off wonderfully by time away at a Bed and Breakfast with my bride as her sister watched the chillins'. I am just so grateful for my closest friend in life and ministry!

Did a lot of livin', lovin', and readin' during the trip -- so a brief summary of each below (the "lovin'" is subjective and open to interpretation). First pictures, then Books.

Summer Pics.

Kiawah Island. A home away from home &
site of the 2012 PGA Golf Championship
(won on Sunday by Rory McIlroy )

Beach Olympics. Gage & his cousin Andy go 3-legged against
Mason and his younger cousin Lincoln, who've lost their 'rope'
(notice: it is really a bungee cord my father found in his garage).

Fourth of July Parade. With electricity in Cayman costing
way too much for Christmas decor, Fourth of July afford
us our next best chance to be tacky and gaudy.

One of FOUR trees that fell in my sister and I's path during a lighting storm. Really, Lord?! Four?!

July 15. 2:04:05 pm 

July 15. 2:04:10 pm
("5 typical seconds in the ever-changing life of my youngest son")

Flexing before Ziplining
(Mason, cousins Marlow and Moriah) 

Father-Son Trip to D.C.
(at Nat'l Zoo - see Panda in background)

Father-son Baseball Trip

How gangsta is this pic?! Cousin Eliot looking cool,
Mason flashing gang signs, Cousin Jemma with the hardcore spit.

Summer Reading.

My favorite book of the Summer was Dianne Severance's Feminine Threads: Women in the Tapestry of Christian History. And if that makes you feel awkward, imagine the many looks and comments I received/endured from family and friends as I sported this book whose cover features an image tantamount to an Audrey Heburn silhouette on the beach, hammock, etc. Hint: They were not favorable toward my masculinity. But it was well worth it. I love history. But let's face it: Most history from 0-1950 A.D., both history in general or church history, is very masculine in its focus. And I'm not going to comment on whether that's a travesty or conspiracy nor argue that we need to rewrite all of history. However, I felt it was worthwhile for Katie and I (and those to whom I minister) to potentially benefit from the many lives of women who contributed to the spread of the gospel to the four corners of the earth, in their neighborhoods, and, most importantly, in their own households. It was awesome. In fact, I've ordered some copies and will be putting them on sale in our church lobby. Dianne Severance does an excellent job of combining historical accuracy with readability. I found the first 50-75 pages a bit dry, but after that I found it to be an absolute page-turner. 

Mason and I did the Narnia thing this Summer - specifically Prince Caspian (the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia series...and the most natural sequel to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe). This was the first time I can recall Mason saying, during a break, "Dad, I really like this story. I can't wait to pick it up again." Here are a couple of my favorite moments.

At the end of feasting led by the god Bacchus but in the presence of Aslan, Lucy notes to Susan at the close of one chapter, "I should be afraid of Bacchus, if Aslan wasn't here." It's a profound statement really. Bacchus is the Roman god of making merry (ie. partying). Yet he makes his way into a Christian children's book. How? Because Aslan is present. Partying for its own sake or for the sake of self-indulgence is a fearful thing to these girls because even they know at their young age that it causes self-destruction, causes one to become less human. But merriment/party-making is itself relished by God when done for Him, through Him, and by Him. Thus, in Aslan's presence, the joy and merriment is pure and allows one to be more free to take pleasure in it.

A second moment is when Lucy reacquaints herself with the great lion, Aslan (who represents Jesus in the story), having not visibly seen him in some time:

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?" 
"I am not, but every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

A third Book I had opportunity to read was Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. It was the fascinating life story of an wunderkind Olympic runner who becomes a WWII bombadeer. Louis Zamperini's plane and crew crash over the Pacific. His story of survival that ensues is really quite inspiring. 

Finally, I was blessed to read Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God by an 'up-and-coming' young pastor named David Platt. His church's story of sacrifice from a place of comfort is quite encouraging and challenging. His chapter pinpointing the need sacrifice comfort to reach unreached people groups specifically is compelling.

10 Quick Questions to Ask when Reading the Bible

We've just begun a new mini-series on Sundays called: How the Bible was Built. This week was an Introduction I tabbed: "What the Bible can do to People." 

In it I gave a very cursory and simple idea for helping us do a little interpretive and application work when reading the Bible. Ask yourself these 10 questions when reading a particular passage (A few folks asked if I'd supply these later as I breezed through them fairly briskly):

• Is there a command [in this passage] to be obeyed?
• Is there a promise to be believed?
• Is there a truth about God to be trusted?
• Is there a character trait of God's to be praised?
• Is there a prayer to be prayed?
• Is there a conviction of sin to be confessed?
• Is there an example of sin/temptation to avoid?
• Is there an example of godly living to be emulated?
• Is there an idol that needs to be removed?
• Is there a need present that can only be met in Christ? 

