A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 9

Today's photo is of the building that once housed the S.S. Kresge store. My mother worked there when I was a child, although I can't remember the exact years I do remember I was around the 6-10 year old range over her time there.

I remember back then my father would take my brother and I with him to pick my mom up from work. We would leave a little early so we could go to the dining area/ lunch counter for dinner. I can distinctly remember a cutout sign of Dagwood promoting the sandwich that bares his name, but not much else about the interior of the store.

I do remember when school was called off for a snow day we would have to go to work with my mom. Usually they would let us go upstairs in the stock area and just play around. My brother, being the entrepreneur he is, would bring his snow shovel and make some cold cash shoveling snow off the sidewalks for close by businesses.

This is significant because this time frame was when I said "the prayer" to be saved. I was around 8 years old and on an excursion with the youth group at my former church. The exacts I can't quite remember, but I do remember crying my eyes out, not wanting to go to hell and not being able to say anything. The gentleman that led me through "the prayer" said it for me and just asked me to nod my head if it was what I wanted to say.

Fast forward to my 14th year of life. I was introduced to some pretty life changing things..... at church camp of all places. A fellow there was really cool to me and he took me under his wing. He also let me have his cassette player and introduced me to Ozzy Osborne, while at church camp. After church camp he continued to introduce me to other "friends" of his, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Rush, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Mary Jane and Bud Weiser. All became very good friends of mine, very quickly. This is also when I began smoking, which lasted for 24 years.

Now, I had said "the prayer" when I was 8, so I was all set with that. It was done and over with, so I had nothing to worry about. I could do whatever I wanted as long as I asked for forgiveness. I did, every night, except the ones I passed out drunk on before I could ask for forgiveness. And so it went for 24 more year, a total of 30 years from when I said "the prayer".

Then something started happening. Things started to come to my attention. I started seeing my sins differently for some reason. I was starting to feel really bad about things I was doing and things I had done my whole life. My 400+ CD collection went in boxes, the smoking habit of 24 years disappeared, another addiction to nose spray was gone and I was feeling less and less good about all of my goodness. I was feeling, well, wretched.

This is the time that God truly saved me from my sins. I was that new creation talked about in 2 Corinthians 5, my desires were changing, all of me was changing. God put some solid biblical teachings in my path at that same time, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer and John Macarthur became my pastors even though I was attending the church of my youth once again. I was seeing things that did not align with what I was reading in scripture and to what I was hearing preached to me. That is the time frame that I got increasingly agitated at that "church". If you go way back to my very first post on this blog it picks up about the same time I left that church. It was about a year or better process of leaving it after the scaled fell off my eyes.

God used my childhood upbringing and teachings in that church to show me how countless millions are being deceived. Not just at the church, but thousands across the United States and across the globe. That is a fire that God put under my feet to move me to compassion for those dear souls that are being lied to and pandered to. The ones that are just like I was for 30 years, sitting in a pew Sunday morning but living like hell the other 167 hours of the week. My heart bleeds for those people, but their deception runs deep.

Please pray for those millions of people being deceived. The ones being told that all you have to do is "make a decision", "say this prayer" or "just nod your head if you agree". Pray that God will take the scales from their eyes too, so they can see Him in all His glory and not cheapened by their false and man centered nonsense.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 8

This picture is of a fine dining establishment here in Paducah. Or former one, that is. It was closed yesterday in anticipation of tearing it down and making room for a newer, state of the art McDonald's.

This particular restaurant is #1534, which means it was the 1,534th McDonald's to open in the USA (and the world for that matter). It was opened in 1970, so it has been around all but 2 years of my life and those 2 years I don't remember anyway. There are now over 30,000 McDonald's worldwide.

The first "real" job I had was at McDonald's. Not this particular one, but one owned by the same owners as this one. That was many moons ago, while I was still in high school. I learned a lot working there, how to sweep floors, how to mop floors, how to cook burgers, how to strain french fry grease, how to clean a flat grill, how to properly wash dishes and the all important term "If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean." Some things you just never forget.

I will miss this old restaurant. I've had many a meals from there and I am sure I will have many more at its replacement for many years to come. But it is a reminder that things change and there is nothing we can do to stop that. But saying that leads me to a point, consistency. That is what makes McDonald's so popular. It is not that their food is better or cheaper than any other restaurants. It is the fact I can go into one here in Paducah and one in Seattle Washington a couple of years ago and get the exact same tasting #6 at both. That's one thing I want for myself too. I want to be the same if I am around my family, church family, coworkers, in the line at a McDonald's or in Seattle Washington. I want to be marked as a follower of God in everything I do and by everything I say. I desire to be consistent in my walk so I am not too critical and not too free-willed either, a balanced consistency to coin a new phrase. Not putting too much emphasis on any one attribute of God, not saying He is angrier than He is loving, or judge more than He is a giver of grace. To just think of God as all of these attributes and more, equally and consistently. For He is the only True and Living God and He changes not.

(P.S. Sorry about the lack of quality of the shot. It was taken at in the dark with my cell phone camera. I'll try to take better photos in the future. I'll also be sure to include a photo of the new store when they get it open in a few months.)

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 7

Beside my driveway, hanging from a evergreen tree branch is hanging this caterpillar cocoon. I've seen it dangling there for a few days now and it catches my sight each time I pull up. I guess I stare it down because I expect a magnificent monarch butterfly to emerge on cue from my gaze. Doesn't look like that's going to happen, especially since I found out it is a Bagworm cocoon that is housing a moth and not a butterfly. But it is equally impressive in its own right.

Just think about this creature inside this cocoon. It made this house to protect it during its metamorphosis from a worm/ caterpillar into something that bears no physical resemblance to what it once was. Albeit a moth and not a beautifully marked up butterfly, but I am still as equally impressed with the intricacy of things that must be happening at just the right time, to cause just the right transformation.

Thinking about the cocoon as I've seen it hanging on the limb, my mind of course has gone to 1 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The worm or caterpillar is us before we come to a knowledge of our sinfulness, the cocoon is our binding of sin and our release from the cocoon is our re-birth as the new creation in Christ. We may physically have the same DNA structure, but we are radically and visibly changed into something much more than we were. Our old self is left behind, there is no resemblance to what we were. In fact if you had taken a picture before, in our worm/ caterpillar state and compared it to our new self - you couldn't see anything that would even make you think we were the same.

That is the power of the True God. He has the power to change a worm into a butterfly and the power to change a sinner into a saint. Praise God that He saves sinners, worms like me that were quite content with living life as a sinner. I loved my sin and couldn't get enough of it. But God had different plans for me. He wanted to show me His love and grace and initiate a metamorphosis in my whole being. The same voice that said "Let there be light" said "Let Jeff believe". The same Power that created the universe out of nothing loved me and using that same power made me a new creature, one that may bare the same DNA, but is oh so different than the old me. And the good news about that is just as a butterfly or moth can never revert back to their previous state, neither can I. God changed me and that means I am forever changed. Now that is eternal security, putting all faith in God to change and sustain.

How wonderful is that? Have you experience the re-birth? Have you cried out to God in your wretched state and laid all hope and trust in Him? The One that can make you a new creation that will praise and glorify Him instead of shunning and denying Him.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 6

Really? Really?
This is the drive-thru of a McDonalds here in Paducah. We went through before church this evening to get something quick to eat so we would be on time for service. That’s when we caught glimpse of this rather remarkable offer - Braille menus for people driving a car? That’s not even right.

