Category: Christianity

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When the Pastor is a Glory Hog

I’m sure there are pastors who really are glory hogs. A lot of guys want to be “THE guy” – the one the church depends on and looks to as the supreme religious leader. The church becomes a personality cult around this kind of pastor.

Glory Hog

On the flip side there are churches that actually expect and demand that the pastor be the go-to guy for all things religious and spiritual. Some church members find it unacceptable to be visited or called on by anyone other than the senior pastor.

I remember one time as a pastor I tried to create a pastoral care & visitation team, The idea was to help others who had a gifting and calling for this kind of ministry assist the clergy. I was accused of trying to pass the buck and shirk pastoral responsibility. One person even told me,

“It’s fine to be visited by others, but people really want the big dog.”

But this idea of a clergy-based ministry isn’t biblical. In fact, the Bible shows us that healthy ministry is carried out be everyone. When there was a need that wasn’t being met, the 12 Apostles (the first church leaders and preachers), said, “We can’t be distracted from our God-calling. Let’s find other godly people to assist.” Thus the early church appointed its first deacon team. We read about in Acts 6:1-7 ~

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

The Apostle Paul talks about the Church being like a body. It’s made up of many parts, but each part needs to function well for the whole body to be healthy.

If you have never taken a spiritual gifts inventory, it is a good place to start asking how God might have gifted you to serve and minister (it’s not the end-all, just a starting place). Try this one…

As Christians we’re all in this together. We are co-ministers for Jesus. Though we all have different roles to play, everyone should play a part. So step up to the gift God has given you and begin serving!

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Black Lives Matter Sunday – December 14, 2014

black lives matter

I am not attending a Church of God in Christ (COGIC) or Assemblies of God (AG) church, but this statement from George O. Wood, the Superintendent of the AG is a good statement about how Christians can love and support the Africxan American community and work towards reconciliation in America. I encourage you to read it through to the end. I have added the emphasis on my own, but I thought they were especially noteworthy parts.

– – – – – –

Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. of the Church of God in Christ has asked COGIC churches to observe Black Lives Matter Sunday this coming Sunday, December 14, 2014. As Bishop Blake’s friend and counterpart in the Assemblies of God, I ask that all AG churches do the same. I have two reasons for doing so.

First and foremost, black lives matter. The lives of all people are precious to God, of course, but at the present moment, many of our black brothers and sisters in COGIC and the AG feel that their lives are not highly valued by many in white America. As examples, they point to the recent controversial decisions of grand juries in St. Louis County, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, not to return bills of indictment against white police officers in the deaths of two black males, Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

Whatever your opinion of those controversial decisions, can we stand with our brothers and sisters and affirm the value of black lives generally and of their lives specifically? Scripture teaches that God does not take pleasure in the death of people, not even the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). If so, then whatever the circumstances, we can be certain that God did not take pleasure in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Therefore, neither should we. Can we affirm, then, the grief our black brothers and sisters feel about these men’s deaths? Think of it this way: If the families and friends of Michael Brown and Eric Garner attended your church, how would you minister to them in their sorrow?

Scripture teaches us to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Black Lives Matter Sunday is a way for all Assemblies of God churches to do that with our black brothers and sisters in the Church of God in Christ, our own National Black Fellowship, and the many multicultural churches in the Assemblies of God. Scripture teaches, “If one part [of the body of Christ] suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Let us suffer with our brothers and sisters in their time of mourning.

Second, America is racially divided and needs the Church to heal its divisions. The Pentecostal movement, to which both COGIC and the AG belong, traces a large portion of its spiritual genealogy to the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, at the start of the twentieth century. In that revival, led by a godly black man named William J. Seymour, the Spirit of Jesus Christ powerfully knit together the hearts of people who attended, regardless of race and ethnicity. For a shining moment at Azusa Street, when the surrounding culture was segregated by color, “the color line was washed away in the Blood,” as Frank Bartleman famously put it. Unfortunately, the forces of segregation reasserted themselves among white Pentecostals, and for many decades thereafter, they allowed the spirit of Jim Crow into their churches.

