The Gathering Nashville – Page 4

RG2G 046 Why Christian Men Are Abandoning the Church

I like to consider myself a man, a real man; maybe not a he-man, but at least a man who understands (I think) what it means to be a male and masculine. And as such, I am offended by what I consider to be our society’s onslaught on manhood.

Just watch the evening TV shows; more importantly the commercials. And men come across as stupid, slow, fat, self-indulgent, pizza-stuffing, beer-guzzling sex fiends. And I’m being kind, believe me.

Then there’s a whole set of guys out there who call themselves Christian guys, followers of Jesus, followers of the way, followers of the bravest man who ever lived. And yet we seem to have lost our way. And as a result, our churches are being emptied of real men; man-up men, godly men, men who have strong backs and tender hearts; men who believe that bringing their brain to church is not only a good thing, but a mandated thing.

On Renegade this week we talk about some of the reasons why men are abandoning the American church, what the misconceptions are, and how we can and must do something about it. After you listen to today’s show, I’d love to get your feedback.

Overcoming the People-Pleaser Inside You

Jesus said something that I am not sure I fully understood until lately. It’s the famous verse where He says, “Narrow is the way, and difficult is the road that leads to eternal life.”

I understand the narrow part, that Jesus is the way to God. He is God’s love and flesh, paying the price to redeem my soul. It’s the “difficult” part that I’ve never quite gotten my arms around. So this week we identified that, or at least I attempted to give my interpretation of what Jesus meant.

The difficulty is not about some moral discipline, abstaining from certain activities that Christians have deemed unacceptable. The difficult part I think at least finds it’s expression in how difficult it is to not find yourself living a life to please other people.

To follow Jesus is to please Jesus. And I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that following Jesus can not only not please the people around you. It can actually make these people quite irate and dangerous.

So today we talked about the importance of courageous dissent: the ability inside each person to follow Jesus whatever the cost, whatever the consequences. We talked about the ten must-haves that we must constantly retain in order to have the courage to follow the path that God has laid out for us. One of the biggest misconceptions about Christianity is that Christians are into conformity: looking alike, living alike, thinking alike, eating alike, dressing alike. Nothing can be further from the truth. You’ll find out what I mean in today’s talk.

FMBS 028 John 11: Jesus Promises the Impossible

Let’s get something straight. Jesus Christ is God, is the Savior, no doubts, no ifs, no ands, and no compromises. Anyone who tells you any differently is lying to you.

That having been said, you might ask, “How can you be so sure?” Well, Jesus was. So sure, that in John 11 He promised to raise the dead. And not only raise the dead, but He promised that those who believed in Him, trusted Him, accepted Him, embraced Him in a personal connected relationship of Savior to the one needing to be saved, that after this life, we would live. Death would not be the final note, but death would be defeated. The sting of death, the victory of death is gone forever for those who are in Christ.

What does it say about those who aren’t in Christ? It means there is no hope; absolutely nothing but desolation; a future so horrible that the Bible describes it as hell. Now, can this be true? As true as the other. The opposites do exist. That’s why it is imperative for the simple gospel message to be heard, and people be given a choice and a chance to receive it or to reject it.

As a Christian, I can accept people saying “no” to Christ. It’s their right. As a matter of fact, it’s their right between them and God; not me. I can’t save you. I can’t even save myself. I can’t save the world, and I don’t need to save Jesus. But here it is: Jesus promises the impossible. Life – eternal life – and though we die in this life, we awaken in a place called Heaven. A future in eternity, better and more glorious than anything we can ever imagine. That is something to not be missed, nor can it be compromised.

RG2G 045 Saving Jesus From His Followers

Jesus Christ is the greatest thing that ever happened to this world if, in fact, you believe what the Scriptures teach: that He is our Savior, that He is God come down to be 100% God, 100% man to die as a satisfaction that would give us redemption.

On the other hand, there are literally millions of people on the planet today who claim to be followers of Jesus who have really hijacked the gospel, Jesus, and the Bible, for their own agenda. What are the characteristics of those who are simply out to pedal their version of religion, their desires to control, and manipulate, as opposed to those who are followers of Jesus, who truly want to live in the way of Jesus and share the hope of the gospel to the world?

