For years, Kenya, historically one of the strongest economic centers in Africa, has battled the rise of terror groups, such as ISIS and Al-Shabab, the difficulty of securing their northern border with Somalia, as well as meeting the needs of high volumes of displaced people groups throughout the country. Having spent collectively more than several months in Kenya over the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to witness firsthand many of the challenges facing Kenya through my work with The Oasis Network For Churches.
This week, the conservative news outlet, Faithwire, released a shocking video from one of my recent trips to Kenya in which I interview a high ranking Kenyan national security officer regarding border safety under the Trump administration. The story, which can be found HERE, picked up massive national reach after being tweeted by Tomi Lahren, a leading conservative commentator and Trump supporter.
“Actually in Kenya we say that, ‘Trump is God’s chosen.’ Because by him being there so many things to do with terrorism and the spirit behind the Islam has been restricted.” -Officer Harrison Gnota
The original interview, which was recorded as part of filming of Miles Away, a new reality documentary that follows my work with The Oasis Network can be found here:
Looking for more content from Lucas Miles? Make sure and head over to http://www.faithwire.com/podcasts/the-lucas-miles-show/ to listen to the newest podcast with world-class influencers, authors, and thought-leaders, like DeVon Franklon, Kevin Sorbo, Andrew Wommack, and more!
I regularly receive questions regarding issues of what I call “practical” grace. Lately some of the most common questions have dealt with grace and homosexuality. Many pastors have chosen to shy away from answering similar questions, due to the immense controversy, but I personally believe that as this issue continues to gain increased attention both socially and politically, it is likewise important that churches and individual believers know how to respond to such questions. More specifically, I believe that it’s important to know what the Bible teaches regarding faith and sexual orientation/sexual identity, no matter how controversial the answers may be.
Additionally, I think this topic is important to address, because many homosexuals are in fact seeking a relationship with God, but have been isolated and segregated in the past, or simply made to feel this way, from the church due to hate speech, bigotry, and religious thinking. My hope is that by addressing properly and clearly what the Bible teaches about homosexuality, sin, and most of all God’s grace, that the church might once again be restored as a place of refuge and healing for all who are seeking a Savior.
With that being said, I would like to acknowledge from the start that issues of gender, sexuality, and identity are quite complex and usually trigger strong emotions on either side of the debate. In no way, especially in so few words, am I able to adequately answer all questions related to sexual orientation, but hopefully the below questions and answers will serve to give initial insight into what we teach and also provide much needed biblical perspective to readers wanting to understand a gospel oriented view of grace and homosexuality, etc. I trust not all will agree with my responses, but I very much hope that all will at least see this as a positive step in furthering the discussion.
Q: Are homosexuals welcome at your church?
Assuming they aren’t coming for nefarious reasons, absolutely everyone is welcome at any one of our Oasis’ churches. At Oasis, we aren’t focused on sin management or trying to uncover everyone’s deep, dark secrets, rather we focus on love and identity in Christ. People are very safe at Oasis to engage, learn, grow, and ask questions relevant to their lives. Our assumption is that every single person who attends one of our churches has “issues” to some degree; shortcomings, secret sins, or character flaws. It isn’t that we look at these struggles as if they don’t matter or aren’t important to God. Our character matters deeply to God, because it affects the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us. The difference though at Oasis is not in what we believe about sin or character, but rather in what we believe about God’s grace. Titus 2:12 says that grace “teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”. At Oasis, we understand that the secret to life transformation and healing is experiencing God’s love and grace, and doesn’t come through finger pointing, fault finding, or condemning words – what unfortunately many people are used to finding at church. Grace doesn’t mean that we approve of homosexuality, but simply that we believe that every person, regardless of their behavior, has value and worth. Sometimes people hearing this will ask, “So you believe in going easy on sin?” My response is always the same, “No, I just believe God went hard on Jesus.” Make no doubt about it, sin can kill you, but Jesus is greater than our sin. The Bible teaches that Jesus became sin at the cross and received in himself the full payment and penalty for our sin through his death on the cross (Isaiah 53:11, 54:9-10). This is what we call the “Great Exchange”; that he took our sin and exchanged it for his righteousness. As a result, we now have peace with God and walk in his grace. In this way, we extend this grace to others, regardless of their struggles, because we trust God’s grace to lead people into truth and godliness.
Bottom line, if someone is coming to Oasis to hear the message and to explore their faith – that person is always welcome. If someone else, gay or not, is coming simply to cause problems, that’s a different story and a person like this, assuming they refused to stop whatever issue they were causing, would be asked to leave until their attitude or agenda changes.
