Vlog 8 is out!
VLOGS
Vlog #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90NEhij2HO0
Vlog #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlxOfW0M8E
Vlog #4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jmea3HmMDI
Vlog #5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGfFzlmjQc8
Vlog #6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9pNnO-BI8
Vlog #7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3n4s8TnC8E
Go to church... and drop dead!
Pastor Marc Peña
July 2009
I'm sitting in my office reading the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) in preparation for this Sunday. Have you ever read that one? Now that's a spooky story!
So this couple shows up with some money from a property they sold. They bring the money to the apostles to share with the community just as many of the early Christians were doing. There was one problem though... they kept back part of the proceeds.
It's clear from the story that the issue wasn't money (Peter tells them this in verse 4). What was at issue was Ananias and Saphira's integrity. The money was always theirs to do with as they pleased but in an attempt to give the appearance of spirituality and generosity they lied and kept back part of the money.
Did you get that?
They lied.
They lied and then they died... right in church (see v.11).
There is something about being "fake" and inauthentic that really upsets God.
I know that for many of us "integrity" seems to imply some kind of moral perfection. But the truth is that it simply means being "genuine" or "whole." Kinda like "what you see is what you get." At least that's where integrity starts, I believe.
It's not easy being a person of integrity. It requires a willingness to admit your weakness as well as your strengths. It means admitting you have bad habits and attitudes not just good ones. It means admitting when you're wrong and seeking forgiveness and grace with no preconditions or excuses.
It means stop being "fake."
Let me let you in on a little secret... God wants you to be real.
In fact, He loves the real you.
He may want to change some aspects of our lives (which usually means some course corrections and attitude adjustments), but He delights in working with who you really are.
So go to church this Sunday with "integrity."
Worship with integrity. Sing with integrity. Give with integrity....
for without it something dies.
"Service" or "Serve-Us" - Moving beyond Consumerism
“Service” or “Serve-Us” – Moving beyond Consumerism
Pastor Marc Peña
When I was a young kid I watched a new “up and coming” franchise threaten the established and unrivaled king of burgers: McDonalds. This new burger company had a catchy motto, maybe you’ve heard of it…
“Have it your way”
Yep, that’s Burger King.
The motto aimed to pit a custom made flame-broiled burger against the hugely popular Big Mac, but it did much more than this. Almost prophetically, the 1970’s motto captured the heart of an emerging cultural value that would come to dominate the American mindset. “Have it your way” became much more than a catchy burger motto. It became the creed and philosophy of life for most Americans.
But times are changing…
After decades of rampant consumerism many people are coming
to their senses. The idea that consumerism is life’s greatest purpose is being
exposed as a bankrupt philosophy. Slowly we are returning to one of life’s most
sacred truths: “It is more blessed to
give than to receive” (Acts
But not for everyone…
Sadly, there are still many institutions (and people!) that are entrenched in consumerism. They still see life’s primary purpose as accumulating more and more assets. Jesus tells an interesting story in Luke 12 about a rich landowner who had acquired so much that he had no more room to store it. The landowner decides to tear down his old barns and build bigger ones. This way he will have more room for, you guessed it, more stuff. What the rich man did not count on was that his life would soon come to an end. All of his work to acquire more stuff and build bigger barns came to an abrupt end. He left it all behind… along with an empty legacy of self-indulgence. Jesus ends the story with a stark warning, “…the man who stores up treasure for himself is not rich towards God” (verse 21).
As God’s people let us not live solely for the acquisition
of assets. As the Church we not called to accumulate
assets or build bigger barns. We are called to follow Jesus’ example who came “not to be served but to serve.” (Mark
AIG: An Incessant Greed
Pastor Marc Peña
Trinity LIfe Church of San Diego
AIG… three little letters.
Just enough to make your stomach turn.
But let’s be honest, did the whole AIG thing really surprise you?
Probably not.
As a culture (by and large) we’ve been promoting greed under the guise of “the right to prosper” for decades… and the American family has the bills to prove it (the average credit card debt per family in our country has now surpassed 8,000.00).
