A little over a year ago, I was going through a bout of frustration over some of the theology I was seeing shared on Facebook -- inspirational videos that took the Bible out-of-context, statuses that were proudly sinful, and memes that were just straight-up Christ-less, even when they tried to involve God.
One weekend in a trusted friend's home, I was expressing my grief when Joe said to me, "Well why don't you make your own videos then?" I tried coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't -- too busy, didn't know where to start, weren't the sermons online enough, what did I have to say that someone else wasn't already saying. Eventually I got talked into it.
That meeting in that living room became the launch point for the online video series, When We Understand the Text, born out of our small church. We started 2014 with only three videos made and less than 500 views combined. We ended 2014 with over 300,000 views and almost 5,000 regular subscribers. Most of those numbers have come in just the last six months.
When We Understand the Text (WWUTT) is committed to sharing Christ and exploring his Word in its proper context. One of our catch-phrases is, "Many of the Bible verses we think we know, we don't!" For example, Revelation 3:20 says nothing about Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts, Matthew 18:20 is not about two or more believers gathered for prayer, and Jeremiah 29:11 is not about how God is going to prosper you.
Then there are the stories that have devolved into myth if folks ever knew the real meaning of the story in the first place. Stories like David and Goliath (which was actually our first video), Moses and the burning bush, or the death and resurrection of Christ. Many who call themselves Christians aren't even able to articulate the gospel when asked. WWUTT is an effort to teach sound doctrine and put many false speculations about scripture to rest.
The quick, mostly 90-second videos are meant to be catchy and to-the-point, perfectly suited for media like Facebook and Twitter. We hope you've enjoyed this first year of WWUTT videos (consider it our first season), and that you'll continue to watch and share. With over 50 videos made and published, I'm proud to present the first ever best-of list to start out the new year. These are the five most popular videos of 2014.
5) God Has Already Chosen Who Will Be Saved?
Some of the videos made have come from viewer suggestions. Others have been inspired by discussions in our own church. This video came from both. Look, the Bible is clear on this subject, more than we'd like to admit. God is sovereign. He decided before time began exactly who will be saved and who's going to hell based on no decision of our own. But that in no way relieves us of any personal responsibility. Need a scriptural explanation? Take :90 -->
4) Thou Shalt Not Judge?
Andrew is a friend of mine who fed me WWUTT topics early on. This was one of the ones he requested. Everyone and their dog loves Matthew 7:1 (even if they have no idea what the reference is). People just love throwing this one up to protect themselves from ever being told they have behavior that needs changed. But the Bible doesn't say not to judge. In fact, we're actually supposed to judge! But with right judgment. Here's Matthew 7:1 in its proper context -->
3) Is Heaven Is for Real for Real?
The first four WWUTT videos were all four and a half minutes long. The video on the false teaching contained in the book and film Heaven Is for Real was the last to be that length. After that, they were all shortened to ninety-seconds. Good thing, too. The shorter videos sure are a lot easier to make.
2) Women Must Be Silent In Church?
In 2014, I spent 7 months preaching from Paul's first letter to Timothy. Of course, we eventually came upon 1 Timothy 2:12, where it says that a woman is not to teach or have authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet.
I preached the sermon that day by saying, "So ladies, when we're done with church today, we expect you to leave quietly. You can't talk. You can't raise any questions about the sermon. That's only for us men. You have to wait until you get home and then you can ask your husband, but for now, you have to keep your mouth shut."
My wife, sitting in the front row, said, "Yeah, good luck with that, honey." It was completely unrehearsed, and the congregation thought it was hysterical. Later, I told her later, "Babe, we have to do a WWUTT video, and you have to be in it!" She wasn't crazy about the idea, especially the part about her picture being in the video while she was 6 months pregnant.
If she knew the video was going to be seen over 12,000 times, she never would have done it. I love her. It was an honor when years ago she said she'd marry me. It was an honor when she said she'd be in my video. -->
Oh, and by the way -- Aria Joy, pictured but not pictured, was born on October 28. Random fact: I was holding the three-day-old infant baby girl while I recorded the audio for the video on foreknowledge. She slept all the way through it, just like she does my preaching on Sunday morning.
1) Victoria Osteen Said Worship Is for Yourself?
Of all the WWUTT videos made, this one came together the fastest taking less than 2 hours (they typically take 4 to 8 hours from start to finish, depending on the material). I uploaded it to YouTube on a Sunday morning before preaching in the first service.
