Just blows me away! Puts my often hot pursuit of earthly treasure and wealth in the right perspective. Having God is enough. Means I’m rich and satisfied. If I have stuff and God and the stuff goes away I’m still rich and satisfied, because I have God. The challenge is knowing that I have everything when I have God.

Utilizing his five-point recovery plan of Repentance, Order, Understanding, Training and Endurance (ROUTE tm), Joe Dallas provides a step-by-step recovery plan for any man who’s gotten caught up in the use of pornography or other sexual sins.  This seminar has been presented around the country, and is based on Joe’s book, The Game Plan: The Men’s 30 Day Strategy for Attaining Sexual Integrity.

Joe Dallas will teach the seminar live from 2:30-6:30 PM on Saturday June 19 at the Wasatch Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church. To learn more about Joe Dallas visit www.joedallas.com

SPACE IS LIMITED! REGISTER ONLINE NOW @ http://thegameplanslc.eventbrite.co

For more information call: (801) 484-4331

I recently heard a group of 4 guys talk about the accountability group they formed about 7 years ago because they felt the need to avoid the fluff and pretending of shallow relationships. They wanted to live in such a way that would honor Jesus and their wives/families.  They have an acrostic that they use to keep the group on track but they really don’t have any program or formula other than reading scripture and attempting to have their lives line up accordingly.

Here’s the acrostic: R.E.A.L. “accountability on steroids”

Reject passivity

Engage with God

Accept Responsibility

Lead Courageously

From what I understand these guys talk all the time but they have a mandatory conference call once a month or so. It is a time when they can be asked challenging questions about their lives and how they are relating to the people closest to them like their spouse, kids, co-workers, and of course where they are spiritually. It is all done to support, encourage, and build-up rather than condemn. It only works if the guys are honest though.  My guess is if there is any lying or pretending the other guys can sniff it out and call the other guys to step up to the plate and be honest.

This type of group is unusual in our culture where we tend to go it alone opting for a solo journey instead of risking the challenge of authentic biblical community. Some would say that this type of group promotes co-dependency and weakness.  That view misses the point completely.  Accountability isn’t about co-dependency or weakness as much as it is about community, strength (in numbers) and investing in others rather than being completely self-obsorbed.  In my opinion it is to truly demonstrate love.

Scripture says in I Thess. 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

I know that i’ve been encouraged now to buff up my accountability relationships that I already have in place and not only that perhaps start a group that adopts the R.E.A.L. model. I challenge you to seek out some accountability and I encourage you to pursue, character, integrity, and truth in your walk with Christ.

For me annihilationism is consistent with the character of a God who says in Ezekiel 33:11 “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked…” The notion of a God who would allow for the eternal conscious torment of lost people sounds more like a masochistic God bent on sticking it to those who crossed him.  But just because annihilationism is perhaps a bit more palatable for me doesn’t mean I get to ignore the Bible texts that suggest that indeed the wicked will be “tormented day and night for ever and ever” Rev. 20:10. But I’m satisfied with what I believe the Bible teaches there as well. My understanding is that when it comes to “for ever and ever” or “everlasting/eternal” those are relative terms in the Bible. In other words with regard to “everlasting/eternal” when those terms are used to refer to God there’s no question that these attributes are true of God who alone is immortal and eternal.  However when it comes to humanity or other earthly, created, perishable things these words can only mean until the person or object is consumed, or burned up.  For example Jude 7 says that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered “the vengeance of eternal fire” but those cities are not burning today.  There’s no question that the results or the impact of the fire is eternal, there is no Sodom and Gomorrah today (though Las Vegas could be considered a modern equivalent).  So the same seems to be true for lost people, Revelation 20:9 says that fire came down and “devoured” the unsaved. The unsaved are consumed and destroyed by an “unquenchable” fire and it isn’t that they suffer an eternal conscious punishing but rather the result of the punishment is everlasting, and eternal.