So many questions come up about this. First is, how are they going to read the sign to know that McDonalds offers Braille menus anyway? But the biggest question, How did they arrive at a McDonalds drive-thru anyway? I suppose that their logic would be that a passenger might need a Braille menu, and after thinking about it would make the most sense.

But then the other question arises about the picture menu. Should someone be driving a vehicle that could not read? What about the street signs they might encounter. I think that’s more important than if they want a Big Mac or a Double Cheese Burger. After thinking about that one too, it could be possible that the person could not speak or read English. But that, too, would render them unable to read a caution sign.

Spiritual implications for this? I don’t really have any, except being thankful that God showers us with blessing daily. That we have the ability to drive in a car, without police intervention, on the way to church, without the threat of persecution, to a restaurant that will serve a hot (sometimes) meal quickly (sometimes again), for a few dollars, that God supplied through a job which was not eliminated during the financial meltdown, then drive to church inside a vehicle that is 30 degrees cooler on the inside than it is outside, arrive at church, meet with brothers and sisters and talk about a mighty God that loves us enough to bestow His blessings to us, measly men and women on a tiny planet, in a tiny galaxy, in a vast universe created by an Awesome God. Now that, is amazing.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 5

Today's picture is actually a screen capture from facebook (if you couldn't tell). Take a look at the picture and you will see a status update by a local "pastor" from my hometown. This person is the leader of a local church that is as close to emergent as our fair city has. Although they are about 2 years behind (as Paducah is with everything) they still make a valiant effort to be relevant.

As his post shows, a "Worship experience evaluation and planning" meeting was held at a local coffee house. I guess it is the years of emotional and mental manipulations that really rile me up and cause posts like this to cause a holy indignation t swell in me. All I can see is a couple of guys with soul patches sitting around a coffee house, in the heart of the "relevant" part of town, sipping on a couple of frozen - half caff - mocha lattes with half and half foam - figuring out the next steps to manipulate their congregation into "feeling" what they want them to feel.

You probably think that I am going to call this guy out, say what I really think about him and his relevancy factor. Since I went back to work today after 10 days off, I have had some time to reflect on my view towards heretic and the like. I have come to the conclusion that, yes, they need to be called out publicly because what they put out there is public as well. Besides, contacting this particular person directly goes either not replied to, ignored or just glossed over like I was showering him with praise rather than offering a rebuke of his questionable devices.

I have seen it before and I am sure I will see it again, but this post really irked me today. I blurred his name and the name of the person that commented on his post to protect their identities. Of course, if you know me or have read my posts before you have heard about this "pastor" before. He is the Craig Groeschel groupie that hinges on the next "big" thing that lifechurch.tv does, so that he can copy it in some fashion and regurgitate it back to his followers. I pray that this "church" leader will be awakened to what he is doing and in turn use his celebrity (although mostly in his own mind) to actually preach to his congregation. When you have peoples attention you have to share the gospel. You have to relay to them the state of sin they are in and show them to the only cure, Jesus Christ. This guy, and many others, just offer up the cure before people know their disease is killing them. And that is the good messages. The other message is no message at all. Which begs the question, if the gospel is being proclaimed as commanded, the Word is being preached in truth and righteousness, then why is a meeting needed to evaluate and plan "worship experiences"?

Pray that this guy gets a clue to what the true gospel is. The feel good, good works that he is doing will be burned up on the day of judgment because he does them for selfish reasons. He does not do them to be laid at the altar of God, to glorify Him, that souls will be saved. Pray that the Word is preached and that sinners come to repentance and that God is glorified.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 4

Well, this was probably the quickest 10 days ever. I've been on vacation and with the 4th of July falling on Sunday I got an extension by an additional day. Now I must return to working less than 10 hours. I was talking to a brother at the church get together last night about going back to work Tuesday. I told him most people say they were getting bored and wanted to come back to work - I informed him that those words never come out of my mouth. I don't think I have ever gotten bored enough on vacation to want to go back to work. If anything I needed a few more days to try to work up getting bored, cause it's never happened.

I am thankful that the Lord has supplied me with a job, one that I will be at 15 years this coming January. It does get hectic at times at my workplace and sometimes I do feel like I get a lot of things piled on to my already large workload, but all in all it is a really good place to work.

I am also aware that my job is just a means that God has given to me to pay bills and support my family. It is by no means my source, but one my Source uses to support us. God has been good to Chandra and me over the years. Chandra has changed jobs a few times for various reasons since we were married and each job change God has put her in a better place.

So my alarm clock is my picture for today since it will be part of my daily routine again 5 days a week. good thing about this week is it will only be 4 days. Yeah! So until my next vacation I'm part of the daily grind. I do pray daily that God will use me to reach someone for Him. That I will recognize the opportunities He gives me to sow the seeds of His Word. Please do the same for me and also for yourself.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 3

July 4th, Independence Day 2010. What a great day filled with brothers and sisters in Christ. Today's picture is of a little mishap during the Oak Grove Firework Display Extravaganza 2010. Seems an errant ordnance went astray and caught a little brush-pile on fire in the field behind the church. The guys did a great job of extinguishing the flames without incident.

The firework display just capped the evening off perfectly. The first Sunday of the month we have a fellowship meal followed by Communion. We normally do not have an evening service on the first Sunday because of the length of the morning/ afternoon schedule. We do, however, sometimes have little gatherings for fellowship of the body, to grow together in different ways. Today just happened to also be July 4th, so we had a built in reason to commune together.

I count it a major blessing from the Lord to have brought us to such a wonderful church home. Since the day we stepped through the front doors we have been part of this family. We have shared tears, laughs and every emotion in between with these dear brothers and sisters. This is truly what a church family should be, not just the "see ya next Sunday mornin'" kind of congregation. We are in each others lives and truly are a body.

I am sure my upcoming picture posts will be chocked full of pictures of my church body. So the readers of this series will probably know everyone by name before this next year is finished. I count it all joy to be part of this body and love each person very dearly.

Is The UFC Good For Christians?

So this evening I see a local "pastor" post about people from his "church" having fellowships centered around the UFC 116 Pay Per view. For those not in the know, UFC stands for "Ultimate Fighting Championship". The men that take part in these events set out to pummel their opponent into submission, unconsciousness or inability to carry on with the fight. The scenes of the gatherings that take place for these fights are typically filled with the normal testosterone flow of yelling, screaming, alcohol consumption and even the occasional fight breaking out as the watchers of the event are worked into emotional frenzies as their minds try to process the amount of bloody violence they are consuming. Not to mention the thinly clad ring girls that get just as many hoops and hollers that the fight gets.

So why is a "pastor" endorsing these events? I have no idea. These types of events are nothing more than modern day coliseum events pitting two gladiators against each other. The only slight difference is the halting of the fighting before death is reached for the lesser of the combatants. The way these athletes engage during the fights could lead to, as they keep pummeling away sometimes until they are pulled from their prey.

This most violent of spectator events has gained popularity over recent years. I assume that to stay relevant to their lost congregations these "pastors" must be lenient to what they deem as wrong. Of course those that do endorse such bloodsport are probably not converted either, so this does not really come as a big surprise. I think the relevance factor shows through on this and all of the other things these "pastors" do to draw interest to their "church". They use worldly means to gain a worldly congregation and then have to continue to use those worldly ways and means to keep their flock of goats entertained.


