Is church hindering our relationship with God?

This year in my travels, I have been in 2 of the worst services in history. It was stupid long, uninspiring, man focused, and full of bad, off-key, drab worship. I wanted to go and play video games or watch a movie or knit a Christmas sweater with matching wool hat…anything would be better than being in these services.

What was the problem, you ask? Leadership. The leaders of the churches (which were more like institutions) were leading people in a way that would make Jesus blush. They were pompous, arrogant, had bad theology, uncaring, dictators who called themselves apostles, prophets or revivalists (did my teeth just grit).

I’ve come to realize that church isn’t necessarily the problem; bad leadership and the people who reinforce it are. So before you follow any brand of Christianity, be it miracle ministries, apostolic, revival, prophetic, seeker, prosperity, or whatever else you can find in the grocery isle of salvation, make sure your leader loves God and loves people. Because he can’t say he loves God who he can’t see and stomp on the people he does see and call himself a Christian.

–s.slaughter

Ham 96 – Which denomination is right? 9/29/09

On today’s Ham Show…Which denomination is right? If I believe something in my denomination that you don’t believe, am I right and your wrong? Where did denominations come from? Listen in!

Ham 96 – Which denomination is right?

–Ham News and Talk

MIX SET 1
1.J Johnson Freestyle ( Exclusive )
2.Flame–Bad Ain’t Good
3.Phanatik–Ready To Go

–Part 1

MIX SET 2
1.Mark J–Tumbling Down
2.The Ambassador–Checkin For My God
3.Jaz–Why

–Part 2

MIX SET 3
1.Flipper Key Skit
2.The Mad Prophets–The Dollar
3.The Ambassador–Talk Alot
4.Switch D–Still I Rise

– Thon Em Hour
–Last Word

Are there things Christians can do privately they would not do publicly?

Some Christians do things privately they would not dare do or say publicly. We are not talking about obvious sinful behavior but behavior that is culturally taboo in some places and not in other places. How should we deal with these issues? Listen and learn.
–ham news and talk
SEAN SLAUGHTER_one hunnid
MARK DANIELS_take it back
–part1
JAZ_make a way
JR_light so brightr
–part2
JASON CHAMPION_reflection
BRAILLE_work that way
–thon em hour
RICHIE RIGHTEOUS_who you represent
–last words

What do you love the most: God or the Bible?

Here is an interesting question: do you love God more than the Bible or vice-versa? Many Pentecostal preachers and televangelists stress an extreme importance on the Bible. The Bible is vital to understanding how God has operated in the lives of men and women in the past. Reading the Bible helps us to understand and learn about this God who we cannot see but exists all around us. His character and personality are revealed and because God is consistent, we can figure out what to expect in our relationship with Him.

But on the flip side, extreme focus on the Bible can lead to undesirable results, particularly Bible worship. When the Bible is talked about like a textbook, a manual, instructions, a pamphlet, a tour guide, or a set of magical chants and incantations that produce results when repeated a certain way, then the value of the bible in decreased because it now sits in the same space of my, “How to put together your bookshelf” instructions.

Consider this story told to me by my father and probably told to him by someone else:

There was a women whose newly wed husband had been overseas at war for the past year and half. Communication by phone was not an option for the soldier so the couple frequently wrote letters to each other. The letters were full of passion, both expressing how much they missed each other and how difficult it was to live without the other. The woman frequently cried because her heart ached for her husband, worrying about his safety and missing his warmth next to her. But the passionate letters he sent her gave her comfort as she would read them several times over. Eventually the war came to an end and the woman received word that her lover was finally coming home. On the day of arrival she bound up the letters and headed to pier, waiting for his ship to arrive. As the hull of the ship broke through the daylight, many on the pier began to cheer. But none was happier that this women. The ship finally arrived and the soldier began to pour out. As their searching eyes met each other, he ran as fast as he could towards the woman and she ran toward him, clutching the letters. As the soldier spread his arms open to catch his excited wife coming toward him, she suddenly ducked under his open arms, ran to the edge of the pier and began to read the letters, sobbing as she went through them one by one. Confused, the soldier said, “I right here baby, you don’t need the letters anymore”. The wife replied, “yes, I know. But oh, how I love these letters”.

Did you catch it? The women fell so in love with the letters, that when her husband arrived, she ignored the person the letters was about. This is what Bible worship is like. To be so engulfed in the Bible that you miss God is wrong. To be caught up in principals but not Jesus is wrong. And to be Biblically sound without a Godly mind, heart, and attitude is dead wrong. Read the Bible to know more about the awesome creator of the the universe. Then worship Him and not the Word.

Lust…the #1 drug for ministers

Lust…the #1 drug for ministers

by Sean Slaughter

By now, we are all aware of Ambassador’s (Crossmovement) moral failure and some of us (such as myself) are still shocked, saddened, and praying. Personally, within the last 12 months I have been hearing about ministers having moral failures (read: sexin’) and just heard a fresh one yesterday. Question: what in the H-E double hockey sticks is going on?

This is not written in judgement but to discover why this is happening. One reason I believe this has become somewhat of an epidemic is because of the widespread failure and poor leadership of our national leaders. Read more

Recession Proof Rapping

We’re in a recession and it is affecting everybody. Chrysler and GM will be closing about 4000 dealerships. Real Estate brokers feel as if they are in the midst of armageddon. Even the beloved hot caffeinated beverage hustler Starbucks has cut 7000 jobs and closed 300 stores (Nooooooooooo!) What about the artist who makes his/her living off of shows and merch sales?

Music ministry is somewhat of a luxury to churches and other venues (promoters, clubs, schools, military, non-profit, etc.) that book them. Most local venues will look for artists in their local vicinity before bringing in somebody out of town. Read more

I’m busy, being busy

I’m so tired of being busy, aren’t you? From the time I get out of bed to the time I lay down I’m doing stuff. Sorry, I’ll call you tomorrow, I’m busy. I’ll return your email in 4 days, too busy. Can’t chill tonight fam, busy. Anybody who is my personal friend has felt my busy wrath.

And what am I busy doing? Ministry, business, school, family, surfing, promoting, politicking? Yes. Sometimes I think we busy our lives so that we can seem important. If I am always doing something, I must be a very important person, right? Or maybe I am genuinely involved in many things because I do not like just sitting around. Or maybe I am a procrastinator, always playing catch up to the things I should have done yesterday (ok, now you really know too much about me)?

I do think this is better than being lazy (which I despise), but it is not a healthy way to live…spiritually or naturally. Naturally, always being on the run, not getting rest, and eating Hardees thick burgers every night, (1800 calories anyone?) aint fresh.

Spiritually, it can devastate you. Not communing with God regularly will leave you confused, desperate, and unsatisfied. Not to mention, we might be busy doing things God never intended for us to do. I know what this feels like first hand.

I’ve found myself doing alot of good things, but not the greatest things. Think about it, wouldn’t you want to do 3 great things with all of your energy versus 7 good things with half the energy?

So, if you email me about this blog, I’ll probably get back to you in a few days or if you call me be prepared to wait longer. But don’t fret; give me some time to shave off the good stuff to do the great stuff Christ has prepared for me.**

by: Sean Slaughter