All of us know people who have been bruised, wounded and downright devastated by the self-righteousness of those who call themselves Christians. On the show today, we’ll talk about how to identify these people and how to stand up against their onslaught. And maybe more importantly, how to protect others from their devices.

Jesus said that He’d come that we might have abundant life; that He’s the Savior of the world, the hope for what’s gone wrong with mankind. If Jesus is right and the teaching of the Scriptures can be trusted (and I think they can), then the stakes are high and worth the diligence of those who want to see people set free, not in bondage.

Why Being Driven is a Good Thing

Is being driven a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it depends on who you talk to and what they mean. I think being driven is a good thing. As a matter of fact, God created us with drive. What else is there, to get up every day and dread what may happen? To just drift and go along with everyone else? As some people say, just go with the flow? Remember before you go with the flow, that everything flows downward. No, I think driven is a good thing. William Faulkner said, “An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn’t know why they chose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder why.”

I understand that a little bit. The drive inside won’t go away. It wasn’t put there by demons. I believe it was put there by God. So today we talked about the four things for which we were created with drive. These are the things we pursue because it is how God created us. They are hot-wired into our soul. We long for them every day. And then we talked about how important it is to channel these drives into the right areas. How do we know what the right areas are? Well we have to take the time to define what success is, and we talked about four different channels our drives can find, not only fulfillment, but true joy.

FMBS 027 John 10: 1-33 Jesus Claims Ultimate Power

Jesus is radical, you might almost say fanatical about his equality with God the Father. It’s important to understand that Jesus didn’t just claim to be a good guy, a religious leader, a prophet. He claimed to be God, to have the ultimate power, willingly die, and then by His own power, come back to life. Only Jesus was crucified and was resurrected from the dead.

The other thing that stands out in these verses is that he wasn’t afraid of confrontation. He wasn’t afraid to put people in their place when their intent was to harm other people. Jesus wasn’t nice, calm, and limp-wristed. He had a strong will and was willing to confront when the truth was at stake, when lives were at stake. Getting Jesus right is everything. And everything else is secondary to that.

As you reflect on the study today, ask yourself these questions:

Is Jesus Christ my God and Savior? Do I have a personal relationship?
Is my profession of faith as a Christian a current reality, not just something in the past I refer to?
Do I walk in the abundant life that Jesus dies to make possible?
What is abundant life? How would I know it when I see it?
If Jesus Christ is essential, what am I doing to make sure other people hear the story of the gospel and the claims of Christ?

RG2G 044 Why Do Some Churches Die While Others Thrive?

The state of the American church is in flux. Depending on who you talk to, it’s either doing really, really well or it’s on its last legs.

I, for one, am an optimist. This isn’t just a casual observation. It’s after decades of investment in planting churches and leading churches. And in that time I’ve watched churches thrive, while I’ve watched other churches that at one time were growing churches, shrivel up and die.

So today we talked about why churches die, how to know if your church is dying, how to know when it’s dead, and what do you do when you have to walk away and be the last one to turn out the lights.

Here is a brief bit of wisdom. The church as an institution is in big trouble. The church as a movement has a great future. Do you know the difference?

Dave Rave – 5 Benefits of Working With You

daverave No one succeeds without the help of others. And to succeed greatly, you need the help of a lot of people going in the same direction.

Here is a good way to check up on your people skills at work. Ask yourself, “What are the five benefits that people receive while working with me and on my team?”

Do they feel challenged? In other words, are you making sure you give them work that matters? Do they see how it is connected to a greater purpose?
Are they growing? Do you give them the tools, the opportunity, and the encouragement to grow intellectually, to get smarter as they work harder?
Do they feel respected? There is great power in praise, appreciation, and calling attention to a job well-done. The more you appreciate people, the more they’ll appreciate working with you.
Do you make sure that everyone understands the big picture and the noble cause that you’re all working toward? It’s hard to believe that widgets and products can have integrity, but just look at the example of Steve Jobs and Apple. It’s work that matters that people give their best for. Your job as the leader is to make sure they understand why what you’re doing matters and how what they’re doing to help make it successful matters.
Do they feel a sense of connectedness? Not just a connectedness with the people at work, but with you? Do they feel a part of the team? Do they feel loyalty, that everyone’s going together on the same page?

