Chuck Ryor

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:12-13

I made it :47 seconds.  That’s a new record for me.  That is exactly how long I could watch Christian television without my gag reflex kicking in. Some friends of mine and I used to play a game where we all put a dollar into a pool and guessed how many seconds it would take after we turned on Christian television for them to start talking about money.  I’d have won the pot this morning if I’d guessed FIVE seconds!

As I sat – well, squirmed – aghast of the crooked theology and brazen pride, I wondered why God has allowed it to continue. There are so many things wrong with “Plant a Seed in my Need so I can appeal to your Greed” theology, I’m lost as to where to start critiquing it. So let’s fast forward to the end.  Jesus didn’t die so you could live a prosperous life on this earth.  He died to restore you to relationship with Him and so through that relationship and the changes it brings about in your heart, His glory will be seen by the world.

At the heart of so much theology – both Non-Christian and so-called Christian – is the sad, self-serving notion that God is here for us.  Don’t get me wrong, the Father has promised to meet the needs of His children, but our greatest need is to know the contentment of His presence.  This contentment stays in place regardless of the circumstances. That’s how the Apostle Paul was able to say what he said to the Christians in Philippi.  Paul told them he learned the secret of divine contentment, and it is independent of how much stuff, status or success you have.  It’s found in the simple enjoyment of the presence of Christ.

With apologies to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, one problem I have with putting Philippians 4:13 on posters of successful athletes is that it further facilitates the erroneous notion that the purpose of a relationship with God is to help you achieve your dreams or be successful.  He does want your soul to prosper by basking in the enjoyment of His presence.  That’s where the strength to endure life resides, whether or not you have a lot or a little.  The essence of so much teaching – including some done so under the auspices of so-called Christian orthodoxy – is that Jesus is here to serve us.  At the heart of this religious mindset is the sad picture of our sinful hearts wanting God’s things but not wanting God himself.

Tim Keller writes about the Prodigal Son, who asks for his inheritance before his father had deceased:

“To ask this while the father still lived was the same as to wish him dead.  The young son was saying, essentially, that he wants the father’s things, but not his father.  His relationship with the father has been a means to the end of enjoying his wealth, and now he is weary of that relationship.”  Tim Keller – The Prodigal God

This is what is so disconcerting about the “health and wealth” or “prosperity” or “Jesus is hear to help you achieve your dreams” message of popular Christianity.  In the end, Jesus is a means to an end.  He came so that our relationship with Him – our fellowship with His indwelling Spirit – could be the end in itself.  All of life – including the God ordained suffering – is designed to enable us to depend on Him alone for our soul’s satisfaction.

That’s how the Apostle Paul could write from prison and say that He was experiencing genuine joy.  And in the end it was his honor to have his head removed for the fame of Jesus’ gospel.  His life wasn’t about pursuing his own honor and comfort.  He knew the gracious Savior’s presence and out of that life giving joy he gladly surrendered to the will of the Father. The gospel is about Jesus.  We’re here to enjoy His presence and bring glory to Him.  You can do this whether or not you’ve got anything to make culture say you’re successful.  In plenty and/or in want, the Apostle Paul and Scripture call us to know divine contentment.

“Contentment lies within the soul, and doth not depend upon externals.  Hence I gather, that outward troubles cannot hinder this blessed contentment; it is a spiritual thing, and ariseth from spiritual grounds, namely, the apprehension of God’s love.” – Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” – Hebrews 4:7

I had an encounter while working on my sermon this week that reminded me of a situation I encountered in college…

As I was finishing up my preparations for this Sunday, a woman approached me at the Starbucks across from Pasadena City College.  I’ve grown accustomed to the approach and knew she was going to ask for financial help.  She, her boyfriend and their daughter were on the street, their car was in hock as they had numerous unpaid parking tickets and he was arrested for driving with a suspended drivers license.  It’s evening and they didn’t have a place to stay.  Of course, I helped them and secured a night in a hotel for them.

After the young woman (21) and their three-year-old daughter went to their room, I sat with the young man (24) and hoped to share Christ with him.  I walked away from the encounter burdened by how lost this couple was.  In particular, this young man was still full of pride.  That blew me away.  I asked him lots of questions and he always had quick answers.  Every so often he’d ask me my opinion about his answer, I’d tell him what Scripture taught and he’d tell me the Bible was wrong

Here is this homeless guy, unemployed, penniless and begging for food and a place to stay for the night – and he’s telling me why he can’t believe this and how wrong everyone else is about that.  I couldn’t help wondering how much lower he would have to sink before he’d be willing to listen to anyone give him direction.

When I was a senior at WVU, my roommate Steve (who is still on staff with Campus Crusade) and I came into contact with a homeless man.  We decided to let him live in our dorm room for a “couple of nights” while he ostensibly looked for work.  After a few days of him sitting on our couch all day and eating all of our food, we invited him to leave.  He was un-teachable, proud and “knew it all.”  Yet he was unemployed, broke, and homeless…again.

