salvation

All posts tagged salvation

Baseball and the Gospel

Posted by Rev. Bro. Coach on January 8, 2021
Posted in: The Mindful Minute. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

I like to use everyday things to share the gospel (being careful to stay true to the gospel more than the illustration of course). So, let me introduce you to Casey (its a baseball story, Casey is a good name to use). Casey wanted to be a baseball player. He wanted to be a baseball player because his friends were. He watched them become baseball players one or two at a time over the years and pretty soon, he felt left out. He knew what being a baseball player entailed, but he was not interested in that. Casey only wanted to be known as a baseball player and win a championship like all the other players before him. So, the day came to join the baseball team. Casey had learned what to say and how to act. He even practiced enough give the impression that he was committed to being a baseball player. Casey became a baseball player that day and life was good. He had finally accomplished his goal. People looked at Casey and recognized him as a baseball player and for the first few weeks, Casey did everything you would expect out of a baseball player as he rode the high of his newfound status.

After a few weeks though, it started to get hard. He messed up a lot, but the coach said it was ok and gave him multiple chances. Practices, though, began interfering with things he wanted to do. Casey didn’t want to go to 6am workouts to get in shape and become stronger. Being a baseball player was quickly becoming inconvenient for Casey. He had eating habits that he didn’t want to give up. He didn’t want to do the work that it took to stay in shape. He had other friends who were wanting him to quit baseball because they thought it was stupid; and they wanted Casey to go do things that he knew the coach wouldn’t approve. Casey didn’t realize what it took to be a baseball player. This isn’t what he wanted. All Casey wanted was for people to see him as a baseball player and win that championship.

Pretty soon, Casey’s habits began to change. There is only so long that you can keep up a charade and Casey’s true intentions started surfacing. He still wanted to be seen as a baseball player. He wanted the praise and the attention that other people were giving him for being one. He wanted that championship. However, the daily work that Casey was putting in quickly dwindled to a couple of times a week. He would show up for practice, but he didn’t do any other work on his own outside of that. Casey’s performance & attitude began to deteriorate. Soon, Casey only went to practice because he was told to go. Then the inevitable happened- Casey started missing practices. Instead, Casey started doing other things that he wanted to do and thought were more important. He began making poor choices about his health and poor choices about who to be around. Eventually, Casey stopped coming to practices all together.

The season began and went much faster than Casey anticipated. All Casey wanted was to be a baseball player and be known as a baseball player & win a championship. As an attempt to continue the charade, Casey showed up to the occasional practice or game. His actions and his decisions, however, showed something completely different. People stopped recognizing Casey as a baseball player and eventually, people started wondering if Casey was ever really a baseball player, or was it just something he pretended to be? Before Casey knew it, it was the final game. The baseball team was playing in the championship. Casey was excited, after all he was a baseball player right? He wanted to play in the championship game. It was too late, however. By the time Casey got there, the game was over. “That’s ok,” Casey thought, I am still part of the team, I can celebrate the victory with the rest of them. As he approached the field, he heard the championship presentation ceremony taking place. Casey ran out on the field and got in line to receive his reward. The coach, greeted each player the same way. “Well done, here is your reward.” When he got to Casey, the coach’s expression changed and became solemn. Casey was excited to hear those same words, but instead, the coach turned to walk away. Casey called out, “Coach, what about me? It’s me Casey.” The coach turned and as an expression of being heartbroken washed over the coach’s face, he looked at Casey and said, “I don’t know you.”

My dear friends. Don’t deceive yourself into a false sense of security when it comes to your salvation. Know where you are going. Don’t be caught in the 3rd chair (see my article Eliminating the 3rd Chair). Salvation is more than walking an aisle and saying a prayer. It is a complete and total transformation of who you are because of Christ. You cannot experience Christ and walk away the same person. Once you accept Christ, there is work to do. Work to grow. We were meant to grow in our faith. Casey made the mistake of treating becoming a baseball player as a destination, when in fact it was just the beginning of the journey. Those who truly accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will weather the hard work and the tough times. Those who just want the status, will fade. It is hard to keep up a charade of something you are not. In the end, everyone spends eternity somewhere. Everyone of will hear one of two things. We will either hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or we will hear “depart from me for I never knew you.” I can think of no worse fate, then to stand before God in judgment only to find out you never gave Him your life after deceiving yourself that you did.