Great strides have been made in civil rights and racial reconciliation over the past century, of course, but America still experiences racial divisions. If Spirit-filled Christians cannot find a way to work together to heal these divisions, what hope is there for the rest of the country? The Church of God in Christ and the Assemblies of God share a like, precious faith, including our belief in and experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ has already united us in doctrine and experience, in other words. If we cannot unite at this hour, how can we expect America to be united, when it has no spiritual foundation for unity?

Because black lives matter, and because America needs the Church to heal its lingering racial divisions, I ask that Assemblies of God churches join the Church of God in Christ on Sunday, December 14, 2014, and pray for the following things:

• Pray during the service that God would bless the ministries of the Church of God in Christ, our own National Black Fellowship, and the many AG multicultural churches, enlarging their territory through Spirit-guided influence on the communities where they minister.

• Pray that God would unite the hearts of all Spirit-filled believers, but especially COGIC and the AG, so that together, we would become a “Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings” (Isaiah 58:12) in our nation.

• Pray for law enforcement and judicial officers, especially Spirit-filled believers among them, that they would be servants of justice, reconciliation, and peace in the communities they serve.

I recognize that some of you may find my request to observe Black Lives Matter Sunday controversial because of deep disagreement over the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. I do not wish to be controversial or to bring further division within the Church or within America. We have enough of that already.

Rather, I wish for us to find points of unity and cooperation across racial lines. We can take steps together in that direction by affirming the value of black lives and by praying for unity in our churches and our society this Sunday, December 14. I hope you will join me in observing Black Lives Matter Sunday with our brothers and sisters in the Church of God in Christ.

Finally, at this Christmas season, may we take to heart once again the glorious announcement of the angel that the birth of Jesus is “good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10)!

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I’m a Christian and I Hate Gays

angry man

Actually, I don’t hate gays. At least I didn’t think so.

Until I watched the news.

They told me that I really do hate gays after all. If you follow the news at all you might have seen that gay marriage bans have been upheld in four states.

Before the decision people took to the streets with signs and banners and flooded social media with the slogan “No H8” (no hate)

no H8

It seems that I hate because I differ in my ideas. I hate because I’m trying to “legislate morality.”

Here’s the kicker, though – we ALL try to legislate morality. All legislature is based on someone’s morality. The real question comes down to, “Whose morality is going to rule the day?”

I prefer mine. You prefer yours. It doesn’t mean I hate those who differ any more than those who differ hate me. Are we not allowed to disagree and seek to pursue our morality and to govern according to it without name calling and denigration? One of the wonders of a democratic republic is that we as citizens have a voice in determining the kind of country we want. You want yours. I want mine. So we peacefully work to bring it about. That doesn’t make me a hater.

As a Christian I will vote for the measures and ideas I believe align with my morality and values. I would expect the same from liberal Christians and non-Christians. We cannot label opposition as hate. When the time comes that America moves completely away from my morality and values (and I have no doubt that day will come) I won’t accuse you of hate just because you voted contrary to my beliefs. That’s what being in a democratic republic is all about.

For you readers who are conservative Christians, some of you need to simmer down. It’s okay to vote your beliefs without becoming angry and mean towards those who disagree. Jesus always loved on people who were “sinners.” He called people to change and to live new lives, but he was never rude or hateful towards them.

For you more liberal types, please stop labeling us as haters when we vote our consciences.

We can love and act in loving ways while still seeking to legislate our values. Disagreement does NOT = hate.

And in case you didn’t really hear me – I don’t hate gays.

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I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!

Related Posts:
– A Christian Response to Gay Marriage
– Forced Gay: Punishment for Religious Dissent?
– Forced Gay: Part Two

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Are Gay Little Monsters Destroying Your Way of Life?

Gizmo

It seems Gizmo is out of the closet and he’s bent on destroying the conservative Christian way of life.

Well, not Gizmo, actually – all homosexuals.

Last week, Congressional Candidate Anthony Culler was railing against same-sex couples and posted a video in which he called such couples “Gremlins” who “want to destroy traditional marriage and our way of life.”

