I have been working on a worship message this week that deals with lust, adultery and broken trust. Anger and lust are two powerful emotional forces that have the destructive potential to dismantle the most basic unit of society--the family. Adultery is named as one of the leading causes of divorce, and the statistics for those of us in the church rival the divorce rates of the general public. It may reveal my naiveté, but why am I surprised when outspoken single Christians post on Facebook that they went away for the weekend with a romantic interest? Or two Christians decide to move in together? Christians visit strip clubs and habitually surf alluring pornographic websites. College students who profess commitment to Jesus mimic the values of their secular friends. Who defines our sexual values--culture or the will and design of the One who created us as spiritual-sexual beings?
Colossians 2:8 warns us not to become products of our culture. We have to realize the power of “group-think” and how the mindset and traditions of society become enculturated into our understanding of sexuality. Prior to WWII, Hitler built a cultural mindset of Aryan superiority. Racial superiority was a cultural mindset built through centuries in the minds of human beings. This demonic mindset infiltrated the minds of believers who participated in slavery (slaves were deemed to be only 3/5 human), defended segregation and apartheid, and created genocide--all while the participants professed biblical faith.
Human beings are uniquely created in the image of God. Our sexual connections are designed to operate at a higher dimension than the animal kingdom, which irrationally acts out of the passions of “heat.” We are designed to create deep bonds with another human being through commitment of heart. Lust is a destructive force that prevents lifelong bonding (true intimacy). This is why Jesus makes such a radical statement concerning lust in the Sermon on the Mount about “gouging out your eye” if it is causing you to lust or “cutting off your hand” if it is causing you to stumble. In others words, if you are involved in unbiblical behavior or relationship--cut it off today and run!
Amen..Pastor Slaughter!! Tell it like it is!! This is so true.
Posted By: Suzanne on May 13, 2010 07:45PM
My spouse recently began seeking emotional companionship and engaged in "sex talk" with others via the internet. My spouse described it as "flirting" and would never act upon it. The knowledge of my spouses actions have created trust issues I never thought I would have to deal with. I know I am not alone in this experience. I hope you talk about it in your sermon.
Posted By: Marriage Partner on May 13, 2010 09:29PM
My parents have five children, been married for fifty five years and I’d be extremely surprised if they ever strayed from one another. They are committed Christians. If they taught us one thing it was how to form the family unit. Dad always said there were three keys to success in life; get a high school education, stay married, and keep working. Sounds simple doesn’t it. My wife and I both have educations, been married for 27 years and have been gainfully employed for most of the ride. We don’t have issues and never considered letting anyone else butt into what we have enjoyed over the years – period and I mean PERIOD. Teach those three principals and the spiritual component will flourish.
BTW, mom and dad’s children have a cumulative 111 years of marriage with only one having experienced a divorce. If it sounds like I’m bragging, I am. I will say this unfortunately, being faithful to a spouse and staying married is like following Jesus; it’s not for everyone.
Posted By: Rich B on May 13, 2010 11:33PM
My spouse and I have been married almost 41 years. We've always believed God sent each of us to the other. What a blessing and privilege it has been to share faith in Jesus Christ and love of God with all seven of the children sent to us. Now we are enjoying watching the wonderful parents our oldest children have become.
Posted By: Marlyn Stemmons on May 14, 2010 10:14AM
When my husband & I married 27 years ago we made a decision to never entertain the option of divorce...no matter what. We agreed to never even joke about it or throw the word into our conversations. Neither of us have ever been unfaithful to the other. Even though we were not Christians at the time of our marriage, I believe we both had an underlying sense of the importance of our wedding vows. Also, we were both blessed to have parents who set a good example for us. Have we had challenges? Of course. But communication and commitment have seen us through. Once we became Christians, we became even more committed to our marriage. I thank God for my husband every day and for how God continues to bless our marriage through the tough times as well as the great times.
Posted By: Jackie on May 14, 2010 11:50AM
Thank you Pastor Mike!
I'm glad you revealed your "naivete" in being surprised to hear of Christians moving in together, engaging in romantic rendevous, surfing the internet for porn, etc. and that you will be addressing this topic this week. Please know; these behaviors are so much more common & prevelant in Christians than you may realize and more than a few people will most likely leave your sermon with a heavy heart.
I've practiced celibacy since my divorce 7 years ago and many times when I reveal this even to fellow Christians; people look at me as if I were a three headed alien! I can't even tell you how many Christians have tried & still try to convince me to "lighten up /enjoy life". One of the most creative analogies I've heard regarding this is likening having sex with someone before marriage as "test driving a car prior to purchasing it"!
