Three W's of Christianity

0:01 Welcome to Fellowship Church. I want to say hi to all of our locations. Today is a special day. I have with me on stage someone that I admire and love so dearly, my brother, my older brother, Dr. Ben Young. Ben is the senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston.

0:30 It's a little church with about, I don't know, 90-something thousand members. And those are real numbers. A lot of times when pastors throw out numbers, you know, it's like fishermen talking about how big fish are. You have to really kind of dial down, fact check them, you know. Trust me, their church is really just an influential place. His wife is Chrissy. He has two beautiful daughters. Ben has his earned doctorate in leadership. He's an adjunct professor at Houston Theological Seminary, author of Room for Doubt and Why Mike's Not a Christian. On top of that, he is a black belt in jujitsu. So I used to be able to kick Ben's rear.

1:25 Not anymore. I tell Ben, Ben, don't even touch me because he is a lethal weapon. Ben, it's so great. You know, Ben and I have never spoken together. So I thought, how are we going to pull this off? and here's what we're going to do. While I'm speaking, his microphone is going to be muted. And while he's speaking, they're going to mute my mind. You got it? Ben, great to have you. It's great to be here. What do you want to talk about? I mean, I look at these flags, Ben. I think about our culture. I think about, obviously, America. The fact that we have the freedom to do this, which was literally purchased by the blood of so many men and women on battlefields around the world.

2:24 And we're so fortunate. We're so thankful just to have this opportunity, aren't we? Yes, we are. Yeah. So today what I want to talk about, as to discuss, is what we are all about as a church. So in other words, why does the church exist? What's our purpose? And how do we live that out day in and day out? Ben, I know you've studied history a lot, and the church has obviously the answer, the person of Jesus Christ, yet our culture, we've gotten away from it, haven't we? It's almost like we've omitted the church in a lot of areas of our culture. Yes, I think for years, really decades in our culture, we had the positive effects of trickle-down Christianity. We talk about Reaganomics and trickle-down economy.

3:24 So we've had trickle-down ethics and morality from the Christian faith for decades here in the U.S. But in the last 10 years, you've seen a flip where now people are not only not influenced by the ethics and morality of a Judeo-Christian worldview, but we flip them where what was right is now wrong, what was wrong is now right. So we're living in a time where things have literally been turned upside down. Ben, just give us like the Wikipedia version of that because some are going like, what are you talking about? How did this flip take place just from a historical perspective and why did we find ourselves where we are today? I think the major change or revolution, if you would say, in our society was in the 60s. So in the 60s, you saw a great upheaval and pushback against traditional Christian morality within our culture writ large. So since the 60s, you've had all these radicals enter into academia, and then they've influenced our culture.

4:27 So that's how we are where we are today. And I know you have seen, too, what you call, refer to as neo-Marxism and critical theory and other ideologies that obviously aren't biblical. They don't support the transcendent values given to us from the word of God. And we're paying a price for it, aren't we? Yeah, yeah, we are. Because these particular ideologies, they can only tear down, they cannot build up. So that's a problem. I mean, a two-year-old can tear something down, right? We have two-year-olds at home. But a two-year-old cannot build a building. That's exactly right. Or a church. That's so well said. Yet, Ben, we have the good news. And the good news is a relationship with the person of Christ. We have the only entity that Jesus ever constructed.

5:24 Of course, he was a carpenter on earth. He's building the church. We are the church. And I sort of relate the church, and this is gonna be kind of a random statement, to when the internet first started. And you follow my train of thought here. I remember back when Al Gore invented the internet. people would refer to websites, and I used to think I was really cool by saying this. Yeah, go to www.fellowshipchurch.com. And I know you said the same thing, www. And then the dial-up, remember that noise? Yeah. That was a weird noise, wasn't it? Yeah. Some of our kids have never heard that. Yeah.

