Street Preacher and RevScottie

 I haven’t blogged in a while but this incident fired me up so much I needed a place to vent and the blogosphere is a great place for that. For those easily offended you may need to stop reading now.

I recently attended a car show in Pigeon Forge and ran across something I had never encountered in that environment, a full-fledged megaphone wielding street preacher. Actually not just one but a whole slew of white shirted, tie wearing, shouting, tract distributing, street evangelists. Now I know some of you are thinking why would a pastor who claims to be so passionate about reaching men for Jesus object to this evangelistic activity? The answer is simple, these clowns were driving away the very people they were trying to reach. While well-meaning Christians drove by honking their horns and giving a big thumbs up to the anti gay, anti fornicating, anti drinking, anti anything else you could think of signs I wondered what would an average person living without Jesus in their life think? As a simple test I decided to do a little undercover work as a beer swilling, car loving, redneck.

Take a close look at the picture above and you will see yours truly apparently drinking his favorite “tall boy” malt beverage from a paper sack. (Actually a 16oz Diet Mountain Dew) I attempted to engage this individual by opening up with some friendly banter. He seemed to be somewhat angered by my opening question. “Hey bro you got any cold beer over there in your cooler?” He smugly replied “No I do not” and it was on from there. He explained to me in detail the evils of alcohol. Well even the most  unchurched drunkard knows that the Bible talks about wine so I proceeded to lead him down that path. He explained that wine in the Bible is actually unfermented grape juice. With a puzzled look on my face I asked him “didn’t people in the Bible get drunk on wine?” Well he explained this really wasnt wine but was strong drink. (By the way Jesus turned water into wine and Baptists turned it back into grape juice) My next question…”How does an average guy like me figure out this whole mess, its confusing, what does it mean to be saved anyway?” Here it is, an evangelist’s dream. I had teed the ball up, put the club in his hand and all he had to do was whack it home. His response “You need to read your Bible and repent” What? This idiot had just reduced the greatest news in the world into a religion of works. It wasn’t about what Jesus had done for me but about what I must clean up in my life in order to escape the wrath of God.  I  want you to notice something else in the picture. This man never attempted to make eye contact with me. He was so focused on his message of repentance and damnation that he overlooked a person seeking the answer to the most important question to ever be asked: ”what must I do to be saved?”

I know some are going to be critical of my analysis and say, “well at least he was doing something”. I’ve got news for you, doing something isn’t always better than doing nothing if it drives people away from Jesus. The South, the buckle of the so called bible belt, is filled with people who won’t go to church because of this very type of encounter with the Christian elite. This is the reason I co-founded Journey Chattanooga with Mark. We want to cut through all of the religious crap and show people the Love of Jesus Christ and His power to change lives!

If you want more information on the street preachers check out their website. Even better maybe they will show up at Chattanooga’s Riverbend festival and some of you hell bound music lovers will get to experience their “love” first hand.

http://www.warningsofwrath.com

A recent article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press indicated that congregations need to move forward on issues of sexuality.  Here are some highlights from Journey Chattanooga’s recent teaching on Pornography and healthy sexuality.

If you think you cant fall into sexual sin, you must be godlier than David, stronger than Sampson, & wiser than Solomon.

• Every second – $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography.
• Every second – 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography.
• Every second – 372 internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines.
• Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is being created in the United States.
• Most pornography is viewed between 9 am and 5 pm…on the job.
• 60% of all website visits are sexual in nature
• The No. 1 search term used at search engine sites is the word “sex”
• 38 percent of adults believe there is nothing wrong with pornography use

• Pornography and sexual purity is a problem for the Church

Recent surveys indicate the following:

• .90% of Christian men admitted that they were feeling disconnected from God because lust, porn, or fantasy had gained a foothold in their lives.
• 70% of Christians admitted to struggling with porn in their daily lives.
• 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography.
• 54% of the pastors had viewed Internet pornography within the last year, and 30% of these had visited within the last 30 days.
• 64% Christian leaders confirm that they are struggling with sexual addiction or sexual compulsion including, but not limited to use of pornography, compulsive masturbation, or other secret sexual activity.

• What is the Root of the Problem?

 Mark 7

²¹For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ “

As much as we would like to say “the devil made me do it” that statement simply isn’t true. This passage from the book of Mark clearly indicates that the problem lies within our own flawed self.

• Jesus teaches how our thought life affects us.

Mathew 5

 ²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery. ²⁸ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Sex sells and everyone knows it . With sexual imagery all around us how do we resist temptation?

We must realize the porn industry is based on fantasy.

Porn is a whispered promise. It promises more sex, better sex, endless sex, sex on demand, more intense orgasms.