Q: Nature versus Nurture? How does grace respond to this debate?
First off, the homosexual agenda needs for the answer to this question to be nature. If the answer is nurture, then homosexuality becomes a result of abuse, pain, and distorted emotions and thus something that can and should be healed. The temptation here is to make homosexuality about this debate, but it isn’t. Personally, I do believe that the primary cause of homosexuality is nurture, or lack thereof, (i.e. abuse, emasculation, bullying, etc.) but because of how pervasive I believe sin to be, I have no issue conceding perhaps some causality to nature, with the understanding that science is finding, and I believe the Bible confirms this, that our genes pass down programming and emotions on levels that we are just beginning to realize. (Please note – this is NOT generational curse teaching, which is unscriptural, and something altogether different.) So, if the answer is nurture, then certainly there is restoration and freedom in Christ. But if the answer is nature or both nature and nurture, what should this matter? If Lady Gaga is right, and we were all “born this way”, this still should not be an obstacle, for in Christ we can all be born again into newness of life. Our nature, that was once dead to God, can be made alive to God and filled with the fruit of righteousness (i.e. God’s kind of life – life as it should be).
As the church, we need to be aware that to many in the homosexual community, talk like this simply sounds like Christians are trying to change people. In order to be truly effective in reaching people with the gospel, especially reaching a group like homosexuals that have been subjected to decades of hate speech by the religious, we need to demonstrate and carefully clarify that our intentions in preaching the message go far beyond trying to make converts, and that our main goal is to see people renewed, restored, and full of the life of God. Grace and sincerity, not debate, are perhaps the greatest tools that we possess in reaching this community.
Q: Is homosexuality worse than other sins?
The short answer here is, yes and no. From God’s vantage point, sin is sin. People mistakenly think that the Bible teaches in James 2:10 that all sins are equal, and although this is true in some ways, this is only part of the picture. What it actually states is that “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” This doesn’t mean that all sin is equal exactly, but that to commit one sin is to be found guilty of all sin. Obviously, without Christ, the consequencesof this are dreadful. So in this sense,to commit any sin, makes even a heterosexual man guilty of homosexuality. Because of this, homosexuality is no worse than any other sin. This should hopefully wake up some of the legalists out there who see homosexuality as the worst sin imaginable, since in the absence of Christ, they themselves, according to the law, are guilty of the same offense.
On the other hand, it would be foolish to think that horizontally, that is on earth, all sins are equal or that the consequences are the same. The consequences of lying are typically less than the consequences of sexual sin, but likewise, the ramifications of murder far outweigh those of both deceit and any sexual sin. In this way, homosexuality does have detrimental effects to one’s emotions, sense of self-worth, and at times, health.
All considering, I think it’s important that we keep in mind that the goal here isn’t to manage sin, rather to lead people into true,unhindered relationship with God. Sin management is shortsighted and stems from a performance driven view of sin that does little to actually restore and heal those who are hurting. To truly restore people, at a heart level, regardless of the sin, we must focus on identity in Christ, grace as God’s power for change, and most importantly the love of God.
Q: If all sins are equal, and we all sin, should homosexuality disqualify you for ministry?
In regards to homosexuality disqualifying a person for ministry, part of the problem here is that the question is flawed. The question begins by isolating homosexuality as a special class of sin, and thus makes it nearly impossible to answer the question in such a way that doesn’t trap Christians into saying that homosexuality is worse than all other sins. With this in mind, the better question is, does sin disqualify a person for ministry?
To answer that, let me remind us that in the New Covenant we understand that Jesus took upon himself the sins of the entire world and removed the dividing wall of hostility between God and man. As a result, when approaching God, sin is no longer our problem. With this in mind, we see that it isn’t sin that disqualifies a person for ministry; rather it is his belief about his sin that does. If sin disqualified us for ministry or Christian service, then we would all be disqualified, for all have sinned. To make sense of this, let’s look at 1 John 1:8-10 where it says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make himout to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” This means that a man or woman who has homosexual thoughts or feelings, but acknowledges these tendencies as sin or desires of the flesh, chooses to honor the word of God and takes responsibility for their own heart. This person, with time and grace, will find freedom and wholeness and I believe the church should model God’s grace towards them, by embracing them, as they would any other brother. On the contrary, to deny homosexuality (or gluttony for that matter) as sin and to embrace it as part of one’s nature is rebellion and as John states, “makes him (God) out to be a liar.” In this case, it is a man’s belief about his sin that disqualifies him, not sin itself. Referring back to the previous passage, John illustrates this in verse 8, where he states, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
On the other hand, in verses 9 and 10, John reminds us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make himout to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” The Greek word used here for “confess” literally means “to say the same thing”. Commonly, people think of the word confession as having to do with rehashing all of your secret sins to a priest or even to God, but biblical confession really has little to do with this. Biblical confession actually entails agreeing with God about our sin; saying the same thing about it that he does. Yes, we do this when we acknowledge that our sins are in fact truly sins, but we only fulfill the true definition of confession when we agree with God that our sin has also been covered by God’s grace and is no longer counted against us. One who either fails to acknowledge sin as sin or fails to confess their sin as forgiven in Christ, both fail to “say the same thing” as God and really have no business ministering to others, when they themselves are still not walking in God’s grace.
