During a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, noted atheist Christopher Hitchens laid down some seriously good theology. Most people recognize Hitchens as the author of the bestselling book God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything. Since the book's publication in 2007, Hitchens has toured the country debating a series of religious leaders, including some well-known evangelical thinkers. In Portland he was interviewed by Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell. The entire transcript of the interview has been posted online. The following exchange took place near the start of the interview:

Sewell: The religion you cite in your book is generally the fundamentalist faith of various kinds. I'm a liberal Christian, and I don't take the stories from the scripture literally. I don't believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus died for our sins, for example). Do you make and distinction between fundamentalist faith and liberal religion?

Hitchens: I would say that if you don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice our sins are forgiven, you're really not in any meaningful sense a Christian.

Sewell wanted no part of that discussion so her next words are, "Let me go someplace else."

This little snippet demonstrates an important point about religious "God-talk." You can call yourself anything you like, but if you don't believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and then rose from the dead, you are not "in any meaningful sense" a Christian. 

Talk about nailing it.

In one of the delicious ironies of our time, an outspoken atheist grasps the central tenet of Christianity better than many Christians do. What you believe about Jesus Christ really does make a difference.

 You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.    

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Do you know why God put you where you are right now?

That's a tough question for some of us to answer. Have you wondered about that? Why has God put you right where you are right now? Do you think it happened by chance that you are single (or married), with children at home (or long since moved away), with a good job (or stuck in a bad situation)? Or is there a larger purpose at work in your life?

Let me ask that question from a completely different perspective. What will you have to show for your life when you stand before Jesus Christ?

A good job?
A college degree?
Money in the bank?
Lots of friends?
A large reputation?
A successful career?
The praise of others?
A winning record?
A bagful of awards?
Departmental chairman?
President and CEO?

If that's all you've got to show for your life, then you really don't have much going for you. Sooner than you think, you'll be lying in a box six feet underground with grass growing over your head. And the things you worked so hard for won't matter at all. Someone else will have your money and your job. Your fame will fade, your glory will disappear, and everything you now own will belong to others (and someone else will be sitting in your pew at church). You will eventually be forgotten except by those people who stumble on your gravestone 100 years from now and say, "I wonder who this guy was."

Howard Hendricks said it this way: "Only two things in this world are eternal-the Word of God and people. It only makes sense to build your life around those things that will last forever." The Word of God will last forever. People last forever. Everything else disappears.

You can read the rest of this sermon online. 

 You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.  

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Yesterday I received a note from someone who wanted to know my views on those who use my material in their own preaching and writing. It seems that he had run across an unusual case (at least it is unusual in my experience) and wanted to know my opinion. How do I feel when I find out that other people out there somewhere, unnamed and unknown to me, use what they find on the Keep Believing website in their own preaching and teaching and writing? Do I consider it a violation of some sort? Is it "cheating" to use material you find on the Internet? Here is how my correspondent put the matter:

Thanks for your excellent sermonic material on Crosswalk.com.
Is your material copyrighted on Crosswalk.com or can one use it as his/her own material?

I recently heard of a preacher delivering your sermon as his own, without giving your any credit.  Thank you for helping me understand whether or not this breaks copyright laws for your material.

Here is the gist of my answer:

1. My major writing is found not on Crosswalk.com but at www.keepbelieving.com. There you will find 825 full-text sermons along with over 100 podcasts and hundreds of articles and blog entries. All of it is free for downloading.

2. We copyright the sermons in order to prevent egregious misuse. 

3. Basically we understand that the Internet is pretty much like the Wild West where anything goes. People copy and cut and paste from all sources all the time. And there seems to be no real way to stop it. So I tell people they are welcome to use my material in their own study and preparation. I say that simply because they can do it anyway, and I don't want to have to worry about it.

4. I have written about this topic in an article called Pastoral Plagiarism. 

5. It's just plain dumb to preach another man's sermon and pass it off as you own. That sort of thing catches up with you eventually.

6. We know of many pastors and Christian workers around the world who come to the Keep Believing website to find material for their own sermons and Bible studies. We're delighted to be of service to our brothers and sisters in other countries who may not have access to good resources.

7. I have a friend in China who pastors a house church. He has been using my sermons for three years to learn how to preach, but he takes out the American illustrations, adds Chinese illustrations, and modifies the sermon to fit his own audience. The result is that the sermon may start with me but it is truly Chinese in the end.

8. If the man you are talking about is literally preaching my sermons word for word, well, I'm not upset about it, but I think it's a sign of bad habits that will destroy his ministry in the end. 

9. Better that someone should read our material, take what they want, use it, amend it, improve it, and make it their own.

10. As the wise man said, "Milk many cows, but make your own butter."

11. If people want to help us somehow, mention our website. I would rather people know about www.keepbelieving.com than about me personally. 

12. We know there are many excellent Internet resources for sermons and Bible studies. We list some of the best on our Recommended Resources page. 

I encourage people to use what they find on our website, assuming that they will amend it, improve it, and make it their own. I hope it leads to more people finding and using our material. I am not worried about whether or not someone mentions my name. We're all in this together for the sake of the Kingdom. And if we're not in it for the Kingdom, what are we in it for?

 You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon. 

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Would you hire this man as your pastor?

*Arrested many times.
*In and out of prison.
*Often run out of town.
*Never built a building.
*Never spoke on television.
*Never had a website.
*Never had a Facebook page.
*Never owned his own home.
*Had to work on the side to support himself.
*Never stayed very long in one place.
*Not a skilled public speaker.
*Unimpressive appearance.
*Sometimes preaches for hours at a time.
*Seems to get involved in public controversies.

Most churches would take a pass on a man like that. After all, you can't trust your pulpit to just anyone who comes along. And that's why the Apostle Paul would not feel at home in many of our churches today.

Every year I spend a good part of my time talking with pastors. I love pastors and I love spending time with them. Sometimes I'll ask, "How is it going?" and then sit back and wait for the answer. Just as I typed that sentence, I shrugged my shoulders, as if to say, "It depends." It depends on who is asking and when and where and why. And it depends on what day you ask.

Success in the ministry is notoriously hard to define. Even if we have met all our goals, have we truly been successful in the eyes of the Lord?

That's the question Paul faced in 2 Corinthians. He had to justify himself because a group of critics had virtually taken over the church, filling the people's minds with base accusations against Paul's character and his conduct. "You can't trust him. Look how fickle he is. He says he's coming for a visit, then he doesn't show up. How do you know he's not a fake?"

Part of Paul's answer comes in 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 where he declares that the real measure of his ministry is the lives changed by the Holy Spirit. That constitutes true success in the eyes of the Lord.

It's not about programs or buildings.
It's not about budgets or titles.|
It's not about a big reputation.

You can read the rest of the message online.

 You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.    

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