What does it mean to be a LUKEwarm Christian? (See what I did there?)

According to Francis Chan, there are 18 ways that you can tell a lukewarm Christian. Wow.

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13

2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4

3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7 4.

4: Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2.

5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31

6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Matthew 10:32-33

7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Luke 18:11-12

8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62

9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Matthew 22:37-38

10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14

11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25

12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever do they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20

13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7

14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46

15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28

16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.

17. Luke warm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them—they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live—they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Luke 12:16-21

18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35

I sat in astonishment, with my mouth hanging open. I had just played the above 2-minute excerpt from a podcast I listen to from above (take a listen if you haven't), and then asked the question, "Is there an absolute truth?"

To which I got mostly questioned looks, but a few fairly confident "nos." 

"Really?" I said, in disbelief. "That's what you all really believe?"

I asked questions about a true right and true wrong. Why does the world's postmodern mindset say that "Everyone's religion is ok - and we're all ok," but yet something like stealing and lying is wrong? If we apply the same logic to religion, would that not infer that there is a true right and wrong religion? 

And if everyone's different religion is right, then why even believe in religions? What's the point?

Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm not. But it seems to me that the general mindset of everyone in the world is that "You're ok, I'm ok, we're all ok and we're all going to heaven." 

That's just not the truth. 

I even had a very smart and intelligent 16 year old argue with me that it's not wrong from someone to believe in Buddhism, because that's what they grew up believing.

The single truth about all this is that our teens don't know what the absolute truth is. They know the difference in right and wrong, but the truth? They're foggy on that. And that astounds me. It was a great class that we had this week and I think a lot of the teens learned a lot, but we need to be preaching and teaching the one absolute truth: That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that he died for our sins. All other religions, all other ways that promise eternal life in heaven or some form of it are wrong. 

That will get you into hot water in the world if you say that. You'll be branded as an intolerant bigot. But it still does not answer the question:

If everyone is right, then who is wrong? 

This, from Matt Walsh:

Our nation wants a shallow Gospel that doesn’t challenge us to make sacrifices and be righteous, and Joel Osteen has come to give us exactly that.

He distorts Scripture and offers up a hollow, empty message, but he is adored because he does it with a smile, he doesn’t offend, and he gives off the general vibe of a man who probably chuckles at Family Circus cartoons. In other words, he is exactly what our society believes a Christian should be: nice, non-threatening, non-Biblical, and superficial.

So I'm sure we have beat this dead horse enough, but every story I read about this, including both excellent articles by Matt Walsh and Albert Mohler, it just makes me more confused and angry. 

Confused that thousands in Joel Osteen's "church" could be duped to follow his message, and angered that thousands if not millions more Americans and those around the world buy into his doctrine. 

I'm not angry at Joel Osteen, nor his wife who made the ridiculous comments in their service a week or two ago. I'm angry at the millions who have bought into this shallow and shameful doctrine that does not include, in any form or fashion, Jesus Christ. 

I, like so many of you, have seen Osteen on television while flipping through the TV on Sunday morning. He has great little stories mixed with a message that God wants us to be happy. Unfortunately, it's a message completely devoid of Jesus Christ. 

Why? Because Jesus suffered. Because Jesus was persecuted. Because Jesus said hard things. 

You can't take Christ out of Christianity, or the Bible for that matter. It defeats the whole purpose. It's like taking penalties out of football completely - eventually people would come up with their own versions of football and we would have lots of different versions floating around...

Wait. That's precisely what the Osteen "church" is doing. They're taking Christ out of the Biblical equation and making worship all about ourselves. 

The entire Bible is about God's one and only Son. The entire purpose of the Gospel is to tell the story of Jesus and how He lived His live and died to save us from our sins. 

But Osteen won't tell you that. He won't talk about sin, obedience, or consequences. He won't because it's designed that way. They've come up with their own version of the Bible, and it's all about peace, harmony, and prosperity. It may have glimpses of truth, but it's mostly false doctrine. 

The base of the problem is that people see what they want to see. And when they don't see what they want they turn to something else - even if it isn't correct. We want to be reassured. We want to have hope. But we don't want to have to deal with difficulty. 

