by Caleb Moore | Mar 8, 2018
There is a common misconception about Christianity. Although it is rarely articulated, many of us still choose to believe it. That misconception is the idea that if we do good then good things will happen to us.
This isn’t a new idea either. In fact it is found in one of the oldest books in the Bible. The Book of Job isn’t really about how to endure suffering; it’s about the testing of a certain system of belief. We find it here in the very beginning of the book when the accuser approaches God and says, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face” (Job 1:9-11).
It’s this very system that is on trial through the rest of the book, and to be honest, I think it is a valid question that the devil asks. He claims that Job only loves God because God has given him good things, and if you took those things away he would no longer worship God. It’s similar to the idea we often have when we see a beautiful young lady married to a much older yet very rich man. We assume that she is only in the relationship for the money, and the only way to truly test that idea is to take away all the money and see how she reacts.
The rest of the book unfolds with Job’s friends telling him to just confess his sins so that he can get his stuff back. Because, for Job’s friends, a relationship with God was all about getting material stuff. The main thing Job gets right is that he confesses he loves God because God is worthy of love and not just because he had been blessed in this life. Sometimes we call this faulty system Karma or “positive vibes,” and we believe that if we just do good and think good thoughts then good things will happen to us.
The saying “what goes around comes around” isn’t a biblical teaching. If the Book of Job can teach us anything it’s that the karma system is not the way God works, and there is a good reason for that. If it was a guarantee that we would get good things in this life just by being good, it would remove the relational aspect of our communion with God, and He simply becomes some kind of spiritual Santa Claus who brings gifts to good boys and girls.
Whenever I return home from a trip, my oldest son always greets me excitedly at the door. The first words out of his mouth are, “What did you get for me dad?” And of course I usually have some small present for him, but that’s not always the case.
And on those occasions that I come home empty handed, I still get the same love and affection from him because our relationship is not based upon me handing out presents all the time. It’s this kind of fatherly relationship we are meant to have with God, and that is only possible if the system He created isn’t a karma-based system.
We don’t love God because He gives us good things; we love him because He is the good thing. He is a good God worthy of worship, so no matter what we receive in this life, He is still worthy of receiving our worship.
God takes it even a step further, though. He still blesses us and blesses us often. It is still a popular idea in our culture to belive that good vibes bring good fortune and hard work always brings good results. However, one doesn’t have to look very far to realize that isn’t always how things work. Some really good people suffer really tragic moments.
Thanks to the story of Job, we know that whole system is flawed and needs to be thrown away and replaced with the better system, the relational system between a God and His creation. Having a false view of how it works sets us up for disappointment and frustration when things don’t go the way we hoped.
by Caleb Moore | Feb 27, 2018
It’s likely many of you missed this news, but for those of the Mormon Church, the passing of their prophet and president Thomas Monson was heard around the world. Monson was 90 years old and had been the Church Prophet for nine years. Most of the prophets are fairly old when they get the job, and the same can be said for the newest one, Russell M. Nelson at 93.
Why are they always so advanced in age? It has to do with the fact that founding prophet Joseph Smith never really left a clear path for who would follow him after his death. This caused lots of confusion and disagreement after Smith died, but now they just pass it on to the oldest serving apostle.
I have heard their new prophet speak before in person, and it was one of the most terrifying sermons I have ever heard. Years ago I was able to get tickets to a priesthood conference in Salt Lake City that is typically reserved for Mormons. It is a yearly gathering of thousands of Mormon men coming together to be motivated and to hear their leaders speak. I was the only one there not wearing a white dress shirt, and needless to say, it was obvious I didn’t belong, but one of my good Mormon friends wanted me to have the experience.
This was a few years before he would become the church prophet, but he still carried an important role within church leadership. Nelson was a former heart surgeon and one of the top surgeons in the world at his time. He began to tell of a story of an operation he had performed on two young girls who had congenital heart failure. Their family was Mormon and had high hopes for the surgery, but unfortunately both little girls passed away shortly after the operation was over.
For 60 years, Nelson felt a sense of guilt because this incident shattered the faith of the parents, and they stopped being active in the Mormon faith. Until one day, Russell Nelson claims he was visited by the two girls from beyond the grave.
These two young girls begged him, “Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone. Can you help us?” In Mormonism a girl must be sealed either to her husband or her father in order to obtain everlasting life with the rest of their Mormon family. This sealing must be done in a special temple and contains a long list of things that have to be done before someone can be worthy to enter the temple.