I hope this might be helpful as you seek to see God's Word become His Words to you and for everyday living. 

Parents, Obey your Children?

This morning's sermon on Colossians 3:20 (Children, obey your parents...) was geared toward our children, youth, teens. Involved in the proceedings were a Wii Remote, a Squirt Bottle, and...a children's book called Skippy Jon Jones. I like the Skippy Jon Jones Series (in part because I enjoy talking in a Hispanic accent, probably wrong!!, and there's a lot of that required in these books). This one was called Skippy Jon Jones in the Dog House. But upon reflecting a little more on these books I feed my children, it's disconcerting that a child's disobedience is overlooked while he's lauded by book's end as the hero because of his imagination and creativity. 


It's the kind of thing discussed in this insightful article by Dr. Al Mohler, "Children Obey Your Parents." It's worth your while, parents, to read and consider - so as to not let solid, biblical parenthood drift into oblivion (or Disney TV tween programming).


Tomorrow I am off on vacation with the fam through the rest of July. So this will be my last blog entry for the month. Many blessings!

CayHistory - The deciding factor to stick with Britain: The Applause-o-Meter

It was 1989 and I was still an impressionable lad as I headed into the new basketball arena opened in Charlotte, North Carolina - the Charlotte Coliseum. Home to the NBA's still very new Charlotte Hornets. For it's time, the Coliseum was a state-of-the-art arena complete with  jumbotron, luxury boxes, and, of course, an Applause-o-Meter. If you've never experienced the joys of an applause-o-meter it is essentially a shiny device that makes simpletons (like yours truly) happy. The louder a crowd cheers, the further right the needle of the Applause-o-Meter moves. This is no exact science. Some dude earning minimum wage arbitrarily moves it from quiet to loud to (in the case of an arena featuring Hornets) "BUZZING." People cheered, it measured the 'true' rabidness of a fan, it was cool (please remember it was 1989 and I was still in awe of Tecmo Bowl on my Nintendo Entertainment System...I always used the Chicago Bears btw). Because truth (and thus history) is normally stranger than fiction,  a virtual applause-o-meter played a pivotal role in early 1960s here in Cayman at the precipice a decision that would radically determine the country's future. 

This is the fourth of my series of blog entries on Cayman History & Culture as a way of assisting those of us less familiar with either to be thinking about the people among whom and the place in which we live. Most of this is derived directly from a book I've finally finished: He hath Founded it Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and their People by Michael Craton. Today's topic: Deciding Upon Cayman Independence. 

I've elsewhere discussed the strong historical ties between Jamaica and Cayman. even during the 1940s and 50s, the Jamaican legislature could still, in theory, pass laws applicable to the Cayman Islands without consulting Caymanians. 

Winds of Change. In the late 40s and on into the 50s, the winds of change moved Cayman towards a choice. A proposed new federation, headed up by Jamaica, was set forth: The West Indies Federation. Through the West Indies Federation, Cayman would be slowly become independent of Great Britain and politically ally itself more closely with Jamaica and other territories of the British West Indies. Cayman wanted to join if it had direct representation in the Federation legislature. This was rejected by the Standing Closer Association Committee, which in 1949 recommended that the Cayman Islands should continue as a dependency under the administration of the Governor-General of the Federation (ie. Jamaica). Cayman would ultimately have to decided between being subject to the Governor of Jamaica (who was himself subject to Britain...similar to our situation here in Cayman) versus being subject to the Jamaican Government (ie. the Governor-General of the Federation). On July 4 1959, the Cayman Islands received their first written constitution, which exempted them from control of the Jamaican Legislature and situated them under the authority of the Jamaican Governor, who was instructed to visit Cayman at least once a year. All of this sounds nice, but something was about to change...

Jamaican Independence. In September 1961, the time had come to institute this new Federation. But what happened next, few expected. Jamaica's ruling party, headed by Norman Manley, held a referendum as to whether Jamaica would officially be part of the West Indies Federation. But to Manley's own surprise (and it was!), the Jamaican electorate voted narrowly to withdraw from the Federation - Manley then proceeded to secure from the British government an assurance that they would allow Jamaica to become an independent nation, which they did on August 6, 1962. With it died the Federation itself. All of a sudden Cayman had to make a choice. Everyone wanted some level of internal self-government. The question was: Would that be better achieved through its political ties with and under the umbrella of Jamaica or through ties and under the umbrella of Great Britain. 