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

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Eliminating the 3rd Chair

Posted by Rev. Bro. Coach on November 13, 2020
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At this point, you’ve clicked on this article for one of two reasons: 1) You follow this blog and you wanted to see what is rattling around my brain today or 2) You really want to know what I have against chairs. That’s fair, so let me offer some background. There is an evangelistic message that I use when I am invited to speak and occasionally I will use it at church called the 4 Chairs. I didn’t write it nor did I put it together. I first heard it years ago when I heard Adrian Despres present it at a youth conference. I became friends with Adrian (we have a mutual friend that we were unaware of at the time) and I eventually got the courage up to ask if it was ok that I use the 4 Chairs as an evangelistic tool when I spoke. He was very excited and graciously told me he would love for me to use it.

So, without going into the whole thing, here is what each chair represents: Chair number 1 represents those who are completely sold out, believers of Christ, pursuing holiness and growing in their faith daily- not perfect Christians (there is no such thing) but definitely growing. Chair number 2 represents Christians who have gotten comfortable. They attend church, but don’t care to miss for frivolous things. They have growth spurts, but its not necessarily an on-going process. They are believers, but it is often compartmentalized as a Sunday and/or Wednesday thing that doesn’t always make an appearance in their life outside of church unless specifically asked about. They absolutely believe in evangelism, but tend to shy away from doing evangelism themselves. They are satisfied staying where they are until they realize that by staying still, they have moved farther away from Christ, so they catch up (hence the growth spurts). This, unfortunately is where most members of churches are today, especially here in American where we don’t suffer the hard persecution that other countries face. And before pride gets the best of you, ALL OF US have spent time in this chair. Chair 4 (yes, I know I skipped chair 3) are those who know without a shadow of a doubt that they are not Christian. They are what we consider lost people. They act like lost people, they rely on themselves, but something you need to consider as a believer- many of them are wonderful people who are as “good” or better humans than a lot of believers. They love others, they help people in need, they smile at you, and they are great students, neighbors, family members, etc… This is why the gospel is so important to reach them- we can’t be good enough to get to Heaven, and the message of the gospel is that we ALL need a savior.

That brings me to Chair 3- the most dangerous chair in this entire presentation, because the concept behind this chair is very real in our churches today. Chair 3 represents people who have at some point in time in their life been convinced that they are saved, but are not; and now they go through their lives thinking they are Heaven-bound but they aren’t. They sit in churches and hear the gospel preached and never respond to the invitation to accept Christ because they think it does not apply to them. This can happen for a multitude of reasons. Some think that salvation is inherited- their grandparents or parents are Christian so they are. You can identify this mindset because it is often accompanied by them telling you they’ve been Christians “their whole life.”

As a church, however, we need to take responsibility for eliminating this chair in our churches. Too many times, you see a kid walk the aisle at a VBS only to walk it every single year at VBS after that. As a a youth pastor, we see hundreds of students go forward at a conference because they feel convicted for something in their life. There is no doubt that many genuinely give their lives to Christ, but I have seen far too many come back and absolutely nothing changed in their lives. They just wanted to feel better in the moment- but no transformation. You see, you cannot encounter Christ and walk away the same person. Romans 6: 1-5 paints this picture:

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection.

Romans 6:1-5


I believe we have a responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen. We, as the church, cannot rubber stamp salvations without putting in the effort to follow up with those new believers, not because they need us to be saved- that’s God’s job, but to talk through what salvation will mean for them. They need to know the road will be tough. They need to know that they will sacrifice things, actions, habits, friends, and sometimes even family. They need to know that this isn’t a decision that fixes all of their problems, that it’s not a quick escape plan, and there will be many more difficult times in their lives. How do we do that? Discipleship! Yeah, yeah, there I go with the D word again. Sorry, not sorry. If we do not take this step, then at the first sign of trouble or opposition they will learn the hard way and many walk completely away from the church deeming it a failure or worse questioning if this “Jesus stuff” is even real. These things happen all of the time and I am fearful how many people are walking around today thinking they are saved and Heaven-bound only to be in for an eternally rude awakening when they stand before the Lord in judgment and He says, “I never knew you.” I was told of a recent conversation between someone close to me and their friend. The friend identified himself as a Christian, but thinks he’s an agnostic or atheist. Those two things cannot co-exist and by identifying himself as Christian, he is convinced that he is saved.

