The following is a chapter from my book The Rogue Christian.
“The world asks, ‘What does a man own?’
Christ asks, ‘How does he use it?’”
-Andrew Murray
“Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded…God will never allow you keep a spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others.”
-Oswald Chambers
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
-Luke 6:46-49
“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
-Daniel 12:4
I believe we are in the time predicted in Daniel 12:4 when “knowledge shall increase.” We have Google, our electronic muse that provides answers with a click. Christian conferences and conventions are held every week. You can buy a book on any topic on Amazon. A visit to YouTube allows you to listen to a sermon from your favorite Bible teacher. Want to know what a verse means? No need to ask a pastor. Just google “John 8:32 commentary” and you’ll get a website with commentaries from multiple theologians. Most Christian homes have several Bibles. The 24/7 news media, news apps, podcasts, radio shows, and social media offer more information than you could ever assimilate.
Never has a generation had so much in the way of material blessings. Life in the suburbs is good, though spiritually numbing. Most homes have the latest streaming services on which they can watch movies on demand. Hollywood, the porn industry, and sports teams make tens of billions of dollars of revenue annually. The overload of knowledge, advances in technology, and abundance of material blessings are mesmerizing, if not overwhelming.
Yet with all of our knowledge and prosperity, we’re losing our country. It’s hard to be a Christian in America with all the messages we’re exposed to, even in the church. “God loves you” is everywhere. “Can you drink the cup?” Not so much. With so much knowledge available and so many pastors who are gifted at teaching, it’s easy to get lost in the idea that Bible studies, knowledge, and the right teaching are all we need—until you read the first chapter of this book and realize it’s not.
Our problem isn’t lack of knowledge. Our problem is that we’re not doing what the Bible says. The path to revival is simple. We know what to do, but we’re stuck in the rut of our tradition—that church is only about singing and teaching.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
-James 1:22-25
In his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Henry Blackaby says it well when he writes, “You cannot stay the way you are and go with God.”56 For some of you, the rest of this book will require major changes. For others, it will mean fine-tuning.
The way of the rogue is to go with God, regardless of what our culture or status quo Christianity says. Here we go.
You must meet with another brother or sister once a week, for the rest of your life.
In the book of Acts, we read that the early church was devoted to fellowship (Acts 2:42). James 5:16 commands us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear each other’s burdens. Throughout Scripture we are given pictures of God’s people living in community; Jesus had His inner circle of Peter, James, and John, and He always sent the disciples out in pairs. Paul always had a traveling companion or group such as Luke, Silas, or Barnabas. David had Jonathan…I could go on. There are no isolated believers in God’s church. Or at least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
From today forward, I challenge you to meet with another brother or sister once a week for the purpose of support, encouragement, accountability, and prayer. No skimming the top or faking it—you must share what’s going on in your heart. We must remove the scourge of isolation in the church. If you don’t have someone to meet with, ask the Lord to provide the right person, and start looking.
I meet with a brother every Friday for lunch. We are raw and open with our struggles and mistakes, accountable to each other to live a life of integrity, and encourage each other to stay in the fight. There is plenty of laughter, mixed with moments when one of us gets emotional if we’re in a painful valley. Neither of us tries to fix the other; there is a lot of listening. We give honest feedback that is occasionally blunt, but never condemning. After lunch, we go to one of our cars (my friend calls it “the chapel”) where we pray for each other and our families. This is the way the Christian life is meant to be lived. Without another brother or sister to walk with, the stress of life builds until we’re ready to erupt.
Support God’s work to change lives.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
-Proverbs 3:9
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
-2 Corinthians 9:6-10
Many churches have messed this subject up and soiled the name of Christ in order to fleece God’s people. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes when they step into eternity. A believer who gives from his treasure is supporting the work of God to set captives free. Armies must be funded; the troops must be fed, equipped, and sent to the front lines. A believer’s checkbook reflects their heart. To give financially is to express appreciation to God for the treasure trove of blessings He’s abundantly blessed us with.
Pastors tell me that 20% of their flocks provide 100% of the tithes to their churches. Could one reason for the lack of tithes be that we’ve failed to show our people how to have a passionate love relationship with the Lord? “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
If you are one of the 80%, I encourage you to get alone with God and ask Him for His heart when it comes to supporting His ministries. Then fund His army.
