A Relationship With Christ: A Means or an End?

To the extent that I am a follower of Christ, I am a theologian. I always preferred learning how to do the work of the church and practical ways of teaching God's truth to sparring with other believers about the minute details of a God who is so much bigger than we are. But this week, I realized something that challenged what I've thought for a long time. Growing up, I learned from a number of pastors and teachers that we are saved by having a "real relationship" with Christ. In other words, it wasn't enough to know about God, but we had to know him personally, and this was a requirement for our salvation.

After chewing on this concept with a friend of mine and bouncing it back and forth, it has occurred to me that to me, this may not be entirely correct. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved by grace through faith that is the gift of God--not by our works. Romans 10:9-10 says that if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. So where does the relationship come in?

I think in this case we often get the cart before the horse. I think a relationship with God is the byproduct of our Salvation, not the cause or source of it. Claiming that our salvation is based on our relationship with God puts us on a slippery slope. If we say our salvation is based on putting our faith in Christ, we can say that we've done that. But if it is based on a relationship with Christ, at one point is that relationship deep enough to give us salvation? At what point to we go from knowing "about God" to "knowing God" in such a way that justifies us before God? How good is that relationship supposed to be?

Not to split hairs, but I think that a relationship with God that is developed through prayer, Bible study, fellowship with other believers, and service to others should be a natural result of our putting faith in Christ. It also is evidence that we have put our faith in Christ. To say that our relationship with Christ is a pre-requisite for salvation leaves the believer constantly questioning the depth of his relationship (not in a positive way that leads us to a deeper relationship, but in a negative way that leads to fear and doubt of one's salvation). For example, if my salvation is based on a relationship with Christ, at what point have I prayed enough, read the Bible enough, served others enough, to know that my relationship with God is real? Also, emphasis on this relationship as the source of our salvation leads us to have an elitist attitude that implies that if your relationship with Christ is not like mine, then you must not have a true relationship or that a bunch of people who think they are saved are really not. So, to me, a relationship with Christ is the end result (even though it continues to grow) of our salvation, not the means of our salvation.

So, since I am human and do not have all the answers, I would welcome your comments. I do not intend to start a debate, but rather to share something that has challenged my thinking and caused me to re-evaluate an important truth. Your thoughts?

Working With Youth Bands: Adding Horns

I've been working with youth worship bands almost as long as I've been doing youth ministry. There's just something really amazing and fulfilling about seeing young students use their passion for music not only to glorify the Lord, but also to improve their skills and get better as a group and to learn to play for the Lord rather than for the approval of others. One problem always haunted me, though in working with teenagers: what to do with wind instruments. With so many students playing in jr. high and high school bands at school, it stands to reason that an average youth group would have at least a couple of horn players. But the typical worship band format calls for a drum set, bass guitar, and a guitar or keyboard. Horns are not usually figured in.

One reason for this is that horns are tuned to different keys, so when a guitar player is playing in G or C, a horn player will actually be playing in A or D respectively. Also, full orchestration parts are available for popular praise choruses but they don't work well without a "full orchestra". Another problem with the horns is that students who play in school band only know how to read music whereas many guitar players are self-taught and only know how to play by ear, chord charts, or TABS--not real music.

So this year, I had a young trumpet player approach me about playing in the youth band. Since I considered myself to have an average knowledge of music and very little experience writing out music, I explained to him the situation I was in, but assured him that if we committed to learn how to do it together, we could make it work. Well, here is what I found that works and may work for you and your youth band.

For about $50, you can purchase a program called Finale: Songwriter Edition at finalemusic.com. With this program and a little basic knowledge of single-note melody lines, you can chart out a basic melody, counter-melody, or harmony part for your horn player. Just tell the program what key your band is playing in and what type of horn part you are writing, and it will automatically transpose to the horn key. Once you start writing out the notes, the program will play it back so you know exactly what you are writing (my sight-reading skills are pretty bad). You can also hook a keyboard or other midi device up to your computer and play the part on the keyboard and it will write it out as you play. If you are not sure if your horn player can play in that key, you can easily transpose to the keys that are close to it in range (up a step or half step, or down a step or half step) to come up with a key that will work for both your horn player and your guitar/bass/keybaord players. You can also do multiple parts for multiple horns. If you're really not sure what to write, try writing a simple melody, or just try having the horn play the root note of each chord. So if the band is playing a song in G that plays four counts each on the chords G, C, Em, and D, then your Bb trumpet player will be playing in A and you can write whole notes on A, D, F#, and E. You can also simplify the charts by just having the horn play on certain parts of the song like the chorus or the bridge. This will automatically add depth and texture to your song because certain parts of the song will be quieter and have fewer instruments.