So to the person struggling with sin, but who desires to live for God, I would say: Simply agree with God that your sin was covered and paid for on the cross and receive his grace in your life. Jesus is your qualification, both now and forever.
Q: If you could share one thing with the Homosexual or LGBT community, what would it be?
To those in the homosexual and LGBT communities, I want you to know that at Oasis, our message is simple – God loves you and he’s better than we think he is. I also want you to know that God’s not mad at you, but crazy about you. In the book of Genesis, God gave Noah the sign of the rainbow in the sky, as a testimony of his promise and faithfulness towards all of creation. Isaiah, the prophet, takes this a step further in Isaiah 54:9-10, where God says, “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” In all of this hopefully it’s clear, God wants a relationship with you – with all of us. He wants to fulfill your hopes and your dreams. He wants to give you wisdom, truth, and his abundant grace. He wants to show you the real you. Not the person you see when you look in the mirror, but the real you; the deep reality and beauty that is in your spirit, beyond the sum of your sexuality and your outward behavior – the person you’ve been searching for all these years. He wants to show you who you were created to be. God is extending to you the greatest offer that there ever could be – to be made truly alive. But understand this, he won’t force himself on you, he won’t make you receive him. That is your choice – you must invite him into your life.
Let me close by leaving you with the words of John in John 3:16-21:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
If you are interested in ordering more life giving resources from the Oasis Network For Churches or to receive additional information about starting a relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit www.oasnet.org or call 574.247.9800.
Who would have thought that you could learn something from a cockroach?
We arrived in Mexico last night after a long day of travel. Overall the trip was smooth, other than the usual Chicago traffic and a lost bag upon arrival; nothing we can’t do without for a day or two.
Our hosts were waiting for us at the airport, helped us load our baggage into their pickup truck, and drove us to their beautiful home in Madeiro, Mexico. After some wonderful refreshments and some even better conversation, we made our way to our rooms for the night.
But shortly after Krissy and I got settled in, we realized we weren’t alone. La cucarachas, aka a giant flying cockroach, had invaded our space uninvited. Now before I start, let me just say that I’ve traveled the world, I’ve seen big bugs before, handled wild snakes, but there is just something about a lightning fast cockroach that still makes my skin crawl. But tonight my fear would have to wait, because I’m a man, and duty called and my wife wasn’t going to be able to sleep until that nasty bug was dead, right? So to battle I went, moving furniture, throwing shoes, checking under rugs, and even swatting my arms a few times; I mean I tore that place apart, but you know what, no matter how hard I tried, I was just no match for that flying beast, that is,…until I finally turned on the light. Man, with just one flicker of incandescent glory that bug ran for the hills never to be scene again. Who would have thought that it was that easy?
That reminded me of something. Problems are a lot like cockroaches, they surprise us, scare us, and despite our best efforts often times leave us feeling defeated and uneasy, that is, until we flip on the light.
Psalm 18.28 says, “You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.”. See problems, just like that pesky cockroach, have a way of fleeing at the first glimmer of God’s light. God’s light, his truth and opinion, lights up our darkness and causes our problems to flee.
I don’t know what you’re dealing with today, but keep this in mind, darkness doesn’t like light and can’t ever overcome it. Walk in God’s light today and begin to see your circumstances change.
Jesus makes recruiting a team look so easy, doesn’t he? “Hey rugged fishermen over there! Drop what you’re doing and come follow me,” he shouts. And the amazing thing is that they follow. For most planters I talk to, they seem to have difficulty recreating the same results. The fact of the matter is that oftentimes recruiting a team, whether it be searching for initial staff members or courting prospective launch team members, can be extremely challenging. But does it have to be, is the real question?