Sadly, this excessive obsession with financial “prosperity” has found itself at home in many churches and sermons across our country. Many believers have turned giving from an act of worship and faith into some kind of “contract” where God becomes financially obligated to respond. Too many have been told that giving “sacrificially” is the way of obtaining unusual financial blessing from God as well as remarkable deliverance from debt. Biblical stewardship is reduced to a “give a lot and give it often” mentality. In many churches, receiving the weekly tithes and offerings has become an art which employs a unique blend of guilt, manipulation and begging. In short, many believers have been deceived into thinking that biblical giving is about “getting.” Nothing could be farther from the truth…
Don’t get me wrong… I have no doubt that God’s desire is to bless people (yes, that means financially too). I am also convinced that God is moved when we generously give of our time, talent and treasure for the building of His kingdom (remember the widow in Mark 12:41-44?). There are even times when He blesses in such unusual and extraordinary ways that it leaves us worshipfully breathless! (and grateful!). God has been and continues to be a faithful Provider.
But this should in no way be a license to ignore the teachings of Scripture which warn us about becoming overly preoccupied with wealth…
Proverbs 28:20 (ESV): “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
1 Timothy 6:6-9 (ESV): “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction."
Matthew 19:24 (ESV): “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”Mark 4:19 (ESV): “…but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."
James 1:11 (ESV): “For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits”
Let us strive to honor God by being a people of both discipline and devotion. Let our pursuit of prosperity be for the honor, glory and kingdom of God as we help those in need. Let us devote ourselves to cultivating worshipful generosity and discipline ourselves to be content in all things. Let our tithes and offerings reflect of our faith in God and not our facination with wealth.
Remember that greed, in all of its forms, will ultimately pierce the heart with shame and sorrow. Let’s forsake the bankrupt legacies of greed left to us by companies like AIG. Let’s seek a better way…
Hebrews 13:5 (ESV): “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Character or Image?
Trinity Life Church of San Diego
Pastor MarcPeña
January 2009
Blagojevich… Haggard… It’s
not a new story. In fact, it’s a very old and played out one. You know how it
goes don’t you? Someone with great vision and ambition embarks on a noble quest
to bring meaning and significance to their lives. Sometimes in service to God,
sometimes in service to humanity, sometimes a bit of both. But
something happens along the way…
The crowds get bigger, the
lights get brighter and character begins to fade into the shadows. Words are no
longer spoken in authenticity out of a reverence for God or in the service of
people. Instead, they become the paint and veneer for something much more
grandiose and far less important – Image.
What bothers me the most
about the ex-governor of Illinois and former pastor and president of the National
Association of Evangelicals is not the measure of their guilt (something that I
admittedly know very little about), but the way they seem to incessantly desire to hang on to the spotlight, even if it’s by a thread. The result? The
unraveling of public confidence and trust in those whom we look to for
leadership. For when image becomes everything, character means nothing.
Whether in the arena of
public and political discourse or in the sanctuary of the Church, character
always matters. Always has… always will.
“Keep your heart with all
vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Confessions of a Bible Teacher
Confessions of a Bible Teacher
Pastor Marc Peña
November 2008
I can still remember the
night I spent hours preparing to teach my first Bible study (that was over 20
years ago). My approach was basically a “parroting” of what I saw most of my
teachers in public school and college do; prepare a bunch of information in
some kind of logical, coherent order and present it to a group of students. The
only difference was that the content was now biblical. The next evening when I
taught (or should I say when I dispensed the information) things went generally
better than I had expected. People left the study smiling and commenting on how
“moving” it was. I felt affirmed and maybe even a little proud. “Job well done”
I told myself. All was well… until the following Sunday.
The morning service had just
finished and I was speaking with a new visitor, inviting him to the midweek
Bible study held at my home. I called a friend over who attended the study to
encourage the visitor to join us. After a short introduction my friend uttered
a phrase I will never forget. “Yeah, we had a great time.” My friend continued,
“Marc’s a great teacher… uhh.” He gave me a quick glance. “I can’t remember
what he taught, but we had a great time!” Sensing my embarrassment, my friend
abruptly shook the visitor’s hand and left us standing there.
I prepared, I taught (so I
thought) but did anybody learn?
