Greg Stratton

Beyond His New Book, What's WRONG with Rob Bell?

2011-04-12T14:54:00.003-04:00

I waited to write this one. In the midst of last month's Internet fury, I was so tempted to write about the things in Bell's book that bothered me. I bridled my desire, however, wanting to make every effort to give Bell and his book due process. I'm glad I waited. Because I have grown to realize that the problem is not Bell's book; the problem is Bell himself. He, is his own worst enemy.
I love his interrogative approach to scripture; it challenges me. I appreciate the way he questions traditional thinking; it makes me think. But, I'm abnormal. I'm weird. I eat this stuff up. I really don't care if he is right or wrong. I let him challenge my thinking, it propels me to study and then I decide for myself. Sometimes I agree with him and many times I do not, but I don't care. I know what I believe. I dig. I grow. I'm glad to go back for more.
So what's wrong with Bell? Most people are not like me. Most like to be told what to believe. Others have studied just enough to think they know what they believe, and when some one like Bell comes along it rattles their world. Rather than study and accept the challenge they paint little red horns on him and label him a heretic. But, that's more about us than it is Bell. What's wrong with Bell?
Well, first of all, Bell is on the cutting edge. He's not following a tried and true methodology for doing church. He does things that are out of the box and experimental. Some things work well. Others do not. It freaks people out. When you are the forerunner in a movement you will be under constant scrutiny, at all times. "What movement?", you ask.
Well that brings me to the second thing that's wrong with Bell. He is a leader in the Emerging Church movement. Some even label him as being associated with the Emergent Church Conversation and that's even worse. Honestly though, most people do not know the difference; they tend to lump them both together and call them both bad. But, I have very little issue with the Emerging Church Movement, in it's purist form. This is where the now popular Missional Church Movement was birthed; which is the direction that I'm leading my congregation. The Emergent Conversation, however is very unhealthy; it is very liberal and is accepting of lifestyles and beliefs that are blatantly contrary to scripture. It goes beyond asking provocative questions that challenge our thinking in a controversial book.
Which brings me to the third thing that's wrong with Bell. He associates with leaders in the Emergent Church Conversation. He also has them fill the pulpit in his church on occasion. I've listened to some of those sermons online. I've read what I can about their association. I have not heard or read anything that would make me think that Bell himself is aligning himself with the Emergent Conversation, but "birds of a feather..." ...if you know what I mean.
It's for this reason that men like Justin Taylor and John Piper, who consider themselves doctrinal watch dogs, have been very suspect of Bell. For at least a few years, they have been chomping at the bit to find evidence of what they have long suspected. When they saw the promo video and read the chapter sampling of his book they thought, "ah-ha!". "We've got him!". So much so that Piper jumped the gun and crossed the line with his now infamous tweet, "Farewell, Rob Bell!".
In the midst of surfacing apologizes we have yet to hear from Mr. Piper, by the way. I'm not saying that Piper has to embrace Bell's theology. I would respect Piper a little more, however, if he would apologize for the mistake that everyone now knows he made instead of trying to justify why he did what he did. He jumped the gun and criticized a book he had not read. How would he feel if someone did the same thing to him?
Bell however, opened the door for all this; it's what's wrong with him. He put himself in this arena. He is the one who has associated with those of the Emergent Conversation. I mean really, what did he expect? He should know that this comes with the territory. But, at the same time I can't help but wonder what Piper would have tweeted, if he had witnessed first hand Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors.

*special thanks to Jason Wiedel for the artwork!

What's Right About Rob Bell's New Book, Love Wins?

2011-03-30T17:42:00.000-04:00

I have always thought that Rob Bell was a little cheesy. I saw him preach at a Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta, several years ago before he had reached the summit of his popularity. My attraction to his work, in the past, has been due to his writing style and the probing questions that he asks. Unlike a Lucado, whose writing style allows my mind to slumber while he takes me on a spiritual journey, with Bell I have to think for myself. He is good at this. I really enjoy his challenging manner; it engages me. So much so, that I can easily look past the cheesiness.