You may think that I am taking a seemingly rigid view of this, but let me ask you- how upset would you be if you thought you were saved your whole life, only to find out you never had a relationship with Christ after it was too late? And how much worse is it, if a church was the one that gave you that false assurance because they did not follow up or disciple you? When you accept Christ, you CHANGE- simple as that. You desires begin looking like God’s desires. You WANT to grow, you WANT to be a part of the body, you WANT others to have the same salvation that you have. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, and see, the new has come.” So, yes, I am taking a rigid view of this because it is that important and no, this isn’t a Keith Jones crusade, I have taken my cues from Christ himself. Read Luke chapter 9, you will discover that Jesus talks people out of following Him as much as He brought people along to follow Him. He explained the cost and what it takes to follow Him. He made sure their commitment was genuine.

Truth is we won’t get them all. Some people don’t want life change, they only want temporary relief from guilt. Others will outright reject the gospel invitation, but we have a responsibility to reach as many as we can with the gospel of Jesus Christ and we definitely have a responsibility to make sure that we follow up and invest in the genuine growth of His disciples. That means making sure that no one walks away from us with a false understanding of their own salvation. This is not meant to make you question your salvation at all- it is intended to make you think- about your life and how the gospel is presented to others. If you feel like you may fall into this 3rd chair, I urge you not to waste another moment, talk to someone you trust and get on that path to follow Christ. My approach…my heart in writing this is if I am wrong in being this particular, then there is nothing to lose, I’ll see you in Heaven; but if I am right, if there are people destined for hell that think they are saved and I don’t say anything, that would be difficult to live with. Church, let’s put the work in. Let’s celebrate new life where there is new life. Let’s all make efforts to become believers in that first chair and let’s make every effort to eliminate the 3rd chair.

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

Discipleship- Why I Am Such a Pain in the Butt About It.

Posted by Rev. Bro. Coach on October 23, 2020
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Let’s face it, I can be a huge pain in the butt (wait, can I say that as a Pastor…checking with my censorship committee…ok, good I got the green light). Anyway, I can be a huge pain in the rear, especially about things that I am very passionate about. Now, having just typed that sentence, I will be expecting several comments on this post with “amen,” most likely from my two sisters and my buddy Jackie. Some of these things I will willingly admit are obnoxious (UT Sports, Braves baseball, Hunts ketchup, etc…), and I will happily apologize to those who must endure my rants about such things. There are some things, though, that I am unapologetically a pain about because they are THAT important.

You don’t have to be around me long in ministry to hear me hop on my soap box about the importance of discipleship. It is so vitally important to the spiritual development of each and every one of us who know and call Jesus our Lord. Several years ago- and I’m not sure when, something happened in the church here in America where there was this massive push for numbers- get ’em saved, get ’em baptized, and get that number to the state mission board. Now, don’t get me wrong, numbers in and of themselves isn’t bad, so long as we are not gauging our health solely on the number of people we baptize. Sometimes, I will get the question, “How many do you have coming to youth?” Which I will respond, “we are healthier than we have been.” Becoming a growing disciple of Christ is paramount to our spiritual health. I don’t want to make the mistake of assumption, so I am going to tell you first what it is and then I will address why I push it so much.

I have tried to simplify this definition so that people can understand discipleship at its core. The definition that I use for discipleship with my students is this: “Discipleship is the lifelong process we go through as we move from unbelievers to committed followers of Jesus Christ- It is a growing process.” You see, while evangelism is the product of being discipled and salvation & baptism are the very beginnings of the discipleship process, we cannot stop there. If we do, we will raise a generation of believers who do not go out and evangelize and who do not know how to disciple new believers. Once we have accepted the free gift of salvation, we are NOT at the finish line of our spiritual journey, in fact, we are just getting started. If we are not embarking on the LIFELONG process of discipleship, then our faith will be tested, shaken, and rattled to its very core. We will question God in the hard times, we will prioritize the busyness of life over gathering, bible study, and prayer, and if the situation gets dire enough- we may walk away from Him all together.