Before we look a bit closer at Christ’s recruitment model, let’s first identify the hindrances that seem to prevent greater recruitment success. Church planters – here are the top 5 excuses we use when struggling to recruit the all-star team that we so desperately desire and need.
Top 5 Favorite Church Planter Excuses for Failing to Recruit Others (or the right people).
1.) “I don’t know anybody.” – This is initially understandable since in many situations church planters relocate to launch their plant and obviously it takes time to meet new people. With that being said, if you plan on pastoring a successful church – you’re going to have to meet new people – and a LOT of ‘em! Focus on “watering holes”, you know like on those animal documentaries on the Discovery channel where all the animals come to together and intermingle around the pool of water. What are the watering holes in your community? If you live in suburban America, I’d suggest starting with the local Starbucks, Guitar Center, gym or YMCA, or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble. But remember, proximity to people probably isn’t enough…you’re going to have to actually say, “Hi”.
2.) “I lack the finances to be able to hire the right team.” – Man, could I ever tell you about this one. I hid behind statements like this for years. Now I’ve realized, when it comes to recruiting the right people, money is nearly irrelevant. If you believe in your vision, then so will others. If you don’t, people will recognize that, and they’ll hesitate getting behind you. We planted our church about 7 years ago and we continue to run with an extremely high percentage of volunteers on our team. They aren’t doing it out of obligation or for the money, but because they love Jesus and they want to see the mission of our church accomplished. Some church planters I meet are afraid to ask people to serve or come on staff without pay – let me remind you that unless you’re part of a large planting organization, my guess is that you have or are currently working and serving the ministry with little to no pay. What made you do it? Why do you think others won’t?
3.) “No one I try to recruit is better at the task that I am, so it’s just easier to do it myself.” Whoa there Lone Ranger! This kind of attitude is certain to solidify the fact that your ministry will never be bigger than yourself. I remind my teams and planters regularly, “The person who thinks that in order to get something done right you have to do it yourself, usually has to.” In the beginning, this might be true, but long-term thinking dictates that we become master delegators. When someone takes over a new task, understand that quality could decrease, but with the right leadership and training, you should expect this person to outperform you in the near future. Delegating is a scary thing, but arrogance and shortsightedness are far worst.
4.) “I don’t have the time to train people.” A close cousin of #3, this excuse underestimates the value of duplication. If Jesus did anything, he duplicated. He went from 1, to 3, to 12, to 72, to 120, to 3,000, to the world. In fact, the majority of what we read about Jesus doing in scripture was focused on training his disciples. The reality is that you don’t have the time to NOT train people. The best way to do this is to build regular training sessions throughout the month. Do you have a weekly staff meeting? Consider making the first 15 minutes a brief staff training or perhaps working in a longer training time into your next staff retreat.
5.) “I’ve tried recruiting people, but no one wants to help.” Asking someone to help or get involved is different than recruitment. Asking someone to help all too often comes across as desperate and needy. Recruitment is based not on need, but vision. A good recruiter seeks to understand the person in front of them, discover their passions, creatively find meaningful opportunities for their involvement, and most importantly shows the value of the position or ministry. Bottom line, the church is about building people and not people building the church. Master this, and you’ll never lack people to help.
Understanding Jesus’ Approach to Team Buiding
In Luke 5:1-11, we read about Jesus calling his first disciples. As the story goes, Jesus began teaching by the shore, and as the people began to crowd him, he eventually asked Simon to allow him to preach from his boat so more could see and hear him. After he had finished teaching, Jesus blessed the fisherman by directing them to let down their nets for a catch. They did so and as the scripture tells us they caught so many fish that they had to signal their partners to come help them bring in the fish and even then, both boats were “so full that they began to sink.” At this, the fisherman was amazed and fell before Jesus. He then said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” And the men left everything and followed him.
Here are the principles I see Jesus utilize.
1.) Start Small – Jesus didn’t show up and just tell them to leave everything and follow him. He first simply asked if he could use their boats as a stage. Obviously, if they would have said no, this would have told Jesus something about them, but they didn’t so he continued pursuing them. So what does this look like practically? For me, most of the time I purposely don’t wear a watch, just so I have an excuse to talk to someone sitting next to me to inquire the time. It might not seem like much, but I’ve had some pretty incredible conversations come from the simple request, “Could you tell me the time?” Is one of your neighbors on your heart, ask to borrow one of their tools (and then make sure and return it.) Is this person already part of your ministry, ask to serve for an hour without asking for any commitment beyond that. How did they do? Did they show up on time? Did they serve with joy? Did they complete the task with excellence? The answers to these questions should tell you something and direct you with how to proceed.