In some aspects,it has not been easy to maintain a status that is not "mainstream". It is only by the Grace of God that I've been able to do this. I have children that will never have to deal with waking up with a strange man in thier mothers bed as so many children do, but the values are completely different at thier fathers house upon visitation. I pray your sermon may speak to developing and relying on a personal relationship with God so that when the world, other Christians and even our parents send mixed messages we may be able to stay strong in Christ.
Posted By: Karen on May 14, 2010 01:25PM
I have been freaked out socially most of my life, and still tend to get "weird" when it comes to social intimacy. It got so bad, it simply took over my life. The anxiety from not realizing that almost all people struggle at one time or other with intimacy both sexual and non-sexual was way intense. I couldn't deal with it. For example, as a teen, I pictured people naked even when I didn't want to...yuck. I just simply struggled with all the emotions, and experiences that make up what it means to be human. Having children and being married to a saint has helped tremendously. We don't let anyone get between us, and we talk about all of our weirdness. My fifteen year old son shares stuff with me and his father that I wouldn't have dreamt of opening up about with an adult when I was his age. He's just out there with it. There's a difference in being okay with who we are and glorying in sin. Not naming names, but I am always surprised at two people I know who spend Saturday night together in every sense, and then pick my Mom up to take her to Church the next day. They are well over forty. I'm like, "what bible are they readin' cause it ain't the same one I'm readin'. And I heard a statistic that one in three women...yeah women look at porn on the internet...strait up porn...it's hard for me to get that. Why are people so obsessed with seeing other people's junk.
It's such an intense experience, there was a time early in my marriage that I actually counted the number of times I'd have to have sex before I would get to die, and get outta here. Now, it's better than okay. But, it took prayer, and effort. I'm not sure what's happening, but the moral ambiguity even among God's own is pretty scary. I would imagine before long people will just be overcome with lust, and unable to control themselves at all. Sometimes, I have really sensed the pressure people are experiencing, and I'm sure many of them have no idea what is really taking place behind the natural world. The dynamics are not understood let alone perceived. I hope you are able to help them understand..or at the very least to obey the Word.
Missional church strategist and author Alan Hirsch will be a guest speaker at the October 20-22 kickoff of the CHANGE the WORLD missional network.
-A favorite op-ed columnist of mine is Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. Kristof was one of the first journalists to shed light on the atrocities in Darfur and continues through his columns to pressure the international community to intervene on behalf of the Darfuri and South Sudanese people. He also had a great column in the May 1 issue of The New York Times, written from Juba, South Sudan, about the good that the Catholic Church has done and continues to do on behalf of the least and the lost, although its failings are all that captures current, extensive media attention. Be sure to read his column: “Who Can Mock This Church?”
-I am excited to share that Alan Hirsch will be joining us as a guest speaker at the October 20-22, 2010, kickoff event for our new CHANGE the WORLD missional network. I consider Alan to be one of my mentors. He is a leader of the current “missional church” movement and serves as a key mission strategist for churches across the western world. In Fall 2008 I asked the Ginghamsburg Church leadership board and senior management team to read and discuss his book The Forgotten Ways, a great text on what it means to be a missional movement. The CHANGE the WORLD network will resource, coach and train churches to become unstoppable forces of mission both in their local communities and around the world—regardless of church size, location or resources. After the kickoff, the network will continue with webinars, online community, a monthly e-zine and other mentoring/partnership opportunities. If you are interested in becoming a network partner and joining me and Alan in October, apply for participation at www.ginghamsburg.org/changetheworld.
-We are all so incredibly busy—especially this time of year with graduations, weddings, outdoor projects, family vacations and more. It can be a little hard to stay in touch. If we aren’t already connected, I would like to invite you to stay in contact with me not only through this blog but also on Facebook and Twitter. As always, I will continue to pray for you and ask that you continue to pray for me as we make this journey of faith together.
Okay I have to say it, but this article made me want to be a priest or a nun. When I was in elementary school I had a teacher, either in 2nd or 3rd grade, she was the first teacher to put her hands on me, she shook me really good for looking out the window one day. I think she also was the first to slap me (but sadly not the last). She couldn't understand me and so I think that just frustrated her, I feel bad as I don't think she knew what to do with me. I also had a teacher named Mrs Groves. Mrs. Groves gave me my first F on my report card but Mrs. Groves liked me. She would bend over my back and point out things in my books and talk to me. I loved Mrs. Groves. F and all. I beleive she was a living witness of God to a sad little girl. The first teacher made my life miserable, the second made my life. She gave me a sense of worth. They both were teachers but I've never let the actions of the first make me forget about the second. I hope this analogy works as it's what I thought of when you mentioned Catholic priests. With all the bad news about priests anymore we look at the magnitude of the bad and forget the magnitude of the good work they have done and are still doing. On a different level, I am so happy that you posted this article. I am not Catholic but my paternal grandmother was. I am not Quaker but my great great maternal grandparents were and I just hate it when I hear religious people demean other religions or demoniations.
