Doing Ministry in the Flesh

Francis Chan:

Sometimes I leave Christian events wondering if we resemble the prophets of Baal in I Kings 18 more than Elijah, the prophet of God… The prophets of Baal had a loud, passionate gathering that lasted form morning till evening. When they were done, they had a great time of fellowship (I think you can call it that). But “no one answered; no one paid attention” (18:29). After all of that, Elijah prayed. God heard his prayer, and fire came down from heaven.

My favorite part of that story comes when it is all over and the prophets of Baal are saying, “The Lord — he is God! The Lord — he is God! (18:39). They didn’t say, “Elijah is a great speaker” or “Elijah sure knows how to connect with God!” They were stunned by God. They were in awe of his power. They knew that what they had experienced could not have been manipulated by Elijah. They experienced the power of God.

Is that what happens at the christian gatherings hyou attend? Or does it feel more like what the prophets of Baal experienced before Elijah prayed? We can have a great time singing and dancing ourselves into a frenzy. But at the end of it, fire doesn’t come down from heaven. People leave talking about the people who led rather than the power of God.

Forgotten God pp 143-144

Taking It To The Next Level

Today we began the day listening to a download of an Andy Stanley sermon on giving.   I gotta say it was a bit of a yawner — Andy’s a master speaker but the topic is too often done — until the last ten minutes, when Andy really took things to the next level and presented his vision of what his church would look like and what his church could do if people really embraced the idea of putting God first with their finances.

Then later in the day, we listened to a sermon by Francis Chan, who until recently hasn’t been part of our sermon download routine.   I’ve been impressed with things I have been hearing about him, and the sermon did not disappoint.   This is a guy who is totally sold out to God and literally drips passion with every sermon sentence.   He talked about the sin of Achan and how each one of us is a threat to our spiritual community if we are holding on to sin and sinful patterns.

This day was about the difference between good sermons and great sermons; and great sermons are the ones which truly shake us to our roots, and challenge us to actually do the things that Christ calls us to do.