You don’t defeat porn by trying not to do it. You do it by learning to look at people a different way. – Dallas Willard

Here are some great resources on how to remain sexually pure:

http://xxxchurch.com/

http://relit.org/porn_again_christian/

http://www.covenanteyes.com/

Married couples often struggle due to lack of commitment in their marriage. Being committed  to your spouse means much more than just not cheating on him or her.  If we are truly to be one flesh we must be committed in all areas of our marriage. 

To be united as one we must be committed: 

• Spiritually

Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Council on the Family said that for “…born-again Christian couples who marry…in the church after having received premarital counseling…and attend church regularly and pray daily together…” experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages 

• Financially

We must be open and honest in our finances. Financial decisions need to be made together as a couple and couples need to be committed not to buy things they can’t afford. 

• Emotionally

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, said, “Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not yet been able to answer the great question: What does a woman want?” 

Men need to be dedicated to understanding their wife’s emotions. They also need to value and cherish their wives. 

• Physically/Sexually

1 Corinthians 7:2-5 (The Message) 

•  to Purity

 Hebrews 13:4 (English Standard Version)  

    Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.  

Sexual intimacy is God’s gift to us as a husband and wife to protect satisfy and guard our relationship

Here’s a great website from Justin and Trisha Davis on how to heal your marriage and learn from their mistakes 

http://refineus.org/

The bible sets forth some pretty specific qualifications for those chosen to lead the church. 1st Timothy chapter 3 illustrates the requirements for those who desire the position of pastor. This passage is all about having self control, living wisely, and having a good reputation. It says people outside of the church must speak well of you. This same passage says that the wives of church leaders should also exercise self control.  Now with all of this straightforward teaching why do disgraced pastors believe they can do what ever they want and after a certain “cooling off period” and time of restoration they can step right back  into the pulpit and limelight? When other leaders call their hand they become angry and complain they are being publicly attacked, mistreated, and misunderstood.

Here are some simple guidelines for pastors and church leaders:

Don’t take a big stinking dump on the bride of Christ and expect everyone to tell you it smells like cotton candy. The world is confused enough concerning morality without the church going around trying to comfort pastors who screw around on their wives. The pastor is held to a higher level of accountability than other Christians. How can you expect a  congregation to trust you if you will lie to your own wife? A few months away from the pulpit while allowing God to restore you does not change your reputation in the community and how the world sees you. There is no “do over”;  you screwed up, face it and move on. God does forgive you and still loves you but that doesn’t mean He wants you to represent His church.  God demands a lot from those who lead because they influence decisions concerning Heaven and Hell.

I cant understand how things that were once shameful even in our secular society are now being found acceptable for church leaders.  No wonder the church is losing its influence in society; it is slowly killing itself from the inside out.

Halloween celebrates Satan

Luke 11:2, “Our Father which are in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”.

Hallowed means to hold holy, honored reverenced.All Saints Day, Nov. 1, long ago once was a day that Christians remembered those Christians who had died and left a good witness of a life lived for Christ and the good deeds that they had done for his sake.The evening before Hallow-Eve, the poor would go door to door asking alms, food, clothing, the necessities of life and were given these in the name of our LORD.In time, the pagans, Satan worshippers, to mock the Christians, would disguise themselves as evil beings, witches, devils, ghosts, monsters, coming in the dark to frighten and demand a “Treat,” alcohol, food, money and animals to sacrifice to Satan in their worship of him on a night Christians used to honor Christ.If the pagans’ threats were denied, they would “Trick” by vandalizing, stealing, burning, to punish their victims, just like today.In time, other people and Christians too, began to dress as the same and play “Trick or Treat.”Christians, why are you today still joining in on this holiday celebration of Satan? Please understand and stop.

Jesus loves you all. He is Lord.

ROBERT “BOB” M.

STANLEY JR.

Hixson

Wow talk about revising history to suit your own agenda! The “Christian” festival known as All Saints Day was actually moved from May to November in order to supplant existing Pagan festivals.  These Pagan festivals already featured many of the customs we attribute to modern day Halloween celebrations. To say that these customs were invented to mock Christians is absolutely untrue. No wonder the world continues to shake its collective head at all of the “Stupid Christians”

Watch this hilarious video concerning the origins of Halloween. The real point is that no matter where the traditions originated they have become thoroughly commercialized just like Christmas. By the way churches you might want to reconsider that “fall” or “harvest” festival you have as a Halloween alternative since that is the original reason for the Pagan holiday. I still haven’t figured out how when children dress-up and fill their plastic pumpkin with candy at a church it’s a great alternative but if they do the exact same thing at their friend’s and neighbor’s houses it’s wicked and evil? Churches need to wake up and smell the pumpkin pie. The Church should realize that the only kids participating in their “festivals” as a true alternative are the church kids who aren’t allowed to venture out and associate with their neighbors. The rest of the kids have figured out that churches simply offer a great way to score tons of candy quickly to supplement what they already get going door to door.