Religion sometimes seems like politics, one more thing we use to divide ourselves from each other. Sometimes it feels like we can't find enough ways to seperate ourselves from those who we are called to be one in the spirit with. By the way WWII was just filled with Catholic Priests and nuns who died or risked death by protecting those that the Nazi regime had hunted. One i just read about was Father Gedovsky (sp?) at the Ostra Brama Church in Poland. He had a school for Catholic boys and girls and without anyone really knowing also with Jewish children among them in an effort to shelter them from German soldiers. Thanks again for posting this article. We are a community of beleivers whose goal should be to be the hands and feet of Christ. I don't care the demoniaton, it's just good to read and be inspired of their good works in Christ. Thanks again!
Posted By: Suzanne on May 11, 2010 10:43AM
I took the APEST and read some of Alan's bio. The way the profile is administered is "off the hook". Loved it.
Posted By: Helen Combs on May 18, 2010 11:11AM
Thank you. I spent quite a bit of time this past week on the phone with my "third daughter", a dear young friend of my girls, who converted to Catholicism when she married. She kept focusing on the importance of the heirarchy of the church and I kept coming back to the essence of the the priests and nuns who literally were the hands and feet of Christ in THE church. And then I stumbled across your blog. Just love the way the Lord works! I hope she reads my FB entry. I couldn't link the op-ed article from the Times fast enough. Bless you...
Ginghamsburg servants share how and why they are serving their communities on Change the World weekend, April 24/25, 2010.
April 24/25 was a global “Change the World” event for the United Methodist Church, which was inspired by the radical commitment of Ginghamsburg servants to being the hands and feet of Jesus locally, nationally and around the world. More than 1000 “registered” churches from 13 countries held intentionally missional events to reach their communities and raise awareness about malaria. Here are just a few examples:
Summitville United Methodist Church in Indiana volunteered at a local homeless shelter for women and children.
First United Methodist Church in Muncy, Pennsylvania, held a workday at SunnyBrook Meadows Therapeutic Riding Center, which serves more than 100 special-needs children with a variety of diagnoses.
Teens from Fairmont United Methodist Church in Minnesota slept outside in refrigerator boxes and held a “30-hour famine” in support of the homeless.
Members of First United Methodist Church in Waskom, Texas, hit the road at 6:15 a.m. Saturday to serve breakfast at Newgate Mission in Longview, Texas. The mission serves breakfast on the weekend to 110 to 125 people who are homeless, unemployed or under-employed.
Attendees of L’viv United Methodist Church in the Ukraine changed the world by passing out flowers and toys on city streets.
St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, raised $14,300 for Imagine No Malaria, with one middle school class raising $1000 of that all on their own.
Ginghamsburg kicked off our Change the World weekend with the New Path Outreach 5K Run/Walk on Saturday morning. I was one of 430 runners and walkers who participated from across the Dayton area in this event to raise funds for New Path’s food pantries as well as the car, furniture, clothing, refurbished medical equipment, pet care, Belle Haven public school and financial assistance ministries. 108 unpaid servants, both Ginghamsburg attendees and community members, greeted, tagged, registered, set up, flipped pancakes, timed and more to ensure a great run, despite the constant drizzle outside. Demonstrating that you are never too young to change the world, 30-plus kids ages 4 to 11 participated in races in the Avenue, having pounded the pavements of their neighborhoods and called grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins this spring to raise pledges to support New Path. Nearly $12,000 in proceeds is expected to go to New Path Outreach, courtesy of registration fees, kids’ pledges and the sponsorship of business community members.
Our Fort campus demonstrated its commitment to changing the world one neighborhood at a time as 175 servants through Saturday and Sunday braved rain and drizzle to partner with their Fort McKinley neighbors on Project Neighborhood--cleaning up and building up this at-risk community. Change the World weekend is just the first of many Project Neighborhood events planned for this summer. Over 90 projects have been identified, with more to come.
Ginghamsburg teens also served with impact over Change the World weekend. Our high school students were on mission in Dayton, sprucing up locations for the Clubhouse ministry; tidying up the exterior of an area retirement community; and serving with Target Dayton, a church and mission to the homeless that provides breakfast, dinner and worship 4 days each week for those living on the streets. Teens first worshiped at the church and then served 300 guests a fried chicken dinner.