6:15 It took sometimes a long time. Oh. Yeah. Yeah, just simply to pull up a website. Yeah. I remember the internet when there were no ads on it. Zero. Do you remember that, Stan? Isn't that something? Yeah. Well, nowadays, though, when it comes to technology, Ben, we just kind of throw out fellowship. Fellowshipchurch.com. Or we might say what? DallasCowboys.com. Right, yeah. We just go straight to it. Yeah. So. Netflix or whatever. Yeah. But we've skipped over the WWW. Yes. I would say the church has done the same thing, and that's what we're going to talk about today. Right. We've skipped over the WWW. So in all campuses, just repeat this after me, WWW. One, two, three.

7:08 WWW. We're going to talk about that, and let's bring back in the church the WWW. because that's been, that's the answer. Yes, it is. And the first W is worship. So that's what we have been called to do as human beings. That's what we've been called to do as a community of believers in Christ. So God has created us as worshiping creatures. And so we're gonna- Everyone worships you, sir. Everyone worships. Yeah. Someone or something. So it's inescapable. So whether you believe in God or don't believe in God, you're somewhere in the middle, you will end up worshiping someone or something. It's innate to who we are. So would you say, Ben, as we think about our country, would you say we have a worship issue on the table? Yes, we do. Yeah. Now we don't call it that, but. Yeah, we do. We have on our money in God we trust, but really it's in me we trust. So we've become, we've shifted from a somewhat of a God-centered culture to a me-centered culture. And I don't know about you, there's just so, I get bored with my own self and my own desires and my own selfishness.

8:23 So we talk about, you know, the 12-step movement and AA. And AA, one of the brilliant things about that construct is it attacks the worship issue. Because when you're suffering in an addiction, you're putting yourself, your own desires at the center rather than God. And only God can deliver us from something and only God can hold our life together. So I like to define worship is, it's whatever we place at the center of our lives. And if you place anything else at the center of your life besides God, it will not hold. And I would say this, even good things, even good things. So even the good things can keep us, obviously, from the great thing. Yes. What are some things you would say? Yeah, I could put my career at the center. Yeah.

9:15 I could put my family at the center. I could put my kids and their sports at the center of my life, not to start meddling. So, yeah. Worship. And I would say that worship, though, Ben, is not compartmentalized. It is something that should affect and influence everything we do, say, touch, and feel. I think often, I even am guilty of this, okay, I think worship is walking into fellowship during the music and during just that whole vibe, which we have such, such great worship leaders. I sometimes think, okay, that's worship. It is, and we're commanded to corporately worship God. Worship, though, also continues when I walk out to the car in the parking lot as I go out to the restaurant and so forth and so on.

10:19 Yeah, worship in a sense is how we live our lives before God. Yes. Does that make sense? So carpe diem corum deo. Carpe diem, seize the day, corum deo, before the face of God. So everything I do when I go to school, when I work out, when I engage in sports, when I am leading in my job, in my company, I should do that in a way that honors God. That doesn't mean you go through your day, praise the Lord, hallelujah, everything you do. You got to pray before everything. No, no, no. You know, God is with us. We don't have to pray God into our reality. And if you've trusted in Christ. That's the eminence, right? The eminence. Right. Yeah, God is near and God's with us. So in worship, when we enter into corporate worship, it's important that we both understand the eminence and the transcendence of God. The eminence of God is that God is here and God is near. He is with us, okay?

11:12 The transcendence of God is that God is above us. God is beyond us. God is holy and separate from us. So we need both. So the Orthodox tradition, the Catholic tradition has done a great job of emphasizing the holiness, the transcendence of God, and us evangelicals have done a good job of emphasizing the eminence of God. God is near, God is with you, and the grace of God too. So we need to be active participants in worship. I remember going to a Cowboys game, Ben, and there's nothing like going to a Cowboys game. And we were saying last night, we were talking, have you ever seen a city that loves a team like Dallas loves the Cowboys? No. And I want to say this to all campuses too. I really believe that this is the year for the Cowboys. Ben, that's...