Relevance also shined through while my family was having dinner at a local restaurant last night. Another of these "pastors" of a different local "church" was sitting at the table beside ours. Not that I was eavesdropping, but I could hear their conversation if I tuned my ears their way. I never heard one mention of God between this "pastor, his wife and the couple that was with them. Their topic of conversation was action movies and their actors and the ungodly movie they were going to see after dinner. No wonder their flock stray from the Word, because their leader is just as deceived as they are.

So is it wrong for me to say they are wrong? I think not as pastors and leaders are held to a higher degree that "regular" people. These leaders should not be doing anything to cause others to stumble and promoting and condoning UFC and filthy movies is doing just that. I wonder how they determine where the line is drawn for what is wrong and what isn't. If beating someone to near death is not bad, then I guess the line would be a sport that's directive is to kill your opponent, movies deemed sinful are probably marketed with an X in their rating.

Morals and biblical mandates to be separated from worldly vices seem to have been forgotten by most church attenders, professing Christians and their "pastors". I can't imagine a counseling session with one of these leaders knowing what they condone. How could you take seriously someone telling you to not fight with a fellow church member when the "pastor" just had you over the weekend before to watch 10 matches of a UFC event? Or a sermon on worldliness when the pastor just had a sermon series based on the spiritual implications of "Sex and the City 2".


Get real Christians. Get out of the world. Stand strong on the Word of God and if your church leaders endorse questionable forms of entertainment, tell them about it. Just because they hold a degree in theology doesn't mean they are discerning. If they are deceiving the flock it is your duty to tell them. If they accept the rebuke and move forward in repentance then great, if not follow the biblical mandates from there.

Christians are called to be holy as God is holy. To be set apart from the world. To be salt and light. To walk in the Light as He is in the light. All of which UFC and filthy movies are not a part of. AM i being too harsh? I think I am not being harsh enough as these deceiving wolves are giving the world ammunition to use against those that do strive for holiness and Godliness. Call them out and mark them as deceivers if they do not repent. I am going to contact the UFC condoning "pastor" about this tomorrow and see how he reacts. I will also in the near future contact the other movie going pastor as I have been in contact with him before. Both of these men are well known in my community and I have given them scriptural basis for things they have said or condoned in the past being false or deceptive. I will continue to contact these men about their deceptions and misleading of their "church" attendees. Pray for them and pray for their followers that the scales will come off and the Truth of holiness and true repentance will be made known to them.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 2

As you can see by my second picture of my "Year In My Life" series, it is not a normal subject. This creature sits between Marion Illinois and Carbondale Illinois on Rout 13.

It seems that someone or some business in the area is protesting a IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) project. From the signage it is not quite clear what the project is going to be and I don't really want to invest any time in researching it, so I'm going to have to leave you all hanging on that aspect.

I saw this today on a daytrip with Chandra, just a little time away fom Paducah to get a bite to eat and see scenery other than Paducah. We like to do this fairly often, just to get away and be together. The car rides are a time that we can talk and just be together. Today I was trying to see something that might be a good subject for a picture of the day and I knew that it should be this demon/ pig/ dragon creature. It was confirmed by Chandra.

So what spiritual implications does this thing have? At first I thought it might have been a church that put this thing by the highway to issue a "turn or burn" statement. I can honestly say I was really relieved that it wasn't. I am all for preaching a turn or burn message, but it has to be done in the fullness of the Gospel. You must let people know their state of depravity, their state of rejection of the living God of scripture, their course in purchasing their road to hell and destruction. BUT - you must always follow that up with the good news, not just scare the hell out of someone, you must let them know that Christ was sent by the Father to atone for their sins and save them from their road to hell AND a sinful lifestyle that does not glorify God.

So that was going to be my post on this demonic blowup that draws attention on the roadways in Illinois. The IDOT protest just kind of ruined it, but in a good way. I already had some of the lines thought out about professing Christians that are shocking and deceiving in their message. They like to point fingers and go to the extreme to tell people they are going to hell (which they are) but never seem to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. These folks probably don't know the fullness of the gospel themselves. Pray for people like this who might mean well, or just might be mean. They need to see the love of Christ as well. Their boldness could be used in good ways instead of perceived hate.

A Year In My Life Through Pictures Day 1

This is a picture of my beautiful wife Chandra. What else could I have taken a picture of on day 1? Nothing. God has blessed me with my wife, she is His love gift to me. Our relationship has had many ups and many downs, but God used all of them to bring us closer together. Ephesians 5:25 is a very dear verse for me in which God opened up to me when we were going through a relationship valley. The valley which God used to actually bring us closer together as we learned what a real marriage should be, a reflection of Christs love for His church, His bride.

As a husband I was commanded to love Chandra as Christ loves the church. WOW! That is a very tall order, that I fail at miserably. But I discovered that I, as a husband, must give my life for my bride , maybe not in a physical sense but in a dying to self since. I would lay my life down for her physically if ever warranted, but I must lay it down daily as I strive to be more Christlike in my every action. She completes me, she supports me, she is my love and I can not bare to think of life without her.

For those reasons and more my wife, Chandra, is day 1 of my year long journal. She was acting shy for the picture, but she is normally very willing to be photographed. I am sure over the next 364 pictures she will be the focus or participant as well. I love my wife dearly and thank God for her constantly as she is my Lords love gift to me.

My Birthday, The Past 42 Years, The Next 365 Days

Today I celebrate my 42nd year of life. Actually I didn’t have much to do with it, my mom should be the one to be congratulated as she gave birth to my 8.9 lb of babyness.

The Lord has richly blessed me over the years. Even through my childhood years, young adult life and up until my conversion at 38 years old, He has been good to me. I was a false convert for 30 year of my life. Beginning at the age of 8 I put my hopes of salvation in a prayer of a child and in the words of a man’s assurance that I had taken care of it. But, praise be to God that He showed me the errors of what had been instilled in me.

I was brought up to believe that just saying a prayer was all that was needed to be saved. Actually, it is a lot more simpler than a prayer, it just takes trust in the Word of God to be truth. In that trust is found the repentance of ones sins, not just a momentary feeling of sorrow, but a real feeling of hatred for your sins against a Holy God. I never felt that, I never had that from the age of 8 up until the age of 38. I based my salvation on a fleeting moment of time as a child that didn’t even really know what sin was. But for the next 30 years I really delved into it and learned sin very well. All the time professing to know Jesus as my savior because I took care of it when I was younger. Never did I have someone tell me I needed to examine myself to see if I was in the faith. Never did I have someone tell me my sinful lifestyle was in direct opposition to what the bible describes a believer’s life to be.

Thank God that He saw ft to remove the scales from my eyes. After 30 years of asking God to forgive me of my sins when I went to bed, He finally did forgive me. He finally showed me my sins as they appear to Him. He showed me why His Son was put on the cross. He showed me that I was deceived by some very convincing lies, twisting of scriptures and vain words of men. He saved me. Something that I tried to do for 30 years by being “good” to others, not saying too harsh of curse words, not killing anyone, not lying (too much anyway). He convicted me of my sins and broke me and through His grace saved me.