While not all horns are condusive to worship music (i.e. trumpets, saxes, flutes, probably fit better than tubas, French horns, and euphoniums), you may have to be selective as to how you implement certain horns into the group. Also, while it may take some time to work up a few horn parts for your popular songs, you don't want your horn player getting bored at rehearsal. See if she can play some percussion stuff (shaker, tambourine, or even COWBELL) on the songs where she's not playing her horn. Getting kids involved in your band will be a plus for the player and for the band.

Youth Bands: Taking Summer Off

I've always had a fear of cancelling certain activities and events for extended periods of time out of fear that when it came time to start them up again that we would be building from the ground up. This came especially true when it came to working with youth bands. Since building a worship band required more time and energy than other youth activities, I felt that it was a more delicate program and if cancelled would run the risk of never starting back.

But this summer, we did some things differently in our youth program. Since many kids go out of town during the summer, we scaled down our Bible study times to more of a hanging out/small group format. We didn't use Power Point or very many video clips, and we met in one of the smaller rooms of the youth building rather than the big room where we normally met. And, reluctantly, we cancelled youth band at the end of last school year, and didn't pick it up until the schools had started back up at the end of August. Last weekend we had our first practice in over two months. I found that students who had fallen away from the band came back and some who had interest before now were excited about joining. I also found that our players had been practicing over the summer because they were not having regular rehearsals...so practicing was a sort of boredom buster for them. This also created less stress on families because they didn't have to worry about working band rehearsals into their summer schedule. My friend Russell Martin reminded me that everything has a season and I think that is certainly true with youth-led worship bands.

The Grass is Always Greener...

I don't exactly remember when, but I do know it was a long time ago, I first heard an expression that says "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Now, I don't know if the person who coined this phrase was a farmer, or just really wanted to be a cow, or what. I don't know why grass was used here for the metaphor. But the gist of the statement is that things are always better somewhere else, than where you are. This can apply to a relationship, a job, a church, a home, or really just about anything.

But the truth of the matter is that wherever you go, things will always be better somewhere else. Sometimes we are presented with opportunities that just seem like they are so much better than what we already have. But, when we examine those things closely and then look closely at what we have, what we often find is that we are much better where we are. Our current situations seem to look bleek because they are comfortable and normal--sometimes too much so. But when things come up that offer a change of scenery, we can examine what we have for what it truly is...and many times, that's not bad at all. In I Timothy 6 Paul writes to Timothy concerning a group of false teachers who were teaching that godly actions were a way to bring about financial gain. Paul writes that "godliness with contentment is great gain." When we have contentment, we quit worrying about what's on the other side of the fence, and can see what we have for what it truly is.

A Nugget from the Diamond: Stealing First

As many sports fans do, I go through phases of loving various sports. While football is always my constant, right now, I find myself addicted to baseball--particularly the Texas Rangers who are having one of their best seasons in a long time.

One of the lesser-known rules of baseball is that if a batter swings and misses at a 3rd strike and the ball gets past the catcher, the batter has the opportunity to to run to first. If he runs, the play becomes a force out at first in which the catcher (or other member of the fielding team) can throw the ball to first base just as if it was a ground ball to the infield. Rarely, do the batters reach first base safely, but it does happen. If it happens, the pitcher is credited with a strike out, but no out is applied to the batter in the game.

As I thought about this peculiar baseball rule, I thought about our relationship to God. Romans says that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In essence, we've all struck out. Romans also says that while the wages of this sin is death, God's gift to us is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Essentially, despite our striking out, God has allowed us to safely reach base anyway. I think that's pretty cool!

Simplifying and Improvising in Youth Group Meetings

This summer, we tried something new in our youth program. After giving it some serious thought and after listening to what some other youth workers, pastors, and leaders were doing with their groups for the summer, we decided to go low-key and informal. What that means is this. Our regular meetings during the school year consisted of us meeting upstairs in our "big room" (not really big, but it's bigger than the other rooms, so that's what we call it), where our full band (bass, drums, elec. guitar) would lead us in worship and our Bible studies would be enhanced with Power Point, video clips, or other multi-media teaching tools. Well, this summer, we gave the band the summer off to spend time with family, do their summer activities, and not feel the pressure to be at practice every week. We also didn't do as much with PowerPoint and media stuff and just embraced the intimacy of a lazy summer.

Since our summer crowd was smaller because of people travelling and going to band camps, sports camps, etc., we decided not to meet upstairs in the big room and just meet downstairs in the "hang out" area of the youth building. Most weeks we didn't even have music. We just got to sit around and talk about the Bible study topic and let the kids teach themselves as they worked out the scriptures together.

