Martin Luther King Day - Revisited x2

Here is a link to my post a couple years ago on MLK Day:
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rice Christians

This reminds me of a Good Friday church service a few years ago.  The Pastor's spoke of not rushing past what happened on Good Friday to see Resurrection Sunday.  He said to fully appreciate the joy of the Resurrection you must first 'linger at the cross'. 

Could this be the problem with Western Christianity?  In telling people that "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" or "Just accept Jesus and He will fix all your problems" is this what we are doing? 

We are rushing our un-saved friends past the cross and to the resurrection so to not scare them off.  We must allow them, sometimes even force them, to 'linger at the cross' so that they can see the cost of their sin and the price that Jesus paid for them to be 'right with God'.  Only then will we create Disciples of Christ, not Rice Christians.

August 30

Evangelism: Modern Salesmanship

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. --1 John 2:19

In our eagerness to make converts I am afraid we have lately been guilty of using the technique of modern salesmanship, which is of course to present only the desirable qualities in a product and ignore the rest. We go to men and offer them a cozy home on the sunny side of the brae. If they will but accept Christ He will give them peace of mind, solve their problems, prosper their business, protect their families and keep them happy all day long. They believe us and come, and the first cold wind sends them shivering to some counselor to find out what has gone wrong; and that is the last we hear of many of them....

By offering our hearers a sweetness-and-light gospel and promising every taker a place on the sunny side of the brae, we not only cruelly deceive them, we guarantee also a high casualty rate among the converts won on such terms. On certain foreign fields the expression "rice Christians" has been coined to describe those who adopt Christianity for profit. The experienced missionary knows that the convert that must pay a heavy price for his faith in Christ is the one that will persevere to the end. He begins with the wind in his face, and should the storm grow in strength he will not turn back for he has been conditioned to endure it.

By playing down the cost of discipleship we are producing rice Christians by the tens of thousands right here on the North American continent. That Incredible Christian, 116-117.

"Lord, I suspect this is getting much worse even since Tozer's day. In our emphasis on growth and success we may indeed be guilty of producing rice Christians. Deliver us from that error. Amen."

source: http://lmi.gospelcom.net/tozer.php

Eagles Classic "Take it Easy" Church Hymm Found!

You have to read this blog post The Gospel According To Church Hoppers to sing this Eagles classic hymm.

Well, I’m running down the road
Tryin’ to loosen my load
I’ve got seven churches on My mind,
Four that wanna own me,
Two that wanna stone me,
One says she’s a friend of mine

Take it easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find me a preacher I can stand
And take it easy

Well, I’m a standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It’s a church, my lord, with a neon billboard
saying slowin’ down and to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is
Gonna save me

We may lose and we may win though
We will never be here again
So open up, I’m walkin’ in,
So take it easy

Well I’m running down the road trying to loosen
My load, got a world of trouble on my mind
Lookin’ for a church who won’t cramp my
Style, she’s so hard to find

Take it easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own Wheels make you crazy
Come on baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is
Gonna save me, oh oh oh
Oh we got it easy
We oughta take it easy

Defense Attorneys

This is pretty good, see if your answers are the same as the attorney's.

How He ruthlessly perfects...

When God wants to drill a man,
and thrill a man,
and skill a man;
When God wants to mold a man,
to play the noblest part,
When He yearns with all His heart
to create so great and bold a man,
…that all the world will be amazed;
WATCH His methods! - WATCH His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects
whom He Royally Elects!
How He hammers him,
and hurts him,
…and with mighty blows,
converts him
…into trial shapes of clay
which only God understands.

While his tortured heart is crying,
and he lifts beseeching hands,
How he bends but never breaks,
when His good He undertakes.
How He uses whom He chooses,
and with every purpose fuses him,
…by every act induces him,
to try His splender out;
God knows what he’s about.

Welcome Rocky!

Here is the newest addition to the McKee household. His name is Rocky. He is mostly a lab. He is my wife's belated birthday gift but I think he likes me more.

Why men flock to Islam?

“Why do men flock to Islam, while avoiding Christianity?”

“Because Islam delivers what fathers and husbands want for their families, strong men gravitate toward it. Therefore, it becomes male heavy,”

“Here is a faith that’s going to hold me to a higher standard. Men are dying for this.”

So the question for Christianity is this: Can our faith “deliver” for men without oppressing women in the process?

We don’t need to put women in burquas to bring men back to church. But we do need to deliver what we promise.

full article: http://churchformen.com/eNewsletter%20archives/01March07.html

So Long MySpace - Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry

So Long MySpace...

I have officially and regrettably deleted my MySpace site. How come? There are several inter-related reasons. Probably at the top of the list is the sexual content that is "spued" at me every time I am there. I know that it is everywhere on the web but for me MySpace is over the top. The part that bothers me is not people's personal pages that have it. If that was it I could just steer clear of that but it starts on the login page and continues even on my pages that I go to see blog updates and comments and such.

For all you MySpacer's out there don't take this the wrong way.

It's just not for me. I think MySpace is a good place for ministry but I guess I am just not up to the task. It would be hard for me to be a good witness in a strip bar and that's how I feel after I have been on MySpace. I feel like I just left a strip bar. "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable..." (1Cor 6:12). Right now it is just not profitable for me to be on MySpace.

So long MySpace
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me farewell
Oh well, Goodbye, don't cry
So Long MySpace

CAN - Team Hoyt

This has been around for a long time but I just stumble acrossed it on YouTube so I thought I would share it everyone. I don't think it would hurt us to watch it again...