Connected to the doctrine of hell is the idea of conditionalism or conditional immortality, the teaching (which I hold to) that humanity is not born immortal (not subject to death) but rather the only immortal being is God and thus God alone can grant immortality (I Tim. 6:16) which is what he will bestow upon his followers at his return (I Cor. 15:51-54). This again is where, Adventists and traditional evangelicalism part ways.  The notion that we are all immortal (like God) doesn’t seem consistent with the pronouncement that God made to Adam and Eve in the Garden, “you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17) remember that it was the serpent that said that, “you will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). It would seem then that conditionalism is more accurate with what scripture says about the nature of man that indeed we are subject to death and that immortality then is a gift given only to those who come to faith in Jesus. For the lost then to spend eternity in a conscious state (even if it is in torment) would suggest that they too receive eternal life which is difficult to reconcile considering the fact that scripture clearly points to eternal life being reserved only for the saints.

In preparing my message though I thought about how both views are really a turn-off for the unbelieving world. Our culture doesn’t like the idea of a God who punishes, judges, or destroys anyone. Our culture believes that God’s love is big enough to find a way for all people to be saved and experience heaven. My guess is that many long-time evangelicals and Adventists have succumbed to the popular notion of Universalism simply because hell is so politically incorrect to talk about (or believe). Clearly God does want to save everyone (2 Peter 3:9) but He won’t because His love does not allow Him to force a relationship on anyone.  Again I’m satisfied with a God who allows those who do not want to live eternally worshiping, serving, and loving him to choose eternal death instead of eternal life.

I’m certain it wasn’t the best sermon on hell but it was what God called me to share. It made me think carefully about hell and what the Bible is saying about lost people. More than anything it compels me to think even more about the gospel and the real need to preach it, and preach it well so that people won’t go to hell.

Now here’s the humbling part. Just the other night Christina and I were talking and she mentioned a story she heard about how many gym injuries happen to people running on treadmills!  I laughed quite hysterically and said, “how on earth do people get injured on treadmills!”  She explained that they go, “flying off the treadmill.” Of course I laughed and said, “that would be kinda cool to see!” (not that I want anyone to get hurt of course)  I went on to utter more outlandish statements about how these people couldn’t possibly be people with any athletic ability whatsoever.

Turns out that it easy for people to get distracted on a treadmill and they do indeed crash and get hurt.  So my early morning near crash reminded me of the text that says: “Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.” The Message (emphasis mine)

Thank you Jesus for the dose of humility.

• A conservative analysis of the data reveals that between 40-50% of young adults are dropping out of the church.
• Of the approximately 50% who do remain, only 55% attend church regularly, 45% return a tithe, 34% attend Sabbath School, and 21% hold some type of church office.

• Moreover, only 13% read the Bible daily and 30% weekly, while 36% rarely or never do.

• “Many are finding a good experience in the church, love it dearly, and are deeply committed to it.  But as we have seen, 40 percent to 50 percent of those who are baptized members in their mid-teens will drop out of the church by the time they are halfway through their 20s.  This is a hemorrhage of epic proportions.” (60, emphasis supplied)

• “The church can have no higher priority than stemming the loss of young adults and winning back those who have left its ranks.” Roger Dudley, Why Our Teenagers Leave the Church

• “Many teenagers and young adults are leaving the church because they perceive it to be behavior-centered when they are looking for relationships…’without [new] effort we will never retain our youth.  They will not continue to struggle in a contest they cannot possibly win.’” Roger Dudley, Why Our Teenagers Leave the Church

Pretty significant study one I think has implications for our adult ministries as well.  Not only do young people see our church as being behavior-oriented many adults do also.  Our challenge is to move away from the hyper-religious, behavior-centered model of how we do church to a gospel-centered, community of faith.  Then the back door will be closed to both the young and the not so young.  Your thoughts…

At the invitation of one of my members I recently attended a “speed networking” lunch designed to bring together small business owners.  The gathering included realtors, bankers, consultants, and entrepreneurs.  I was the only pastor in the group, but I quickly realized that this was a golden opportunity to get some face time with a group of mostly young, highly motivated, smart, mainly unchurched people.