Now my heart bleeds for those that are in the condition I was in. I had returned to my childhood church for a year or so and saw the same things playing out with the children there as they did with me. False assurances spewed from the preachers mouth, pats on the back as associate pastors gave comfort to those that were feeling conviction only to be pulled away from that conviction with, “Bubby, you know you’re all right. You just gotta get yourself right again, give your heart back to God and stop sinning’.”

Oh, how do we open the eyes of these poor, deceived souls? Short answer, we can’t. All we can do is sow the seeds of the True Gospel of Christ. We pour our hearts out to the Father to be merciful to these people that are living in deceptions, sitting in the pews Sunday after Sunday after being in the bars Saturday after Saturday. The one’s that are living in sin with their girlfriend or boyfriend, seeing nothing wrong with their choice to go against God’s Word. We must cry out to God to pull the scales from these peoples eyes as well. He did it for me, so why wouldn’t He do it for someone else? Someone was praying for my salvation and I may never know whom until I meet them in heaven one day. But someone did pray for me, someone did see my deceived mentality and they loved me and prayed for God to save me….. and He did.

Beginning today I am also going to start a series that I hope to update on a daily basis. I am going to call it “A Year In My Life Through Pictures”. I hope to post one photo per day of something that has touched me during the day. It may be something small and seemingly meaningless or something large like the birth of a child. The guidelines I want to use are: 1. The photo must be taken the day of its entry 2. The photo must contain a description of why I took it and what the photo means to me 3. I won’t try to get all “artsy” in taking pictures, just simple snapshots maybe even taken from my cell phone most days 4. Tell of how God used the subject in the photo to speak to me.

Fairly simple rules to go by. I am sure that it will be quite boring to some along the next 365 days, but I pray that it might be used to show that sometimes what we perceive as small or simple can and is used by God to accomplish something we may never realize without stopping to see the forest beyond the trees. I will post my first photo this evening, after the day has mostly passed because I want to take this day a little slower and reflect on God’s mercies and see what He places in my path this day.

Craig Groeschel's "The Christian Atheist" review (Kinda)

I did it. I finished the book “The Christian Atheist:Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist”. I actually finished it in fairly decent timing for me, 9 days. I am not the most avid of readers and another thing I am not is a book critic, but one of the main reasons I chose to read this was for that very reason, there were no reviews. Tim Challies, you have nothing to worry about from me. I can barely put 2 words together to make a thought, much less pass an adequate understanding of a book along to others.

This book piqued my curiosity. Its title caught me off guard one day, with the thought “Hey, that’s not even possible!” I even commented on a friend’s wall post (see earlier blog) on facebook and had a “conversation” as to the meaning of the book.

Before reading the book, my number 1 gripe with the book was the title. “The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist”. To me, before even reading the book its title alone was blasphemy. You can’t take the word Christian and tack the word atheist onto it to describe a person’s belief structure. Like I said, that was before I read the book. Now, after reading the book, I still say the same thing. The title is blasphemy through and through. So much that when I was reading he book, as I took notes I had to abbreviate it CA because I couldn’t bring myself to even write it down.

I want to first contrast the term “Christian Atheist” with another term “Skydiving atheist”. Not that the skydiver doesn’t believe in God, he doesn’t believe in parachutes. He has decided that he is ready to take up skydiving, he goes to a land school where they teach him all the terms, safety aspects, altitude dangers, etc. but most important, they teach him about his parachute. Without his parachute he will plummet to the ground, nothing to slow his fall and ease him softly to the ground he would end up a pile of broken bones and flesh. So, the new skydiver packs into the airplane so very excited at his first jump. The whole class is with him and he volunteers to go last, so he can take part in the others experience as they yell going out of the door. Finally it is his turn, he gets to the door and the instructor says, “Wait a minute. Where’s your chute? You’ll never make it without your chute.”
The newest skydiver looks steadfastly at the instructor and says, “Sir, I have listened to you for a week tell me the ups and downs of parachuting. I can recite everything in my sleep. I know it so well, I don’t need my chute. I believe that it can benefit me, but I definitely do not need it. Seeeee yaaaaaaa!” As he jumps from the plane.
No need to say what happened to him. Splat is the only word needed. But he believed in the chute. Isn’t that enough? Not at all. He did not put his faith in the parachute.

So, why can a story like that sound so ludicrous but not the picture that Groeschel paints? How can someone truly believe in Jesus, the Son of God, but yet not live like it? It is an oxymoron, it is not possible. To believe in God and the atonement of Jesus on the cross for sins is not a pick and choose kind of thing.

Now that I vented somewhat, I will actually say a little about what Groeschel has to say in the book. Actually I do not have many issues in what the book does say as much as the issues in what it doesn’t say. As I mentioned, the title itself is very offensive and blasphemous, the term “Christian atheist” used by Groeschel should actually be “professing Christian” and is what I used when reading the book. Professing Christian is exactly what the author is portraying in this book, someone who believes in the facts of God, but still lives like there is no God. This, my friend, is not a “Christian atheist” but a lost person.

Groeschel puts into 21st Century wording what most easy believism church pastors and evangelists have been saying all along. Another word that could is used interchangeably with Groeschel’s term is “backslider”. These terms and false theologies are very damning and are sending many to hell. At their core is the mentality that since you have “taken care” of your salvation you are free to do what you want, your sins are forgiven anyway, so you might as well keep on sinning. This, of course, is a far cry from the repentance and faith demanded by scripture.

Groeschel’s personal biography plays into the book from cover to cover. He is very free with his life story, which I applaud. He recounts a VBS story about being told to raise your hand then into mid teen years conversation with a pastor who pretty much told him to just do good things, stay away from evil and that’ll get you to heaven. After this his college days are talked about, when he started actually realizing something wasn’t aligning, that something was missing in his relationship with God. That “thing” actually was God that was missing. His “conversion” happened on a softball field where he fell down and cried out to God “take my life”, which I will not knock, it’s not the words one says, it is the heart condition that reveals if the conversion was true.

The years tick by, Groeschel becomes a pastor and gets wrapped up in his ministry. In fact his ministry actually is his god as he tried to “collect converts like Michaels Phelps collected gold metals”. Sadly, this too is the mentality of most pastors and evangelists today. It is more about the numbers than it is about proclaiming the truth of God’s Word.

I will not pick the book apart piece by piece, even though it is warranted to do so as Groeschel is supposedly relaying God’s Word to others. To sum the book up, it is basically the pats on the back self serving pastors give to the teenage boy that is standing in their office, wondering if they are actually saved or not. With 240 pages Craig Groeschel reaffirms the reader that they are okay after all, that it’s o.k. to not believe in God to the extent scripture dictates. The non – “Christian atheist” Christianity that Groeshel describes is a works based righteousness as well.

The Emergent theology is apparent in the closing chapters as Groeshel talks about a social gospel. Just do good to people and show them Jesus, preach the gospel and use words if necessary kind of philosophy is prevalent in his words. Of course he lists some of his accomplishments and how his church changed peoples lives, what his church did for those in his communities. Don’t get me wrong, these are good things, but without the gospel they are just good deeds done by some good people. One not need to be a Christian to do good in their community and any good done should be capped off with why that good was done in the first place. This is what Jesus and His disciples did. They gathered groups of hungry people, fed them all then proclaimed the truth of the gospel of Christ. They did not waste an attentive crowd to let it be known that these 13 men fed us and then left. Those that got fed also got a big dose of truth. Jesus never left a sinner without letting them know their sinful state and telling them to sin no more. Some even went away sad, some never got it like the Pharisees, but they always got the truth of the Word.

