Mad Max Meets the Apostle Paul

That was the description my friend gave to the movie "The Book of Eli." as we left the movie theater. Yes, I went to a movie that had blood, violence, and three times the "F" word. However the movie also had some great lessons that we as Followers of Christ need to adhere.

For those who have not seen the movie or do not care to see the movie, here is the premise (warning: this gives away the plot of the movie): Eli (Denzel Washington) has been on a journey for 30 years, walking west across America after a cataclysmic war that turned the earth into a total wasteland. The world has become a lawless civilization where people must kill or be killed. The barren roads belong to gangs of cutthroats who rob and kill for water, a pair of shoes, a lighter, or just for fun. Eli is a peaceful man who only acts in self defense, and becomes a warrior with unbelievable killing skills when he is challenged. After the war and the "Big Flash", Eli was guided by a higher power to a hidden book and given the task of protecting the book and taking it to its final destination. Eli guards the book with his life, because he knows that the book is the only hope that humanity has for its future and it is the only copy left.What is the book? It is the Holy Bible. Eli does all this because as He claims, the Spirit of God told Him to take the Book west to a place where it would be safe.


All through the movie, Eli reminds himself do not stray from the path. He is a man with a mission. He journeys towards his destination because it is his mission. Even when tempted by the evil person in the story with a women, water and power, Eli stays true to the course.


Like Eli, we must stay true to course that Christ calls us to. So m any times we are distracted by things that keep us from our mission: Glorifying God through the making of Disciples. many times we get distracted by the things that we need for survival or for what we think will make us comfortable or for a need to be recognized and we neglected the very thing that God has called us to do.


One of the most outstanding parts of the movie is Eli's faith. All throughout the movie, Eli states that God will sustain him and that his mission will be fulfilled. Even in a raging gun battle, Eli tells his companion, Solara that they will survive. Eventually they do. Even after Eli is shot, his faith in the one who calls him and the mission that he is on continues. This faith is the belief that he is truly called to this and that God will sustain him.

Its is interesting to note that as Eli's faith in God and His Word sustains him, the evil character, Carnegie wants to use faith to control people and manipulate them to build his own empire. Carnegie sees faith as a weakness to exploit; Eli sees it as strength to sustain.

The most amazing part of the movie was the ending. It seems all is lost when Carnegie finally gets the Bible. Eli still continues west with Solara towards the safe place. You think well this is it. Then Eli and Solara reach the safe place (I won't tell you where. watch the movie). Eli tells the care keeper that he has a King James Bible. The care keeper ask what condition. In his reply Eli responds " It is beaten up and worn." Then in the care keeper's chamber, Eli begins to recite the who scripture which is copied down. Eli was the the book. You see the other copy that Carnegie had was a braille copy that could not be read. GOD'S WORD MUST LIVE IN US. IT MUST BE LIVED IN US! Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart!

What amazed me was that here was a secular movie calling us to become keepers and ones who live God's Word in a World that needs hope. This point is brought home when in the end, Solara, leaves the safe place with Eli's bag, gun and equipment and begins her journey home to share the Word of hope.

We are on a journey in a world that needs God's word of Hope. It is not to be hidden but lived before the World. It is our mission and our faith in Him will sustain us. The Book of Eli calls us to not only be hearers and readers of God's Word but ones who do and live it.

God's Word was Eli's Book. God's Word should be our Book: Written Upon Our Hearts and Life!!

Missional Lessons from the Vietnam War

I have been a big student of history; especially military history. The other evening I was reading a novel about the Vietnam War called "The Incident at Muc Wa." The story line of the book takes place when American involvement in the war was escalated from the use of Special Forces troops (Green Berets) to having American ground troops involved.



In the early days of the war, Special Forces soldiers served in some of the outlying areas of South Vietnam. They would go into these areas with 12 men "A" teams to set up a base of operations, recruit indigenous personnel, train them to fight communist insurgents and lead their own armies. Many of these groups were so successful in their mission of disrupting the enemy that their bases would be attacked by hundreds of the enemy forces to destroy them.

Now you are probably saying, what is so missional about this. Well here are some of the principles that these "A" teams used.

Understand the Culture that You are Working Within. These "A" teams understood what was important to the indigenous people. They respected these things and actually used these ideas to help recruit them to fight.

We as Christians must adapt our language, our style and sometimes our thinking (not the message) to help those who we are reaching. Understanding people comes from listening, asking questions and observing. It also comes from being with them. You cannot learn about your neighbor sitting in your house or a church building.

Win their Hearts before you can Win their Minds. These "A" teams loved the people that they lived and worked with. many of these soldiers were accused of going "native." This accusation was brought because these soldiers lived with their people, they eat with these people, adapted some of their customs. Through this love and living with their people the "A" teams won the hearts of the people then were able to win their minds to fight and serve and protect their villages.

