Are You A "Skin Tag" Christian?

My pastor, Will Davis Jr., used a crazy analogy this past week to illustrate the life of many Christians. He said many are like "skin tags", those little extra growths of skin we get that have blood pumping through but are absolutely good for nothing. I was laughing at the metaphor as he explained that these "skin tags" are like the spiritual lives of many Christians. They may have the spiritual blood of Christ running through them, but apart from attending an occasional church service, they are pretty much useless to God's kingdom. Kind of gross but it is a good analogy.  Watch the full sermon here.

It is my observation that my generation of Christians (baby boomers) is overflowing with "skin tag" believers. You'll find a lot who attend mega churches, those who want to pop in and out without being noticed. Our generation created the mega church phenomenon. Many have little to no investment in the church they attend and yet they believe they are doing their "Christian duty" by attending occasionally.  

One of the reasons I think this is so prevalent in my generation is that we baby boomers are experts at compartmentalizing our lives. We set aside Sunday mornings for church and a certain amount of days during the week for work and then some for rest or recreation. We live to keep them separate. And so, it is very easy for us to keep our spiritual life from intersecting with our daily life. 

One of the refreshing aspects of the millennial generation is that these young adults seek a different lifestyle than that of their parents. They don't compartmentalize as much. They want a more integrated life instead. Take work for example. They want life, not just a work/life balance. They would like to have time for their friends, family, hobbies, and other small pleasures and pastimes. They work to live, not live to work, and so they want their work to be fun and meaningful.  As one millennial put it, "I want my job to align who I am with what I do".  The older generations may look at them as lazy but I don't begrudge them for wanting to live an integrated life.  

This applies to their faith also. Millennials want to be able to live their faith 24/7.  It's not only a Sunday morning thing for them, it is a lifestyle!  That is what the first century Christians experienced and is what life in Christ should be. But that hasn't been the case for many Christians for years now. 

That may be changing as this new integrated life mindset is having an affect on the church today. The missional movement and the idea of "you don't go to church, you are the church wherever you go" are concepts that have been brought about because of this change of perspective.  There is a higher expectation to being a follower of Christ now, focusing more on application of faith than just knowledge.

It may be harder in the future to be a follower of Christ because of this. So there may be a decline in those who say they are Christians, but those who choose to follow Christ will be more devoted and hopefully a much better model of Jesus to the world than my generation of believers.
For more about the work habits of millennials, check out this blog post, 8 reasons millennials seem lazy at work.

681 God answers prayer in an amazing way!

Hurst Creek section of Lake Travis Jan. 2015

As I write this, much of central and south Texas is under a flood watch.  Only a few months ago we were praying for God to bring rain to the area and fill Lake Travis to 681 feet, the designated full level and now we are facing the prospect of too much water! Just two years ago the city officials of Austin were looking at an historic drought crises.  Not only was Lake Travis, an economic engine for this area almost dry, the city faced the prospect of having to buy imported water to meet its needs.  Weather experts were proclaiming that Lake Travis might never be filled again and that only a miracle, a massive amount of rainfall would fill the lakes back to normal. 

In May of 2014, Austin area pastors united with an idea to begin to fast and pray together specifically that God would fill Lake Travis (681 feet). So the pastors took the idea to the city of Austin officials who agreed to gather together for prayer on May 15, 2014 for a city wide time of prayer to end the drought and fill the lake. What is interesting is that God not only answered those prayers and filled the lake but from this prayer meeting to the day when Lake Travis was declared full, reaching the 681 foot level, was 681 days! God answered our prayers in an incredible fashion! And isn't it just like God to give us more than we asked for, to spill over the cup?  As Ephesians 3:20 says, God will do exceedingly more than you ever imagined.

Hurst Creek April, 2016

Was this a coincidence or act of God? We may never know for sure but your answer probably depends on your faith. The point we can gather from this though as Matthew 18:19-20 states, God answers our prayers when two or more are gathered in His name, and pray specifically.  Much can be accomplished in the body of Christ when we join together for God's purposes. As pastor Will Davis Jr. of Austin Christian Fellowship proclaimed, "it has never been about a full lake but always about our faith and our awesome God."

The Austin area pastors held another prayer meeting this past March celebrating and thanking God for his faithfulness in answering their prayers and they have not stopped praying for God to fill the cup. Now our prayer is to fill us up with his spiritual blessings, to move central Texas residents to be filled with the spirit of God so as to transform the city and surrounding areas. This of course is much harder to measure but we all anticipate seeing how God answers our prayers. 

• There is power in individual prayer
• There is great power in prayer when we pray unified
• There is magnificent power in prayer when we pray together in Jesus' name 

Listen to Pastor Will Davis Jr. sermon on the lessons from a full lake.