In that is our command, to spread the seed of the Gospel of Christ. Sadly, this book does not do that and only adds more to the arsenal of the lost, professing Christian/ false convert. The bit of truth that shines through in Groeschel’s words on page 233, “God created me in my image. I returned the favor and created Him in mine”. But he never tells of his repentance to that fact, never tells of the True God of scripture. What he does do is set a 3-line division between levels of Christianity. The first line believers “believe just enough to be saved”, but still love the world, still live a worldly life. The second line “Christian” have a little change, but do just enough to benefit and give a little back, as long as it doesn’t cost too much. The third line “Christian” are the ones that believe enough to give your life to “it” (Christ). He does say that the first 2 lines do not really seem like real Christianity to him anymore, but does not give a call to those still living there to repent and believe as commanded.

So it is not really what Groeschel says is any different than any other “pastor” out there. It is what he and the other do not say. They do not give a true account on what the bible says a true believer does, the evidences that a true believer will have (fruit) and that his 3rd line Christian is the only true Christian. He sidesteps the answer and says “they don’t seem to be” to him, not that they really need to examine themselves to see that they are in the faith. A person with the readership of Groeschel should be taking the opportunity to sow the seeds of the Word in his reader’s hearts and minds. He has done a dis-service to his readers and taken them to a comfortable level again, they are still lost, they are still comfortable with being false converts, still living in sin and still not concerned. They have their “ticket” to heaven and are going to live like hell on this earth. They now have one more catchphrase to use to describe themselves - adding to nominal Christian, worldly Christian, carnal Christian and the ever popular backslider. The term “Christian atheist” is an abomination and blasphemy. To mix the Holy Name of Christ with the term that is blatant disregard of Him is worthy of damnation.

I pray that Craig Groeschel will one day repent of making up this term. I pray that God uses this book to actually save souls, after Groeschel rebuts it for being forgiving of the unforgiven. Any book that invokes the Name of Christ and does not adequately portray Him is very dangerous. I recommend this book only to those that need to see the mentality of professing Christianity today. If you think yourself to be a “Christian atheist” then you are lost. You need to repent of your sins and believe in Christ. You need to get out of the church that condones this type of “theology” and into a true Church that leans on the Word of God for everything, that leans on Christ for everything.

I am sorry if you thought you were going to get a real review of this book. I am not a reviewer and I am not much of a writer. What I am is someone that loves the Lord and what He has done for me. I do not profess anything except to be His and be available to be used by Him in whatever ways He sees fit. This “book review” started with a post on Facebook that just gave the title of the book. Following the post was a local “pastors” comments about the book, how he was mentored by Craig Groeschel, etc. I asked a few questions and then realized I was talking about a book that I knew nothing more about than the title and what the dust jacket said. I was commenting about the title and knew I needed to read the book to see if my concerns were warranted or not. They were and so I needed to write a little about the book. I am really concerned with the social gospel that is being portrayed by the likes of Groeschel and the others that seem to be in the Emergent movement. They like to explain what the “Church” needs to do to reach the community, but always seem to leave out telling the true Gospel that Jesus and His disciples preached. They want it to be relational and pragmatic, the ends justify the means mentality. But, the end is more often the pits of hell, as they do not tell of the repenting faith that Jesus spoke of during His earthly ministry. Without that, building houses, cleaning up and painting brothels, helping an old lady across the street are but wood, hay and stubble. They are meaningless.

Is U2 A Christian Band?

The greatest question…. The one everyone is pondering……… The one that caused heated debate between a “friend of a friend” on facebook (not really heated, but he was not in agreement with me)……..
Was it “Did you choose God or did God choose you?”
No.
How about, “Should we not pray because God is sovereign and therefore our prayers don’t really do anything anyway?”
No.
Then it’s got to be, “Did Adam have a belly button?”
And, no again.
It was, “Are U2 Christians?” And I’m sure that if you have read even a single post on my blog, you already know what my stance is. A sound no. Well, I can’t say with a 100% certainty they are not Christians, but unless they have forsaken their sins, turned from them in repentance and put their whole faith in Christ it is a definite no.

By they, I of course mean Saint Bono and Saint Edge, the other guys are just kinda there and nobody knows who they are anyway. And by “unless they have forsaken their sins, turned in repentance and put their whole faith in Christ”, I mean nobody knows. They seem to wear their faith on their sleeve. Right? Well, not exactly.

In numerous interviews and quotes found throughout the internet, they (Bono and Edge) paint broad pictures of what their faith looks like. Thing is, it looks different all the time and not in a sanctification kinda way, but in a “We’re going to do what feels comfortable for us” kinda way. They refuse to say what their faith is based on and who that faith is actually in. From what I gather though, they have amalgamated a plethora (my $2 words for this post) of spiritual concepts into one big ball of jello that changes shape depending on which way the wind is blowing at the time.

What is really damaging is their use of Biblical themes in their music and even using Christian terms to describe some aspects of their beliefs. But, neither Bono or Edge have said “ I am a Christian. I follow the risen Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible is the final authority on my life and I lay my life at the feet of Jesus and am His slave.” Nothing even remotely like that. I have found where he says a lot of truth about Jesus and who He is and what faith in Him requires, but nothing that says without a doubt “I am a Christian”. And with that I will have to quote Martin Luther “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say”

U2’s faith is very reminiscent of Universalism, at best. Roman Catholicism is held in deep regard to the band. They have a pragmatic approach to their spirituality using humanitarian aid as a catalyst to their good works, as well as a sign for others to point to saying “See, they’re good guys, they help so many people”. I will not discount their generosity, but that is not necessarily a fruit of the spirit on display. (see my last post on non-Christian philanthropy). It is great that they try to help kids in less wealthy nations, but it is not proof of their spiritual condition. It could be, however, a condition of their conscience, the God given “voice” that points to God. The pragmatism of U2 is at center of their philosophy. The “ONE” movement that has pulled in many mainstream “Christian” bands and leaders is very works based philosophy. It is about serving the poor and needy, but makes no mention of God while doing these works. If you watch the video below you will see the pragmatism on display by Bono. He is somewhat knowledgeable of scripture and also the twisting of it. The “ONE” group/ movement has enlisted the likes of Bill Gates, Third Day, Rick Warren and Islamic Relief. So, as you can see the ecumenical push to join together for the betterment of mankind, to step join together and give credence to false religions and people and groups that are blatantly anti-Christian. I don’t think that is such a good idea and neither does the God of the bible.

I do think U2 have a lot of knowledge of Biblical things, but this can be said of most of professing Christians across the world. Knowledge does not equal conversion. Knowing a bunch of facts will not put you on the narrow road, but still leaves one on the broad path to destruction. Sadly U2 are pulling people that are headed to the narrow path back towards the broad. Actually U2 are embraced as full-fledged Christians by a lot of liberal professing Christians and especially those engrained in the Emergent movement. Bono and Edge truly are saints to those people. This is quite damaging as the lifestyles of the members of U2 are emulated. Chomping on cigars, cursing like a sailor and embracing other religions as true are very commonplace in both the liberal and emergent circles which would make U2 the poster children for either movement.