Probably because I have watched more than twenty of his NOOMA videos and have his goofy persona engraved in my grey matter, when I read his new book I can hear the inflection of his voice with almost every word he writes.

I say all this to make, what I feel is, a very important point in the wake of so much controversy over his latest offering. Bell is not trying to be a theological pastor; that is not his quest. Bell is an artistic pastor. Where many a pastor is theological first and then artistic, Bell is artistic first and then a theologian. He expresses his faith best with his creativity. Though I have my opinion, I'm not saying this is right or wrong. I'm just pointing this out because I think it will help us better understand why there is so much controversy over this book. Bell's creativity has superseded his theology on this one.

I could follow suit with the hoards of blogs and reviews that pick apart Bell's work, thought by thought. But as I survey the internet frenzy I realize that any schmuck with even a slight hint of theological training can point out what's wrong with Bell's work. If you want that type of review from me, you will be better served with a quick Google search. I'm choosing to offer you something in this review that you won't find very many places. In a cyberspace full of people telling you what's wrong with Rob Bell's new book, I'd like to share with you what I think is right about it.

First of all, Bell dares to challenge Evangelical Theology. This is healthy. It freaks people out, but it's healthy. I like it! If what you and I believe cannot stand up to a book like Bell's then what we believe is doomed from the start. We should welcome the debate. For this reason, I challenge every well grounded Christian to read this book. If Bell can show you something from scripture that you need to think differently about, then he has edified you. If he cannot then he will strengthen your resolve.
For those of you who are on the "protect the immature believer" kick, I do not believe we protect new believers by shielding them from views that differ from the evangelical mainstream. What's next? Will evangelical churches allover this country start hosting, Love Wins, book burnings? If we are discipling new believers like we should be, this isn't a real threat.

Also, Bell points out a weakness in Evangelical Theology. This too is healthy. Evangelical Theology is only weak when we speak where the Bible does not. Evangelical thinkers are frustrated that Bell would dare to challenge their thinking on subjects like Heaven and Hell. The truth is, however, the Bible tells us very little about Heaven and even less about Hell. Someone please tell me where in the Bible it says we will go to Heaven when we die. Chapter and verse please? Go ahead, flip to your concordance and prove it to yourself...it does not. There are plenty of verses that refer to everlasting life and being caught up in the clouds, but no where does the Bible say that people will go to a place called Heaven. This highlights the weakness of Evangelical Theology. Evangelicals have treated this and other topics like it's Rague spaghetti sause; it's in there!...somewhere...right? Sorry, no its not.
If this fact startles you, shakes your faith, or causes you spiritual pause...you have just been the recipient of a theological doctrine the inaccuracy of which has spawned an insecurity within you. So, you have a choice to make. You can join the "Bell is a heretic!" bandwagon with every other chump who has more theological degrees than common sense, or you can allow your new found awareness to propel you back to scripture... so you can grow and better understand what God's word really says. Which I'm guessing was Bell's intention all along. That's his probing, questioning nature.
All that being said, I indeed found a few things in the book that I thought were off, theologically speaking. Honestly though, this is true of every Christian author I read. I'll not mention what's wrong with the book because that's not what this review is about. If you want the negative perspective it's a Google's click away. What's right about Bell's book is that it makes you think, really think. It makes you re-examine why you believe what you believe. It forces you out of your evangelical clone mode. It peals back the veneer of man made fundamentalism. It strips away those identities so that you can approach the word of God with the only identity that scripture points us toward: ...to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

CORE 4: West K's Core Values

2011-01-20T14:08:00.003-05:00

I'm excited to share with you about where God has been leading our church. In February we will be looking at what West K is all about. Several months ago a team of West K members were asked to evaluate and re-work our mission and vision structure.

That team met several times, prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to give them direction. He indeed did. That direction was two-fold: Our mission should be simple and it should be evangelistically centered.