Ask yourself these questions and then, if you’re really brave, sit your team down and go through them together. You might be surprised at how well you’re doing.

Wimpy Christian Stuff’s Gotta Go

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s this. There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be Christian ranging from highly political, to pushy, to arrogant, to soft and wimpy. None of these stereotypes really make it.

Today I talked about some of the things that, as a follower of Jesus, I must oppose. Things like: those who want to dilute the gospel into something it’s not, people who want to deceive or divide, even those who want to destroy. The truth is, it’s a very dangerous world out there. And you have to be on guard. Today we talked about the ways to do that without becoming a jerk. There are ways to be on the offensive without being offensive.

Dave Rave – 5 Cans of a Courageous Friend

daverave Let’s face it. You only have so many really close friends in a lifetime. True friendship takes one quality that we often overlook, and that’s courage.

Here are the 5 Cans of a truly courageous friendship:

A courageous friend can be bothered. You know what I mean. They can go out of their way when you need them. They can be there. Not only can they go out of their way when you need them, they can rearrange their schedule.
A courageous friend can be there. It’s one thing to be bothered. It’s another thing to get in your car and come to wherever your friend needs you to be. Email, text, these are all great gifts. But sometimes you need to be there, eyeball-to-eyeball, to truly be a friend.
A courageous friend can be inconvenienced. By that I mean they understand that friendship is going to cost you something. They are willing to rearrange their schedule to meet your needs.
A courageous friend can be honest. We’re told in the Scriptures to speak the truth in love. That’s a hard thing to do. It’s a balance between honesty and compassion. But a true friend is willing to walk that tightrope, to be honest in a way that he can receive it and benefit from it.
A courageous friend can be counted on. Proverbs 17 says, “a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.” It’s easy to promise friendship. It’s another thing to be counted on when the chips are down.

How many friends do you have like this? Are you a courageous friend to someone? Do they know it? Have they sensed it?

What Are You Into And Why?

Every once in awhile I hear someone ask this question, “What are you into?” or “What do you do?” or “What do you do for a living?” All of these are probing questions with the intent of finding out who we are and how we fit int the world.

In this series, “Leave No Doubt,” we’re talking about the 6 things worth standing up for. We want people to remember us for something specific and meaningful, right? So we want them to know where we stood, what we believed, and not only what we did, but what made us tick, and why we did it. This is a very timely topic, given the fact that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple just died at age 56. One of the most memorable things he said was at a Stanford commencement speech in 2005. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

Over the years I’ve seen too many people try to live their life by someone else’s standards or values. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it’s important that I understand why I do what I do, that I do indeed live before an audience of One, but I also serve in a world full of needs and people reaching out for help. So how do you become who you are and at the same time make sure that that is a person who does things that matter and can leave a meaningful legacy?

Yesterday, we talked about our three imperatives. They go something like this: Because of who I am and whose I am, I – not you, my wife, my children, the government – determine what I must do. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. To let that relationship so define my identity and my intentionality that people know why I do what I do.

The next question is what do you do? We talked about seven different things that could describe what we do and what we’re into; what we’re for rather than what we’re against.

Life is short. You don’t need certainty. You don’t need clarity, but you do need the confidence of who you are and that that will always be enough

What Nashville Owes Steve Jobs

Even though I never met Steve Jobs and there’s a lot about his life I’m not attracted to, I do share with hundreds of millions of other people around the globe, a sadness in his passing.

I became an Apple convert right after Steve returned to the company and released OS X, and I’ve never looked back. Some people called me an Apple fan-boy. And if being satisfied with products that work beautifully, look great, and last it seems forever, then I am – without apology.

I’ve been thinking what we really owe Steve Jobs, is that his relentless commitment to change the world through technology is in his recognition of a fledgling company called Pixar which brings us brilliant and inspiring movies. Maybe so, but I think there is something greater, particularly to those of us who are creators and live in creative centers like Nashville, LA, New York, and the rest.

Above all things, at least to me, Steve Jobs took the keys away from the gatekeepers and gave them to those of us who feel called to create art and great, inspiring content. When I moved to Nashville, the keys to the kingdom were held by the few label executives based in Nashville, yet owned by companies all over the world. Just to get a song demo-ed would cost what seemed like an arm and a leg. And as everyone in Nashville knows, a demo is a dime a dozen.