So, why do I push discipleship so hard? It’s because I have seen firsthand the effects of what the lack of discipleship can do and now, many of us are seeing it for the first time during this pandemic. I was not discipled as child or teenager and the choices I made reflect that. First of all, my parents did what they could- they made sure I was in church every week. But, I never had that person come alongside me and really show me what a committed follower of Christ looked like. I was saved, so I believed I was done. All I had to do was go to church on Sundays, attend youth if I had the time to, and my spiritual duties could be checked off for the week. Living for Christ was never an every day pursuit. I didn’t read my Bible because I didn’t know how, I prayed before bed & when I needed help because that’s what I thought prayer was, and I lived life thinking that I was doing exactly what I should be doing- I wasn’t. It wasn’t until I was 22 and met this girl in college who showed me there was more to my journey, that salvation was just the starting point and I was actually on a lifelong pursuit of holiness that would only end when God said well done good and faithful servant.

Unfortunately, many of us across the country are witnessing this first hand in our churches during this pandemic. Churches across the country are reopening and sadly, a lot of people have not returned. DO NOT HEAR ME WRONG- I am NOT talking about those that have not returned out of health concerns. I am talking about people who haven’t returned because they were never invested in their growth to begin with. I have talked to countless pastors that I know and its the same story- we are desperately trying to reach those who we know need to be back and can be back, but haven’t come back. This demographic is a direct result of the lack of discipleship. When the church disciples well, when people actively seek to grow in their faith and walk with the Lord, we produce disciples who then go out, evangelize the lost, and make other disciples.

The bottom line is everyone will be discipled by somebody, either an agent of this world or by us, the church. Ultimately, we must complete the process and not stop short of discipleship. We need to grow healthy ministries, not just big ones. We need to explain to those seeking Christ that following Him will come with a cost, but that cost is more than worth it. That way, when they make that all important decision to follow Christ, they won’t be shaken at the first attack from the world, they will be prepared for battle.

In Christ Alone,

Rev. Bro. Coach

I Thought of You Today…

Posted by Rev. Bro. Coach on January 30, 2016
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calvaryscrossI thought of you today…while I was getting ready. You know who I am and you know what I believe. You know that we don’t see eye to eye on things and far too many people who believe the way I do have allowed politics and other things of the world to send mixed messages to you about our faith. I wonder how you are. I wonder if you sometimes, maybe often, sit and wonder how you will make it through the day. Do you know that you are not alone? I have those doubts, fears, and worries too. I wonder if someone told you that they loved you today. Do you know that I love you? Have I communicated that love so clearly that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even though you may not agree with my beliefs, you have no doubts of my sincerity?  I thought of you today.

I thought of you today…while I was talking about my faith.  I wonder if I have been open and honest about who my Savior is and why I am so in love with the idea of introducing Him to you.  I wonder if others have confused you by sharing only half of Jesus with you. Do you know that Jesus is BOTH Truth and Grace? Do you know that Jesus loves you unconditionally, but that at the same time has standards that He expects from all of us? Do you know that with Jesus, we get both? The same Jesus who overturned the money table can also acquit the prostitute. The same Jesus who took up OUR cross as they drove nails through His hands, stretched His arms out and cried, “It is finished” so that you and I know that He loved us so much He would die for us- THAT Jesus told us to go and sin no more.  He says that, not because we could actually be perfect, but because He wants us to try with every fiber of being to serve and glorify Him in everything we do and say; and when we fall down and fail, and we will, He picks us up, dusts us off, and says try again. I thought of you today.