Let me be clear, I’m not talking about drug addicted or psychologically disabled homelessness.  Both of these men were lucid, intelligent and as lost as the day is long.  Their hearts were hard as granite.  It would take a miracle for their hearts to soften and open up to what God has to say to them.

As opposed to my twenty something response of self-righteousness (which is my natural default mode), I instead felt sorrow for this young family.  Particularly as I realized that I’m just a mid-40’s, educated, affluent version of the same stubborn heart.  I may not be walking the street with my kids, but I could be.  What if my Prism Support Team (the generous people from around the country that make it possible for me to plant a church and minister to broke college and seminary students) all fell on hard times?  What if I was all of a sudden physically disabled from working?

I’ve got a number of areas where I’m wrestling to trust God and wish my heart would soften and I’d willingly obey.  It will take a miracle of his grace for my heart to soften and open up to what God has to say to me.

Two thoughts & prayers come to mind:

1. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)  Lord, protect us from pride.  Keep us from ever entertaining the idea that we’re better than others.  Remind us that even our obedience to you is a gift of grace, a by-product of all the great things you’ve done for us.
2. “As I have loved you, love one another.”  (John 13:34) Lord, help us to be as compassionate to the hard hearted as you are to us.  Help us to know the grace, love and patience that you have for us on a daily basis.  Once we know your kindness to us, compel us to extend it to others.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8

What follows is 100% true…

I left Orlando this past Sunday night at 1:45 a.m. Pacific on a red-eye flight from LAX to Orlando (red-eye flights are overnight ones where you get little sleep and hence have red-eyes the next day).  I had been up since 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, and by the time I landed in Orlando at Noon on Monday I had one hour of sleep in the previous 27 hours.  I felt fine, but the early signs of sleep deprivation were beginning to show.

First, as I was getting off the plane I got a call from Tyler Powell, the Coordinator for Acts 29 Church Plants.  When the big cheese from Seattle calls, you focus and take the call no matter where you are.  So, I grabbed my things (so I thought) and deplaned.  After hanging up with Tyler, I realized that I had left my wallet on the plane.  Credit cards, ID, money.  All needed for renting a car and spending the week moving to and fro in Florida.

I tracked back through the airport and managed to find a Delta employee who boarded the plane (thankfully still at the gate) and retrieved my wallet.  I then picked up my suitcase from baggage claim and headed to get my rental car.

Nowadays, when you rent a car from Alamo you get to pick the one you want.  I asked an attendant which compact car had cruise control.  She pointed me to a nice Ford Focus; I put my suitcase in the trunk, my briefcase in the back seat, and then smelled something foul inside the car.  I decided to take a different car.  So, I grabbed my things (so I thought), jumped into another car and headed out to the first of my day’s appointments.

I drove two hours from Orlando to Ocala to meet a friend for lunch.  Then I drove another hour and a half north to Lake City to meet two ministry partners.  After dinner I drove back down I-75 to Gainesville to see a former staff member.  Then I headed to where I was going to spend the night, which was another hour and a half south.  It was 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time when I left Gainesville for my friend’s house in Crystal River.  I had slept one hour in the previous 36 hours.

As I turned south from the two-lane Highway 24 onto Highway 98, the road was empty.  It was also a remote highway with little lighting or signage.  As I made my way down the road, I finally came upon some traffic headed the other way and they were strangely flicking their high beams at me.  I assumed the signaling was because of police speed traps ahead.  However, because I wasn’t going over the speed limit I didn’t pay them any mind.

Fifteen miles down this road later something started to feel funny about my trek on highway 98.  Cars kept flashing their high beams at me, but there weren’t any speed traps and my high beams weren’t on.  Then I noticed that the reflectors in the lines between the lanes were red and not white.  Finally, I looked to my right and noticed that another car was traveling parallel to me down a highway side road (so I thought).  Then it dawned on me…I was driving south on the northbound lanes of a FOUR-lane highway.  As the kids say, “OMG!” (‘G’ is for Gosh if you’re a gossipy fundamentalist).

I quickly pulled across the grass median to the southbound lanes.  A truck headed my way was now trailing me closely.  A few minutes later two state troopers flashed their lights and pulled me off the road.  They checked my sobriety and discovered that my BDCL (Blood Diet Coke Level) was high.  Not a crime.  They asked me if I had been taking any medication.  I explained that I was unsure where I was headed, and that I was following a GPS unit and unaware that I’d been on the wrong side of the highway.  They graciously told me to be careful and pointed me in the right direction.

Ever felt like you dodged a bullet?  I’m not talking about not getting a ticket for reckless driving (which would have been warranted), but avoiding a head on collision and my own death.  Worse yet, I thought about the lives I would’ve taken/injured/impacted (impacted…no pun intended) by my sleep impaired driving.  God is gracious and His Angels protected many from my errors (a lifetime of this has taken place in one way or another – but that’s for another blog!).