Later on Saturday, Ginghamsburg students gathered for an Imagine No Malaria event on the Ginghamsburg Main Campus. The night included praise and worship plus intercessory prayer on behalf of malaria victims. A planned sleep out under nets on the church lawn to raise awareness was washed out by rain. However students set up a net-draped camp by the Main Worship Area entrance to raise awareness and funds for combating malaria. In total, teen efforts netted $6355 to purchase mosquito nets for the United Methodist Church’s commitment to eliminate malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Thank you for your support to wipe out a disease that kills one child in Africa every 30 seconds.
Over the weekend, we also sent a team to Haiti that is still there, providing medical treatment in an area clinic and rebuilding an earthquake-damaged home. Pastor Brian is on the team and is using part of his time and talent to mentor Haitian pastors. A women’s team was on the ground in Jamaica, hosting a women’s conference for their Jamaican sisters in Christ. Many of you also served with Clubhouse, New Path, bookstore outreach and several other ministries in the week leading up to the Change the World event, demonstrating the compassion and love of Christ to the least of these. Thank you for being the example that is taking United Methodists from around the globe outside of their church walls and into the world.
A few weeks ago I asked my cousin-in-law (married to my cousin) if his (Methodist)church in Carbondale,Illinois was participating in, "Change the World."
He didn't know what it was, so I directed him to the Ginghamsburg website.
He took it from there, and got involved. No kudos to me, it's just called communication.
This has happened, and continues to happen.
The spark has been lit, and it shouldn't be a once-a-year for a weekend thing.
If we are going to change the world, it will take a daily battle.
You started it Mike...
Posted By: Barry Hall on Apr 29, 2010 09:24PM
Mike,
I was on recent business trip and was in the process of reading your “Change the World” book. On my trip the connection was missed and I had to take a much latter flight. I attempted to finish the book, but was stewing over the airline problems. Once seated on the late flight, I started talking to the person in the seat next to me. (I usually read, listen to music or work on work stuff)
This young guy was a camp instructor and was traveling from one mega camp to another. These Christian weekly camps ranged from 600 – 2000 kids. We had a great conversation about what Christ has done in our lives and how giving back is so critical. The more he talked, the more he was looking for a blueprint on life and impacting others. I started sharing some of your points in the book and he would say, “ I like that” or “That’s what I’m talking about”. At the end of the flight I gave him my copy of the book and I feel that this is just another way that thousands of people will be impacted and assist in changing the world.
I would recommend that if people travel they should take along a good book or an extra Bible to pass to another that might be searching.
Thanks for being our pastor and showing us how to reach out to someone that normally we wouldn’t. Life is like a play; we can all read the lines, it takes guts to get up on the world stage and act out the pages.
Tim Petzold
Ed Kowalski, senior vice president of marketing and sales for the United Methodist Publishing House, presents a check for Imagine No Malaria. A UMNS photo by Barbara Dunlap-Berg.
I’m excited to share with you this article about another significant way in which the Ginghamsburg faith community is partnering with others to change the world.
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg, United Methodist News Service, April 16, 2010
“People aren’t looking for religious meetings,” the Rev. Mike Slaughter says. “They’re looking for religious meaning.” Members of his church—Ginghamsburg United Methodist in Tipp City, Ohio—find that meaning in reaching out and changing the world.
At an Abingdon Press launch party here this week, Ed Kowalski, senior vice president of the United Methodist Publishing House, presented Slaughter with a check for $50,000. That figure represents 5 percent of Cokesbury sales for the Change the World celebration April 7-10, and the check goes straight to the Imagine No Malaria campaign. The Cokesbury sales figure includes 5 percent of the sales of Pastor Slaughter’s new book, Change the World-recovering the message and mission of Jesus.
Imagine No Malaria is a new effort of The United Methodist Church to raise $75 million to eliminate malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. The ministry will be launched officially to the denomination on World Malaria Day, April 25, during a special event at the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Calling Isaiah 61 “the mission statement of Jesus,” Slaughter said, “If it ain’t good news for the poor, it ain’t the gospel. The way of the cross is about giving lives for the least, the lost and the oppressed.”
The scope of Ginghamsburg’s mission is as close as Dayton, Ohio, and as far as Darfur, Sudan, where fighting between rebels and state-backed militias have forced 2.5 million people from their homes. The only way to see true transformation is to “reclaim the message of Jesus Christ,” Slaughter said. A few years ago, he introduced “Christmas Is Not Your Birthday” to his congregation. He invited them to “give the same amount you spend for yourself and your family to the people of Sudan.” The matched-gift experience proved transformational. “It was a real awakening for me,” one member admitted. Other comments were equally telling:
“I had no idea what was going on.”