This experience provoked me
to ask hard questions about the nature teaching and learning. Time after time I
had witnessed people grow in their acquisition of biblical knowledge and yet
live as if it were no more relevant to their lives than grandma’s recipe for
oatmeal raisin cookies (which is always good for a warm smile while practicing
the fine art of over-indulgence). As I began to wrestle with the growing frustrations
of my teaching experiences I came to a frightful conclusion... “What I’m doing
doesn’t work!” (You have no idea how long it took me to admit that!). The
horror of that confession would be surpassed a few months later by another
shocking realization… “I’m not even seeing this right!”
As I continued my valiant
battle to become a better teacher (i.e. posting my resume on monster.com,
considering a missions trip to Spain, launching an Ebay business etc.), Dr.
Julie Gorman (from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena) recommended I read Parker
Palmer’s book “To Know As We Are Known.”
Palmer’s book helped my “eyesight” dramatically. As I began to see the Church through
a different and much more ancient “lens,” my ideas about the nature of teaching
and learning began to change. I was coming to grips that the Church has been
and will always be a “learning community.”
Unless teaching and learning
are done in the context of relationships and community, little more than a
transfer of information is likely to happen. To reduce biblical teaching to a
dispensing of consumer-oriented information (i.e. “7 Principles of a Happy Life,”
“5 Ways to Make your Marriage Magnificent,” “How to Be Prosperous in 3 Easy
Steps” etc.) is an abortion of the very Word teachers and preachers are trying
to communicate; a Word whose primary purpose is the formation, healing and
commissioning of a covenant people. Biblical instruction is not designed to
feed our own curiosity or need for control. It isn’t “information” or
“knowledge” we take and use as a means to either satisfy our vanity or worse,
control the world around us (people as well as possessions). This kind of “education”
always ends in the manipulation and alienation of others and the spiritual
decay of congregational life.
Whether it’s instructing a
child or leading a group, an important question should emerge every time we
gather to teach and learn; “Where can God’s grace help to heal, transform and
change?” At its heart the Church’s teaching ministry is a Word-guided “search” for
God’s grace and the Spirit-empowered means to manifest that grace in the midst
of a people seeking to practice truth.
I have to admit that there’s
still a lot of struggle in my ministry… but most of the time it’s a struggle to
seek out and share God’s grace with others.
And, in case you’re
wondering, yes, I can live with that.
What Does a Pastor Do Anyway?
A Reflection on Acts 20:17-35
Pastor Marc Peña
Not long ago my wife and I went to our favorite Chinese food restaurant to eat some of their famous salt and pepper chicken wings. We arrived just ahead of the lunch crowd and were seated at a corner table. Within fifteen minutes or so the place was packed. An elderly woman walked in and sat down on a small bench waiting to be seated. By the look of things she was in for a long wait. The manager, who knows us as regulars, motioned to me to ask if it was O.K. to invite the woman to sit at our table. Mary and I agreed and in a few moments Marian was sitting at our table ordering her lunch (yep, salt and pepper chicken wings).
After some small talk Marian asked, “So what do you do for a living?” I looked over at my wife who was smiling. “I’m a pastor.” I replied.
“Oh…” Marian hesitated for a moment. “I don’t mean to be rude but what does a pastor do anyway?” Over the course of the next hour and a half we talked about all things pastoral. I think she was intrigued by the fact that my vocation involved far more than officiating over weddings and funerals. We talked about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; about tithes and offerings; preaching and teaching the Bible; church ministry and church politics. In short, Marian left very few “church” stones unturned. We finished our lunch, exchanged contact information and thanked Marian for joining us. Later on that night I began to think about my conversation with Marian. “What does a pastor do anyway?” As I rehearsed the conversation in my head, I thought about all the different topics we covered. The list was by no means complete but it was long enough to make me feel exhausted.
I grabbed my Bible and began to read from Acts 20:17-35. It’s the Apostle Paul’s farewell address to the elders at
1. A pastor’s life and ministry is primarily a God-ward act of humility (v. 19). Paul viewed his ministry to the Ephesians as a humble offering of service to God. As a pastor I frequently remind myself that my life and ministry is primarily lived our before an audience of One.
2. A pastor is called and commissioned by God to preach and teach the Word of God (v.20, 27). The ministry of the Word (both in preaching and practice) is central to pastoral ministry.
