Ohio Megachurch Pastor: How to Have a 'Gold Standard Faith'
There is no easy way to have a "gold standard faith" other than going through the refining process that is often times painful, preached an Ohio megachurch pastor for the new series "Brave."
Chuck Mingo, who serves as Oakley campus pastor and teaching pastor at Crossroads Church, made his comments in a recent sermon focused on living a brave life, and how everyone's life experience can be strengthened by the weathering of storms.
Mingo compared difficult life experiences to the process of forging gold, saying that in order for gold to reach its purest form, it must be stripped from silver.
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This process is also mentioned in 1 Peter 1:7: "These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (NIV).
The pastor says that while "there are things in our life we would be comfortable with the silver level of refinement," God wants us to be greater and "give [us] a gold standard faith."
To achieve this "gold standard faith," however, followers of Christ must be tested.
When Christians are faced inevitably with a storm in their life, whether it be related to their marriage, children, work, or something else, they must pass through the storm rather than look for a "quick fix" that will alleviate the hard work and suffering.
"Sometimes the storms don't go away because the learning that we need to have is that we have the power to walk through the storm," Mingo says.
The evangelical pastor points specifically to the story of Peter in 1 Peter 4:13, where the disciple calls on Christians to "rejoice" in their suffering so they may become closer to God.
"But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed," the verse reads.
Although Christians may find themselves "in the midst of this journey wandering about that brave storm" and wonder "is this just a random, causeless thing that happens because of the craziness of this world?" they should also know that God has a plan for all of life's tribulations.
"In this you should rejoice in the hope that God is more powerful than the storm that has come into our life," the pastor tells the congregation.
Along with God's plan for them, Christians are also faced with the "spiritual enemy" that "stands in opposition to the good things God wants to do."
"There are multiple factors at play when we face storms in our lives," Mingo contends.
Instead of being tempted to try to get out of the storm, Christians should ultimately ask: "God, can you use this storm to strengthen me?"
By doing this, Christians can approach their life struggles with a hopeful attitude, as "there's always going to be storms when you're going some place that God has for you."