This week, though, one of our musicians called me Wednesday afternoon to see if she could bring her guitar and do a few songs. Of course, I told her "absolutely". Well, we only had a very small portion of our kids show up due to some school activities that were going on. So we scratched our Bible study and just sang with a couple of guitars for about 30 minutes. No band, no power point, no sound system, and our kids were singing their hearts out. Had we been locked into our normal routine we would have missed a very powerful time of worship.

People of Second Chances

This week, a news story really spoke to me and my relationship to God. As a sports fan, I watch my fair share of SportsCenter and other sports-related shows. I also admire athletes who are able to live out their faith in Christ in the national forefront and rise above some of the selfishness, greed, drug-induced cheating, and other criminal behavior that many professional athletes are known for. But a story on SportsCenter caught my attention.

As Michael Vick has served his time for operating a brutal dog-fighting ring, the former record-setting NFL quarterback is now finding his way back to society and to football. And who is the person in his corner leading this effort? Former Super Bowl Champion head coach and Christian author Tony Dungy has been in Vick's corner as a mentor and life coach for several months now. But the one who is spearheading the effort to help Vick get back on his feet is possibly the most unlikely person in the NFL--another starting quarterback who happens to be a dog lover himself.

Eagle's quarterback Donovan McNabb, who owns two American Bulldogs and a Belgian Malinois, according to an article at ESPN.com, began lobbying his organization weeks ago to bring Vick to Philadelphia saying it was a good move for the team. But why would a starting quarterback bring such a spectacular athlete with such a shady past to his own team and put himself in a position to potentially lose his job? According to McNabb in the interview, "I believe in second chances and I have strong faith in God that he forgives our sins...Yes, it was a bad thing and a malicious act, but somewhere in your heart, you have to have forgiveness."

Centuries ago, a man named Saul who had been a murderer of the followers of Christ , has an encounter with Christ and gives his life to the Lord. After his conversion, early Christians are wary of his change of heart and are more than reluctant to welcome him into the fold. But a man named Barnabas testifies to the truth of Saul's change and allows the other believers to open their hearts to him.

So what about us? Are you and I like Michael Vick and Saul who have messed up and just need a break? Or are we like McNabb and Barnabas who are in a position to help someone who needs a second chance? If we are in one of these situations to offer help to someone who has made a mistake, there are three things we need to remember.

1) Dont try to play God. I Samuel 16:7 says that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Only God knows the true intentions of the heart of someone who is trying to turn their life around. 2) Offer forgiveness, but offer help as well. Forgiving someone in their heart for wrong doing is only half of what we are called to do. True forgiveness comes when we put actions to our words by reaching out and helping those who need it. 3) Leave the results to God. Donovan McNabb doesn't know exactly how Michael Vick will handle his return to life in the spotlight and his NFL paycheck. Will he buckle under the pressure and go back to his old ways or will he rise above the pressure and hype and keep his life on track? McNabb doesn't know the answer to this, but he is evidently willing to trust God with the results.

Parable of the Lost Knife

This is my pocket knife. It is a Moore Maker double-locking blade made in Matador, TX (a pretty expensive knife). This knife is special for several reasons. For one, it uses a chrome vanadium blade, similar to those made by Case, Schrade (Uncle Henry, Old Timer) as opposed to the stainless steel blades that have become really popular which do not rust, but in my opinion do not sharpen up as well or hold their edge. It's also made in Texas at a very small factory, so these knives are more rare than some other brands. Another thing about this knife is that most locking blade knives only have one blade. This knife, obviously inspired by a similar non-locking Case knife, has two blades that lock into place. If you've ever had a knife fold up on your hand while you were using it, you can appreciate this feature. Finally, this knife was a Christmas present from my dad. We have a fine tradition of yellow-handled pocket knives. Maybe it's because they are easier to find or we just like the color. Either way, it's just our thing.

Well, last week, Dad and I were building some shelves in his barn and I put the knife in my pocket as I normally do. After a few days of not seeing the knife and dismissing that I had merely left it somewhere else (the car, the truck, the table by the chair, etc.), I realized that my knife was nowhere to be found. So, I checked my dresser, my night stand, all the usual places. I checked the car, the truck, the consoles and glove compartments. The next day, I checked my dad's truck, my parent's house. Then, I checked my office and all over the youth building. It was nowhere to be found. Finally, after a week of searching, on Sunday afternoon I realized that I had not checked the couch cushions or any of the furniture. After checking both couches, I tipped over our recliner and there it was! For two days, I've been swooning over finding this very special possession.

