Controversial Post...Guaranteed to offend!

Haven't blogged in a while, wanted to get 2013 kicked off with a bang and renewed commitment to blog more regularly. So here goes...I get alot of comments/criticism about not smiling enough. Folks say I look discouraged, pre-occupied, depressed, sad, mad, unhappy, etc. And although this is not always true, they would be correct alot of the time. Excuse me for being transparent, but as a man who loves Jesus, has committed his life to doing His will and leading others to do the same, 2013 American church and society has evolved into a difficult environment to "just smile."

In the recent weeks/months, we've been reminded how Christianity is increasingly losing its impact and relevance in our culture. Just today, another popular pastor (Louie Giglio) was demonized by the media for simply accurately relaying to listeners in a sermon what God's word says about the issue of homosexuality. One of  my comforts is in the writings/sermons I've read and heard from ministers like Francis Chan. In his book Crazy Love, Chan made these statements that both affirm and discourage me...“I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered.” and "But we need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes towards, and where we will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him.” I feel a bond with a man whom I've never met through his transparent, less than encouraging honesty.

For anyone who refers to themselves as a disciple of Jesus Christ and who's tolerated my less than encouraging, less than positive, non kumbaya-ish post so far, please take the time to read Luke 14:25-35 and understand where my non-smiling face often derives from. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to smile more, be more positive and friendlier. I challenge my brothers and sisters in Christ to evaluate your 2013 plans/goals/agendas/happiness through the challenging statements of Christ in Luke 14:25-35. Did God call us to spend more money on dog food, football tickets, our recreation, shoes, clothes we wear to church, etc. than His command to "Go and make disciples?" I'll make a deal with anyone who wants me to smile more...redirect some of the money you plan to spend on non-eternity impacting activities/hobbies this year, intentionally invest your time/money into taking the Gospel to this lost world, come tell me about it and I'll grin like a possum!

I'm praying God works in and through your/my life in a powerful way in 2013.(I smiled when I typed that)