Personally, I believe that God designed marriage to be between a man and a woman. I don’t have a disagreement with that concept. My problem is with this man’s mouth. There is no excuse for derogatory name-calling. In fact, it seems to fly in the face of biblical principles MORE than the behavior Mr. Culler is railing against.

There’s more in the Bible about controlling your tongue and using words than there is about gay marriage. Yet we often find it excusable to engage in put-downs when we disagree with someone’s beliefs or behavior.

Not cool.

But Chris, what about Jesus? He called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers.” (an argument I’ve actually heard)

Here’s the thing – Jesus was addressing the people who were supposed to be religious leaders. He wasn’t addressing people who disagreed with him on morality. In many ways, Jesus and the Pharisees came from the same perspective. This isn’t the case with conservative Christians and the LGBT community. In every case Jesus came into contact with someone who he would have considered a sinner or unrighteous person he always used his words to speak grace and love into people’s lives.

I get the Mr. Culler was trying to stoke conservative ire in order to get votes. I get it. But don’t trash the reputation of Christianity for the sake of appealing to your base.

Words can heal.

Words can hurt.

As Christians we have a holy obligation to make sure that we are speaking words of life to this world. That doesn’t mean we agree with everyone or ignore immoral behavior. But we can have conversations in such a way where we make our position crystal clear without ever being derogatory and denigrating.

Speak life.

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I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!

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Relax, It’s Just Sex

Shrugging_Shoulders

So today I read an article/devotional about God’s perspective on the human body.

The piece was relatively short but affirmed an old Christian perspective that we ought to be careful about what we do with our bodies because, as the Apostle Paul says, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The writer even goes so far as to say:

This should say something to you about its value and the way you ought to treat it. Furthermore, you should take God’s words as a warning against abusing, misusing, or ignoring your own body.

I’ve seen pastors and Christian leaders use this reasoning to argue against cigarettes, alcohol, tattoos, and anything else Christians deem to be taboo when it comes to the human body.

But here’s the thing: this passage isn’t about body art, piercings, beer, or any of that stuff.

Like the title of this post says: It’s Just Sex. The Apostle Paul is very clear about sexual sin and the human body. But let’s not misuse the Bible to justify our own perspective on the appropriateness of other issues. We can’t condemn people with the “your body is God’s temple” line unless we’re addressing similar issues that God is addressing.

So go ahead and get that tat that says, “I LOVE MOM!” Don’t let people condemn you about your piercings (no matter WHERE they are o.O).

When the Bible speaks, we’ll speak. But let’s not force the Bible to fit into our molds.

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She’s Baaaaaack! Look Out, Here Comes Monica Lewinsky

Lewinsky

So it seems dear ol’ Monica Lewinsky is back in the public eye. This time she’s on a mission, setting out to single-handedly finish off cyber-bullying once and for all.

But she’ll never be able to move on. She’ll never leave her past behind and ever be a “normal” public figure (still, are any of us normal?).

It’s not that Ms. Lewinsky wants to stay stuck in her past. She doesn’t. Here’s the problem:

We won’t let her.

She’s going to be the brunt of jokes and off-color remarks for the rest of her life because we, as a society, are going to keep reminding her (and each other) of her past sins and mistakes.

I don’t condone her past behavior, and sometimes the off-color jokes come quickly to us, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Jesus was a big guy on giving people a new lease on life. He met up with a woman once who had been married multiple times and was living with a man to whom she wasn’t married. Jesus didn’t condemn her but used her as an instrument to tell the rest of her town about him.

Another time some religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus. This is the famous, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” story of the Bible. Jesus didn’t condemn this woman either. Instead, he sent her on her way with a new lease on life and told her to leave her past behind her.

If we are to take our cue from Jesus, we ought to be in the business of helping people move beyond their past failures and sins and move into a new life where grace and forgiveness abound.

Seriously, who HASN’T done something stupid you wish you had never done in the first place? Yet our humanity likes to force people to wallow in their past failures.