Without this “sealing,” the two girls would remain in a lower level of heaven apart from the presence of God. The now 88-year-old father of the two girls was moved by the supposed plea of his two lost daughters and agreed to begin all the work needed to become temple worthy.
A person cannot just simply wish to enter the temple. You first must do a list of interviews to make sure you are temple worthy. All tithes must be paid as well as avoiding tea, wine and coffee, and applicants must confess their belief in the prophet of the church.
As Nelson spoke, my heart began to break. I could not believe what I was hearing, and I was terrified at how many people were smiling and nodding at his story. This supposed holy man was telling us all that God doesn’t allow innocent little girls into his presence until their dad pays his money and serves his time becoming temple worthy.
Nowhere do we see Jesus talking about temple marriages or sealing. What Nelson was describing was salvation by works in the worst way imaginable.
I turned to my friend and told him it was time for me to go. I was visibly shaken as I went over the details in my head, trying to get a grasp on everything I had just heard.
I told my Mormon friend that the god I had just heard described was a moral monster. This “god” would not let these young girls enter into his presence until a man paid enough money and served enough time to become temple worthy.
Can you imagine such a god? One who demands entrance into heaven must be purchased by good deeds and financial gifts? Can you imagine a god who would turn away young innocent children simply because their dad hadn’t kept up his payments to the church?
Russell Nelson is now the prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. We should as Christians pray for him and all those who sit under his leadership that they may come to know what grace truly is.
Next time a Mormon missionary comes to your door, welcome them in and share with them the Gospel as many times possible. Our God is a God who provides, not a god who demands. Jesus is enough, and that message has more power than we could ever imagine.
by Caleb Moore | Feb 8, 2018
When I first started as a church planter it was just me and my wife attending our new church. We knew if we were going to get this thing off the ground we might need to add a few more bodies, but I had no idea how to start a church. What I did know was two things, motorcycles and tattoos. So I drove around Tulsa until I found a tattoo shop the Lord placed on my heart. I wasn’t sure how to start the conversation, so I just started to take them pizza once a week.
It was there that I met Alex. He was one of the tattoo artist and an army veteran. One day he followed me outside and told me that he had been praying and asking if God was real. He told me that he was uncomfortable with the subject, so he informed God that if He was real He was going to have to send someone his way to start the conversation. The very next day is when I first showed up with a pizza in my hand. Alex let a few weeks go by, but then he asked me to pray for him, and that began our friendship.
Alex began to attend our church on a weekly basis, and you could always find him sitting next to the senior adults who took him under their wing, even though he had a giant devil tattooed on his neck. They didn’t see his exterior; they saw a man full of love and potential. For six years I ministered to Alex as he wrestled with his demons and severe PTSD from his time in the military.
Occasionally his girlfriend would call me in the middle of the night terrified because Alex had a gun to his head threatening to take his own life. I would show up and always say the same thing, “Alex, you know I’m supposed to baptize you not bury you.” Eventually he would put the gun away, and we would cry and hug it out.
One of the ways he dealt with his issues was to go on long camping trips alone. One day I got a phone call that, while on one of his trips, he had been in a car accident and was in critical condition. I dropped everything and drove seven hours to be by his side. Alone in a hospital room I held his hand as he passed away. I cried like I haven’t cried in a long time as I told him once again, “Alex, I was supposed to baptize you not bury you.” Although he had never gotten baptized I knew his love for God was real.
The next day his mother arrived hoping to see her son, and I had to tell her the bad news. In the same way I had held her son I held her as we cried together. This is a tough story, but to me it is what ministry is all about. Jesus got His hands dirty. Spiritual growth looks different in all of us, but I saw Alex grow in leaps and bounds. I saw God transform his heart all because of a cheap $5 pizza and an ignorant young pastor who had no idea how to grow a church.
All I knew then, and all I still know now, is that God just asks us to trust and to try. I had no idea what was waiting for me the first time I walked into that tattoo shop, but God did. I still call those guys my friends, and I’ve been blessed by their friendship. Galatians 6:9 tells us not to become weary from doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I consider it an honor to have held the hand of my friend as he got to meet his Savior.
Dear church, let us step outside our comfort zone and love those around us because you never know who God has waiting for you.
by Caleb Moore | Jan 25, 2018
We’ve all been at that point where your car is beginning to show some wear and tear. A few minor things might need to be fixed and it seems like it might be easier to just get a new car.