The daughters of God are to dress modestly, and should be treated with dignity by their brothers in Christ.
The picture of the church I gave in Chapter 1 is a mosaic of different churches I’ve visited, including the scene of the young woman in the worship team wearing yoga pants. One church I visited not long ago had two young women dressed in yoga pants who were dancing on stage while the worship band played. Guess what the movie theater-sized video screen behind the band was showing live video of? I couldn’t believe I was worshipping in church while young women were on stage wearing garments that are little more than black panty hose that highlight the curves and crevices of their lower anatomy. And they were on screen. I had to avert my eyes to avoid worshipping the wrong creation.
Today it’s common to see women wearing cleavage-exposing tops, leg-exposing shorts, and yoga pants…in church. Why aren’t pastors talking openly about God’s standards for modesty?
“…Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works”
-1 Timothy 2:9-10
Clothing that exposes the female body is a lust-trigger for men. A friend of mine said he thought yoga pants were designed by Satan. God has hardwired men with a sexual drive that is more charged than that of most women. Many of the Christian men I talk to don’t want to look. Wrestling with our fallen flesh every day is hard enough; the church should be a place where God’s standards for appropriate dress are openly discussed and followed.
Ladies, you are meant for more. Your gender is the embodiment of dignity, grace, and quiet strength. God has woven many different threads of gifting, discernment, and love into the fabric of the soul of a woman. They have a sixth sense that men often lack. Women can discern when something’s off in another person’s character long before a man has turned on his radar. Many of the most gifted prayer warriors I’ve met have been my sisters in Christ. No one prays for me like Michelle does. Most married men will tell you that they covet their wife’s prayers above all others because they minister to their heart. A woman can build a man up to all God has meant him to be, or she can shred him to pieces with one cutting look.
Proverbs 31 describes the value of a wife:
“An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.”
-Proverbs 31:10-18
Why would a dignified daughter of Christ who knows her value dress herself like a piece of lunch meat? Perhaps we have failed to teach them their value. Or maybe it’s because Christians are treating them like lust objects.
Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries, is attacked often by other believers. I’ve not read her books or watched her videos, but the headline of one post she wrote on May 3, 2018 caught my eye. Here’s an excerpt:
“About a year ago I had an opportunity to meet a theologian I’d long respected. I’d read virtually every book he’d written. I’d looked so forward to getting to share a meal with him and talk theology. The instant I met him, he looked me up and down, smiled approvingly and said, “You are better looking than ______________.” He didn’t leave it blank. He filled it in with the name of another woman Bible teacher. These examples may seem fairly benign in light of recent scandals of sexual abuse and assault coming to light but the attitudes are growing from the same dangerously malignant root. Many women have experienced horrific abuses within the power structures of our Christian world.”
How often have you seen men in the church, especially in positions of leadership, take responsibility for treating women like a piece of eye candy? They’ll scream heresy all day long, but it’s amazing how quiet they get when confronted with the lust and spiritual abuse that’s raging in the church.
Christian women should dress in a dignified manner. Treating them with respect, and facing our problems with lust, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse must also be exposed and confronted in the church. Those of us who are rogues will not stay silent.
Rogues pour out until the end
We’re told that the American dream is to go to college, get a good job, buy a house, save up, and then spend your senior years enjoying the good life. Let’s see how that compares to God’s word.
“And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.’”
-Joshua 14:6-12
Wow. Caleb is 85 years old, still a warrior, and eager to take the fight to Israel’s enemies and conquer more territory. There are no accidents in Scripture. We are given Caleb’s age to show God desire for seniors to make their lives count for eternity.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
-Psalms 92:12-15
Seniors aren’t to be set out to pasture, but turned loose to make a difference in the world. They have an important role to play in the body of Christ and in the battles we face. “Ever full of sap, and green”—that is a sign of being full of life. Retirement strips you of purpose and a reason to get out of bed. Joining the Calebs of our time and getting some wins will put the fire back in your heart. Those of you who are in your final years have a purpose and can make an impact.