2.) Equip Them – Before Jesus ever asked for a commitment from his soon to be disciples, he first taught them the Word. For me, in our ministry, we place a very high priority on understanding the gospel through the Word of God, so it’s important that before I ask for huge commitments that I know that the people I’m asking have been impacted by the Word in their life – that they have experienced grace first hand. If prospective team members seem unaffected by the Word – I’d suggest looking for someone else. When first meeting someone, it might not always be realistic to squeeze in an hour message, but you don’t have to. I like to hand out books and teaching CD’s. Do the people respond? Do they ask questions? Were they impacted?
3.) Seek to Fulfill Their Dreams – Again, before Jesus ever asked for a commitment, he first filled their boat with more fish than they could count. He showed that he wasn’t just interested in using them to fulfill his dreams, but that he was interested in fulfilling their dreams. In his book, Leadership That Builds People, Dr. James B. Richards says this about the typical model of recruitment, “What is the first thing we say when someone comes into our church? “Come on; catch the vision; become a part of it.” That denies servanthood. Our introductory statement says, “Give up your dreams; give up what you want to do and help me do what I want to do.” Jesus model wasn’taboutservice, but wholeness. A true leader says, “Come follow me and I’ll see that your dreams are fulfilled along the way.” Get to know your people – what do they really want in life? What are their goals? How can these goals intersection with your ministry? How can you use your organization to further their dreams?
In conclusion, my biggest encouragement regarding recruiting would be to envision yourself in a world of more than enough; more than enough people, more than enough resources. When it comes down to it, essentially all of the excuses above come from a perspective of lack – from a place of questioning God’s provision and call for me. Be encouraged. God wants your church to succeed. In fact, I would venture to say that (assuming you are preaching the gospel) that he wants your church to succeed even more than you do, because ultimately and in actuality – it’s His church. So go out there and build that team. You got this, not because you’re an awesome church planter (though I’m certain that you are), but because you have an awesome God.
For more information about planting a church or for other ministry resources, please visit www.oasnet.org.
Thinking about planting a church? Then you NEED to check out www.oasnet.org . The Oasis Network For Churches is looking for qualified church planters and pastors who are passionate about the Gospel of Grace and the finished work of Christ. Currently, the Oasis Network is working with pastors and church planters in the US (Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois), East Africa, Sweden, St. Lucia, Mexico, Malaysia, and many more places to come. For more information, visit our website www.oasnet.org or call us today, 574-247-9800. We are looking for YOU!
Next week, the Oasis Network For Churches hits the studio to begin recording our newest worship album, Savior of All, featuring original worship music from Trace Rorie, Jaime Hilton, Nick Hill, Seth Bible, and Brian DeShong. Currently the project is set to release on June 1st. The CD can be purchased through OasNet for $15 and is available for pre-order for 10% off the retail price. Keep checking back for updates on the project and photos from the studio. Email jprawat@oasis-granger.com or call 574-247-9800 for pre-order information.
The new OasNet Logo, seen above as “the lily upon the water” was designed by Milesdesign and is symbolic of the life that springs forth from the Living Water found in Jesus Christ. As OasNet has been undergoing many changes over the last few months, we wanted to echo those changes with a new look. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Keep checking back for more updates regarding OasNet and the new, Global Pastor Outreach. Merry Christmas!
For the last several months, OasNet has been seeking an intern to join our team specifically to assist with Global Pastor Outreach (aka Adopt a Pastor Program). God answered that prayer with not just one intern, but two. Sarah Way and Tia Brown attended the recent Oasis Granger Christmas Coffee House at Bella Vita Coffee. They thought they were attending the event to support their good friend and singer/song writer, Seth Bible, who was performing that night, but apparently God had more in store. Long story short, I had informed them to “keep their eyes open” for anyone who might be interested in assisting with some international ministry projects that we’re working on, as Sarah and Tia are both local college students (Notre Dame and Bethel College, respectively). They asked a few questions about the program and I went on about the night. Little did I know that God was stirring their hearts to join our team. Later that night, they asked, “What if we are interested in getting involved with the project?” And the rest, as they say, is history. Sarah and Tia (pictured below) will both begin working for OasNet and Global Pastor Outreach in early January and will conclude their internship with a trip to visit the Oasis churches in Tampico, Mexico in June. We are all excited to welcome them on board and to see what all God is going to do in them over the next several months. To find out more about the Global Pastor Outreach or the Oasis Network For Churches you can visit our website at www.oasnet.net or contact our offices at 574-247-9800.