Conservative Christianity is under attack. Actually when you say Christianity the conservative part should be a given. The liberality that is the pursuit of so many stand in contradiction to most of the New Testament. They mention grace an awful lot, that they are free to do what is good in their own eyes, but neglect the command to be holy. They sin and sin and sin some more because “Jesus died on the cross for me”. They do have that right, but not in the way a true believer says it. Their context is “I’ll sin all I want, I have a license to sin and it’s the blood of Jesus”. The true Christian, however, truly see’s that Jesus did die for them on the cross, that Jesus did pay it all and they no longer desire to sin because of their sins that did put Him on the cross. They want to be Holy as He is Holy and strive to be more like Christ instead of still like their old self with the trinket of Christianity hanging around their neck.

So, is the band U2 Christian? Could be, but if so they would be the new creation talked about in 2 Corinthians 5:17. They would proudly profess Who their hope lies in and Who they are slaves to. Their wouldn’t be the omission and the broad paintbrush strokes to leave people wondering. To some that sounds radical or extreme Christianity, to actually live for Christ, to profess Christ in all that you do. It is radical that all things become new, but it is the fruit of the Spirit that start being produced. You might even say that those “radical” Christians that actually look like nut cases because they love the Lord so much are actually what normal Christianity looks like. Not like the mish mash of worldly entwined with whatever is convenient to a particular person at any given time. Christianity is a call to Holiness and Christ-likeness that is not found in a secular rock band, or any other thing that Satan uses to muddy peoples thoughts.

If there is even a little doubt if something is of God or not, I would strongly suggest to err on the side of caution. Do not try to justify a band, a relationship, a book, a movie, a website or anything else that you find interesting. If you must scour scripture to find something that is not there to justify something, then it is probably a bad idea. Scripture is clear that Christians are to be separate from the world.

In closing, this is yet another call to discernment. Any true Christian will desire holiness as a characteristic. They will seek righteousness and FLEE from sin, not try to justify. They will not condone sinful musicians, they will not justify a crass TV show, they will not find “the spirituality in” Twilight, Harry Potter or Gilligan’s Island. They will seek a true understanding of God in His glory and not use the Blood of Christ as a ticket to sin. So, where do you stand? Are you justifying sins, embracing the darkness of the world? Do you not desire holiness in your life? Do you care that professing Christ, but living like the world is blaspheming His Holy Name? Repentance is the first key to a true walk with the Lord. Turn from your wickedness and sin to the Holy God. Trust in Him for everything. Lay your life at His feet and say, “take me, I am Yours. Do with me what thou will.” And do not look back at the sinful past of your life. Flee from sin, put your hand to the plow and do not look back, truly trust in Him, for everything.


Bono’s pragmatic philosophy from his own mouth. Rick Warren will be proud.

Do You Give To Glorify God? Then Say So.

While we are to love those around us and serve the “least of these” doing it all out of love of our Father, is it really the gospel to simply “do good” for people? Yes, it is good to do good. That can be a fruit of the Spirit, having compassion for our fellow humans, feeding the hungry, clothing the homeless or leaving a big tip for the waitress that happens to not have given the greatest service, but looked to be frazzled.

Are those things biblical? Sure, I guess you could find scriptural basis for those things, but those things are meant to show the gospel to a dying and lost world. When you give a homeless man a pair of socks are you telling him of his need for a Savior or is it just a good deed? A deed that for yourself lifts you up because you did a good thing, but did you do the most loving thing and share what Christ has done for you? When you are handing out sandwiches at the community lunch pantry is the gospel shared?

True, Jesus used earthly things to draw a crowd, but they knew why they were there, to hear the truth of Christ. There was no doubt that they were going to hear a message about repentance and faith in God. Their bellies were jus the means used to get a group of people together, and then the real food was given. The bread of life was offered freely to the masses of people. Some took of the bread, others did not, but it was offered.

I am not dissing doing good deeds at all. I am just wondering why so many, do so much, while saying so little. I know Jesus said if you do something to the least of these, it’s as if you are doing it for Him (Matthew 25:44-46), but is that supposed to be the end? Are we to only give a cup of water to the thirsty and not use that opportunity to tell them about Christ? Are we to mow the neighbors yard and him just think we are a swell guy. I’d say no. I think our actions do speak volumes, but anyone can do good deeds or works. I’m sure many atheists are “good” people and do kind things. Look at Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, probably the two most well known philanthropists ever known, are they Christians? My research is inconclusive, but leans toward a no answer. Neither have shared their beliefs in the philanthropic giving that has been published. Which proves my point entirely.

If Buffet or Gates were Christians and gave money away like they do they would want others to know what drives them to do so. They would use their money, their gifts from God, to say “Here’s a million bucks to spend as you please, but let me tell you why I am giving this to you, what the hope that lies within me is, what God has done for me and I want to share it with you.” Isn’t that the same as working in a food pantry or giving a guy a ride on the highway? Wouldn’t it be the opportune time to share the Gospel with that person and not just leave him thinking that you were just a swell guy or gal?

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I think that verse pretty much sums up my ranting here. Whatever you do, do it to glorify your Father, not take the glory for yourself. Tell the people you are serving food to what Christ has done for you. Don’t let your neighbor just think you are a nice person for mowing their yard, tell them about all the things God has given you and how you wanted to share that with them.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Even The Demons Believe and Tremble. Do You?

In Mark 5:6 we see a sight that doesn’t seem that extraordinary to us, a man falling at the feet to Jesus. That is, not extraordinary unless you read the rest of the passage. The man just so happened to be possessed. Not just by a single demon, but by a Legion, as they described themselves.

This demon-possessed man, whom had been chained by those of Gadarenes, had broken free of his chains and shackles. He screamed out day and night as he journeyed between the mountains and the graveyard. One day he happened to see a boat approaching and he recognized one of the occupants. Now, how could this man know who Jesus was? I’ll say he didn’t, but the demons that indwelt him knew fully that this Man was Jesus.

What happens next is what is truly amazing to me. This demon-possessed man fell down and worshipped Jesus. The most evil entities of the Earth fell to the feet of Jesus in worship, for they knew they must. This goes right along with James 2:19 – “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

This is truly amazing if compared to most professing Christians today, who live in luxury and only seek God when things “get tough”. This most evil creature knew and recognized the deity of Christ and bowed in His presence. You all know the rest of the story in which Jesus called the demons from the man and sent them into the swine, which then in turn ran into the sea and perished. Jesus then set down with the newly freed man and conversed with him.


The other town’s people were frightened by what happened for some reason. Scripture does not say why, all we can do is take it at what is said. They did ask Jesus to leave. Why? The Bible doesn’t say, but the only one that seems to want Jesus to stay is the man freed of the demonic possession. This single man had been the whole reason Jesus journeyed across the sea, to show His glory and for this encounter to be recorded in scripture.

What I get from this is exactly how it appears; we do not worship our Lord, as we should. We do not recognize the deity of Jesus as fully as we should and we do not bow to Him in worship even close to the degree required. This is one of the areas where man fails God daily, hourly and by the minute. We do not acknowledge the God of the universe in all that we do.

What do we do about it then? We do as the demon-possessed man did and fall on our faces in worship to God and allow Him to heal us. We repent of our lack of worship of Him and ask for a revival of our spirit to be in harmony with His Spirit. This is true revival, not what is being hailed these days by the traveling “evangelists” Their call is to the lost (so they say) and is called a revival, what true revival is can be defined what revival sounds like – a return to the normal.