Interesting fact about this was that these indigenous people were treated like second class citizens by the government of S. Vietnam, yet they fought for that government. Not out of obligation but out of love for their "A" team. The same is today. many new converts are not accepted by many churches because they are different.

Be a Force Multiplier. A 12 man "A" team could not defeat an enemy force by themselves but they could recruit, train and empower a force of hundreds. How did they do this? They model the combat behavior, they allowed the villagers to practice combat procedures in safety of camp, they allowed the villagers to practice in combat under supervision of "A" team leaders and then they allowed them to lead combat patrols on their own.

As one of the "formal" educated clergy, I realize that my role is to equip others to do my job. The world is not going to be won for Christ by formal clergy, deacons, Sunday School teacher or ministers. The world is going to be reached by each believer reaching others, disciplining them and then turning them loose to do the same. We need to be FORCE MULTIPLIERS!! Gathering the harvest does not mean seating people in auditoriums or meeting places on Sunday. It is equipping and empowering missionary soldiers for Jesus Christ.

Live with the People: These "A" teams did not just go out work with the indigenous people of Vietnam and then retreat to the safety of their base. They lived and worked and played with these people. They lived in the danger zone of the enemy unlike the conventional forces that fought during the day and ran for cover when at night.

In the church today, we have mistaken the "come out and be separate" of scripture to mean that the only contact we should have with lost people is to do "little forays" into the lost community for the only purpose of maybe capturing someone and hooking them to come to church. The lost are not projects or game to be captured. They are God's creation that has not realized that they are His creation and that He has a plan for their salvation and life. The greatest way for them to learn is to see that lived out in our lives as we live and relate to them everyday. This cannot be done sitting in a pew or hiding out in our homes. It must be done in their midst.

God has called every Christian to be his "A" team. The official motto of the Army Special Forces is De Oppresso Liber (Latin: To Liberate the Oppressed). As we know Christ has accomplished this. He has liberated us fro spiritual oppression and has provide salvation. As God's "A" team we are about the business of letting the world know this and how they can be liberated. It is our mission because it is God's!

A Fishing Story

When my wife Pam and I lived in South Carolina, our home was near Lake Murray. This was a huge lake where one could fish, swim, ski and boating. Often the two of us would go out to the lake which was behind our house and fish.

Being the typical male, I was often competitive with Pam over who would catch the most fish. This one afternoon I had found a spot on the bank where a tree had fallen in the water. This was a great spot because every time I cast my line in the water, I caught a fish.

Not wanting to be outdone, Pam moved from her spot on the bank to right by me and my spot (she said that she wanted to be close to me, HA!). Soon, she was casting her line in the water and catching fish. At first, I was a little upset. She was in my spot and catching my fish. Then I started to realize that she was not my competition but my wife. Whatever she caught or I caught, they all were going on my table. A matter of fact, because she was fishing next to me, she was causing more fish to be lured to that spot because they knew there was food there.

It is the same with churches. I often have pastors and church members get upset when a new church plant starts or a church moves near them. They seem to say “Stay out of my fishing spot.” It seems that we all often forget that we all are “fishers of men”. We are not working on getting more “fish” for ourselves or our churches, but rather reaching more people for the KINGDOM of GOD! We are working together to see people become fully devoted followers of Christ.

With over 2 million unchurched indidviduals in North America, we need to realize that there are plenty of “fish” that need to be reached for Christ. It is going to take all kinds of churches, new and old to see that these individuals have the opportunity to become part of the KINGDOM. Working together, we will do more than each one of us being protective of our spot. Let’s get “fishing” together.

The Latest Is

Have you seen the Snuggie? I remember the first commercial I saw for this item. It was late one night right after the evening news. As I watched the commercial, the thought I had was that this is just a robe worn backwards, it will never sell. Now you see Snuggies in every store and they even have them for pets. It is the latest in what I call, "unusual products" that is now the rage.

In 1986, I became officially involved in church planting by helping to start a church in Westchester County N.Y. However, before that time I worked with my parents in a church that they helped start as lay persons. 23 years later, I am sitting here in my office looking at all the books on my shelf about starting churches thinking that church planting has, in some ways, taken off just like the Snuggie.

Over the last 23 years, I have seen church planting go from what you do when you can't find a church, to one of the most popular ministries. When I started planting there were about 3 books on planting churches. Today, there are hundreds of books, articles, blogs (mine included) and church planting resources. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of opinions out there on how to start a church. Don't believe me. Just Google the term church planting.

It seems like church planting has become very popular among evangelicals and even non-evangelicals (case in point: Scientologists have started a church in Nashville). Church planting conferences has gone from attracting a couple hundred to a couple of thousand. There are now degree programs in church planting whereas, 10 to 15 years ago there might have been 1 or 2 programs in the country.