“I couldn’t believe kids walked eight miles a day just to have clean water.”
“It made me see the people of Sudan as actual people.”
“It opened my heart.”
News of the $50,000 donation seemed a perfect kickoff to Change the World, a Rethink Church event April 24-25. On that weekend, Christians around the world will join hands in service locally and globally. The purposes are to recognize World Malaria Day through Change the World and to help United Methodists discover the transformation that occurs when they follow Jesus’ example, serving those in need, engaging in community and calling the world to more faithful life. The Texas event, featuring a live performance by Jars of Clay, is free to the public. The event will be available via live streaming video on www.umc.org and www.ImagineNoMalaria.org.
As of April 15, more than 800 churches in 13 countries had signed up to participate in Change the World, including malaria-related events such as fundraisers or sleep outs—where individuals sleep under imitation bed nets to raise awareness about malaria. Both a cause and a result of extreme poverty, malaria annually claims more than a million lives and is responsible for the death of one child every 30 seconds. Economically, malaria’s impact in Africa is an estimated $12 billion per year.
“Even our smallest churches can have incredible impact when they leave their four walls to serve the needs of their neighbors, alongside their neighbors,” Slaughter said. “That’s what (changing the world is) all about: working together to save lives.”
It is a privilege to serve the mission of Jesus Christ with you…
It is amazing what the people of God can and will accomplish when Jesus is the focus of their lives. For me it started with helping World Vision get sponsors for children in need. I even remember, Mike, when you helped me and shared about sponsorship during a sermon. The people responded and 256 kids were sponsored - impacting an average of 8 people per child (2,048 people). I didn't even have enough picture folders to give to people. We used a special request form copy. The lines were long, people were crying, laughing, and excited about being part of the big picture - the living gospel. That was a start and look where God has led all of us. If I could, I would fly to all these countries, write articles and make documentaries of the work to share with others. It is so awesome to see how God opens doors and how the quality of life can improve so much with what is happening. What a blessing the Darfur work is and also how God just keeps supplying the resources to help here and there. As I've traveled sharing the mission to help those less fortunate, I've had ministers say to me that they would love to help do this or that but it would hurt their congregations giving to the local needs. I beg to differ. Doing what Jesus desires just opens the doors for blessings and greater opportunities.
To "Change the World" is a tall order for each of us but Jesus is the one in charge so what are we waiting for! I encourage everyone to be real and be ready to be Jesus in the world and never look back! Thank you, Mike, for your leadership and your love for the people of this world. Thank God for people like you, Ginghamsburg, and all people determined to live the life needed to "Change the World."
I don’t know if you had an opportunity to view the PBS Religion and Ethics segment on Ginghamsburg’s work in Darfur and Dayton that aired nationally last weekend. If you haven’t then I would encourage you to watch it here or read the transcript. I have received feedback from people around the country, including an email from a college student whose professor showed the segment in her class on Monday. The one response that most intrigued me was from a young man in Amsterdam, New York:
Dear Rev. Slaughter,
One of my favorite shows is Religion and Ethics on PBS. I saw you the other night and became very inspired to write you.
I am not Christian but if I lived closer I would want to attend your church. I know many good and loving Christians personally [and of course on television] from many different denominations. However, so few of them agree on anything about Christianity and actually “walk the walk.” Sadly I don't have a spiritual home, but I wish I could try yours.
Thank you for what you do.
We have to be the gospel before other people can believe the gospel. As Saint Francis of Assisi said: “Preach the gospel always; when necessary use words.”
I saw the show and enjoyed learning more about what Ginghamsburg UMC is doing. I agree with the walk the talk gospel but to add to it we as Christians must find ways to serve together. Put aside our "denominational" hats and instead go out and serve as Christians together. I believe that the unbliever such as the person you reference in your blog sees us as christians not the groups we are divided into. So when one walks the talk as Ginghamsburg does it helps us all. Of course it works the other way to. Thank you for encourging others to think outside the box.
Posted By: Susan Luttrell - Mansfield, Texas on Apr 18, 2010 08:50AM
I can't watch this video without getting emotional. Without feeling such gratitude for being connected to Ginghamsburg nor without feeling sad that I haven't contributed more. After 23 years of attending GUM, I don't always agree with everybody and I don't always feel I fit in but I am so thankful that God has brought me here. After all, it's not about me, is it. I've got a new verse I'm focusing on, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24. After watching the video I am reminded of the meaning of that verse. Thanks.
Posted By: Suzanne on Apr 20, 2010 06:47AM
"For eye has not seen nor ear heard nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him..but He reveals them to us through His Spirit." NT