Cry out to the God of Abraham and Moses to revive you. Fall on your face and worship Him and Him alone. Know Him more intimately than you could ever imagine. Study His Word and hide it in your heart. Cry out for revival in your own heart and ask that it spread to your family, your church, your city, your country and the whole world.

Lost Season Finale (Or how I "lost" 6 years of Tuesday nights) part 2

If you have not read my first post about the season finale of Lost, please do so. This post is to just show the stained glass window depicted in the final minutes of the series finale. Pardon the bad photo, but I could not find any postings on the web yet.

I was confident that the depiction in the glass was for a Unitarian Universalism church, but not 100% sure. But after research that is what this glass would be from. There does seem to be a couple of insignia missing though, maybe as to not cause "too much" controversy. Those being the Wiccan pentacle, the Universalist's flaming chalice, the circles of time and a different symbol for the Islamic faith.

What is present are from top left:
1)Islamic symbol (also predate Islam as the symbol of the Moabites (an opponent of Israel)
2) The Jewish Star of David
3) Hindu Aum
4) A Cross
5) Buddhists Wheel of Dharma
6) Taoists Yin Yang

So, I stand with my original assertion that I will never watch Lost in any capacity again. I think that the producers overstepped their bounds to imply the "all roads lead to heaven" view of religions. Jesus said He was the only Way to the Father. Anything other than that is rank heresy and I cannot and will not support anything that does, especially a TV show.

I showed a lack of better judgment in watching the series in the first place. They peppered it with Christian titles and themes, just enough to hold my interest to see where they were going with things. It worked, I was fooled, but not again.

Lost Season Finale (Or how I "lost" 6 years of Tuesday nights)

As a fan of Lost for the past 6 seasons I have had about every emotion thrown at me. You kinda get to know the characters of a show that you invest so much time in. I guess I now would like a refund on the last 6 years of Tuesday night back.

The final season was a setup for the afterlife, one that the producers seemed to condone as an “all roads lead to heaven” kinda place. As of right now (within 30 minutes of the final credits) I cannot find the end all screen capture posted on the web, but when I do I will post it to this posting. By “end all” I mean my watching Lost, partaking of any extended series books, stories, TV shows, movies, etc. ***Update - just posted a screen capture of the stained glass window in my part 2 to this post***

I will not go into detail, but the ending was very disappointing to me, as a Christian. The “church” where the cast met to be taken into the afterlife had a stained glass window, prominently displayed, with many different religious symbols in it. I assume because they did not want to offend anyone of religions other than Christianity, so they represented several other faiths in the glass. It seems they would have wanted to start the “all roads lead to heaven” story a lot sooner than the finale, say maybe back when they were throwing in a whole lot of biblical references. I can’t seem to recall any Islamic or Taoist text being recited or shown carved in sticks. Christianity was just a side story line that I thought was just that, a diversion for some other central story. And it was, as Christianity now has been brought down to the level of the false religions of the world to many millions of people. But with one fell swoop, the producers have done what Oprah, Obama and so many other Universalists have been trying to do for so long, indoctrinate that all roads lead to heaven into the mindset of the masses.

I am sorely upset at the producers of the series. That is one emotion I have not even thought about throughout the 6 years I invested in their TV show. I have gotten angry at story lines, but not the makers… until now.

I guess it is now too late to boycott the show, since they did not throw this in until the last 10 minutes of the 6 years. Maybe that’s why, they knew that they would be forsaken and lose viewers. I suppose my boycott will now only extend to the re-broadcasts. Knowing the ending will now taint the whole series for me. Just wish I would have known this 6 years ago……..

Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” In reference to Jesus

Christian Atheist? Is That Even Possible?

Luke 11:23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

I’m going to admit upfront, no beating around the bush and no apology – I have not read the book I will be referencing in this blurb. The title caught my interest, which I assume is the reason the author chose it. Actually the book’s title is blasphemous and at best an oxymoron (I like that term for some reason), which again is probably the authors purpose in choosing it.
The book is “The Christian Atheist”. I first heard of it a few months ago and thought “Hmmm, that sounds completely ridiculous.” The author of the book is Craig Groeschel, “pastor” of LifeChurch.TV. Not really 100% sure what kind of church that is exactly, but from what I gather Groeschel’s “sermons” are broadcast to 12 locations across the US. Also of note, a local “pastor” calls Groeschel a mentor and has shown his videos, but as of now is not a LifeChurch.TV campus.

My better judgment lead me away from desiring to read the book initially, but my wife’s questioning of the book lead me to dig a little deeper than my discerning mind. To my astonishment I could not find a review anywhere by a reputable book critic. I had hoped that Tim Challies would have a review up, but I guess he is not into reading heresy just to dog it out. Still, I have not found a single reputable review of this book.

Not finding a review actually makes me want to read it to do my own review. The problem is I do not want to plunk down $15 for it. So if anyone knows anyone that would like to burn their copy, please have them send it to me so I can read it, I will then burn it for them when I am finished reading it. I am not what you would call a heavy reader and what I do read is by solid authors like Piper, MacArthur and even Ray Comfort (plus a few others, but you get the idea). I do not find myself wanting to read these types of books for their content, but instead for ammunition to be used to tell others to stay clear. I balk at reading also, because I know that what goes into your mind is very hard to get rid of and most of the time stays there indefinitely.

So the latest round in this books history with me happened on facebook. One of my friends posted – “Christian Atheist - one who says they believe in God, but live as though He does not exist.” A comment, or 3, from the “pastor” of the LifeChurch.TV’s local connection Brad, followed that. Look below for the screen capture of the discussion. He asked the poster if it was a Groeschel quote, which he knew it was but just wanted to flex his “Yeah, I know him” muscle – cough, cough. By the time I had gotten to the post to make a comment the poster and the “pastor” were talking about a lunch date, but I couldn’t resist posting my $.02 that went something like this:
“Someone that professes to be a Christian but lives as though God doesn't exist = a lost person. I believe scripture is fairly clear on that. Even the term Christian atheist is blasphemous.”

So, then I get the politically correct version from “pastor” Brad:
“Hey Jeffrey...
I think that 'lost' is the point of the book Christian Athiest from which that quote comes...
Basicallly(his spelling) that's what he means... The whole idea comes from a teaching focused on reaching the lost who think they are believers...”

Just so I will not get it wrong, here is the remainder of the comments/ conversation:
Me:
“Gotcha. Does the book focus any on the reason these people believe the way they do?”
“Pastor” Brad: “Typically, in America, the reason for stuff like that is consumerism. People are looking to consume services... They take, take and take some more... Wanting things like heaven, forgiveness, and money... But not wanting to take up their cross and follow Him.”
“Pastor” Brad:
“You just don't get one without the other”
Me:
“But aren't those all byproducts of something else? A failing to teach the Word as the Apostles and Christ Himself did? A message that has man at its centrality instead of Jesus? I don't think the root problem is the lost lining the pews on Sunday morning, I think it is the one standing behind the pulpit not accurately presenting the Gospel.
Going after the "Christian Atheist" is damage control, at best. To call these people "Christian" in any sense is blaspheming Christ’s Name. There are only the lost and those saved by God; there is no middle ground. One will not stand before the Holy Throne and say, "I believe in You, but I may not have lived like." If they believed they would have lived like it.”