The leadership here at West K has been praying about these results for several months, asking God to reveal through His Holy Spirit direction for West K. He indeed has.

Through the Holy Spirit's prompting during our Crazy Love Campaign, and His prompting on the hearts of leadership directly, we are excited to share with you West K's CORE 4.

These four core values are at the heart of both our mission and vision as a church:

Surrender, Relationships, Truth, and Transformation.

On January 30, we will have a promo Sunday for this campaign, and I will explain this in much more detail. We will then spend a Sunday on each of these core values, individually. Each Sunday morning focus will be followed by discussion in your small group as it meets the following week.

We are asking that everyone make every effort to be in church over these 5 weeks and attend a small group as well. We do not want anyone to be left out of where God is leading our church.

If you are not yet in a small group, signing up for one is easy. Just visit www.westk.org and click on the sign-up link. More group opportunities are being added as this campaign gets underway.

I am so looking forward to worshiping with you in February as we discover together what God has planned for West K.

Pay It Forward: Youth Group In Kalamazoo Feeding The Homeless - FOX 17

2010-11-28T18:59:00.003-05:00

KALAMAZOO —

16-year-old Katy Stratton and her friend Andrea Thomas were bored one day. Instead of causing trouble, they decided to make a difference.

"I was like um I think we should go feed the homeless. I didn't even know there were homeless people down here," said Stratton.

Now dozens of homeless and hungry people in downtown Kalamazoo rely on Katy and her friends to show up every Sunday. At first they didn't even tell their parents what they were up to. Every week heading to the dollar store, and spending their allowance on peanut butter and jelly, then walking the streets of some of the roughest neighborhoods in town, counting on their faith to protect them.

"For the longest time we didn't want anyone knowing because we're not doing it for the glory," said 18-year-old Andrea Thomas.

The girls started out with one loaf of bread, but six months later, the donations are rolling in with the help of their church. Members of West Kalamazoo Christian Church have donated everything from bread to water for more than 50 sack lunches to be made and handed out every week.

"Today we did five loaves," said Stratton.

The group has made friends with many of the people that gather waiting for the special delivery of sandwiches. Kimberly Dobbins looks forward to Sunday afternoons. She's been homeless off and on for two years after being released from prison.

"They don't look at us like people that are just homeless or in the streets. We're somebody and they recognize that and they always tell us God loves us and things are going to get better," said Dobbins.

A small group of young people, trying to make a big impact on the world of the less fortunate.

Coming Soon to West K!

2010-11-11T17:43:00.001-05:00

THE GREAT give-a-way - a quest for spiritual maturity.

GREAT GIVE-A-WAY PROMO SUNDAY

Greg Stratton – Promo/Intro Sunday November 28 – Luke 19

Zacchaeus gave to the extreme, when he realized what he’d been given. This is what Thanksgiving is all about.

…and it’s what the great give-a-way is all about.

☼ LIFE

Jason Sleight - Sunday December 5 - Romans 12

What does it mean to give your life away? …really?

┼ FAITH

Greg Stratton - Sunday December 12 – Acts 8

Phillip left a good life to obey God and share faith with a foreigner. God expects us to forsake Comfort for Commission.

$ MONEY

Greg Stratton - Sunday December 19 – Matthew 2:11

Historical Fact: The Wise Men would have given everything they had…it would have been improper for them not to.

µ TIME

Jason Sleight - Sunday December 26 - Mary vs. Martha and other examples…

Time is finite. What we have of it is limited, yet we life like we have an endless supply. How does God want us to spend the time we have?

The Missional Church

2010-10-21T12:55:00.012-04:00

For some time now many have sensed that the authenticity of the church in America has wained. It feels as if we have ceased to be the church that God has called us to be. The seeker sensitive model has gone by the wayside. Many of the originators of this model have now abandoned it. Many have been left with a void that is accompanied with the question: "Now what?"