Jesus doesn’t let people wallow. He ushers us into a new tomorrow where the past is forgiven and we get a new chance to be. So, to Ms. Lewinsky and the rest of us who have ever screwed up:

Here’s to forgiven yesterdays and new tomorrows.

If this post resonated with you in any way, please share it. Post it, tweet it, email it – just send it out there somehow.

Thx! 🙂

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When Pastors and Lesbians Collide

angry pastor

There’s something crazy going on in Houston.

To make a long story short, some pastors publicly came against a city ordinance that would allow men into women’s restrooms and women into men’s restrooms. There was a big hullabaloo, lawsuits, yada, yada, yada.

Then the Mayor and the City issued a subpoena to the pastors involved mandating the pastors turn over all sermons relating to the ordinance, homosexuality, and the mayor (Houston’s first openly lesbian mayor).

The response of the Conservative Right has been one of righteous indignation. “How can the government try to coerce a faith group like this?!?”

And so the pastors have refused to comply and conservatives are rallying around them.

I agree with them. And I disagree with them.

I Agree – I think we’re on dangerous ground when the government threatens and coerces faith groups based and tries to silence speech. This applies to any faith group. The premise of religious freedom is that we are allowed to speak what we believe – even if you disagree with it. I may not agree with your religion, but religious freedom protects all religions from speaking their beliefs – even if that religion publicly disapproves of alternative lifestyles. The mayor and city made a stupid decision to threaten and coerce ministers into silence.

I Disagree – WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANY PASTOR BE UNWILLING TO TURN OVER SERMONS?!? THAT’S WHAT WE DO! We give public presentations of the Gospel SO THAT people will hear. Christians are on dangerous ground when we refuse to speak our beliefs that might get us into trouble.

I’m reminded of the early apostles in the Bible. The religious authorities arrested them and told the apostles to stop preaching about Jesus. Even with imprisonment, flogging, and horrible injustice, the apostles knew that their calling to preach superseded any threat.

When the mayor and city called for the sermons, pastors should have jumped at the chance and said to the world, “Here! Have them all!” (not to mention that SO many churches have their sermons publicly broadcast and archived online – the city probably didn’t even NEED a subpoena).

So where does that leave us?

It leaves us with government officials who are overstepping their power as elected leaders of a democratic republic. They need to be kept in check and NOT threaten or coerce religious groups into keeping silent.

It leave Christians with a stark reminder that this world is going to turn against us when we stand up and preach the truth. That doesn’t mean we should hide behind legalities and barriers. When the world directly asks, “What do you believe and preach?” we ought to be standing up and say, “Here it is!”

Jesus didn’t promise us easy times. He promised us difficulty.

Pastors of Houston – give them your sermons. If you want I’ll send you a few of mine to add to the pile.

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Don’t You Wish You Were a Straight White Male Like Me?

straight-pride

I’m sure you’ve seen posts like it. I’ve seen it before.

The other day I saw it again – something to the effect of:

When people post about gay pride they’re heroes.
When I post about straight pride I’m a bigot.

That might not be the EXACT wording, but you get the idea.

Straight people complain about those who tout gay pride.
White people complain about those to promote black power.

black power

It always comes down to the same argument: If it’s okay for them to be proud and promote their empowerment why is it wrong for me to be proud and promote my empowerment?

The answer is simple, really. I don’t need to be proud and promote my empowerment because I’m the one in power.

Think about it. What we’re really talking about is the language of power and disenfranchisement. People who have typically been looked down on, discriminated against, or held down (socially, politically, economically, etc.) use language to bring their causes to light.

Why should those of us who are in power complain about people promoting their empowerment while we are not able to promote our own power?

We shouldn’t.

Jesus isn’t about promoting our own empowerment. In fact, biblical faith is all about supporting the disenfranchised and unempowered. James 1:27 says:

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The widow and orphan were individuals who had no chance to care for themselves; no family to lean on and no chance for making something of themselves. They were outsiders in society.

Jesus’ ministry was financially supported by women, people seen as less-than in the grand scheme of society. He regularly ate with social outcasts.