What Steve Jobs did is give technology to the average guy. He gave us the power to take our ideas and put them down in video, audio, and on paper, and share them with the world. Now anyone in a garage or a back room can record audio that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and many weeks of time.

So thank you, Steve, for giving ordinary, average guys like me and other creatives around the world who weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth, a chance to be heard.

Dave Rave – 5 Ways We Win

daverave I’ve never met a person who didn’t want to win. I’ve met an awful lot of people who are confused about what it takes to win.

Here are the five ways, dimensions, or areas of your life in which you need to win to truly be winning.

Winning with God. A life that is void of your Creator’s blessing is not winning. To truly win at life God’s way, you need to know that all is right with God and that you understand what He both expects and promises.
Winning with you. There is no winning outside of good, healthy relationships. Whether it’s marriage, family, or friends, people make the hard work worth it. There is no winning if I am at odds with the people around me.
Winning with me. This means that I know that I’m living up to my potential, that I am doing my best making good choices. While it is true you can’t earn God’s love, you must earn your own self-respect.
Winning with my mind. This means that every single day I am learning and growing. I am not wasting the opportunities to get smarter in what I do. While things change, I too can change because I can get greater information and insight.
Winning beyond my life. This means I am leaving a legacy, something that will live way beyond me. That means my winning must matter. It must be more than more for me. It must in some way connect to helping, lifting, and building others.

Are you winning in these five different dimensions of your life? All of them are essential. Use them as a discussion starter with your team, with your family, or in your marriage. You might be surprised by what you hear.

The Big Difference Between Apple’s Marketing and Amazon’s Marketing, and Why You Should Care

Last week, Amazon released its new entry into the tablet market with its low-priced “Fire.”

Before the release event, the name of the device, the price of the device, and most of the features of the device were leaked out. So that before the day of the event, the story of the “Fire” had already been told by journalists and news media. That’s one way to do it.

As you probably know, when Apple releases anything like its iPhone 5 today, there is secrecy, lawsuits, and all kinds of drama that will surround their efforts to make sure that any details about the device get out. These are two stark and contrasting approaches to marketing or branding or mooing out loud. Why?

It’s very important that you understand that Apple’s secrecy is not about sales. It’s not about being clandestine. It’s about the relentless commitment to tell their story first, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, or something else. They want to be the first in print, and on video, to be telling the story of these products. Amazon allows others to begin to tell the story and loses impact and, I believe, longterm sales.

So which is right? Well because Amazon is such a juggernaut, it seems as though it doesn’t matter. But since you and I aren’t, I’ll tell you that being the first to tell your own story about your brand, your business, your product or your service is essential. That’s why marketing, advertising, and branding are all about telling your own story: why you’re here, what you do, why what you do matters, what your perspective is, what your solutions are going to be. It allows you to tell a compelling story and have people judge you for what you offer, not what other people have said about you. There’s a big difference.

How to Drive Out Doubt

We continued this weekend in our series “Leave No Doubt: 6 Things You Want People to Know About You,” with the question, how can you know for sure that you’re right with God and ready for the future?

Over and over we ask these questions of how can you know? Things like: why are we here? where are we going? what really matters? what awaits us beyond this life? – all questions that we can’t hide from. So we might as well face them and find the answers. The truth is, they are available. You can know them and be absolutely, positively sure.

My heart grieves over the people I’ve dealt with over the years who, no matter how hard they try, can never really be sure. They have doubt in their faith with God, doubt in their marriage, doubt in their relationships, doubt in their careers. It seems like doubt, fear and uncertainty follow them wherever they go. This is not God’s will for your life. And if you continue in it, you’re life will not only be diminished, you’ll be miserable, and in the process, make everyone around you miserable.

In this talk, I spoke about the seven reasons you can be absolutely sure; not only that you’re right with God, that you have a relationship with God, that you’re ready for eternity should you die this week or sometime in the future; but how you can know for sure that you’re in the right place, doing the right thing, for the right reason. This was one of my favorite talks in the last couple of years. I hope you will enjoy it and let me know if it does for you what it did for me in writing it.