Dreams Unlocked

Today, the other pastor I work with and I attended a large pastors conference out of town. The speaker was a mega-church pastor, well known in evangelical Christian circles. His messages were excellent - very helpful and biblically sound. The last session he took some questions and answers. One question was about how to minister in an age of terrorism and mass shootings. His answer was interesting. He went straight to a defense of police officers. He claimed that the situation is not helped when we demonize police officers. I agree. I agreed with everything he said - police, firefighters, soldiers - these men and women stand between the rest of us and complete social breakdown. I hold great respect and admiration for these people who place their lives on the line daily, so that the rest of us can live lives of security. Now, what I want to point out is what he did not say. I am still a relative newcomer to the USA - 2.5 years now. And so I have been able to observe a little ...

Last week I preached on identity. The question of self identity is one of the key questions we need to answer in order to have a meaningful life. When asked "who are you"?, most of us respond either vocationally or relationally. Vocationally - I am a pastor, doctor, home-maker, etc. Relationally - I am a Ninan - I am so and so's child, father, etc. We now live in a time where gender and racial identity seems to be becoming more and more fluid. In my sermon, I addressed that if we follow Christ, our identity gets re-defined in terms of our relationship with Christ. As followers of Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. Thus, our primary identity is that as a child of God. A Christian is someone who has God as their father. This understanding is incredibly transformational. We lose insecurity and fear as we enter into the truth of this reality. Our attempts to secure self esteem through peer or societal approval, proves moot. We are also liberate...

Yesterday, I was thinking about what the benefits of being a Christian are. What difference does being a follower of Jesus Christ? I came up with the following: 1. The ability to forgive others. Because Christ has forgiven the worst in me, I in turn can forgive the worst in others. 2. No stress. If God loves me and is caring for and  protecting and guiding me, I never have to worry about anything ever again. 3. Community. The most important human need we have is for a community of love and acceptance around us. The Church gives me this gift. There are more - what would you add?