In this corner. In one corner you had the National Democratic Party (NDP) who wanted, above all else, an internal self-government and thought that could be best achieved under the Jamaican umbrella versus GB. Led by Ormond Panton and Warren Conolly, they targeted the non-whites and women, who were just recently granted rights to vote. They also targeted businessmen who were hurt financially by the success of Ducan Merren. Ducan Merren was the most active member of the biggest trading company in Cayman. Governor Foot wrote in a confidential memo (1956): "They own one of the ships which brings supplies to the Caymans and and though there are one or two other traders (principally the McTaggart family) the Merrens in fact fix all retail prices in the Caymans and there is no other merchant strong enough to stand against them." He goes on to note a major reason for their success is having no income tax. So, naturally, in our other corner you have the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) led by none other than Ducan Merren, Willie Farrington, and Burns Rutty. They doggedly supported links with Britain rather than Jamaica. They tapped into Caymanians more traditional respect for British institutions and leadership as well as their commitment to Christian values. More than anything, they appealed to "Caymanians fear of being dominated by a Jamaica whose standard of living was rapidly falling behind that of the Cayman Islands, and whose population was a hundred times larger and overwhelmingly black" (Craton, 316). In January 1962, Governor Blackburne arrived in Cayman to help resolve the issue by presiding over the vote in the Assembly. It promised to be a very close vote as opinion was sharply divided. That was until the MLAS from the sister islands brought to the Assembly a petition signed by 345 of the 435 registered voters of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman which expressed that if Grand Cayman decided to remain with an independent Jamaica, the Sister islands would pursue separate Crown Colony Status under Britain. 

The Decision. I'll let Craton tell the rest as this is where history is determined, as it often is, by a bizarre moment.

When Tibbetts presented the petition to the Governor at the Town Hall, Blackburne scrupulously inquired if the petitioners were registered voters. "Yes, your Honour," Tibbetts replied, producing a registered voters list from his pocket. Turning to Commissioner Rose, Blackburne was heard to remark, "Do we need to go further?...This can't be overlooked."  At the climax of the afternoon session, the crowd avidly listened to impassioned speeches by the leading proponents of each side. Ormond Panton put the case for a Jamaican connection, and his NDP colleague spoke for the British link. In a memorable judgment that Ormond Panton was later to call one of the "most undemocratic and dictatorial steps ever taken in the British Commonwealth," Governor Blackburne wound up the meeting by announcing that, having listened to the volume of applause given by the people to the two speakers, he believed the British case had clearly been won.

 In other words, Governor Blackburne assumed the role of the dude operating the Applause-o-Meter and using his arm as a pretend applause-o-meter (like was used to do at summer camp and at Young Life) tipped the needle towards Great Britain. And so it is, in large part, that we are where we are today as the 5th largest banking centre in the world.


Does that comfort or disturb you? If the latter, recall there are other occasions in the world's history resulting in good that have hinged on items seemingly far more trivial or just far worse (for worse, see the black plague giving rise to capitalism). Sometimes you just got to lift up your hands and be grateful to Providence for using a primitive, human Applause-o-Meter. 

What makes a church unique? (part 2: the glory of uniqueness)

In my last post, I tried to establish that, given the consumer culture in which all churches find themselves and the accompanying temptation to 'play that game,' many if not most churches promote not simply Jesus making them unique, but Jesus + something else -- after all, every church gets to claim Jesus (so he doesn't 'set them apart'). I even took time to throw under the bus myself and my favorite church in the world - Sunrise Community Church of Grand Cayman. I want to exhort us to be insistent to trust our God enough to "billboard" to others what He says is unique about the gathering of His people (yes, ladies and gentlemen, you just witnessed grammar history as 'billboard' was used as a verb). 

What does God's Word say ought to make a church unique? I've often communicated to others that God's grace makes our church unique. But even God's grace, which is often expressed through a church's ethos in a welcoming, come-as-you-are atmosphere, is a means to God himself. Grace is the gift that allows us to know God, to be reconciled to God when we sin, and is described as the strength to serve God. The pattern being that the beginning and end of grace, the beginning and end of the gospel is God Himself. So also it is with the church - the people part is great. But the people part is especially great because it is in the entire people we more clearly see God - each person made in God's image with various gifts that reflect the entire Person of our Heavenly Father.  Thus, what makes a church unique is God's Himself, God's presence, which is ultimately expressed through Jesus Christ.