12:06 All the way. That's brutal, Ben. Ben's making fun of us. Don't let him do that. He's from Houston. No. He's from Houston. Go to the Cowboys game, but you're going back to it. I think the owner of the Texans goes to Second Baptist. He does, he does. Yeah. Yeah. Well. Yeah. Well, let me see if I can top that. Jerry Jones' grandson goes here to fellowship, Ben. That's great. Take that. You got it. Okay. Troy Aikman used to go here years ago. I've heard about that. Yes. Tony Romo went here when he was with Jessica Simpson. Top that. Jason Witten, Ben. I can't. I can't top it. Okay, anyway. I tap out. I'm tapping. I went to a Cowboys game, and I was taken aback because I watched, whatever, 90, 100,000 people going crazy. And let's just say 90,000 people who needed exercise.

13:07 And I watched them watching 22 people who didn't need exercise push a ball up and down a field. It's kind of paradoxical, isn't it? And I thought about the church because if we're not careful, Ben, when it comes to worship, we can just watch. Here we need exercise. And we're watching just a few of the professionals who don't need exercise play the game. It's a total package. It's all of us, correct? Yeah, it is. And worship is everything that happens as far as corporate worship in this hour. It's the prayer. It's the reading of the word. It's preaching. It's singing. It's everything that happens. It's the invitation within that hour. And I do believe that this is the most important hour of the week. Because all of us, all of us, including the pastors, are starting our week off by acknowledging I am not at the center of reality.

14:07 God is at the center of reality. I need to hear God's word. We need to share God's word with one another. So we need to move on to the second W. Worship. The second one, though, Ben, what's the second W? The second W is. These will be faster. It's walk, okay? Walk. It's walk. So we worship and walk. Walk. So we're supposed to walk in the light as he's in the light. If we do that, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1, 7. Yes, 1 John 1, 7. And then Colossians 1, 10 is another passage that encourages us to walk in a way, the Colossians passage. So we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him and bearing fruit in every good work and increasing, I love this, we're increasing in the knowledge of God. So once we worship God corporately, we go out into our everyday life, we go out into our relationships, we go out into the workplace, and we're walking with Christ.

15:08 We're walking with him. The Christian life is a walk. It's not a sprint, right? We're walking. Can I share just a miracle in our family? when our twins were born at four months of age. I was just talking about walking and they both just got up and began to walk, Ben. And it was just like that. And the doctors were shocked. We were riveted because they were so young. They didn't like, you know, stumble around. We didn't hold their hands. We didn't say, come to daddy, take a step. They just got up and walked. Wow. That's a lie, I told you. That's a complete lie. That didn't happen. You know the process. You know the drill. At different ages, and they fall, and they cry, and they have a hard time standing. That's the reality of it. Yeah, it is. And so when we walk with Christ, it's a gradual thing. And we're all at different places here today in our walk with Christ. So we walk in the light. Some of us are going through a time of suffering and trials. We're encouraged in Psalm 23, we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And, you know, I think it's Isaiah that encourages us, we will walk and not grow faint. So the whole Christian life can be seen as a walk, walking with Christ, listening with him, and then trying to figure out what is that next step that God wants me to take, right?

16:43 What is that next step? So God always has a next step for you and for me. What is it? How do I do that? Which will help us grow in that knowledge of Christ. Yeah, that'd be a great prayer, Ben. That's so convicting to pray every day. Like, God, what is the next step in my life? Yes. That's brilliant. And I know, Ben, too, when we lost Leigh Beth, when she went to heaven, And, of course, Lisa and I were so devastated. We still are. I remember you bringing up that as you talked to me about walking through the valley of the shadow of death. And then, Ben, you also said something, too, about our walk. You said, you know, sometimes we need to ask for God's grace minute by minute. And you said, just, Ed, you and Lisa, concentrate just day by day. And hopefully and prayerfully, that's a word to someone here going through a pain that we have no idea about.