I mean, you’ve earned it right? You work hard for a living and support your family, so adding a car payment on top of an already tight budget is possible, and it would be nice to have those heated seats in this cold weather. You could do it and still live within your means, so it wouldn’t be an immoral decision. But I want you to consider something first.
Have you ever thought about saving money as a way to serve God? Not saving simply for the sake of preparing for upcoming needs like a new washing machine or medical bills. That is always a wise choice. I’m talking about saving, so that when a need arises that would benefit the Kingdom you can give generously without trying to figure out how to pay for it later.
There have been many times when I have heard of a single mother whose car has broken down, or they have a leak in their roof that needs to be fixed before the damage just gets worse, and I find myself wishing that I could help out.
We tend to think that someone else will help, that they will eventually find a way, and we dismiss it and go on with our lives. From experience, I can tell you, often times they have no solution, and it doesn’t work out on its own unless someone steps in to help.
Recently our small little church came across such a need. An elderly woman had been sleeping outside of her single wide trailer because black mold had taken over her home. She never asked for help, but the city said it wasn’t safe or legal to live permanently in a homemade shelter, especially with the cold weather that was on the way.
Her dilemma was posted on social media and lots of people prayed for her and said they hope it works out. As appreciated as those prayers were she was still sleeping outside. I brought this need before the church, and people were quick to help. The church leadership quickly gave me the resources to go and buy her a new trailer so that she could have a warm home this winter. They did it without voting or having to raise funds on a Sunday for months until we had enough. No, they were able to do it because they had set aside money for emergency ministry opportunities.
This set a great example for me, and I know I can’t always ask the church to do what I am capable of doing. I might not be able to set aside enough to buy a trailer, but I can set aside enough each week to buy a meal for someone. And as time goes by, I hope the money I set aside apart from my tithe and regular budgeting can help someone in their time of need.
This has several benefits, first it helps us stay “Kingdom-minded” on how we budget and spend our money. The things God has blessed us with are meant to be a blessing to others as well.
Secondly, it makes ministry more personal than just writing a check and letting the others do the rest of the work. There is nothing wrong with simply writing a check sometimes, but there is something special that happens when we get our hands dirty and invest in the lives of someone who is in our own social circle.
And lastly it sets the example for my kids that, as Christians, we all carry the responsibility of showing others what the Kingdom of God looks like.
by Caleb Moore | Dec 14, 2017
I recently wrote in a past blog of my desire to avoid the rat race of Christmas this year. Not only have I failed, I failed miserably. I have more Christmas parties and more activities this year than I can recall ever having. But these functions alone are not enough to make me a failure. No, the real reason I wanted to have a slower pace is so that I could focus more on God, and that is where my real failure lies.
I am a pastor and a church planter. I recently took a job as the teaching pastor at a newer church plant in Catoosa, Okla. It’s a great church with wonderful elders who help take some of the stress and work off of my shoulders.
I also have two little boys at home who have enough energy to power half of Manhattan. I want to move to be closer to my new job, so I am trying to get my house ready to put on the market as well as find a new home or even land to build a house on. So between starting a new job, trying to move to a new town, find land, build a house and give my wife and kids valuable time, I am also trying to finish a book I have been writing. And I’m trying to get this all done before Christmas, which ranks as one of the dumbest things I have ever tried to do.
Yes, it’s busy, and busyness isn’t always the problem. The problem is I am trying to make these things happen on my own accord. All of the things I am trying to accomplish seem very tangible and obtainable, which is also were the trouble lies. We function like atheists when we try to force godly results through mere human effort. When the things we are trying to do can be done by our hands alone, we tend to leave God out of the picture. As Christians, we are called to remember that no amount of human effort can guarantee godly results.
When we have several large tasks coexisting at the same time, we can be overtaken by a narrow focus and the overwhelming drive to just get things done. When this happens, other things seem to fall by the wayside.
For me, I fall into the trap of believing that these were things I should do on my own. I failed to take these plans and lay them at the feet of God and allow everything to work out in their own time. I was in a hurry and God wasn’t, so I took it upon myself to just keep moving ahead. I imagined myself as a steam engine courageously chugging up the mountain, when in reality, I was a dung beetle rolling a big pile of excrement. At those moments, I am a Christian pastor who is living like an atheist.
For me, stress and frustration are always the result whenever I try to move beyond what God is doing at the moment. I’m in a hurry but have no real idea as to where I am trying to go. I want peace and security and success, but these are not things that can be built with our hands. I, personally, must remember that the things I am ambitiously driven toward are not found in material things. They are, in fact, longings of the soul that only God can fulfill.