programs

I find myself weary of the current state of Christian ministry. I sometimes think I don't belong in this culture... but here I am. It seems that so many people have reduced the Church to a facilitator of programs... infused with Biblical verses and principles. John Piper once said something to this effect: "Jesus isn't the means to an end... He is the end". As I work, very thankfully, in a ministry to substance abusers, I am, at times, inundated with folks who want to use Jesus to get them clean. I am inundated with people who portray Jesus as the power who will get them clean. The Wycliffe Bible dictionary defines "sobriety" as:

To be free from drunkenness and every form of excess
Exercising self-control by curbing passions
To be even-tempered in mind and action
To be reasonable and sensible

To walk in "sober judgement" is to be much more than- at Jesus expense- "clean"... it is to welcome sanctification as a necessity of life... in all areas.

I am tired of Jesus as anybody's "higher power"... what an insult to our Heavenly Father!!