My prayer is that the increased interest in church planting is not the latest fad. Many today are looking for that "magic bullet" for church growth, and in some cases self-promotion, that they jump from idea to idea hoping to have success and the latest book and conference speaking deal. I'm afraid that church planting has become one of those so called "magic bullets". The problem with this mentality is that if the "church planting gig" doesn't work I can always find another thing to try. Maybe I'll do the multi-site, video venue or missional gig.

Now before you think that I am picking on people, let me just say that none of these things are wrong if the goal is to see the Kingdom grow!! We have to remember that church planting is the reaching and discipling of people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Church planting is not the focus! Seeing communities brought to be a part of the Kingdom of God is the focus.

Next time we see or hear the latest and greatest ministry idea or event, let's not get caught up in the idea. It is just a tool or a means to which the proclaimation of the Gospel and the Discipling of the nations is accomplished. That is what church planting is! Lets don't treat it like the Snuggie - love it for a while and then put it in the closet never to wear it again.

My Prayer for Nashville

When you think of Nashville, what do you think of? Country music, Grand Ole Opry, Music industry, Tennessee Titans or capital of Tennessee?

Most people think of Nashville they think music especially country music. They also think of Nashville as a "southern city." Yet there is so much more to this city. We are both an international and a urban center.

If you been in my office, you would see the view that you see in the picture up above. This view reminds me as a strategist that the first part of any strategy to reach an urban population is to have a compassion for the city and the people in it. Scripture tells us that Jesus looked out of Jerusalem and wept over it. He had a love so deep for Jerusalem and the world that He wept and died for it.

How do we get a passion for our city? The same way that Jesus did. He had the heart of God and He got that heart by Him and the Father being one. That being one came through prayer! Jesus went to His Father in prayer and did what His Father told Him to do.

We have the heart of the Father by being with the Father in prayer. We have the heart of the Father for our city by spending time with the Father talking with Him about the city.

Let me encourage you to do two things:

1.Search the scripture. Look at verses that deal with the city. One you may consider is Jeremiah 29:7.

2.Pray the Lord's Prayer and when you get to "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in (put in the name of your city, town or neighborhood).

If we are to reach our cities for Christ we must begin with praying for them. My prayer for Nashville is thy Kingdom come thy will be done in Nashville. Why do I pray this? It is my vision that one day Nashville will not be known for country music, Grand Ole Opry, Music industry, Tennessee Titans, home of the Southern Baptist Convention or Lifeway. My vision is people will say "Nashville, that is a city committed to Jesus Christ!"

Is this your vision and prayer for your city?

Why Are You Here? Part Two

Ever ask yourself "Why am I planting a church?" You probably ask that especially after a hard day. But it is a good question to ask oneself. As a church planting strategist, this is a question I ask potential church planters. I am amazed at the answers I get to this question and also amazed at the number of potential trainers will use the term "called of God" to describe what is sometimes a whim or personal dream.

It is amazing what we define as "the call of God." Like many words in our language, the word call has come to mean different things. In most cases, when we refer to the Will of God with reference to vocation, career or jobs we commonly use the term call. If we were to ask people to define the term call, many would describe it as inner leading or a sense of conviction that God is designating a particular direction.


However, the above described definition is not true to the original biblical meaning. The definition also does not portray a true picture of the Call of God upon the life of His people or His church.

Biblically, the meaning of call has several meanings or levels. First we must understand that call is not to a place or a task. Rather it is God calling us to Him. God calls each of us to a relationship with Him. It has been the desire of God since creation to fill the world with His people and have a relationship with them.

With this purpose in mind, God provides a call to come into a loving relationship with Him. In the New Testament this call of God is synonymous with salvation. The call is to repentance, salvation and sanctification. This is referred to as our “primary call” (Matthew 9:13, Romans 8:28-30).

Specific calls, as described in the Bible, to a place, such as Abraham’s call to Canaan or Paul’s Macedonian call, are rare and not the norm. In those cases when God called one of His servants to a particular place or area of service is because of their relationship to God that God led them to a particular place of service. Out of their obedience to God, they were willing to accept His will.

Many of my Baptist brothers and sisters would say that their idea of calling can be traced back to the New Testament and the call of Christ to the disciples, Paul, and others to a specific task or ministry. However, for earlier Baptists calling was thought to be to a relationship to God and salvation in Him.

Baptist thinking on this can be traced to Christian convictions during the time of the Reformation when Martin Luther makes the distinction between sacred and secular. Luther defined “good works” as being chosen by God and “comprehended within the bounds of a particular calling.” John Calvin would later expand upon Luther’s thinking. He used the term call (vocation in the French language) in two senses: the primary call, a call to God from God; the secondary call to a particular work or occupation. The purpose of work according to John Calvin was to glorify God and be a service to Him and mankind. Calvin exalted the common and refused to give preference to a particular religious vocation, which he viewed as giving esteem above others. According to Calvin all work was to be a service to God.

