Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner describes the scene like this: “water, water everywhere [but not a] drop to drink”

Isn’t that true of our culture? There are entertainment options everywhere, but so many people are not truly happy. There are people everywhere, but so few have real connections. We’ve got choices all over the place, but we’re not satisfied.

A few years back, one of our camps went with the theme “Thirsty.” I know…not groundbreaking, but it sure hit home. People today drink from so many different fountains, yet Jesus offers the one true thing that will quench people’s thirst. Some kind of divine Gatorade. People here are hungry and thirsty for something real and authentic. Offer something real, and people will come running.

Could that be true of our churches? In our attempts to offer every single kind of ministry to appeal to every possible kind of person and direct our energy to a dozen top priorities, could we be muddying the waters?

I know the human body has a lot of parts, but the body of Christ is fracturing itself to the point where it is becoming unrecognizable in the world. People don’t know what we’re about anymore. We send out so many messages, that they don’t know what to listen to. We promote so many things as “life-changing” that the very words have lost their meaning.

I don’t want to be that way. I want people to be able to find simple refreshment from the eternal spring. I want people to know the one thing that we’re about. I want to offer drinkable water.

Right up front and all the way in the end…It doesn’t really matter what we think. It matters what God thinks. And it matters what God says. Our opinions are just that…opinions. It’s not our job to get people to conform to our ideas and opinions. Everything we say and do must be grounded in the truth of God. We want to communicate God’s truth is a relevant and practical way. The focus must never be on the messenger or the methods, but the message. It’s God’s truth that matters. What we believe about God is crucial to how we operate. Here are three key things that we believe about God.

1. You can know God. Knowing God doesn’t come just through a study, but through a relationship. God is not distant or far-removed…He wants to be involved in our life and in our church. He created mankind for fellowship – to know and be known. In many cases, church and religion haven’t helped people get to know God. At Oak Leaf, we believe life’s greatest joy comes from knowing God personally.

As we get to know God, we’ll learn some things about his nature:

God is love – His will is always best. 1 John 4:16 says “God is love”. I John 3:16 syas “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” Like a loving father, even his commands are rooted in love.

God is all-knowing – His directions are always right. He enables you to accomplish his will and equips us for everything He asks of us. He leads us in the best possible way. It may not always the easy way but it is always the best way. God will give us the necessary tools, gifts and resources to accomplish his purpose. I don’t believe God would lead us to start Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, and then just cast us off to figure out the details. God knows the best possible way for us.

2. Jesus is the only way to God.

In John 14:6, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Not “I will show you the way”, or “I will give you a map”, or “ I will tell you which direction to go.” He IS the way. That may not be very accepting or correct when people today think that tolerance is not just allowing something but agreeing with something, but the truth is not always easy to swallow. In Jesus day, many of his followers quit following because they said the message was too hard.

This conviction about Jesus being the only way guides everything we do. It drives our mission. It drives our purpose. It gives us our importance. It requires our attention. People cannot enter into a relationship with God any other way. If we truly believe that statement, that affects the way we think. It affects the way we do church.

3. The Bible is the story of God.

The Bible reveals to us how God interacted with his people. From that story, we can learn about the nature and character of God. We can learn principles. It’s more than just a novel or an account, it’s a divine narrative that reveals God’s character It tells us how we should live. It’s Truth.

For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. – Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is not a checklist or a rulebook. It’s not an owners manual or map. It’s the story about God interacting with specific people and specific groups of people at a specific time. We learn about who God is and what He is like in the pages of the Bible. There are principles that help us live a God-life here on earth. It’s the story of God. True. Life-changing. Interesting. Powerful.

From the dictionary…

Entertainment: to hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting.

There is nothing wrong with being entertaining with a message. As a pastor, don’t I want to hold people’s attention and communiate life-changing truth? I certainly don’t want to be boring. I don’t want people to tune me out. The problem comes when there is more entertainment value than truth value. Or when there is no truth at all. Entertainment in church is not the enemy.

Not everything has to be fun and games, and there is a time for Godly sorrow, reflection, meditative prayer, etc. But overall, I think a worship service should be a celebration. Something happy and inspiring. Should people have a good time at church? That’s certainly one thing I want for my children. I want my church to be the kind of church that my kids look forward to attending. There’s nothing wrong with being entertaining. As long as that is not the complete focus.

From the dictionary…

Entertainment: to hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting.

There is nothing wrong with being entertaining with a message. As a pastor, don’t I want to hold people’s attention and communiate life-changing truth? I certainly don’t want to be boring. I don’t want people to tune me out. The problem comes when there is more entertainment value than truth value. Or when there is no truth at all. Entertainment in church is not the enemy.

Not everything has to be fun and games, and there is a time for Godly sorrow, reflection, meditative prayer, etc. But overall, I think a worship service should be a celebration. Something happy and inspiring. Should people have a good time at church? That’s certainly one thing I want for my children. I want my church to be the kind of church that my kids look forward to attending. There’s nothing wrong with being entertaining. As long as that is not the complete focus.

From the dictionary…

Entertainment: to hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting.

There is nothing wrong with being entertaining with a message. As a pastor, don’t I want to hold people’s attention and communiate life-changing truth? I certainly don’t want to be boring. I don’t want people to tune me out. The problem comes when there is more entertainment value than truth value. Or when there is no truth at all. Entertainment in church is not the enemy.

Not everything has to be fun and games, and there is a time for Godly sorrow, reflection, meditative prayer, etc. But overall, I think a worship service should be a celebration. Something happy and inspiring. Should people have a good time at church? That’s certainly one thing I want for my children. I want my church to be the kind of church that my kids look forward to attending. There’s nothing wrong with being entertaining. As long as that is not the complete focus.

From the dictionary…

Entertainment: to hold the attention of with something amusing or diverting.

There is nothing wrong with being entertaining with a message. As a pastor, don’t I want to hold people’s attention and communiate life-changing truth? I certainly don’t want to be boring. I don’t want people to tune me out. The problem comes when there is more entertainment value than truth value. Or when there is no truth at all. Entertainment in church is not the enemy.

Not everything has to be fun and games, and there is a time for Godly sorrow, reflection, meditative prayer, etc. But overall, I think a worship service should be a celebration. Something happy and inspiring. Should people have a good time at church? That’s certainly one thing I want for my children. I want my church to be the kind of church that my kids look forward to attending. There’s nothing wrong with being entertaining. As long as that is not the complete focus.

I forgot to pick up a kicker from waivers to replace my fantasy kicker who had a bye week.

But…

I still managed to win 115-97 making me 3-1 and keeping me in first place in my division.

In a West Ridge church planting class today, Matt Wilmington said that in eastern culture, if you named something, you had authority over it. I started thinking about that and made myself some notes.

When my girls were born, my wife and I gave them names, and we definitely have authority over them (though my almost four year old would disagree at times). In Genesis, Adam was given the responsibility of naming all of the animals, and he was established by God to rule over the kingdom. What about God re-naming people like Abraham and Peter? And how utterly cool is it when Isaiah says that God “brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name…Because of his great power and mighty strength not one of them is missing.” Not only did he create all of the stars, he names all of them (is there one named Bubba). He is the ultimate authority, truly God Almighty.