Jesus wasn’t about keep people from being empowered – he was all about loving people regardless of their status.

As Christians we ought to be leading the way in making sure that the disenfranchised are treated with equality and are given justice. Even when we disagree with someone’s life choice, we don’t have to make a stink about the language they use in their search for empowerment.

Those of us in power don’t need to flaunt our power in the face of others.

So, white people – stop complaining about “black power.” You don’t need to promote white power (you’ve already got it).
Straight people – stop complaining about “gay pride.” You don’t need to promote straight pride (you’ve already got it).
Men – stop complaining about women’s rights. You don’t need to promote men’s rights (you’ve already got them).

Do you get the picture? Rather than being upset when the disenfranchised rise up, we ought to be asking, “What can I do as a Christian to show love and support in a way that honors God?”

And maybe, just maybe, if those of us “in power” started behaving this way then those “without power” would have no need to make empowering statements – because WE would be the ones demanding justice in the first place.

And THAT is a message worth sharing with the world…

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Wait – You Want to Plant What???

planting

I want to plant a new kind of church – a digital church.

FIRST, A LITTLE STORY

I was packing up the office of the church where I had been a pastor for the last 3+ years. The church and I were heading in different directions. The problem was that I wasn’t sure of the direction God was leading me. Then I had a visit from an absolute joy. She was 78 years old and a member of the church. One of her primary functions in life was to be my surrogate grandmother and to be one of my personal cheerleaders in ministry.

She took me by the hand and said, “Walk with me.” You don’t argue when grandma tells you to walk, so I walked with her.

She took me down the hallway to where our church had a display of our history set up; a picture of the first men’s bible study class in 1918 that later developed into the church, the first church building, and pictures of the groundbreaking when the new facility was built in the 60’s.

Central Community 02

She asked me, “What do you see here?”

I answered, “The church’s history.”

With a sparkle in her eye she responded, “Yes! The history of church. But not the future.”

This dear lady walked me back to the office and told me God had given her a picture of the direction He was calling me to walk – to plant an online church community. As my wife and I prayed about it I began to get excited. And scared. At the same time. I was excited because I believe God has given me the dream to do such an endeavor. I was scared because I’ve never done anything like this before. But there I was – faced with the idea that I follow God’s leading or I keep venturing off on my own. Thus was born The Church Plant, A DIGITAL MISSIONARY ENDEAVOR.

Many churches have artificial plants that merely gather dust. The Church is supposed to be living and vibrant – not fake and dusty!

Church Plant

The next church movement will live not in bricks and stone but online.

One social media user noted:

While many churches across America seem to be experiencing decline, more and more people are plugging in to the world through phones, tablets, and computers. We’ve seen that people are still just as hungry for spirituality as they ever were. It’s not that people are done with God. It’s simply that many are done with the traditional way of participating in religion.

It’s time for a shift.

It’s time for the church to catch up to where the people are. With every revolution in media technology, preachers have been there to utilize media for the sake of the message of Jesus Christ and God’s love.

In an age when the literacy rate was relatively low, the Apostle Paul wrote letters to instruct churches when he could not be physically present. The first book printed on the printing press was the Bible. When radio hit the scene, God’s people took to broadcasting the Gospel over the airwaves. Radio missionaries even pump out the Gospel into closed countries when they aren’t allowed to physically preach about Jesus. With the dawning of the television age, televangelists hit the scene, pumping out an enormous amount of television ministry. While many televangelists get a bad rap, there are some preachers on t.v. who have viable ministries and do good things in the name of Jesus.

So here we are in the internet era. If we are going to be about people and reaching people for God then we must be intentional about being where they are. I’m not just talking about churches having a web presence and websites that have church information and recording of the Sunday service.

The contemporary church is not just about websites or music style – it’s about a revolution in the way we connect with people.

With more than 2 billion people plugged in online we must be intentional about creating a church community that hits people where they are, where they can come as they are, whenever they want.

The Church Plant is a place where everyone is safe to engage Christ as they are – no strings attached. We desire to be a lifeline to the discouraged, the disillusioned, and the disenfranchised.