And there it ended. No reply from Brad and no comments by the original poster, or anyone else. I was kind of disappointed that no one else had any input one-way or the other on the discussion. Not that I like to have disagreements on facebook or anywhere else, but I do like for people to take things a little deeper than face value.

The premise of “Christian atheism” is that someone has a belief in God, professes to be a Christian, does a lot of “Christian” things, but yet lives like there is no God. Actually that pretty much sums up about 90% of those that profess to be Christians today. But does the book address the cause of the terrible fact that today’s “gospel message” is sending countless millions to hell? That is the real issue here and “Christian atheists” are just a by-product of the message that is being spread. If the Word of God was preached in the power of the Spirit, then there would be practically no need of a book like this.

This book, according to the “positive” reviews, paints the picture of those that are on the 3rd road to eternity. This is in contrast to the only 2 roads scripture speaks of, the narrow and the broad. So, for anyone to assume that these “Christian atheists” are on some mid-road is borderline heresy. Jesus put it quite nicely in Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” So, to say that someone can be for God, but yet not live like it is openly saying that the scriptures are false.

Many times through the Bible we are told that light and dark can’t be together, you can’t serve two masters, do not have fellowship with darkness; if you live in darkness you are lost. So, how does Groeschel mesh his teaching of being an atheist who is also a Christian? That, I am not sure about and might have to read the book to find out. I just know that anyone that truly believes in God, that Jesus died for them, that He was risen on the third day and repents (turns from their sins and to the Holy God) and casts all their being on Christ will be saved. This salvation is not from just the pits of hell, but also from a life that is contrary to the Holy God of creation. Someone that has been truly born again is a new creation and will shun darkness and seek to be conformed into the image of the Savior. These people will not sit in the pews diddling with their cell phones and watching the clock with their only prayer being for the service to hurry up and get over so they can go watch the game.

These lost people were once called backsliders, but as everything with the more emergent folk, they had to come up with a new title for the deceived. I heard the term backslider thrown around much over my childhood life and a lot of my adult life. As a matter of fact, I would have been called a backslider because at the age of 8 I said a prayer, which automatically makes me saved. Saved from what, is the appropriate question there. I lived from the age of 8 until I was 38 professing to be a Christian while those 30 years I lived like the rest of the lost world. I smoked from age 14 through my actual conversion at 38, I drank, had premarital sex, cussed, lusted, lied, stole, blasphemed the Lord and broke every other commandment from God, all the time pointing back to my 8 year old experience, induced by an evangelist with the message of “you don’t want to go to hell do you”. So by all accounts I was just like the majority of professing Christians today, deceived. I was deceived by the modern American message of “just say this prayer” and “just say you’re sorry after you sin”. Never a mention of personal holiness or sanctification. Those words were only used to describe those that were at a higher level of Christianity than the normal Christian. In all actuality those “at a higher level” were those that were probably the ones that were actually converted and were striving after holiness and a closer walk with Christ.

In closing, these “Christian atheists” are lost to put it simply. They need our prayers and most of all need God to intervene. They do not need someone to tell them their Christian atheist title, they need someone to tell them they are sinners and are headed to hell. They need someone that loves them to tell them they are deceived and lost and need to repent or perish. They do not need a fancy new term to describe their “loss-ness”. The congregations need to hear the Word of God and not this ear tickling heresy that spews forth from these so called preachers. Their condemnation will be great on judgment day unless they repent themselves and start faithfully proclaiming the Word in truth.
Click on jpg above for original "conversation" with "Pastor" Brad about the book "The Christian Atheist"

Christian:
n.
1. A person who believes in and follows Jesus Christ, one who has repented of their sins and relies wholly in Christ.
Atheist:
n.
1.One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God

Is The National Day of Prayer Biblical?

Tomorrow marks the 59th observance of the “National Day of Prayer” in our nation. “Every president since 1952 has endorsed and supported National Day of Prayer except President Obama, who has decided not to endorse that,” is a quote from a local news website. Is that an accurate quote? Perhaps, and it would not surprise me. Obama did, however, back an exclusive Muslim day of prayer last September.

Does it bother me that Obama doesn’t support a sanctioned day of prayer for our nation? Not at all and it shouldn’t you either. If you think about it, a national day of prayer will be a day that many people (professing Christians, Jewish, Muslims, Hindu, Krishna, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons and even Wiccans) will come together to pray to their chosen deity for whatever reason they do. To me this sounds like a common evening at any Masonic Lodge across the world, “just profess to believe in a higher power of the Universe and you can stand beside me in prayer” is the mantra for the day tomorrow.

So, should a Christian get all worked up about the president not supporting this event or the Wisconsin’s judge finding the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional? I say NO with a resounding voice. Tomorrow will mark a day of idolatry when fanciful prayers will be offered up to nonexistent gods, even by those that profess the name of Jesus. These are the modern day equivalence of the Pharisees of scripture. I would say that next to Christmas, tomorrow will be the most blasphemous day of the year.

Matthew 6:5-7 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Wow, Jesus sure made that clear, didn’t He? So, does this one passage of scripture refute having a National Day of Prayer? I’ll let you decide that for yourself. Personally, tomorrow will be as any other day for me, as far as my prayers go. I will awaken and thank God for all He does for me, allowing me to awaken next to my beautiful wife and thank Him for the gifts He has given me, thank Him for my health and ask to be used of Him to do what is pleasing to Him. My day will progress as any other day, I will commune with the Lord throughout the day. I will pray for brothers and sisters as they come to mind, I will pray for guidance and opportunity to share what He has done for me, to be mindful of opportunities to share the Gospel. I will thank Him for the meals He supplies to my family and me. In other words, I never really stop praying throughout the day. I am aware of the presence of God with me. I may not be 100% faithful in this, but God is teaching me to commune with Him and in turn I will sin less against Him and be conformed more into the image of Christ. I am definitely very far from that goal, but He is the Potter and I am the clay and He is molding me and shaping me to be what He wants.

So, I guess my point of this posting is to say, “chill out” if you are uptight about the recent events that are against a National Day of Prayer. Calm down if you think Obama is a Muslim against Christians. I am very certain that God has Obama in control and he doesn’t take a breath unless it is ordained by the Father. Do not bemoan a man sanctioned day of idolatry, I would even say do not take part in the day except to ask the Lord to turn those that are praying to their false idols to the One that can actually answer their prayers. Pray that God is glorified and exalted above all and ask how you can be used of Him to be a part of that.

Let me close by saying that I am not 100% against a gathering of God’s people joining in prayer to ask for the Lords will to be done. We do see in scripture the Church coming together with prayers, but they did not need a certain day of the year to do so. They came together in unison, with one voice, seeking the will of God. That kind of corporate prayer is very much needed today. True Christians need to come together with one voice to seek God as the body, to seek a return to the pure state of Christianity, a true revival of His church. I ask that you pray without ceasing and join others daily in prayer to the Lord. Just don’t plan a day, write out a long and exuberant prayer that will try to tickle the ears of those hearing it instead of petitioning the God and Maker of everything.

Oh, and stop posting prayers on facebook, myspace, youtube or sending them in emails. If those are your prayers to God, why do you post them for others to read? To bolster the readers spirituality? To show how spiritual you are? To show your immense vocabulary? I would very seriously caution posting a prayer to God anywhere. Pray to the Father only.