Then yesterday, it occured to me that Jesus told several stories about lost items in Luke 15...a sheep, a coin, and a son. As a shepherd, he leaves all the other sheep to come find one that is lost. Like the woman with the lost coin, she does nothing else until she finds the coin. And like the loving Father, he stands there watching the horizon waiting for his lost son to come home. To think that God went after me the way I searched (and even more so) for my knife is humbling and overwhelming. It seems that when we remember the great lengths God went to in order to be in a relationship with us, it really puts things in perspective.

Mary, Martha, Baseball, and Me

I haven't written a blog post in several days for a few different reasons. Namely, that I've been gone to another camp (my third camp of the summer), and am currently involved with our church's Vacation Bible School. Next week, I will be heading off to my last camp of the summer. Being called into youth ministry, busy summers seem to be just part of the deal that "comes with the territory". I mean for 91/2 months of the year we "compete" with school, band, sports, scouts, one act play, UIL academics, and all other things that are connected to a life in public education. So summer is a time when kids theoretically have more time to devote to other things--such as church and spiritual development.

I've been doing some reading, though, and have realized that summer, although free of school, is still summer and is a time to be relaxed, laid back, and should be a time to refresh? So why do I feel like a Martha running around like a headless chicken trying to teach kids how to be like Mary? In our youth group, we have scaled down our Bible study times on the week's we've met and haven't met at all when we were gone to church camp or one of our missions camps. So how can I stay refreshed in the midst of being gone so much and being so busy week after week? Well, here's what I've found that seems to work.

My wife and I love Texas Rangers baseball. This has been a really good season for the team that has never made it past the first round of the playoffs. At one point they were in first place in their division, and 5 games ahead of the LA Angels. June wasn't a good month, though, and it's taking them a while to hit their stride again. The biggest issue for the Rangers seems to be getting hits with runners in scoring position. At one time this season they hit 14 solo home runs in a row. In order to win games, they have to get their hits with runners on bases. After all, the game is won on runs, not hits. This means that baseball is a game of timing.

For me, this summer, I've tried really hard to embrace the time I have at home with family. I also have tried to spend less time at the office when I'm not away at camp. We took a great vacation this summer and it has helped me stay connected to my family and to God. Capitalizing on opportunities is what has kept me going. If we are in the service of the King, I think there are times where we will inevitably be like Martha and that's not necessarily bad. What we have to do, though, is make sure we have time to spend on the things that matter most and that we make the most of those opportunities.

The Smile of God

I've always been hesitant to quote cliches...especially those that aren't found in Scripture. One of these catch phrases is "The Lord works in mysterious ways." I guess this kind of coincides with the opening passage in the book of James, "2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." What? Consider it joy when we face trials? Are you sadistic or something? How in the world are we supposed to be happy about trials?

Last week we had one such "trial". At a regularly-scheduled doctor's appointment, Cindy and I found out that we had lost our baby some time during the last few weeks since our previous visit to the doctor. After having heard the heartbeat and seeing the ultra-sound and putting the ultra-sound picture up on the refrigerator, now all our hopes and dreams just came crashing down. This was our second miscarriage in the last 18 months, so we just had a lot of questions.

Well, the Lord is all about timing. You see, we had been planning to take a vacation on Friday, but found out on Tuesday that we had lost the baby and that Cindy would have to have a procedure on Wednesday to extract the baby and the tissue. "What in the world was God doing?", I thought. So we weren't even sure at this point if we'd get to go on our much-needed vacation. Well, long story short, we did get to go and had a wonderful time. It was as if God had his hand on us the whole time we were gone. Let me show you what I mean.

Because of our changing plans, we did not book a hotel room until the day we left. The picture above is our room in the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. Friday morning, we booked the Adolphus (a historic hotel where each of the last 15 presidents has stayed and goes for $350-$500 a night) for three nights at $65 a night. Using some vouchers I had gotten for taking our youth group to a Ranger game, we paid $6 for a child's ticket and parked for $5 because it was a Friday game. That's an $11 Ranger game not counting food. We also took in a day at the Dallas World Aquarium, Ft. Worth Zoo, Ice Age 3 at the historic Inwood Theater and a day at Splash Kingdom water park in Canton, TX. Thanks to some gift cards we had, we also ate at Texas Roadhouse for $13.

Our much-needed vacation was like a big hug from God saying to us, "It's going to be all right." It takes faith to see that God is doing things. I didn't realize what was going on until we pulled up to the hotel and realized what a swanky joint it was. But God is good and he gave us a precious gift by allowing us to enjoy the blessings we DO have. So, yes, the Lord does work in mysterious ways!