3. Being a pastor is a life-long call (v.24). Not everyone will agree with me here but I believe that becoming a pastor is about a faithful, life-long response to God’s calling. Being a pastor is much more than a job or career. There’s is no “retirement” in the
4. A pastor is called upon to shepherd and watch over God’s people (v.28). There are two things that strike me here; first is that the congregation does not belong to me, they are God’s people. I know that some reading this will think “Duh, Marc… that’s obvious.” But you’d be surprised what happens to a pastor after years of serving, leading, preaching, teaching and counseling a congregation. After a while a pastor can begin to feel and act as if the congregation is indebted to him. The pastor develops a growing sense that the congregation is obligated to him for his years of dedicated service. This is unhealthy and dangerous. It is important to remind ourselves as pastors that we are “unprofitable servants” who are simply responding to God’s calling (Luke 17:7-10). Secondly, a pastor has the sacred responsibility to guard God’s people from error. I’m not one to engage in doctrinal hairsplitting but over the years I have witnessed what poor and erroneous teaching does to people. I am convinced that the faith of many well-intentioned believers rests on little more than Christian clichés and slogans. They’re nice and catchy but will do nothing for you when the storms of life hit. A pastor works hard to make sure that Christ is the bedrock of a congregation’s faith… everything else is sinking sand.
5. A pastor works for the healing and reconciliation of broken people (v.35). Pastoral ministry is about people. Hurt, angry, broken, disillusioned, abused … the list is long. When a pastor loses sight of this his ministry becomes skewed. More time and energy is spent on developing programs, marketing, organizational structure, financial planning etc. than on ministry to people.
Healthy and Unhealthy Spirituality
July 3, 2008
But what makes a healthy church? As we wrestle with this question I think it’s important to remind ourselves that there is a difference between healthy and perfect. Most Christians are painfully aware of the fact that there is no perfect church (this side of heaven that is). This doesn’t mean that a church can’t be a spiritually healthy community of faith. As I see it, a spiritually healthy church is one that embraces its own imperfection and brokenness, continuously depending on God’s grace to live out its ministry and mission in the world. It is a community of believers that surrender themselves to the life-transforming process of the Word and Spirit of God.
Recently I read Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton’s book Toxic Faith: Understanding and Overcoming Religious Addiction. In chapter 6 they offer the Ten Characteristics of a Toxic Faith System. It’s a scary list. I offer this to pastors, leaders, congregation members, teachers, small group leaders and anyone else who desires to work for a spiritually healthy and vibrant church, but mostly I offer it to myself as a reminder of what to avoid and how to stay on track. Here’s the list;
Toxic Characteristic #1: The members of a toxic faith system make claims about their character, abilities, or knowledge that make them “special” in some way.
Toxic Characteristic #2: The leader is dictatorial and authoritarian.
Toxic Characteristic #3: Religious addicts are at war with the world to protect their terrain and establish themselves as godly persons who can’t be compared to other persons of faith.
Toxic Characteristic #4: Toxic faith systems are punitive in nature. (They are rooted in a ‘punishment’ mentality).
Toxic Characteristic #5: Religious addicts are asked to give overwhelming service.
Toxic Characteristic #6: Many religious addicts in the system are physically ill, emotionally distraught, and spiritually dead.
Toxic Characteristic #7: Communication is from the top down or from the inside out.
Toxic Characteristic #8: Rules are distortions of God’s intent and leave Him out of the relationship.
Toxic Characteristic #9: Religious addicts lack objective accountability.
Toxic Characteristic #10: The technique of 'labeling' is used to discount a person who opposes the beliefs of the religious addict.
I just found Arterburn and Felton's 10 Rules of a Toxic Faith System in chapter 8. Equally scary but very sobering;
Toxic Rule #1: The Leader must be in control at all times.
Toxic Rule #2: When problems arise, find a guilty party to blame immediately.
Toxic Rule #3: Don't make mistakes.
Toxic Rule #4: Never point out the reality of a situation.
Toxic Rule #5: Never express your feelings unless they are positive.
Toxic Rule #6: Don't ask questions, especially if they are tough ones.
Toxic Rule #7: Don't do anything outside your role.
Toxic Rule #8: Don't trust anyone.
Toxic Rule #9: Nothing is more important than giving money to the organization.
Toxic Rule #10: At all costs, keep up the image of the organization or the family.