To cap off this “Day of Impairment,” I arrived at my destination and opened the trunk to pull out my suitcase.  It was then that I realized that I’d driven off the rental car lot earlier in the day and forgotten to retrieve my suitcase from the trunk of the car with the bad stink in it.  Alamo has no idea where this car is, as I could only identify it by its make, color and odor.  Not sufficient for tracking it down, as they have hundreds of Ford Focuses in their fleet.

So, I’m in central Florida this week to speak at a high school, meet with a mentor, visit some supporters and potential supporters, and be interviewed by a magazine and a radio station about my book.  But I don’t have clothes, toothpaste, or my good shoes.  All because of my sleep impairment.

What’s my point?  Well, I need to get my sleep.

But for those of us with self-control issues, I can only tell you that my years as a single man were filled with poor judgment and foolish decisions.  I can tell you without question that the majority of these bad choices were made under the influence of alcohol or some kind of drug.  Few – ironically, I can’t remember many – were made in a sober mindset.

Impaired judgment will impact not only your own life, but also the lives of anyone you happen to come in contact with along the way.  So, stay alert.

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11

I finished Steve Brown’s “Scandalous Freedom” last night.  While my thoughts are still fresh in my mind, I want to reflect on this book and I recommend it to you.  My friend, Dusty Cooper, calls it, “The best dang book ever written, ever!”  Dusty has read a few, too.

My overarching reflection is that so few people, so few preachers and so few churches really comprehend the gospel.  Christians are free. Christians are loved. Christians are holy in God’s sight because of Christ’s sacrifice and righteousness.  The gospel says that these realities are true right now!

So why do so many – myself included – have such a tough time believing this to be true?  Because preachers and their misguided Christian followers keep teaching something very different. From the earliest of church experiences (see the New Testament book of Galatians), Christians have not been comfortable with being truly free.  Some Christians always seem to tack something on to “Christ Alone.”

Lately I’ve witnessed two groups of people, supposedly sharing a common theological underpinning, head in two different directions regarding their frustration with American Christianity. Both groups declare that Christians have become too soft, too comfortable, lukewarm and ineffective.

One group has decided that the church needs to hear the “tough teaching” of Jesus more.  According to this group, we need to realign how we “do” church and that will fix the problem.  Feel the pain of Jesus more.  Weep over the things that make Jesus weep.  In general, you’re supposed to feel badly and mourn a lot.  And if you’re not feeling like garbage about your faith and about your church, you clearly aren’t spiritually minded.  So, you should feel badly about that, too.

“I fear too often the church has become an organization of guilty people with a guilty preacher standing in the pulpit, telling guilty people that they should feel guiltier. “ – Steve Brown, Scandalous Freedom

The other group (which I’ve been happily drawn into) agrees with the assessment of the condition of the church and the ends for which we’re all hoping…a healthy and effective Christian Church.  However, it’s the means to the end where Steve Brown and company will have a problem.  Stating the law more clearly, re-hashing the tough talk of Jesus and “Bringing the wood” to the church through “hard preaching” isn’t how Jesus wants it done.  He may have taught challenging things, but he never did so in a manner that would crush broken souls.

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.  He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.  In his name the nations will put their hope.” – Matthew 12:18-21

So how do we think God’s going to work all this out?  How do those in my camp think a person starts to love Jesus more?  Well, it isn’t by breaking ‘bruised reeds’ or snuffing out ‘smoldering wicks. ‘ Instead, God wants to transform His people the same way He rescued His people…by Grace.  If you and I don’t love Jesus, we need to recognize that we don’t have the capacity in and of ourselves to be “Nike Christians” and JUST DO IT!   We don’t and can’t love Him by determining to do so or by lashing ourselves in self-hatred until we feel guilty enough.

Simply put, we have to see His unconditional love and unmerited favor more clearly if we want to love Him more.  The problem isn’t that lethargic Christians (which, if honest, we’d admit we all are in some capacity) are treating grace as if it’s cheap.  The problem is that we don’t understand how much He loves us and how much He’s done for us

“I don’t know why every time someone starts talking about the gospel, some detractor yells, ‘Cheap grace!  Cheap grace!’  Listen, if it weren’t cheap, you and I couldn’t afford it.  If it cost us one thing – our commitment, our obedience, our religious actions, or anything else – it would remain in the store and on the shelf.” – Steve Brown, Scandalous Freedom

It is true that God commands obedience.  It is true that He has us on a mission to reflect more of the character of Christ.  But, the solution to our disobedience is a greater comprehension of His love and grace, not a greater comprehension of how much harder we ought to try.  Only when we realize His great affection for us, will we be overwhelmed enough with Him to fall in love with our Savior and follow Him as Lord.

Christians are free. Christians are loved. Christians are holy in God’s sight because of Christ’s sacrifice and righteousness.  The gospel says that these realities are true right now!