Thankful to Whom?

By its very nature the giving of thanks cuts straight across the grain of the pride and self-focus of the natural human heart. When we are thankful for something, we acknowledge that we are in someone else’s debt—that there are good things in our lives for which it just doesn’t seem appropriate to pat ourselves on the back. We pause for a few days over Thanksgiving break to think about the blessings we enjoy—the way our lives, with all their challenges, trials, and disappointments, are actually much better than we could have accomplished for ourselves in our own strength, and much better than we know we deserve.

And that seems to be the case even for unbelievers. It seems the knowledge of God and His Law that is written on their hearts (Rom 2:14–15)—the knowledge of His invisible attributes that He has clearly made visible by ordering the world as He has (Rom 1:19–20)—gets just a little bit harder to suppress (Rom 1:18) as they perceive the loveliness and virtue in thanksgiving. The inherent, objective pleasantness of the reality that someone other than themselves is most fundamentally responsible for the good things they enjoy bursts forth into their consciousness, causing them to humble themselves and thank someone else for them. Even the most prideful person will admit, if he’s honest with himself, that, strangely enough, it feels good to be thankful. We enjoy giving thanks. Something just feels…right… about it.

And that’s because we’re tapping into the reality that life isn’t most ultimately about us and making much of ourselves. We’re catching a glimpse of the reality that absolutely everything that we have—from our part-time job to the air we breathe—is owing to the beneficence of Another. You see, we are designed to humble ourselves in the presence of Someone infinitely more worthy than us.   Continue at Mike Riccardi

American Churches: The Evangelical Answer to Home Depot

You’ve got to get this book: This Little Church Went to Market by Gary Gilley (Darlington: EP Books, 2010 [reprint]).  The subtitle is telling: “Is the Modern Church Reaching Out or Selling out?”  In this book, Gilley takes on the American church growth industry.  From Saddleback to Willow Creek to Lee Strobel to Bill Hybels, churches and church leaders are straight up adopting a business model of marketing a product and applying that model to the church.  Of course, Mike Horton, David Wells, Os Guinness, and many others have also written well on this subject, but Gilley’s book is a great addition to those other voices.

In This Little Church, Gilley discusses how our culture is entertainment driven, self-focused, consumer based, and swimming in self-help psychology.  He then documents how many American churches have adopted the business model of getting people in the doors by entertaining them, meeting their felt needs, and using Christianity as a resource to give lives a boost.  Preachers talk about fulfillment and say Jesus is a way to find fulfillment and that Christianity brings excitement and spontaneity into dull lives.  While some of these churches are might mean well, ultimately what happens is the whole message of salvation gets watered down to nothing, since neither repentance nor self-denial is demanded of people in the ‘audience.’  Here are a few of my favorite quotes. Continue Reading>>>