On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed an essay, commonly referred to as his 95 theses, to the door of a Catholic church in Germany. He also mailed a copy of the document to a Catholic leader.

Luther’s original intent was for the Catholic church to reform; instead, because they would not reform, it sparked the Protestant Reformation. Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and just about every other Christian denomination would not be possible without the Protestant Reformation. And after Henry VIII’s death the Church of England also was influenced by the Reformation.

This begs the question, is it time for a second reformation?

Today’s churches are more concerned with their differences than finding ways to work together. Many even see other churches as competition, and anything that is different has to be unbiblical and evil.

Is this true of every church? Of course not – but if the statistics are to be believed, this is the way it is for over 90% of churches. On top of that, while individual churches are growing and thriving, overall, the church in America has been shrinking for the past fifty years. With that being said, author, blogger and pastor Jared Wilson has reposted his 95 Theses for the American Church. Not limited to any one style, demographic or denomination, Jared lists the problems that he sees in the American church.

Part 1: Discipleship

Part 2: Community

Part 3: The Church

Part 4: The Pastorate

Part 5: Purpose

For more info on Martin Luther, click here.

In Acts chapter fifteen we see the first recorded conflict in the Christian church. A group of Jewish Christians were telling Gentiles (non-Jews) that if they wanted to be saved, in addition to accepting Christ they must also be circumcised. So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to bring the matter before the apostles. After the various parties made their arguments here is what James (the brother of Jesus) had to say in verse nineteen:

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. (ESV)

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (NIV)

And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (NLT)

So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. (The Message)

There is so much one can unpack from this verse, which is why I presented it in various translations. They all say the same thing, but to varying degrees of bluntness.

Have you added anything to the message of Christ that could make it difficult for your unchurched friends to come to know Him?

Is your church or ministry doing anything that could make it difficult for unchurched people to know Christ?

It’s okay if people choose to reject the cross, but let’s don’t put a whole lot of other things in their way that cause them to get confused before they get to the issue, which is the cross.
- Andy Stanley

Now I know some of you reading this will find it hard to stomach the first part of that quote;

It’s okay if people choose to reject the cross…

Because if what the Bible says is correct, then the only alternative to the cross is Hell. But the fact is that many people will reject the cross (Matthew 7:13). So what Andy is saying in this quote, and in the video below, is let’s not make it easy for them to reject the cross by putting obstacles in front of them before they even get to make a decision to follow or reject Jesus. Instead, let’s make it as easy as possible for people to come to God – that way, if they still choose to reject Jesus it isn’t because of traditions or a musical style or dress code or a language only known to the churched.

Anyways, here’s the video. It’s about ten minutes long.
To watch the full sermon click here.

Why don’t we have a website?

Why does our website suck?

Why aren’t we getting our content out into the world?

Why do the messages seem thrown together much of the time?

Why is the pastor constantly taking up a special offering?

Having spent the majority of my life in church, I’ve heard each of those questions asked dozens of times. Up until recently there were some good excuses (usually budget and/or time related), but no more! Over the past couple years several companies have come forward with solutions designed specifically with churches (and their budgets) in mind.

Clover
Collision Media
Updatable
It’s the 21st century – every church needs a website! Your website is your front door. No longer will potential visitors call your church for info. They want to know what they’re getting into before they visit, no strings attached. This isn’t just for newcomers to your area. Think of the unchurched people you know that are curious or seeking, but apprehensive about actually stepping foot in a church. And what about your members? As your church grows, your website (not a bulletin or announcements on IMAG screens) will serve as their information hub. And with Clover, Collision and Updatable, price and expertise are no longer issues. You can get a beautiful, functional website for under $1,000 and all three companies use browser-based editing, so if you can surf the web, you can edit your website. To be honest, the only thing worse than having no website is having an ugly website.

Podbean
Livestream
Ustream
A pastor friend of mine once said, “If your sermon is good enough to preach in church, it’s good enough to share online.” Up until a few years ago most churches were more concerned with CD’s, DVD’s or getting on TV (shudder). But now, with sites like Podbean, podcasting is easy. They offer free hosting and tiered pricing as well, if the free hosting isn’t good enough. And if you don’t like what they have to offer, just Google podcasting and you’ll get all sorts of hosts. If you aren’t already recording your services and are on a budget all you need to do is go to your local music store and but a stereo-to-USB converter (between $50 and $80), connect it to your FOH mixer and a computer and you’re set. Both Mac and Windows come with pre-loaded software for basic recording. And for those who want to stream live video, there is LiveStream and Ustream.

LifeChurch.tv Resources
Planning Center
Every pastor I’ve known has told me that at one point or another, they weren’t as prepared for a particular sermon as they wanted to be. Life happens! We want our pastors to be human, but when they are we get mad at them for not being perfect. And every pastor I know has borrowed from other pastors, so don’t start acting super-spiritual. This is why Craig Groeschel and LifeChurch.tv give EVERYTHING away. From message outlines and graphics to videos of messages and worship services – whether you need a little inspiration or an entire service, it’s all FREE! And for the music and service programming departments there’s Planning Center. Now you can plan your services online and even post videos and music so that your musicians and tech team can practice on their own time so that no time is wasted at rehearsal.

Church Metrics
Need a cost-effective way to track attendance, salvations, baptisms, giving and more? Or maybe you’re tired of having to pay expensive software fees to do all of that, just to be told that for the latest version of said software, you need to upgrade your computers? Welcome to Church Metrics, by LifeChurch.tv. It’s web-based, so as long as you have an internet connection you’re good to go and this also means it works across all platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.). Best of all, as with other LifeChurch.tv resources, it’s FREE!

The Change Group
It takes money to operate a church. Some churches can afford to have a full time business administrator on staff to keep the church accountable. But what about church plants? Or young churches? And what about the churches that just aren’t good stewards of what they have been given? That’s where The Change Group comes in. For MUCH LESS than the cost of even a part time bookkeeper they handle everything a full time business admin/bookkeeper would, plus they offer professional consultation to help you squeeze the most out of every last cent.

MailChimp
Tatango
Tired of sending monthly or quarterly newsletters through snailmail? Need a way to get announcements out to your members in case of an emergency? MailChimp and Tatango are here to help. MailChimp offers browser-based HTML email design, so you can send custom branded emails to keep people up to date with your church. Tatango is a text message service that allows you to send bulk text messages to your members. In addition, if you aren’t already using Facebook and Twitter, GET TO IT!!

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food. 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Numbers 21:4-9

1 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).

2 Kings 18:1-4

When Hezekiah became king of Judah one of the first things he did was abolish idolatry and that included the bronze serpent Moses was instructed by God to make, because what had been a symbol of redemption had, over time, become an idol. People were more concerned with the object than what it had provided.

Many Christians are quick to point out things that could be idols for us in the 21st century: money, entertainment, success, sex, work, people…… the list could go on. Really, anything we put above God is an idol.

But one area we ignore is our own traditions.

People in church will argue over what music should be played, what you should wear, even what color the carpet should be!

So here’s a question: has the cross become an idol?

How many songs have you heard about the cross, instead of what Jesus did on the cross?

How many people wear a cross around their neck as if it were some good luck charm?

How many church buildings have a cross in their sanctuary or on top of their steeple for decoration?

I’m not saying that having a crucifix in your church or around your neck is wrong. It’s the why that makes it right or wrong.

So, have you made the cross an idol?