Many times in history the church has experienced these, "Now What?", moments. In fact, this is how the church began. After the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples found themselves asking this very same question. Those who had been close to Jesus were almost in a "Now What?" depression (Luke 24). However, Jesus appeared to them many times in an effort to pull them out of their depression and get them focused on what they needed to do for the kingdom. It wasn't until Jesus himself cooked breakfast for his disciples on the seashore that they finally begin to understand what their calling was. Jesus had a mission for them.

That mission has not changed. Christ has the same mission for us today. Yet, for the last decade or so the church at large has had a skewed view of what that mission is. We have tried diligently to get people to "go to church". That's not the mission Christ has called us to however. Rather, Christ has called us to "be the church." It's what he was talking about in Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The temptation for the early Christians was to stay in Jerusalem and "go to church." Jesus however, wanted them to reach out and "be the church". We have that same temptation today. We are prone to be Christians who spend time with our Christian friends, build dynamic programs in our church and expect the world to come and check us out. Yet our mission for today is to take the church and the message of Christ to the world. When we "be the church" beyond the walls of our building, we are his witnesses; that's the mission he has called us to.

The missional church is not a model; it's a response. It's an acceptance of what Christ has called us to do in it's simplest form. A church can do missional things. Our church at West K recently hosted a BBQ in the inner city so we could engage the homeless community and share God's love. That was a missional type thing for our church to do, but it does not make us a missional church. A church becomes missional when it's members live lives that are missional...when its people do missional things. When a church does become missional, you no longer talk about church growth...you just watch it happen.

There are basically three stages to becoming a missional church. First, the churches leadership and it's people begin by doing church-wide missional things. You purposefully engage outsiders with God's love with events and programs that meet needs in the community. Next, small groups within the church accept the mission and begin to do missional things. One of our small groups purchased socks, gloves and hats and handed them out personally to homeless people on the street. Thirdly, individuals in the church personally accept the mission and do missional things as well. A couple of girls in our student ministry make sack lunches for those in need who lives on the streets. No church program was needed. They just felt the call to "be the church" and they responded. When this level of saturation is achieved you have a full blown missional church. Currently here at West K we are in stage two and are flirting with stage three; we are soon to reach critical mass. Watch the video below to get an even better idea of what we are talking about.

cRaZy LoVe - FALL CAMPAIGN 2010

2010-08-31T15:20:00.002-04:00

If you haven't done so yet, check out the Francis Chan sermon video from the North American Christian Convention: http://westk.org/Beyond%20Crazy%20Love.wmv

Francis Chan's sermon spoke to many things we need to hear as a body of believers. My favorite line from his sermon: "Jesus didn't tell us to go make Christians; he told us to go make disciples." In the coming weeks you are going to be hearing more about the development of our mission and vision here at West K. You will be asked to engage in this process. I want to encourage you to do so. You can engage by deciding right now to do the following: 1. Attend the upcoming annual meeting. We will be talking about these things and much more. It's a meeting that you will not want to miss. 2. Sign-up and participate in a small group this fall. You can sign-up here: http://www.churchteams.com/Login.asp?oID=7687&secID=eUJ6ZHNydmdhcko4VTN3OWRuTng1TTBzSjRva284VWY%3D&page=GroupBrowseNew.asp?filter=y

Our small group program will be the spear-head of our mission focus. Our goal for this fall is to have more people signed up for small groups than attend worship services on Sunday morning. 3. Get in the Word and start living it. Study your Bible. But, just don't fill the grey matter with it...do it! Don't wait on church programming to give you avenues to serve other people. Look for opportunities. The Holy Spirit will prompt your heart to serve and meet needs if you are sensitive to His direction. Ask God to give you a sensitive heart to the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you ask, I guarantee you He will.

There is another really cool video that shows where we are headed this fall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxfLK_sd68

Everything starts September 19th. You will not want to miss our Promo Sunday for the cRaZy LoVe campaign on Sunday September 12th.

