It takes guts!

Many of you write to me each week about things besides the issues I raise in this column. In reading your EMail I often remark to myself, 'Boy, ministry today takes guts.'

How do you do it? Some of you make bungee jumping look easy. Sure, there are plenty of pastors making big compromises and taking the easy way out today (they don't read my column though - or at least don't write). But, I am struck by the gutsy ministry going on today. I admire you for it... admire your guts. Many of you are paying a price for swimming upstream. And, even if I don't always agree with every point, I admire your guts. For instance,

1. In a day when easy-believism prevails some of you have the guts to insist that Christian conversion actually should change lives and make people different than they were. That takes guts.

2. In a day when the prevailing conversion models are largely gradual and additive ('accepting Christ,' 'starting new' or 'receiving Christ') some of you have the guts to preach repentance and decisive turning away from sin.

3. In a day when many 'evangelical' churches flatter people, approving and excusing all kinds of sin so long as they keep coming, some of you have the guts to tell your own church folk they're sub-Christian, then watch them cross town to be approved elsewhere. Whew!

4. Some of you have the guts to caution church members about the hazards of TV, movies, videos, CATV and the Internet, in a day when the only thing you can be legalistic about is anti-legalism.

5. In a day when the only acceptable view of God among evangelicals is of a soft, tender, understanding Mister Rogers in the sky, some of you have the guts to remind people of 'the other face of God' - His stern, wrathful, judgment side which hates and punishes sin.

6. In a day when people can get an uplifting, cheery, feel-good, pop psychology from a smooth-talking 'communicator' across town, some of you have the guts to preach deep theological truth which requires hard chewing on the part of your listeners.

7. In a day when the accepted fad is to concentrate primarily on felt needs, and most people pick a church based on its need-meeting services, some of you have the guts to purposely design church services to meet God's needs, and the actual deepest (spiritual) need of people. <