17:42 Yeah, and I try to encourage people, as I have been encouraged, to just do the next right thing. Yes. Whatever that is, that may be something very simple, like the right thing for you to do today was to come to church. The next right thing is to get in your car and to drive the speed limit out of the parking lot. And I'm not joking. Then the next right thing is to go to lunch. When you're going through a time of panic and chaos and suffering, you've got to break your day down into these chunks that are manageable. How about the third W, Ben? The third W? I love the third W. It's win. Okay? Win. So God calls us to win others to Christ. I think someone, you may have told me this, there are two things you cannot do in heaven. Yes. Right? I've heard this. Two things. Maybe there's a third one, but there's two.

18:35 Number one, thank goodness you can't sin. That's right. Which is a good thing. You can't sin in heaven. And the second thing you cannot do in heaven is win others to Christ. Is that good? So while we're here on earth in this journey, in this walk with Christ, he calls us to learn how to win others to Christ. And there's a phenomenal passage. I'm not gonna read the whole thing. in 1 Corinthians 9, where Paul talks about, I become all things to all people in order that I might win some. And hopefully when we win some, we're winsome. So that's great. Yeah. So, so Paul was very malleable in his approach in sharing the gospel. And one of the things I've loved about Fellowship Church and other churches like you guys in the C3 Network is that you guys have been willing to risk and change your methodologies, not your message, but the methodologies in order to reach a culture that needs Christ. So we have to be men and women and young people who have that desire to share, to live out the good news and to win others to this message that has changed and is changing our lives. And Ben, also we have to be strategic. And sometimes I think we read the New Testament, and we don't realize how intentional and how strategic, obviously, Jesus was and is, and also the disciples, and also the blueprint of the church. We were talking yesterday about the Engel scale. Yeah, the Engel scale is interesting, and I know you can put a little kind of a summation up on the slide there. But the ankle scale deals with someone's receptivity to the gospel message, okay? So in other words, someone may have no God framework at all.

20:32 And we probably have some people here today in one of our services, you'd be a negative 10. Right, you'd be a negative 10. Like, you know, maybe there's a God, maybe there's not a God. And then as you move down the scale, we don't have all those numbers represented. You get closer to zero, which is when someone says, wow, I need God. I need to trust in Christ. And then after that, you move plus one, plus two, plus five to maturity. So the angle scale is there to help us understand that people are in process. So if I meet someone at a negative 10, the chances of me taking them and all my persuadability, right, to a negative 10 to a zero is probably little. So maybe God has called me simply to be a positive example, a positive witness to someone who is at the far end of the scale. Now, maybe someone's a negative two or negative one.

21:26 They're pretty close to trusting in Christ. Then, yeah, I may be able to help them make that next step. Well, Ben, you know, Lisa and I have some friends that we met about five years ago. And they started, I would say, at about a negative eight. and we got to know them. And I'll tell you some more about this story later. And we had meals and get togethers with them and I could just tell where they were. And we had the amazing opportunity about 10 days ago to sit down with them and the Holy Spirit was just working. It wasn't me or Lisa. We just knew it was the time to share how someone makes that decision. So we had courtside seats with tears running down our face when this young lady prayed the prayer of repentance and faith. And it's so thrilling.

22:26 But had we not been able to understand where she was, I don't know, and obviously God did this, if she would have made that decision. So Ben, talk to me too about church because I think churches that are strategic and are biblically functioning think about this scale when we're thinking about ministry. Yeah, I think it's important that we do that. And I think that to me, the good news is is that God meets us where we are in order to take us where we need to be. And I think it's important that we, one of the things that Engelscale does, Again, you're not going to find that in the Bible, but you are going to put it up, right? Yeah, yeah. On my social media, and it's going to be very detailed. Yeah, that's much, yeah, yeah. So it helps us understand, again, that people are in process. Yes.

