Well, they’re at it again.

Friday, we discussed a particular, unnamed church that’s now getting attention for its zeal in disciplining one of its 10,000 members.

Of course, you know this can’t be an isolated incident.

I have, right here, another church discipline contract, sent to me on the condition that the sender remain anonymous.  Apparently, sending your church discipline contract to bloggers is grounds for more church discipline.  (If you need a refresher on the contract that’s received all the attention, it’s here.)

Check it out after the break, and then let’s play a little game…

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When was the last time you got in trouble?

Most of us remember getting grounded or spanked or our car keys were taken away.  Everyone has one event when they really really got into trouble.

But have you ever been in trouble with your church?

A well known church and pastor that will remain nameless here are causing a stir because one of their members is in trouble.  And when they gave him the proverbial “spanking,” he quit the church.  And the church sent out a detailed letter to members giving instructions on how to ostracize the offender.  Yeah… You can catch up on all the details at Matthew Paul Turner’s excellent blog (including the letter sent to thousands of church members).

And virtually everyone’s reaction has been to excoriate the church.  How dare they try to “control” this guy?  What right do they have to discipline him?  What ever happened to “grace?”

Turns out, the church got it wrong.  Very wrong.  But so did all the bloggers who bristled at the church that would dare to discipline its members.

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What’s the worst thing to accuse someone of?

Think carefully.  I’ll give you a hint.  It starts with the letter ‘R.’

Is “racist” the most serious accusation you can throw at someone?  What about “Republican?”

Keep thinking.  It’s even worse.  The worst thing a person can be encompasses all the evil of the entire human race, and sums it up all in one word.

If I were you, I wouldn’t want to be accused of being…

…religious.

God, no, not that!  I think some people would rather have dinner with a rapist than a religious person.  And with Jeff Bethke’s video about hating religion, making the rounds, I don’t think religious people are going to be winning any popularity contests any time soon.

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Is the old saying true?  Is it a man’s world?

For centuries, it was obvious.  Men controlled everything: governments, armies, money, and churches, while women fought for the right to be thought of as more than property.

Has the glass ceiling been totally broken?  The seats of power, in corporations, in world governments are still controlled, predominantly by men.  In the West, some women still make lower wages than men.  Abroad, hundreds of millions of women are oppressed (in my opinion, at least) by radical Islam.  In a lot of ways, women still get a raw deal in life.

It seems that the strides of feminism still haven’t finished what they started.

And one of the hottest debates about the role of women is in the church.  What to do with the ladies?  Are they fit to be leaders, pastors and elders?  Or has God ordained them for the sidelines, running the nursery and Sunday school?  It seems some of those attitudes will never die.

And yet, as I see the future, it’s most definitely a woman’s world.  Get ready…

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Maybe you’ve noticed.  Jesus has a bit of a major image problem.

Yep, if Jesus’ public relations committee were working for anyone else, they’d have been fired long ago.  Anyone else with such a bad rep would disappear.  The campaign would be over, the bus tour cancelled, the public appearances would stop…except for maybe Sarah Palin.

And we assume that it is this image problem that is leading to Christianity’s slide in influence.  If only we could get our act together and show the people the real Jesus, then people would come back to us.

But maybe Jesus’ PR problem isn’t as simple as we think.

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It seems like everyone wants to put labels on everyone.  You know, put everyone in a box.

When I tell a new acquaintance that I’m a pastor, I instantly see a thousand calculations pass through their minds about the kind of person I must be, the things I must like to do, the politics I must have, the thoughts I must think.  Almost inevitably, the very first question out of their mouths is what kind of church do I pastor?  By that, they mean to ask if I’m Presbyterian or Baptist or something like that.  Another box with another label.  Even calling myself “non-denominational” puts me in a box, a box marked “miscellaneous.”

Maybe that’s a good label for me: miscellaneous.  Maybe I am just a miscellaneous person.

Let’s check all the other boxes and see if I fit in with them…

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