I thought of you today…while I was praying. I want you to know Jesus, but I also know that I can’t force you or guilt you into accepting Him because you must choose Him.  I wonder if you’ve been invited to church so that you can hear about Him. I want you to come. I want you to know that you are welcome in His house, in His presence, regardless of the impression that we as imperfect followers give off. I don’t go to church because I have it together, I go because I don’t and I need to hear from my Savior. I don’t share His love and His free gift of salvation because I want to judge you, but I want you to know that eventually everyone will stand before His judgment. I’m not a guide on this journey because I know the road- I’m on that same road to redemption too and I want you to come with me. I want to show you my Savior, so that He can become your savior. I thought of you today- much like I do each and every day. I want you to know God the Father loves you and wants a relationship with your through His Son Jesus, because each & every day- He thinks about you!

An Open Letter to Share Jesus

Posted by Rev. Bro. Coach on November 17, 2015
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openletterAn Open Letter to Share Jesus:

The first thing I want you to know is God loves you. He loves your brokenness, your aches, your pains, your shortcomings, and your greatest successes. He loves you because He made you. I want to tell you God wants nothing more than for you to accept His free gift of Salvation and spend an eternity in Heaven with Him.  Getting that free gift is very simple- all you have to do is accept it.  I also want you to know why we need that free gift.  You see we are sinners. And when I say that I want you to hear me- we are ALL sinners.  I don’t mean just you- I really mean all of us. We all sin and fall short of the Glory of God.  We all are in need of a Savior to come and atone for our mistakes and we all require that bridge given to us by the blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am no better than you are and my sins aren’t less than yours- in fact in the eyes of God, the punishment for all sin is death and hell.  THAT is why we need a savior and THAT is why it is so important to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. I want you to know that there is absolutely NOTHING we can do on our own to reach Heaven.  That is how bad we have messed up and that is why we have a need for Jesus.  We can’t be nice enough, we can’t give enough, we can’t go to church enough, and we can’t help people enough to earn Heaven.  Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  It is only by the Grace of God that we are saved. I know that the natural question is to ask why I still do all of those things if it can’t get me to Heaven. Because I am a new person in Christ. I don’t do them to be saved, I do them BECAUSE I’m saved. Here is the neat part- when you accept Christ, you become a new creation.  You get to say goodbye to the old ways of doing things, you get to forget about the person you used to be, and you get a chance to make something new of your life- in essence, you get a do over. Upon accepting Jesus as God’s Son, by accepting that he lived a perfect life, was crucified, and 3 days later rose again; you get to hit the reset button on life.  

I also want you to know that following Christ isn’t always easy- but it’s worth it. Jesus gave us a plain picture of what it means to follow him.  Luke 9:23 says, “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That means to follow Him, you will make drastic changes in your life.  You will turn away from ways of living that contradict what God says, you will realize a need to avoid certain places and situations that try to trip you up, and almost everyone that follows Christ winds up losing people from their lives because of their decision. When you choose Christ, you put a large target on your back. Obstacles will be put in your way to try to lure you into making bad decisions or try to coax you into returning to a former way of life. When you accept Christ, you get to say goodbye to your past, but many times the people of this world refuse to forget it and do a grand job of reminding you of who you once were. To follow Christ is not easy because he deserves our unwavering devotion. The one who took the nails for you and me deserves everything that we have and all that we are; and often times that means giving up ways of living that please only ourselves, but does not glorify or honor God. You will stumble. You will fall. The key is to fall moving toward Christ instead of falling moving away from Him. It’s not always easy- but it’s worth it

Why is it worth it? It is worth it because we are not meant to be citizens of this world.  Philippians chapter 3 discusses this at length, but I wanted to highlight one part of that chapter: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Our citizenship is not of this world. When we accept Christ, our citizenship belongs to a place where there is no more sorrow and no more pain. Where everything is right and nothing feels empty. 

I write to you because I love you. I write to you because God loves you.  You will see Christians who will not be the greatest examples of Christ’s love. You may see myself not being the greatest example of Christ’s love at times. It is those times that I ask you to remember that I’m on this path to redemption too and I am constantly trying my very best to serve my Lord. Don’t make the wrong decision about following our perfect savior based upon the imperfections that I or other Christians may show from time to time. In the end and the summation of my point tonight it this, we all need a savior- we ALL need Jesus. I would love to talk with any one of you about accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and I know many of my good friends out there would love to do so too. Come on this journey with us and we will follow Jesus- together.

 

In Christ Alone,

Rev. Bro. Coach