Tough Questions Series

2009-10-28T08:33:00.000-04:00

What a great Campaign we had these last seven weeks! It was great to see all the new faces here for our “Bring a Friend Sunday.” Thanks so much for your part in making our Campaign a success. We are now going to take a few weeks to sure up some things in our daily walk as Christians.

Today, we begin a sermon series entitled: “Tough Questions That Christians Ask.” We will examine God’s word and look for answers to questions like: Why do I feel lost?...Why do I struggle?...Does God still heal today?...Can a bad habit really be broken? Whether you are new to Christianity or just an old hack like me, we all wrestle with questions like these at some point in our lives.

In an effort to continue our outreach, I would like to encourage you to think about who you know that is struggling in their walk with God. Maybe one or some of these question topics would help someone you know. Please don’t be afraid to invite that person to come to church with you during this series. Invite them to our West K Family Thanksgiving Dinner and Talent Show on November 22 too. Dan and Sandy Crummie are hosting the event; Mike Griffin will be our comedic emcee.

Next Sunday, November 8, is “I’ve been Shy” Sunday. This is a special day for folks to make a public decision who may have been putting it off. It is not always easy to come forward all by yourself and make an important decision. However, it can be very encouraging to make a decision on the same day that others are making that same, life-changing decision. So, if you have been shy about accepting Christ, re-dedicating your life, or placing membership - this day is for you!

In closing, I would like to encourage you with one of my favorite verses: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12) Let us keep pressing on together as we grow closer to Christ!

Evangelism Campaign Coming this Fall to West K

2009-07-31T12:55:00.000-04:00

I’m excited to get to tell you just a little about what God has in store for West K this fall. This Fall we are doing a Church-Wide Evangelism Campaign called Each One Reach One.
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives us a directive to go into all the world and reach lost people with the Gospel. This seems like such a daunting task for just one person. But, what if each one of us would just reach one person? When you think of it in those terms it seems to be a much less intimidating task. Surely, I could introduce just one person to Jesus...this Fall...surely...
That’s the focus for our campaign this fall at West K. Can you imagine the impact it will have on the kingdom? Can you imagine the impact it will have on our church family when each one of us reach just one person...each? Not only will our church grow but heaven will rejoice over each one of us reaching one (Luke 15:7).
Our Each One Reach One campaign will have a 7-week focus on the conversion stories in the book of Acts. Each week we will focus on a different story and glean from it principles that will help us in our effort to reach someone for Christ. Everything we do at West K will be focused on that weekly story as we grow together and pray for one another in our effort to reach that one person. Sunday School, small groups and Bible Studies will be focused on this effort along with our sermons and times of worship.
It all starts the second week of September. The high point of our campaign will be “Bring a Friend” Sunday on October 25th. Directly following our “Bring a Friend” Sunday will be “I’ve Been Shy” Sunday on November 1st.
“I’ve been Shy” Sunday will be a day of decision. Maybe there is a decision you’ve needed to make for a long time...like getting baptized or placing your membership at West K. This will be a great day to do that. You can join others who have been shy too and make your decision together.
I believe God has exciting things in store for us this Fall at West K. I look forward to getting to share them with you. Would you join me in praying for the many great things that God will do.

Christ is the focus of EVERY book of the Bible

2009-07-20T16:48:00.001-04:00

After Sunday's sermon, a few different people asked for a copy of this. It shows Christ as the focus from every book of the Bible. This thought isn't original to me. It was in a Old Testament textbook I had in Bible College I think.