Each encounter lasted 2 minutes with each of us having 60 seconds to introduce ourselves, explain what we do, and hand over a business card.  The way this particular event was organized I connected with 15 people directly and talked with the rest of the group during the lunch.  I walked away from the event with a ton of business cards and having had the opportunity to personally invite each person I met to my church!

What is the value of such experiences you say?  Think about the fact that in a couple of hours with no handbills, radio advertisements, or expensive newspaper ads I put a face on the local Adventist church and extended a personal invitation for people to come check us out. With the exchange of contact information the door was left open for further contact and relationship in the future.

I believe Jesus was the ultimate networker!  He had kingdom business to do and rather than hunker down in some secluded corner of Jerusalem He got out there and mingled with people.  You obviously get where I’m going with this.  I believe the days of attracting people to our rather obscure little churches are mainly over.  The strategy now has to be to get out there among the people and connect or “network”.  Here are some ways to get out there and begin building a network of relationships that could result in fruit for the kingdom:

• Attend Events

Every city has a local chamber of commerce that likely hosts networking or social events.  Check them out on the web, get on their mailing list, and plan to attend at least one event a month.

• Business Cards Make sure you have plenty of sharp, professionally produced, up-to-date business cards to hand out.  Your card should have contact info, worship service location and times, and church website url.

• Host an Event

Partner with a Christian business owner and host your own networking event at a             restaurant, event center, or at your church.  You’ll need to charge a small fee ($20-$25) to cover the meal but most small business owners will see your event as an opportunity to meet potential new clients.

• Be the Message

The important thing to remember when “networking” is that you are the message!  The most unique job I’ve ever had was when I worked at summer camp and on registration day I dressed up in one of those full body character outfits like you see at Disneyland. The costume was a giant dog suit with a big head. It was somewhat uncomfortable because it was too big for me and hung off my body making me look like a giant Charpe`!

As parents and kids arrived at camp I stood at the camp entrance waving and bouncing around energetically. Many of the families even took the time to stop and take pictures with me or try to convince their kid to come up and shake my hand or give me a hug. The big dog suit was a welcome site for campers and their parents.  It conveyed that camp was a fun and exciting place where they would meet friends and enjoy great activities. You are the church and as people encounter you they will have an impression of your church.  This means that you must BE the message that you are inviting people to check out!

“Networking” reminds me of the popular words from Ministry of Healing page 143, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed his sympathy for them, Ministered to their needs, and won their confidence then he bade them, ‘follow me’”

So whether it’s speed networking or networking at normal pace the point is lets get out there and connect on behalf of the kingdom of God. If you would like more information on networking or how to host a networking event please contact Carlos Linares at linaresconsulting.com.

We decided to add some more daring stunts to our act. We incorporated a gymnastics two-high where I stood on my roommate’s shoulders so we could pass the clubs vertically instead of horizontally then I dismounted with a back flip from the top of the two-high. This certainly added something to our act but we still felt like something was missing. So we came up with the grand finale of our act – juggling fire.  We didn’t have the cash to buy professional fire clubs so we created our own out of wooden dowels purchased from Wal-Mart. We wrapped shop towels around the ends of the wooden dowels, secured them with duck tape and then let them soak in kerosene.

People loved it! They would cheer and watch on the edge of their seats. Sometimes the shop towels would go flying off the end of the dowel and people would gasp and clap.  We finally felt like we had won the crowd and left them with the sense that they had really experienced something spectacular.

Now I don’t believe that the church wants to become a spectacle but I do believe that every church has to win the crowd for the sake of the gospel! I’m convinced that in order to do that we must bring the fire!  We have to remember that members as well as guests at our churches have seen it all.  In America even our non-churched visitors probably have some sense of what a typical church is supposed to be like. So what do we do to bring the fire and win the crowd?

Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). Jesus also told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit came they would receive power! So When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost God brought the fire of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:3 it says, “Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.”