William Perkins, a Puritan preacher and writer in Elizabethan England, refined the concept of calling further by distinguishing between the general call and a particular call. The general call was common to all Christians. The particular call was to a specific person because of his or her character and gifts.


According to Perkins, work would be defined as vocation or career, a life task or general direction. Within this "vocation," even numerous "jobs" should form a pattern, a continuity that contributes to our broader vocation or our particular calling. Perkins even outlined a series of rules to govern our choice of a vocation, declaring that in our personal calling we must:

1. Have a particular calling.
2. Choose an honest and lawful calling.
3. Base our call on public need rather than the desire for personal gain.
4. Stay in it once chosen.
5. Avoid covetousness in our calling.
6. Be diligent in our calling.
7. Fit it into the framework of the general calling.

Dr. Os Guinness agrees with Perkins that calling means much more than something exclusively spiritual, like guidance, but rather it is the expression of our personalities, the exercise of our gifts, all that we are, everywhere we go, and everything that we do is seen as a response to the Lord and is done as part of our calling to Him. Guinness believes that in scripture, calling is primarily to someone, in this case, God. It is not to somewhere; and is not to something, or a task. Where we go and what we do is our secondary calling. This secondary calling is an outworking or result of our primary calling, which is to God.

Oswald Chambers states the same thought in So Send I You. According to Chambers “The call of God is the call according to the nature of God; where we go in obedience to that call depends entirely on the providential circumstance which God engineers. The call of God is not to any particular service, although my interpretation of the call may be; the call to service is the echo of my identification with God.” As we grow in that relationship God leads or calls us to various ministry opportunities.

I have said all of this to say that where we go and what we do as followers of Christ should be as a result of our growing relationship with God and our identification with His heart. Our call to planting a church, pastoring or any other endeavor must be in line with God's mission and His endeavor. It is not because we think it is cool or because it is the next step on the ladder to where we want to be or that it will bring me recognition. IT IS LIVING THE HEART RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!.

Next time you feel that maybe God is calling you to something, instead of looking at what you think the plus or minuses of that endeavor. Ask yourself, "Is this where I am in my relationship with God and is this heart beating through my heart?"

Why are you here? To be the living incarnate heart and relationship of God through Jesus Christ! Anything more is really less!

Why Are You Here? Part One

I still remember that question after 23 years along with the context it was asked in and the person who asked it. It was 1986 on an uptown bus in Manhattan. I was a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary sent to New York on a 10 week church planting project. I had just boarded the bus and sat down in the seat with a gentleman who I found out later was Jewish.

As we sat an rode the bus, the gentleman said "Hello." In which I responded with my "Hello". He looked at me strangely and said, "Youse (You) aren't from around here?" I guess my southern accent gave me away. I explained to him that I was a Southern Baptist seminary student there in New York. Then he asked "Why are you here?"

That question has stuck with me all these years. Now the simple answer would be: To bring Glory for God." But the answer I gave that day was that I was there to start a church. The next question this man asked was "why?" My answer that I gave Him even astonished me. I didn't tell him the statistics of unchurched people in New York. I didn't tell him that he was destined to hell. I said one simple phrase: " God loves you and so do I!" I was there to start a church were people could come into a loving relationship with a loving God.

Why does these man's questions stay with me all these years. It is because they are questions that we must honestly ask ourselves especially as church planters. Why are we here in this place and why do we do what we do?

Its very easy to say that we do what we do because we love God; we want the lost to come to Christ and we want to bring God glory. However, it is so easy to forget these things and substitute our own agenda and our own plan.

Ask yourself some simple questions about where you are in ministry and life:

1. Would I be where I am at and do what I am doing even if I wasn't paid?

2. Am I serving where I am serving because this is the place where God has led me and has confirmed that through scripture, friends and the PEACE of GOD?

3. Would I do what I do even if I got no recognition for it?

4. The reason I do what I do, where I do it is because if I didn't I know that I would be out of the will of God?

5. Is my discontent because things are hard or because it is really from God and He is readying me to move?

These questions are questions I ask many guys who come to me wanting to plant churches. They are questions I ask because they are questions that I have been asked and had to answer in my own life. They are also questions that I have gotten some surprising answers from others who have told me that they feel called to church planting or ministry. Answers that show a motive or calling other than God's.

You might say by this point what am I trying to say. Here it is: Why you do what you do where you are at should be solely based on God's leading you to that place.

Why are you here? Why do you do what you do? Only you and God can answer that.

Tommorrow: Why Are You Here to plant a Church? Is it a Calling, A Dream or an Escape?