Genesis - Seed of the Woman
· Exodus – Passover Lamb
· Leviticus – He’s the Atoning Sacrifice
· Numbers – Smitten Rock
· Duet. – Faithful prophet
· Joshua – He’s the Captain of the Lord’s host
· Judges – Divine Deliverer
· Ruth – Kinsmen Redeemer
· I Samuel – the Bible pictures Jesus as the anointed one
· II Samuel – the son of David
· I&II Kings – He is the coming King
· I &II Chronicles – Builder of the Temple
· Ezra – Restorer of the Temple
· Nehemiah – Restorer of the Nation
· Esther – He’s the preserver of the nation
· Job – he’s the living Redeemer
· Psalms – praise of Israel
· Proverbs – Wisdom of God
· Ecclesiastes – Great Teacher
· Song of Solomon – Fairest of Ten Thousand
· Isaiah – He’s the suffering servant
· Jeremiah – He’s the maker of a new covenant
· Lamentations – man of sorrows
· Ezekiel – Glory of God
· Daniel – Coming Messiah
· Hosea – Lover of the unfaithful
· Joel – hope of Israel
· Amos – husbandmen
· Obadiah – savior
· Jonah – resurrected one
· Micah – ruler
· Nahum – avenger
· Habakkuk – holy God
· Zephaniah – King of Israel
· Haggai – desire of nations
· Zechariah – righteous branch
· Malachi – Son of Righteousness

· Matthew – King of the Jews
· Mark – Servant Lord
· Luke – Son of Man
· John – Son of God
· Acts – Ascended Lord
· Romans – the believer’s righteousness
· I Corinthians – the sanctification
· II Corinthians – the sufficiency
· Galatians – Liberty
· Ephesians – head of the Church
· Philippians – Christian’s joy
· Colossians – Fullness of Deity
· I Thes. – believer’s comfort
· II Thes. – believer’s glory
· I Tim. – preserver of the believer
· II Tim – believer’s reward
· Titus – blessed hope
· Philemon – substitute
· Hebrews – The Great High Priest
· James – Giver of Wisdom
· I Peter – Rock
· II Peter – Precious Promise
· I John – The Light
· II John – The Truth
· III John – The Way
· Jude – The Advocate
· Revelation – King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Jesus, lower than the angels?

2009-06-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

We just started a sermon series from the book of Hebrews...a series I have entitled: Fix Your Eyes on Jesus.
We began this study last week. It’s a great book to study for the summer. We do not know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but we learn more about the divine nature of our Lord and His heavenly authority from Hebrews than from any other place in scripture.
We also get a glimpse at where we fit into the heavenly scheme of things. Despite being loved and cherished by God, in the grand scheme of things we are somewhat incidental.
In Hebrews chapter two we find out that mankind was created a rank below angelic beings (vs. 7). This notion flies in the face of western contemporary Christian thought. Christians today seem to think that it is all about us, that we are the reason for everything. But we learn in Hebrews that when it comes to the heavenly ranking of beings, we are little more than an enlisted private in God’s army. We are valuable to God, but it’s not all about us.
Continuing in chapter two we find that our Lord Jesus became an enlisted private, a man just like us. Like us, Jesus was created a little lower than the angels (vs. 9). This is really an incredible insight when you begin to consider the ramifications...ramifications that are a little too technical and weighty for a sermon maybe.
Let me explain in the limited space I have left on this page. You see Satan is an angel (Exe. 28:14). He was created to be the most beautiful and powerful of all angels, a guardian cherub. Though Satan was a beautiful and powerful angel; he became proud and corrupt (vs. 17). The writer of Hebrews is telling us that when Jesus became a man, He lowered himself in rank to be a little lower than the angels which includes the most beautiful angel of all, Satan.
Jesus Christ, His life and ministry, was an incredible expression of God’s power and might. God took something, the Christ, who was created a little lower than Satan and defeated him with it. This was the heavenly equivalent of, “I’m going to show you! Satan, I can defeat you with both hands tied behind my back!” What God is saying in the Genesis 3:15 prophecy is, “Satan, I am going to take something lower than you and defeat you with it!”
So you see, in the grand scheme of things, we are incidental. Yes we are loved by God. Yes Jesus came and died for us. Yes God values us; we are made in His image. But it’s not all about us. God would have defeated Satan whether He needed to save us or not. God chose to defeat Satan and save us at the same time because of His love for us. But in the grand scheme of things...we are incidental...it’s not about us. Remember: God created us to worship Him. Really, it’s all about Him.