This was no ordinary gathering in Jerusalem and we shouldn’t have just ordinary humdrum churches either. The truth is every church has a “juggling act”, a message, or a way of doing church. Some have more talented performers, better equipment, and even more money. So if our churches are going to be effective at a time in which there are so many churches doing so many things and often with powerful results. Then we must pray earnestly for God’s Spirit to fill every member, but then take that fire and focus it into real action to impact people.  I’m convinced that the thing that sets churches apart is the fire of the Spirit of God.  Remember what Zechariah the prophet told Zerubabbel, “So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” Zechariah 4:6

"Empty Me"

This past Saturday in my final message in a series titled Master of the Feast (Master of the Feast Pt. IV – Running on Empty) we focused on how to receive what Jesus has to offer.  Essentially Jesus offers everyone life as we were intended to experience it.  It is a journey of knowing, worshiping, and serving God.  It is what we are made for and until we actually encounter Jesus we’ll constantly hunger and thirst for something sustaining, fulfilling, and lasting.

Taken from John 2 the series focused on Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine.  In the Biblical story the wedding hosts find themselves in quite an awkward position having run out of wine which they were socially obligated to provide.  They’ve run out of that which is necessary for the feast.  They’ve come to the end of their resources and are “empty” facing complete humiliation.  It is in this awkward moment that scripture provides a powerful truth for all of us in that if we desire to receive what Jesus has to offer we must come EMPTY!  It sounds easy but the truth is as fallen broken humanity we carry a lot of baggage.  We have hangups, hurts, and habits that are often hard to shake.  We also have our legitimate accomplishments, achievements, and gifts all of which make us vulnerable to independence and self-reliance.  We tend to show up with our spiritual resume and list of qualifications asking God to supplement us in our areas of deficiency.  To put it another way, it is difficult to be empty when we’re so full of it!

Nevertheless the prerequisite to a Holy Spirit, transformed life is that we come empty, naked, and bare before Jesus and ask Him to fill us.  In reality we are often filled with all sorts of things.  We are sticky like a masking tape lent roller!  So we pick up things along the way.  You name it, as we interact in the world and lug our baggage around our issues emerge.  Our family of origin issues along with bitterness, anger, fear, hopelessness, despair, pride, envy, all weigh us down and fill our lives making it difficult for us to experience the fullness of relationship with Jesus.  Even our spiritual cultural heritage (church, denomination, subculture) can’t occupy any space.  In other words we come to Jesus in the way the old hymn suggests, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; Naked come to thee for dress; Helpless look to thee for grace; Foul I to the fountain fly; wash me, savior or I die.” (Rock of Ages) This isn’t a one-time thing it is the way of the believer.  We are constantly pleading and seeking God so that a “dumping” off or a “checking” of our baggage happens every day.

Once we realize our desperate need to be empty then the question becomes how do we get filled?  This happens through ongoing encounter with Jesus.  Let me be more specific, it is through daily private worship of Him.  If he is the fountain of living water and if He is the true Master of the Feast then it necessary for me to constantly drink from His “fountain” and “party” at His feast in order to be filled.  Thus a “365″  experience of daily worshiping Jesus is where the “filling” happens.  In ministry we have a saying, “you minister out of your overflow” meaning that only as we have experienced the fullness of Christ (through private worship) to the point that it overflows are we effective in showing Christ to others.  Effectively we minister out of our “emptiness” but in the “fullness” of Christ.  Scripture says that, “out of the issues of the heart the mouth speaks” perhaps then if our hearts are being renewed then what flows out of the heart will be blessings, rather than cursings.

I’m praying that this Jesus Worship Him 365 catches on!  I believe it is the first step in renewing our church and revitalizing it for effective ministry now and into the future.  In essence we are saying that if we are going to invite unbelievers to get to know Jesus (not just know about Him) then we should know Him ourselves.  Amen.

I ended the message with this challenge that I’m calling, “Jesus Worship Him 365″ and it involves these four emphasis:

1. DAILY “drink” of what Jesus offers through private, personal WORSHIP.
2. DAILY pray that God will “empty” you of your baggage!
3. DAILY worship together as a couple.
4. DAILY worship together as a family.

In Christ’s love, Pastor Bernie