Above all – it’s about Jesus…

With so many “unchurched” people in the world we are dropping the ball in reaching people with the message of Jesus. The sad fact is that many churches simply don’t embrace the idea of evangelism. Sometimes people are too nervous, afraid, or a million other reasons for not wanting to talk to someone about Jesus. But every day we see people – millions upon millions of people – clicking “share” or “retweet” when they want their friends to see something.

An online church community like The Church Plant has EXPLOSIVE potential for reaching people who would otherwise be unreached. An online church also has the ability to mobilize believers worldwide in order to support missions and Christian work around the globe.

We have the tools at our disposal to do more for the Kingdom of God than ever before. Now is the time for a completely online church, helping people hear the message of Jesus, connect to God, grow in spiritual maturity, and turn around and change the world for the better.

WHAT DOES THE CHURCH PLANT DO?

– Bible-Based messages in video and blog format
– Directed personal worship in video format
– Confidential Pastoral Counseling (personal issues, pre-marital/marital counseling, etc.)
– Real-Time Bible Studies with video and written prompts and group discussions
– Pastoral Care and Prayer via email, text message, or phone
– Support Worldwide Missions (we have missionary families in Africa and Southeast Asia we want to support at the outset)

It’s about a revolution in the way we connect with people. The revolution is here.

Every week on social media I’m asked questions about faith, spirituality, the Bible, and for pastoral counsel. As Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9: 37-38)

The Church Plant wants to reach the plugged-in harvest in a way that hasn’t been done before.

Will you join us?

We need your prayer! Outside-the-box ministry ideas can draw criticism from people who like the box. We need you to be praying that God will use this ministry to reach a plugged in culture that is otherwise unreached.

We also need funding. Our initial goal is to raise funds to create the legal entity The Church Plant, a legitimate non-profit church. We want everything to be above-board legally, so attorney and filing fees will be the bulk of our start up costs. We also need funds for the website. You can see us at www.thechurchplant.net.

Thanks to the generosity of Christian sponsors, we’re already one-fourth of the way to our goal! You can find our GoFundMe fundraising site here.

We need you to partner with us in this ministry to extend the love of Jesus to the plugged in culture around the world who would never think about setting foot inside a traditional church.

Will you join us?


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When God Turns His Back on You

God Lightning

In the last week I’ve had a couple of distinct conversations with individuals about the Christian understanding of “salvation” and the idea of losing it and/or needing to be saved again.

Salvation is the Christian concept that deals with human brokenness. We are broken people in a broken world and, left to ourselves, we get worse – not better. That’s why we can do some pretty crappy things to each other. We’re all broken in some way. Like all broken things, there’s a cost to fix what is broken. The cost to fix human brokenness and return to a right standing before God is a higher price than we could EVER pay.

Enter Jesus.

He comes along and says, “Your brokenness comes with a steep price tag. You can’t afford to pay for it, so I’ll pay it instead.”

That’s what the cross is all about.

Saint Peter once preached:

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

One time when the Apostle Paul and his ministry sidekick Silas were in prison, God shook the foundation of the earth and flung the doors open. The jailer, fearing his own punishment (death) and family shame, was about to kill himself when he thought the prisoners escaped. Paul cries out, “Don’t harm yourself, we’re all here!” The jailer realizes that their God is the true God and asks, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answers:

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. (Acts 16:31)

No special incantation. No hoops to jump through. Just a belief in the one true God and what He is doing through Jesus.

I don’t want to launch a debate with the once saved always saved crowd, but I don’t think people can “lose” salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God. You can’t lose what he keeps giving. I do believe people can turn their backs and stomp on God’s gift, but you can’t lose it.

If you care about your relationship with God to the point where you ever worry about losing salvation that would indicate to me that you’re not turning your back on him, so I wouldn’t be concerned about “losing” anything. 🙂

God loves you more than you can fathom, and he will not turn his back on you. Even when we go through the darkest parts of life and we FEEL abandoned He still cares. He still walks beside us. You’ve lost nothing, and you can rest easy knowing that He continues to hold you close.