“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
-Luke 2:36-38
God honors this 84-year-old prayer warrior for all time by mentioning her in His word. We are in desperate need of prayer warriors like Anna in the church. The fact that Anna wasn’t employed didn’t mean she had retired. This woman of fasting and prayer was a spiritual warrior. Give me an army of Annas, and I’ll give you revival. Just because you aren’t working a job doesn’t mean you’ve lost your purpose. God may be calling you to give yourself to prayer, the church, or a ministry, or to join His work in other powerful ways that will have a far-reaching impact.
We are given a picture of how God feels about retirement, American style:
“And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to’ himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’”
-Luke 12:16-21
Uh oh. Could it be we’ve bought into another lie from the pit of hell and that retiring is a mistake with potentially devastating consequences in God’s eyes? There will be many who will face Jesus in eternity who, when asked to give account of the time they were given on earth, will say something like, “Well Lord, I spent the last 20 years of my life cleaning my house, tending to my garden, and traveling. I always kept my house really clean.” I don’t see the Lord saying, “Wow! Good job on the clean house.” When I read “Fool!” and how the Lord took the rich man out in the passage above, it’s obvious that He was furious that the guy would even consider a lifestyle of “relax, eat, drink, and be merry.”
In Matthew 25 we are given the parable of the talents. A talent was 75 pounds of gold or silver. That’s a lot of money. One man was given five talents (375 pounds of gold) by his master, another received two talents (150 pounds), and a third got one talent. The first two men doubled their money, and were rewarded by being allowed to keep the profits they made on their master’s behalf. They had the amazing blessing of hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).
The man who was given one talent buried it in the ground, which took more effort than depositing it in a bank. It would have taken a lot of work to transport 75 pounds of gold, dig a hole, and cover it over. His master was furious and exiled the one talent servant to “the outer darkness,” a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).
Scripture provides no justification for retiring for the purpose of spending your final years living the good life. We are warned not to waste the time and gifts we’ve been given. It always goes back to the heart. If I love God, why wouldn’t I want to spend as much time as possible living my life for eternity? We are wired to live with purpose. Without a battle to fight or something greater than ourselves to throw ourselves into, life becomes a pathetic search for meaning in the wrong things such as obsessively cleaning the house, buying stuff we don’t need, eating ourselves to death, or creating busy work with no eternal value.
If you’re retired, I challenge you to unretire and ask God what He wants you to do to make your life count. We need your wisdom and experience in the fight. If you’re planning to retire, reconsider, unless your plan includes devoting the rest of your life to God for His purposes.
Reuben Carter is a friend of mine. He’s in his 70s and is a missionary in Asia. He lives overseas and travels abroad frequently, including to regions of the world that are in turmoil. Although Reuben had surgery for prostate cancer several years ago, it hasn’t slowed him down. That’s the Rogue way—pouring your life out until the end.
Rogues decrease or set aside the time they give to entertainment and the pleasures of this world so they can have more of God and His purposes.
In Chapter 5, I referenced Ezekiel 16:49 and how entertainment is crowding Jesus out of our lives.
“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.”
Some might be tempted to scream, “Yahhh, legalism, run for the hills!” Legalism is when someone takes an issue that is not sin as defined in Scripture and proclaims it to be so. It’s not that movies, video games, sporting events, concerts, or social media are sin (as long as the content isn’t out of bounds), but that many have given entertainment such a large part of their lives that their relationship with God is choked, rendering them ineffective.
But, many Christians are indulging in content that should be off limits for a believer.
In April 2016, the musician known as Prince died. I watched as Christians mourned his loss over social media, stating how they would miss him and his music. I was surprised they would miss his music, and posted the following lyrics from one of his songs on the Blazing Grace Facebook page:
“If we cannot make babies,
maybe we can make some time
Thoughts of pretty you and me,
Erotic City come alive
We can f**k until the dawn,
making love ’til cherry’s gone
Erotic City can’t you see,
thoughts of pretty you and me
Every time I comb my hair
Thoughts of you get in my eyes
You’re a sinner, I don’t care
I just want your creamy thighs”
I see Christians all the time who are going to concerts of secular artists whose music glorifies sexual sin, drug and alcohol use, hatred, and even the occult, which some of these artists are into. AC/DC is a classic example. Why would a sold-out Christ follower want to listen to a song like “Highway to Hell” where the singer tells Satan he’s “paid his dues,” or “Shoot to Thrill” where he openly admits he’s evil? Or why would a believer attend a concert by Van Halen, who set the tone for their career with “Running with the Devil,” the first song on their first album?
