God is still necessary

I have been thinking a bit on how to express the simple idea that we live in a world that hasn't changed much since Genesis.

We live in a country  where what is common to our culture is not overt paganism, idol worship on the literal sense but where humanism is the deaf to religion of the masses.

Two things I ran across recently got me thinking more about this.  The fundamental goal of most people around me today is some type of human flourishing. With the human experience and perspective as the main definition of success. God is unnecessary.

The theology of the unnecessary God, is rampant in most of the secular world and just under the surface in the church.

Consider this video about a brave young man who had the courage to do something about the bullying he faces by engaging in positive self - assertion an expression. It is a grate story! It will make you proud of this young man for his courage and commitment to help others, but notice also this God is not necessary to this narrative.

http://new.damn.com/bullies-picked-everyday-started-one-simple-thing-turn-around/

It is a great story. But it is empty.

Or consider this one about how the new atheist culture hasn't turned out to be a total mortal collapse. That in fact Killeen raised in non- religious homes are actually better people.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0115-zuckerman-secular-parenting-20150115-story.html

Again, God seems to be unnecessary. 

But here is the catch neither one of these stories gets to the heart of the human condition.  We are  possibly better people because we rise above our circumstances and have a positive influence n the world, but we are still lost.  And ironically being so people centered that we develop better empathy and the ability to genuinely care for others despite our differences distorts the actual problem that the Gospel addresses.

The Bible tells us plainly that the law of God, is written on our hearts, and that to the degree which we honor I we will have a clean conscience to defend us even before God (Rom 2:14-15). But that isn't our problem. Our problem is not how to reform sinners, repentance is necessary, but our problem isn't how to make people nice to one another, it is how to be reconciled to God.  A church goer who measures the success of their faith merely by their conformity to a moral code misses the point just as much as a pagan who points out that they don't need God to have a moral code.

We need to be carefull to define the fact that unless we are made God's people and set apart for him, by him, then we are lost and all our righteousness is a stench in God's nostrils precicely because we have found God to be unnecessary.

Too much of a good thing?

Those who know me well, will understand that I have rarely ever had a strict focus on one project at a time. The one exception has been military training where I was able to do just one thing (and got very good scores as a result). 

The difficulty of course is knowing where the limits of effectiveness are. Right now I am doing military duty, subbing in the school district, ministering to a number of needy families, raising a family and all I the multiple levels of duties for a small church. It is plenty to keep me moving from dawn till dusk.

This week I was confronted by an opportunity. There is a community partnership developing around helping the youth of this community, linking several programs to the public school and providing resources for at risk teens. Our school runs over 50% on the free or reduced lunch program. 40% is sort if the bench mark for at risk schools, we have an abismal graduation rate, and an even lower college graduation rate.  

So I have been asked if our church can be a part if this cooperative, partnership, with the community providing help to the most at risk members of the community.

Here is the catch, I don't have enough people. I can't run another program. And yet I have been hoping and praying for this kind of opportunity to get to know and be known in the community, not as a place for the occasional handout, but as a place where the gospel motivates us to help people to genuine deep transformation.

If the grant proposal comes through, there would even be start up money that we could use to supply the after-school programs we have been dreaming about and potentially the parent and ESL programs as well, but it all takes man power. 

The oportunities as everywhere and that is a good thing, if I take them all without a significant distribution of the load, that will be too much of a good thing.  I need a few more people who want to do things with me, not for me, or for them but together for the glory of God an the good of his people.

As Jesus said, what is missing is workers.   

Right now the fields around us are white with snow, but also abundantly ready for harvest.  

Please pray The Lord of the harvest would send us laborers.