5 images that appear across the storyline of the Bible that reflect God's purpose to give His presence to a people He has set apart as His own 

(1) A Garden (Genesis 2: 4-17). The Hebrew word for "Garden" infers "to protect, to enclose." Eden means "delight" or "pleasure." It was a place of relational harmony - various, plants, animals, and, of course, a couple of humans co-existed without strife. The protection existed for relationship with God and the pleasure existed to reflect the gracious character of God. In other words, God designed this to be a place where man & woman might freely enjoy fellowship with God. Genesis 3:8 infers this was a place of direct fellowship with God: "And [Adam & Eve] heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." God is pictured here with the familiarity of a neighbor, going on His daily walk. Leviticus 26:12 pictures fellowship with God as a walk: "And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." Not coincidentally the Book of Ephesians uses the Greek word for walk (peripateo) on six different occasions to describe times one's relationship with God.
(2) A dwelling (Exodus 25:1-8). In addition to being rescued from slavery (first half of Exodus) and being issued God's law (second half of Exodus), Israel is promised God's presence. "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I might dwell in their midst" (Exodus 25:8). From now on it won't be their athletes, a national anthem, their natural resources, the pride & toughness of their nomadic peoples, but God's presence that sets them apart. This makes a profound impression upon Moses. Upon being promised a great land, listen to the interaction Moses then has with God: "Moses said the YHWH, 'See, you say to me, Bring up this people [into the land I am giving you],' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me...' And YHWH said, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.' And Moses said to him, 'If you presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?' " (Exodus 33:12, 14-16). Consider how bold this statement truly was in Moses' life and relationships. He's leading a people who have been enslaved and then nomadic for generations . They just want to have land and have peace like all these other nations they've heard of and grow up around. And yet, Moses is bold enough to request: Don't give us any of those things if you don't give us Yourself. I'd rather stay poor, destitute, wandering and enslaved but have You with me. 
(3) A person (John 1:14). "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Literally, Jesus "tabernacled" or "sanctuaried" among us (see direct connection with Exodus 25:8 above). Jesus is Emmanuel, "God with us."
(4) A people (II Corinthians 6:16-17). "What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you'" (II Corinthians 6:16-17). Here we find that, through trust in Christ, we (the church) become the temple in which God dwells. We also see the near direct quotation of Exodus 25:8 and that God's presence provides us the motive to be different, to be separate, to be other than the world around us.
(5) A city (Revelation 21:1-4, 9-22). At the end of the Bible, we find a surprise. There is no more temple. Because, as in Genesis 2, God's presence is once again immediate, direct, unhindered and unclouded by sin, pain, & decay. "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb" (Revelation 21:22).  


That's pretty much the whole Bible there. So while we might be tempted to display something else more novel, more edgy, we must insist that it is the presence of God Himself through Jesus Christ that makes we His people unique.


So What? Two Pictures. Let me give you a couple pictures of how God's presence practically sets us apart. The first picture is an evening I spent with one of our church's Community Groups a few weeks ago. This particular group had asked me to come in and help conduct a Spiritual Gifts Discovery Seminar, which is something I've enjoyed immensely in the past and knew I would again. The third of four parts is probably my favorite part of the seminar. Recognizing that, because of sin, we all have blind spots, members of the group endeavor to go around and affirm certain gifts that each individual thinks he/she has and suggest certain gifts that perhaps he/she had never before considered having. The Lord used this as an exhilarating time of encouragement. I walked out that night with my friends Rob and Bianca - we started to talk and we all agreed: "Where else would people go out of their way to make such sincere and personal encouragements than as part of a church - where we all have Jesus in common?" (In fact, you could add: "Where else other than church would people even make this kind of statement or observation?").The presence of God had practically set us apart from others gathering that same night to watch a movie, play a game of cards, to participate in a Rotary Club, or even to do a charitable work. 


The second picture is my attendance yesterday at Georgetown Primary School's Outreach Program for at-risk youth. Last September our church Adopted a local Primary/Elementary School at which to volunteer and invest time, talents, and resources. Many in our church find a time slot to go each week and spend time mentoring at-risk youth. I happen to go for an hour on Wednesdays, during which time we have a wonderful Aerobics/Athletics instructor lead. At the end of the hour, the instructor was searching for something impactful to communicate to the twenty at-risk children. Getting to know her a bit, I could tell she was searching. So she decided to incorporate as part of her stretches us hugging ourselves and saying, "I love myself" and then "I will be a good student and not talk back to my teacher the rest of the year." In other words, messages these students had heard before from speakers, children's books, positive videos that a teacher popped in the player during a slow day. Just after this, we did another stretch or two. At my age, I was clearly lacking in flexibility so a couple of the kids inquired: "Mr. Ryan, here's how you do it. Like this." I explained: "My body is no longer able to do that. But because I've trusted my life to Jesus, one day I will get a new body. In fact, because I trust Jesus, I know that no matter how bad or good my life is going, it will always get better than it is now." That is real, genuine hope. And I could tell as the kids all stared at me that it was a message that set was unique, set apart. That's what happens when we bring ourselves, when we bring the church to an onlooking world that is desperate to hear and experience something unique - the possibility of God with them. 