Joel Osteen needs to get rid of his writing team and open his Bible. And so do you and I. We need to open the Word every day to see what it says to us. If we learn from the source, then we don't have to worry about what anyone else says. 

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Autism is very near and dear to my heart because my little boy Jacob was diagnosed in December 2013 as being on the Autism Spectrum. 

I love my little boy and we've had some difficulties, but nothing we can't overcome, and nothing Jacob himself couldn't overcome with our help. We are working with him every day to better develop his speech and social skills. 

If it weren't for Jacob's diagnosis, I may have never looked for movies like Temple Grandin. 

Temple Grandin is the title of a movie about a real person by the same name. Temple was a woman who had Autism, but because of her mother's encouragement and steadfastness, Temple excelled in prep school and in college. She is now responsible for developing new methods in the 1970's and 80's on how cattle were handled on big cattle farms. 

At one point in the movie when Temple seems to have a lot of difficulty, her prep school professor who used to work for NASA and now teaches science, told her something very simple and very profound. Temple was frustrated and indicating that she was too different from everyone else and couldn't cope with the stresses of being at school. 

That's when her professor simply said, "You're different. Not less."

We as Christians in this world today are many times viewed as less because of what and who we believe in. We are battered by a world that laughs at us and says that the Christian life is a joke, and that there is no God. We know better. 

We are different, but most definitely not less. 

And on the flip side, we should not look at the people in the world as less. We should see every person in our lives as a soul that can be won for Christ, not look down on them because they don't prescribe to our way of thinking. 

We as Christians are called to be different. But not less. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. - 1 Peter 2.9

There is one company on this earth that I follow with almost the same gusto as I follow Jesus (or at least I hope I do). And that's Apple. 

In Ken Segall's book Insanely Simple, the overwhelming idea that he tries to paint is a picture of simplicity in Apple's business decisions. Everything, not just their design of products and marketing, but everything that Apple stands for exudes simplicity. Many times in the book Segall makes a point to remind readers that simplicity may seem easy to achieve, but in practice is anything but.

Contrast that with a recent discussion I had with two teens, older teens who were going off to college soon. They called me over after church and one said that he wanted to be baptized. I was, as anyone should be, overjoyed. Without thinking, I suggested that his close friend next to him (who was a Christian) baptize him.

If you could have seen the look of terror, confusion, and bewilderment on his face at that moment you would have been astonished. His eyes got big, he raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't know about that. I don't know what's all involved with that."

This was a kid who had grown up in the church, who had been baptized years before, and didn't understand how simple it was to baptize someone.

Find some water, ask them to confess Jesus as their Savior, and then dunk them! is what I wanted to say to him. It really is that simple. 

That got me thinking - is the church really so simple that people can't understand it? Even people in the church?

In his excellent article entitled 10 Things I Love About The Church of Christ, Michael Hanegan states that one of the things he loves about the church is An intrinsic commitment to simplicity of worship. He says that by and large we have chosen to engage in worship instead of a "production." In other words, we've chosen to put the focus on the worship of God rather than our own entertainment. 

But think about it. Our worship is incredibly simple. Songs. Prayers. Scripture readings. Sermons. The Lord's Supper. 

Baptism, the required means to gain entrance into God's fold (Acts 2.38, Matthew 3.13-17), is also simple. Water. Confession. Immersion. 

Is the church too simple? Is there such a thing? 

I would say that it is not. Our society has become more complex. Business has become more complex. Technology has become more complex. The church, in my opinion, is largely the same church I read about in the New Testament. It's the same church I've read about in the 1950's. Simple. Effective. Genuine. 

I guess the real question is: is our simplicity and adherence to the New Testament tradition turning out to be to our detriment? Are people so bored with the simplicity of the original idea of the church that we're losing ground to other denominations and religions? 

I've done no research, and I have no statistics, but I see the church as a healthy organization. We don't see record growth, and maybe we shouldn't. What we do need to do is not be confused and swayed by the complex ways of the world. The New Testament vision for the church is something that very few abide by these days. And I'm proud to say that I belong to a church that has respect for the scriptures to adhere to that vision.