The music we listen to and the movies we watch impact our souls and our characters. Many Christians have watched Game of Thrones, that’s filled with scenes of nudity and rape, or movies such as Fifty Shades of Grey that are packed with sexual content. Immersing ourselves in content that is at odds with Scripture won’t fuel our prayer life or draw us closer to God, and it could give the enemy a foothold.
God’s word gives us more clarity:
“’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.”
-1 Corinthians 6:12
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
-Philippians 3:7-11
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
-Colossians 3:1-3
Those of us who are believers in Christ are called to a higher standard. Many Christians have no prayer life or much of a relationship with God because, like Sodom, they’ve allowed pleasure and entertainment to choke their walk with God.
Read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. You can have as much of God as you want, and you can have as much of this world as you want, but you can’t tank up on both. There is room for entertainment in the life of the believer, but if it’s choking your walk with the Lord, look at decreasing your time and exposure to these things so you can make more room in your heart for Him.
“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”
-2 Timothy 2:3-7
Take care of your temple.
Today, it is estimated that two-thirds of Americans are overweight. By 2030, 50% of all Americans are expected to be obese. I travel often to other countries in Asia and Europe, and rarely see more than a few people in one setting who are overweight, let alone obese.
Part of our problem is that our foods are laced with chemicals and sugar, which contribute to heart disease, cancer, and other problems. Many don’t exercise.
My doctor told me that more than 80% of all diseases are due to eating unhealthy foods and a lack of exercise. The other 20% are genetically inherited. What made it more surprising was when he told me that after a heart attack, only 20% change the foods they consume or get into exercise.
We tend to wink when the donut and cookie plates are put out at church. After all, what’s a little comfort food? You’re given one shot at this life and there are no second chances. Don’t waste your life by ending it prematurely because of poor diet and a lack of exercise. Eliminate or greatly reduce the consumption of foods that contain sugar, preservatives, or other chemicals; junk food; and foods high in salt or unhealthy fats. Sodas and most fruit juices are detrimental to your health and waistline. Build your diet around high-quality proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
For some, eating sugary, fatty, and salty foods is a way to attempt to fill the hole in their heart. You can’t fill a spiritual void with food. Usually, there is a lie or two embedded in the heart and driving the pull to medicate with food-porn.
Our body chemistry, emotions, and spirit are intertwined. How we treat our temple affects our mood, emotional state, walk with God, and how much time we have on earth. If you’re making frequent visits to the hospital because your health is crumbling from poor food choices and a lack of exercise, it will be difficult to live a life of impact.
Teach your kids to be rogues
My daughter Bekah is 17. Since she was 15, I’ve been taking her with me on my trips to speak in churches and conferences—which has put her on the front lines of battle. The day before flying out, she would get hit with a fear and panic attack that was so severe she wanted to stay home. I explained to her that the enemy was attacking her to intimidate her from going and assured her that she’d done nothing wrong. We would spend time in prayer, and the fear attacks would stop. In one instance, I took up my authority in Christ as her father and commanded the enemy to cease their assaults, which put a halt to them.
Last year, on Christmas Day, Bekah gave me a card with these words:
“Dad, you have taught me so many things that I wouldn’t learn in school, like how to be a prayer warrior and how to stay close to God. You also taught me how to overcome spiritual warfare. Thank you also for being there when I was going through an attack. You inspire me to be a better person every day. I hope that I can be a positive inspiration like you to my kids.”
Rogue fathers and mothers don’t try to hide their kids from war; they bring their kids with them to the front lines, allow them to take some hits, and teach them how to fight and win. We never abandon them. Many Christian parents are making the fatal mistake of trying to protect their kids from the world instead of teaching them how to overcome it.
My wife and I strive to make ours a praying family. We pray as we take our kids to school and before everyone goes to bed at night. Michelle and I pray together as well. If someone is going through a rough time, one of the family members will pray for them. It doesn’t always happen every day, but prayer is a constant thread in our home. I pray for my spouse and our kids every morning during my time with the Lord.
“And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people,
‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’”
-Nehemiah 4:14