What makes a church unique? (part I: the problem of uniqueness)

A friend of mine here in Cayman recently received an email from a co-worker entitled: "Only the King James Version is the real Bible." The introduction to the email claimed that any person or church using a translation other than the NIV was denigrating the deity of Christ and the existence of His Kingdom. That's meshugenah!. Beyond the facts that there are good reasons to be both thankful for the KJV translation (see 17th-19th centuries + only English translation) yet also move on to other more reliable translations (see here for more), the larger question this email brought to our minds as my friend and I discussed it was:

Why are many churches so aggressive about making a little thing into their ultimate thing? 

Our conclusion was ultimately that churches often feel the need to set themselves apart. In a consumer market in which all churches find themselves and each must decide to what extent they are going to play that game, many churches feel like they need to not just make Jesus their thing (every church gets to claim Jesus) but Jesus + something else.  This something else makes us unique.


Enter the church of which I'm blessed to be a part - Sunrise Community Church. Since we are non-denominational, pretty new to the scene (ie. new to being a church), non-sectarian in our doctrine/beliefs, thankfully our people are pretty much immune to the pressure of distinguishing our church according to "+ something else." Right? Mmmm...not so much. 


This became clear to me during our search for an associate pastor. Not only did the other elders and myself find ourselves describing & distinguishing our church in ways that weren't just about Jesus, a truly cautionary tale made it clear to me that even churches trying to keep the Big things Big and the small things small can get caught up in this. One of our pastoral candidates mentioned, off-hand, that should he come to visit & preach, he would wear a tie. I cautioned against this primarily because I've never seen anyone in our church wear a tie and people feel weird when I wear dress shoes twice a year (cuff links three times - but that's only because a dress shirt I got from a TJ Maxx Clearance Bin that lacked sleeve buttons...Get it together Van Heusen!!). This caution crystallized how many of us promote our church according to the following terms - we are casual, welcoming, wear whatever you want, & 'not legalistic.' And in promoting it we might become just as rigid as KJV-mania in keeping to it -  how accepting would we really be toward someone who regularly donned a formal, full-length dress or a coat and tie (especially if he was one of the pastors!!)?? At the very least, there would be looks and whispers.


What about your church? How do you describe/promote it to others so as to make it sound unique, different, distinguished? 


So what does God's Word say should make unique the gathering of God's people? That's the subject of my next post: What makes a church unique? The glory of uniqueness. 


As I discovered this week, the whole Bible (yes, including the Old Testament) echoes a consistent theme.

Free Audiobook for May: Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande

Are you like me: I feel something near compulsion to alert people to free stuff. Not free junk, but quality things from the land of the free and the home of "there's no catch." This month proves to be more than an easy call to alert you to christianaudio.com's free audiobook of the month - Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande.


I recommending clicking right here, taking the 30 seconds to fill in your info, and get to downloading for your listening benefit. I do so for two big ole honkin' reasons:


#1: Peacemakers Ministries and Ken Sande. I remember attending my first Peacemakers Seminar at my old church in Chicago nearly ten years ago. Since then, I've used Peacemakers materials with youth, in counseling, in helping lead frustrated people to Jesus, in my marriage, in martial counseling, in sermons, in basic conversations. It is simple, biblical, and practical. Also, conflict is just one of those things in which passions (especially the desire to get what we want) runs so high, we need some kind of concrete, firm plan we can 'cling to' in such moments lest everything else in us erupts or implodes (passive-agressive) to cause pain for ourselves and others. In other words, it's hard to trust ourselves and our instincts in such moments - we need a plan/strategy outside ourselves.


#2: If you have any relationship of depth and/or meaning, you experience, have experienced, will experience conflict. So if you have a heartbeat and have uttered "hi" or "sup, holmie" to someone today, then this audiobook will prove intensely relevant.


May God use this resource to prevent pain, heal hurts, and bring glory to Himself through your conflict.