Cults vs. Cultic Churches

Recently, I took an Apologetics course because I wanted to have a deeper understanding with many of the religions in our world today. More and more I am encountering people who are Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Hindu, and Muslim.

One of the most compelling lessons that we had was on cults vs. cultic. I realized that there is a big difference. You see a cult is an organization or belief system that the fundamental doctrine denies salvation, they add to the Bible, many time they multiply the way to salvation, divide the body of Christ, and their view of who Christ is is totally skewed.

On the other hand, we have several churches in America and across the world that are cultic churches. Basically a cultic church is a Godly church that begins to act ungodly. There are a few signs of a cultic church:

• they begin to promote separation from anyone not a member
• they begin to demand explicit control of the followers
• they reject any questioning of their leaders
• they begin to take control of salvation (for instance, if their views/church is rejected the person that rejects is destined for Hell)
• they take explicit control of finances in one's personal life
• they become a place to hide from the world (no visitors are welcome, etc.)
• they believe that there group is the only chosen ones
• they believe that their way is the only way

Now let me say this, Jesus is the only way! I love diversity and I love that many churches do things differently in the form of style. However, our goal for the Church is to make disciples of all nations. We must do a better job being unified in the body of Christ in order to reach more people. Lets not let our style overpower the purpose! God may our churches be YOUR CHURCH!

5 reasons I love LifeGate Church

Over 16 months ago we moved to Lexington, KY for a great opportunity that my wife had with the University she works for. There were several reasons this was a great choice for us but the two main reasons was that it was closer to family and that it gets us closer to the vision that God has laid on our hearts.

When making the decision the first thing we did was start looking for churches. We decided that if we wanted to one day plant a church that maybe it would be a good idea to attend and help out a church plant for our time in Lexington. So God led us to LifeGate Church. Here are the top 5 reasons why I love LifeGate Church:

5. ARC - LifeGate is a part of the Association of Related Church which focuses on planting churches. I love this because of the encouragement that the ARC team offer (no matter the size of the church they pastor) and the passion they have for reaching people!

4. The lead staff team, led by Pastor Ashley Wilson, are amazing! These group of leaders are so passionate about Jesus changing our city it is infectious. If you spend more than 5 minutes with any of them you know there is something different in their life!

3. The Dream Team of Volunteers are absolutely incredible! The volunteers at LifeGate want to make an impact in our city and they take ownership of the areas of ministry they serve in. Many of them have full time jobs, but make a commitment to be a part of LifeGate and serve in ministries that take a lot of time and energy...(shout out to the Roadie Team - who unloads and loads the trailer every week; LG Kids Team- who set up their environment and love on kids; Cafe/Usher/Hospitality Teams - for being the front lines; Worship Team - these guys practice more than anyone I know and bring it every week!).

2. Real People - this church is full of people who don't care to be fake. Everyone has a story and their story reflects the realization that at some point they were in need of Jesus. They are unashamed about the love they have for Jesus but they don't try to cover it up by being unreal.

1. JESUS IS CENTER - In everything that LifeGate does, Jesus is the focus. Jesus is the foundation of every outreach, every small group, every fun event, and so on. If you come to a weekend experience you are going to hear about how much Jesus loves you and desires a relationship with you. Its not about fluff, its about pointing people to Jesus.

I am so honored to be a part of this amazing church!

I'm Back

Okay, so I have done some updating to the look of the blog. It is not exactly what I want, but it will do for now. The plan is to be back and regular in my bogging. I have a lot of thoughts rolling around and so here you go.

Be back on Monday for the first blog post in the new look.

Coming Soon

I have taken way too long since my last blog. We've had weddings, vacations, and just a bunch of other stuff.

It is going to be a little bit longer until I actually put something of content up here, but just to give the heads up...I am working on a new site design and a new location for my hyperactive and random thoughts.

Stay tuned!

ARC ALL ACESS TWENTY TEN

I was planning to blog often last week during my time at the Association of Related Churches (ARC) All Access conference. We traveled to Baton Rouge, LA, which was my first time in the state, to Healing Place Church led by Pastor Dino Rizzo.

What an awesome time hearing from some passionate men in ministry, worshipping with Hillsong United, and connecting with some great church planters. I wanted to touch on a few key things that I was reminded of and learned while there:

• There is going to be pain in church planting and in ministry - the key is to embrace the pain and thank God for the opportunity to go through something so small compared to the pain He endured for us.
• Being a leader is vital to ministry - leaders never cross the finish line first, because they are always bringing people with them.
• Don't be afraid to cry out to God - desperate people do desperate things, therefor never lose desperation when trusting God.
• To measure your church start with these 4 questions: Is your church humiliating? -does your service embarrass the unchurched or is it too embarrassing to bring friends to?; Is your church schizophrenic?; Is your church in denial about who they are?; Is your church delusional? - DO NOT FORGET about the hurting people around us, be the hospital, not a country club.
• We ought to be a magnet, not just drawing people in but also drawing God down.
• There is no big churches, only a BIG GOD using small churches in a really BIG WAY - stay small KEEP HIM BIG!

These are just a few small thoughts from my time in Louisiana. I would highly recommend if you are a church planter, a pastor, or anyone in ministry be sure to check out All Access Twenty Eleven next year.

So, whether you went to the conference or not what are your thoughts?