23:17 So it helps us understand, try to understand and interpret where this person might be. That's right. In their understanding of God, their understanding of Christ. Now, I do believe this, is that God is always working in our sphere of influence. No question. At work, at school, in our family. We just don't always know who God is working on. You know, so one of the ways we can figure that out is by inviting people to church. Invite them to come along with you. Invite them to hear a message. Invite them to an event like this weekend. And that's what I love. And see what happens. And that's what I love too, Ben, so much about fellowship is the number of people that have been invited. And sometimes you're gonna meet someone and they might have questions and you don't have the answers. That happens to me. It even happens to Ben, as smart as he is. Ben, though, has written several amazing books that I give to people all the time. I have a friend of mine from Colorado named Andy.

24:10 And Andy is probably a negative four right now. I've given him Ben's book, Why Mike's Not a Christian, Common Grounds, and Room for Doubt. all of those are books that someone who is seeking or maybe having intellectual issues can read and go, wow. Because I guarantee it, they've not studied and thought on the depth that this guy has. And that's very important to resource someone. You're not saying that he's smarter or whatever. You're going, okay, here is what the scripture says. Here's the answers to some of your questions. And so I found then sometimes that is more effective than me going, and I say this easily, I don't know, but I'll give you the answer. Yeah, and the great thing today is you have so many great resources online, so many great people like Cliff Connectley and others and great apologists online that you can refer people to.

25:10 So I would say this, don't let someone intellectually bully you. There are bright people who are skeptics, and there are bright people who are Christians. They're idiots who are skeptics. Idiots who are Christians. So, but don't be intellectually bullied at work. One of the things we've learned from our dad as far as the decision-making is to buy time because people want to, well, what's your answer? What's your answer? Say, no, I don't know, but let me get back to you. Let me give you a book or represent, or send you a link to this particular discussion or podcast. So there are a lot of great resources out there today. And don't panic too when you see someone send you a video of Bart Ehrman or Sam Harris and they seem so bright and smart and have it all together. You know, there's another side and a pushback to their arguments. Exactly. So Ben, www, I love that. Yeah, so it's worship, walk, and win.

26:07 And that's the W in sign language. So it's three, it works, doesn't it? The word, the W. That's right. I think it is. I love it. I love it. Well, hopefully, after this time together, when we see WWW, we'll never look at it the same again. So even when we look at all these websites and things, just remember the real WWW. Because that WWW been always works. Yeah, and we're doing it together, right? That's right. You know, let's worship, let's walk, and let's win people to Christ together as a community. And that's fun. It is. Would you pray with us? Father, thank you so much for this message. I'm just so thankful that I have the opportunity to be here at this great church and also just to be here with my brother, whom I love so much.

27:02 And I thank you for giving me such a great family, great brothers. And I ask God that if there's someone here, no matter where you are on the scale as we talked about maybe today is your day to make that decision because only God can take a negative 10 and and infiltrate your life so you might want to just just say that maybe you're like well I don't have enough faith do you realize God will give you faith just ask him God give me the faith enough faith to make this decision and the decision I'm talking about is a decision I want to lead you in right now. And you just say it to yourself. Just say these words to God. And when you say these words and mean them to the best of your ability, Christ will infiltrate your life. Just say, God, I admit to you that I'm a sinner. I turn from my sins. I repent. And I believe that you sent Jesus Christ to live perfectly, to die sacrificially, to rise bodily.

28:12 And at this time, I admit to you my sin. I believe, Jesus, you died and forgave me of all of my sins, past, present, and future. And right now, I confess, I say, Jesus Christ, come into my life. I give you everything, tax, title, and license, past, present, and future. thank you God for rescuing me thank you for saving me if you said that that's the greatest thing you'll ever do we're going to tell you what we would love for you to do right after this amazing decision just like Lisa and I saw just about 10 days ago in a restaurant others here need to again reset and recalibrate over these www's about worship about walk and walking, and then about winning and the amazing part that God has allowed us to play in our sphere of influence.

29:15 So Father, thank you for this time. Thank you for our nation. Thank you for the freedom that we have, but thank you for the ultimate freedom in knowing you. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.