Monthly Archives: June 2009

godly legislation

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

I have spent the last few minutes re-reading the Newsweek article The End of Christian America.  While a lot of things jumped out at me, it was a Finney quote that gripped (an unsettled) me the most:

In the middle of the 19th Century, the evangelist Charles Grandison Finney argued that “the great business of the church is to reform the world – to put away every kind of sin”; Christians, he said, are “bound to exert their influence to secure a legislation that is in accordance with the law of God.”

Really?  I guess I don’t see it that way.  I thought the great business of the church was to get people connected to Jesus…Go and make disciples.  Right?

Finney’s approach, and the approach of the religious right, is behavorial in nature.  Their mission is to go and reform (ususally through legislation) the BEHAVIOR of people.  Make laws to get people to behave in ways that are consistent with morality that matches the “Christian” view of righteousness.  The flaw with this approach is that if people are made to conform to a Christian moral code by law, the religious right has accomplished its goal of better behavior, but we have no new people connected to Jesus.

I think that the great business of the church is to lead people into a life of following Christ.  From that place of radical relationship with the Son of God, lives are changed from the inside out.  We have to stop leading with a call to/legislation for righteous behavior and start leading with an invitation to a life-changing relationship.

What do you think?

finding the time

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

What do you find time for every single day? Eating? Sleeping? Facebook? Television?


There are certain things that we have made a part of our routine and we do them religiously. Yet, I often hear people say that I don’t have time for my spouse, my kids, my relationship with God, church, small group, my health, etc. Why is it that we find time for some things and not others?

I think the issue is one of value. We find time for what we value! When we value something, we figure out a way to get that into our schedule. We stay up late. We get up early. We leave other things undone. We do what we have to do.

This raises even more important questions: What does the use of our time suggest about the things you value? Of the things we value (demonstrated in the time you give to it), how many of those things are truly valuable? And how can we raise the value of things that are truly valuable so that they become a part of our lives?

anything to celebrate?

Posted by chriswilliamsde on

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life or to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with the stresses we are facing or to be discouraged by the negativity swirling around us. That’s why it’s good to step back and take a look at the good things in life.


I want to encourage you to take a couple of minutes EVERY DAY to ask yourself this question:


What can I celebrate?


This reorients us to the positive side of the equation. What blessings are we experiencing? What has gone right? What’s the silver lining inside the storm cloud? Focusing on the positive, even if only for a few moments a day, cultivates joy…and in that joy we find the strength to keep going!

So, as you start this Tuesday, what can you celebrate?