#Rethink - January 2021

#Rethink - January 2021

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Welcome, January! This month we are contemplating missing theology, questioning the prosperity gospel, and exploring true repentance.

Are we missing some important theology?

I'm starting to think that many of us are missing some deep and vitally important theological building blocks. This is evident as we look at the recent events in our country and listen in to conversations on social media. 

In our modern landscape where celebrity pastors and seeker-friendly mega churches seem to be the option to close-minded, legalistic religion, how are we supposed to rediscover the truth for ourselves? And why does it even matter? And does anyone actually care? 

• Who is God and what does He want?

• Who am I and what is my purpose?

• What is going on with our world and why do I long for more?

In my opinion, these are the most important questions we can ask. These are the deepest questions of our hearts. And when we discover solid answers from Scripture for ourselves then our faith becomes like the roots of an oak tree growing into the cracks of a rock. Nothing will move us.

The next series on my podcast Looking for the Real God will be diving into some of this missing theology. There is a link to my podcast at the end of this email.

"We have to realize that God's nature is not something we manipulate; it's something we submit to."
Costi Hinn, God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel

I was not expecting to personally identify so much with this book written by the nephew of well known prosperity preacher Benny Hinn. It was actually shocking to see how many of the teachings from my own cultic experience were similarly formulaic. And troubling to recognize threads of thought within regular Christianity. The common theme is a god who is reduced to some kind of cosmic genie who can be manipulated by our behavior.  

In God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel Costi Hinn shares the story of how he met the Real Jesus, started questioning the theology he was raised to believe, and ultimately left his family's ministry.

It was eye opening to get a behind the scenes look into the prosperity gospel movement. And it's a little frightening to see how the false theology of the prosperity gospel has infiltrated the mainstream evangelical church. It made me wonder...

• What happened to a solid theology of suffering and brokenness?

• Doesn't God want more for us than to just be healthy and wealthy?

• When prayers aren't answered and miracles don't happen, then what?

• Have you listened to the words of some of the worship songs that we sing?

I think every Christian needs to read this book to recognize where lies have crept into our beliefs about God and His character.

μετάνοιαν: a change of mind

The Greek word for repentance is metanoian, and it literally means a change of mind. I find that fascinating because that's not always what we hear in church. I've been thinking a lot about repentance over the last six or so months. In fact, my word for 2021 is Repent.

Growing up in my brand of religious Christianity, repentance was behavior based. Or at the very least behavior evidenced. Repentance meant making a list of sins to confess. It meant proving that you were sorry by changing. And it was transactional.

Genuine repentance would gain God's favor and maybe He would give you a blessing. Or maybe He would take away a negative circumstance in your life. This is why in college I tried to make a list of sins to confess and repent from in order to get my panic attacks to go away. 

But true repentance isn't about my behaviors; it's a change of my mind. It's choosing to agree with God about something. It's a surrender to His way over mine. As I've been contemplating repentance through Scripture I've noticed three things.

1. Repentance requires humility.

2. Repentance is closely tied to lament.

3. Repentance leads to salvation.

What if God's people became known for repentance? What if we humbled ourselves through lament and agreed with God? What would happen to our churches? To our world? Revival? Jesus, let it be so! And let it begin with me!
 

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Thanks for taking a moment to #Rethink some of our religious traditions and beliefs. I know that it can be scary to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith, but finding the Real Jesus is absolutely worth it. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments.

If you know someone who would love to #rethink, please share!
 
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