Here is their web site: http://www.teamhoyt.com/

Happy Birthday to My Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday to my wife.

This past weekend we celebrated my wife's birthday. I would tell you all how old she is now but you know that women like to keep that a secret. (Whatever you do, do not look at the top balloon)

Anyway, happy birthday Honey!

Political Correctness

You all will have to thank my wife for this one...

Subject: Political Correctness

Following is the winning entry from an annual contest calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term. This year's term:

Political Correctness.

"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Martin Luther King Day - Revisited

Here is a link to my post last year on MLK Day:
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

More Troops in Iraq

More Troops in Iraq, what's everyone think about that?

Yikes! - Which Star Wars Character Are You?

Which Star Wars Character Are You? Anakin Skywalker You are very ambitious and looking for power. Watch out and listen to your mentors, it may save you from a horrible demise..Remember, you are the chosen one

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

I can not stop laughing

All I can say is just watch this.

Long Eternity to Enjoy Ourselves - Tozer

Trials and Pain: Long Eternity to Enjoy Ourselves

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.... And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
--1 John 2:15,17

Any appeal to the public in the name of Christ that rises no higher than an invitation to tranquillity must be recognized as mere humanism with a few words of Jesus thrown in to make it appear Christian....

Christ calls men to carry a cross; we call them to have fun in His name. He calls them to forsake the world; we assure them that if they but accept Jesus the world is their oyster. He calls them to suffer; we call them to enjoy all the bourgeois comforts modern civilization affords. He calls them to self-abnegation and death; we call them to spread themselves like green bay trees or perchance even to become stars in a pitiful fifth-rate religious zodiac. He calls them to holiness; we call them to a cheap and tawdry happiness that would have been rejected with scorn by the least of the Stoic philosophers....

We can afford to suffer now; we'll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves. And our enjoyment will be valid and pure, for it will come in the right way at the right time.
Born After Midnight, pp. 141-142

"Lord, may I be faithful to call people to that which is important to You, at whatever cost. Thank You that 'we can afford to suffer now; we'll have a long eternity to enjoy ourselves.' Amen."

source: http://lmi.gospelcom.net/tozer.php3

Crummy Church Signs

Ok everyone, I need some input here.

Check out this site and report back with your favorite sign!
http://www.crummychurchsigns.com

I think this is my favorite!

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

I stumbled upon this and thought it worth sharing. It is also worth noting that this was penned over 100 years ago. If Spurgeon had this to say of the church back then I can imagine his opinion of the church today. I am sure he would not think that the situation is any better by far!

This is actual a pretty harsh look at the methods of the modern day church. I would be inclined to dismiss it as 'not for today' but considering the source and the state of the church and it's witness to the world I think it would be a good idea to listen closely to what a proven fruitful preacher from day passed has to say.

-------

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

Charles Haddon Spurgeon(1834-1892)

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). That is clear enough. So it would have been if He had added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to him.

Then again, "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers .., for the work of the ministry" (Eph. 4:11-12). Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What was the attitude of the church to the world? Ye are the salt" (Matt. 5:13), not the sugar candy---something the world will spit out not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. 8:22) He was in awful earnestness.

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into his mission, he would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear him say, "Run after these people Peter and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick Peter, we must get the people somehow." Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them.

In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of this gospel of amusement! Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting but they did not pray, "Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are." If they ceased not from preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of the conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

source: http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/amusement.htm

How Much Is Your Sin Going to Cost Me? - Ted Haggard

I guess since it is my birthday I should have some words of wisdom for everyone. While I do not have any word of wisdom I will pass on some words of wisdom that is a title to a sermon tape that I received a couple months ago. I have been thinking of that sermon and the title ever since the middle of last week.

The title of that message was “How Much Is Your Sin Going to Cost Me?” And if you haven’t guessed it was by Ted Haggard. Now I am definitely not going to start slamming Ted and calling him a hypocrite and all that. Far from it. I think this should be a wake up call to the Christian community to be able to show compassion, understanding, and forgiveness to a person in sin while standing firm against sin. But those are words of wisdom for another day.

Today I think we need to see these words of wisdom from Ted himself. “How much is your sin going to cost me?” Where “me” is all the people that your life has directly and indirectly touched. Just imagine the fallout from this hidden sin in Ted’s life. His family, ministry, the cause of Christ, the political movements he was a part of. People he has never seen or spoken to have been discouraged, disheartened, and “given occasion to blaspheme” the name of Christ.

Let’s now hold the mirror up to ourselves. What is the hidden sin in your life that if it came to light would not only destroy your testimony, but cause the unbelievers around your to say “Ah Ha, I new he/she was a phony” and the believers around you to question or stumble in their faith? Confess it to someone that will hold you accountable, Repent of it, and stop it. Do all that you can do to rid yourself of it because if you do not, God will for you. As a Christian, His plan for you is that you become more like Christ. If He has to expose your sin to everyone around you then that is what he will do. Not to humiliate you but to humble and perfect you. Do not let that happen though. Humble yourself, don’t make God do it.

The Crane Game - ONLINE!

I stumble across this on my geek site wanderings. You know those 'Crane Games' that you play at the exits of Walmart and other places? Here is one you can play for free over the internet.

Here is a link to watch my best try:
click here!

Give it a try for yourself: http://www.rocktheskillcrane.com/play.php
hint: use big numbers...