You probably know this came from the comment Lakewood Pastor (and yes, she's a pastor, not just Joel's wife) Victoria Osteen made back in August about how God is happy when we're happy, so worship is for us, not for God. It wasn't until later that I thought of 2 Corinthians 5:15. If I could do the video again, I'd have put that verse in somewhere.
But the point is still clear: those who worship in the flesh to please the self cannot worship and honor God. Joel and Victoria Osteen are false teachers. This is our most popular WWUTT video so far. -->
Special thanks to Todd Friel and the gang at Wretched; to Tim, Len, and Colin at Bible Thumping Wingnut; and the many others who have played and shared our videos on their podcasts and web programs. Somehow you knew I was a man so in love with Christ and took a chance on playing my videos though you didn't know me personally. None of the glory is mine. It's all in Christ alone.
You can find the complete list of videos through the When We Understand the Text website, wwutt.com. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, and follow us on Twitter!
One weekend in a trusted friend's home, I was expressing my grief when Joe said to me, "Well why don't you make your own videos then?" I tried coming up with excuses as to why I couldn't -- too busy, didn't know where to start, weren't the sermons online enough, what did I have to say that someone else wasn't already saying. Eventually I got talked into it.
That meeting in that living room became the launch point for the online video series, When We Understand the Text, born out of our small church. We started 2014 with only three videos made and less than 500 views combined. We ended 2014 with over 300,000 views and almost 5,000 regular subscribers. Most of those numbers have come in just the last six months.
When We Understand the Text (WWUTT) is committed to sharing Christ and exploring his Word in its proper context. One of our catch-phrases is, "Many of the Bible verses we think we know, we don't!" For example, Revelation 3:20 says nothing about Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts, Matthew 18:20 is not about two or more believers gathered for prayer, and Jeremiah 29:11 is not about how God is going to prosper you.
Then there are the stories that have devolved into myth if folks ever knew the real meaning of the story in the first place. Stories like David and Goliath (which was actually our first video), Moses and the burning bush, or the death and resurrection of Christ. Many who call themselves Christians aren't even able to articulate the gospel when asked. WWUTT is an effort to teach sound doctrine and put many false speculations about scripture to rest.
The quick, mostly 90-second videos are meant to be catchy and to-the-point, perfectly suited for media like Facebook and Twitter. We hope you've enjoyed this first year of WWUTT videos (consider it our first season), and that you'll continue to watch and share. With over 50 videos made and published, I'm proud to present the first ever best-of list to start out the new year. These are the five most popular videos of 2014.
5) God Has Already Chosen Who Will Be Saved?
Some of the videos made have come from viewer suggestions. Others have been inspired by discussions in our own church. This video came from both. Look, the Bible is clear on this subject, more than we'd like to admit. God is sovereign. He decided before time began exactly who will be saved and who's going to hell based on no decision of our own. But that in no way relieves us of any personal responsibility. Need a scriptural explanation? Take :90 -->
4) Thou Shalt Not Judge?
Andrew is a friend of mine who fed me WWUTT topics early on. This was one of the ones he requested. Everyone and their dog loves Matthew 7:1 (even if they have no idea what the reference is). People just love throwing this one up to protect themselves from ever being told they have behavior that needs changed. But the Bible doesn't say not to judge. In fact, we're actually supposed to judge! But with right judgment. Here's Matthew 7:1 in its proper context -->
3) Is Heaven Is for Real for Real?
The first four WWUTT videos were all four and a half minutes long. The video on the false teaching contained in the book and film Heaven Is for Real was the last to be that length. After that, they were all shortened to ninety-seconds. Good thing, too. The shorter videos sure are a lot easier to make.
2) Women Must Be Silent In Church?
In 2014, I spent 7 months preaching from Paul's first letter to Timothy. Of course, we eventually came upon 1 Timothy 2:12, where it says that a woman is not to teach or have authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet.
I preached the sermon that day by saying, "So ladies, when we're done with church today, we expect you to leave quietly. You can't talk. You can't raise any questions about the sermon. That's only for us men. You have to wait until you get home and then you can ask your husband, but for now, you have to keep your mouth shut."
My wife, sitting in the front row, said, "Yeah, good luck with that, honey." It was completely unrehearsed, and the congregation thought it was hysterical. Later, I told her later, "Babe, we have to do a WWUTT video, and you have to be in it!" She wasn't crazy about the idea, especially the part about her picture being in the video while she was 6 months pregnant.
If she knew the video was going to be seen over 12,000 times, she never would have done it. I love her. It was an honor when years ago she said she'd marry me. It was an honor when she said she'd be in my video. -->
Oh, and by the way -- Aria Joy, pictured but not pictured, was born on October 28. Random fact: I was holding the three-day-old infant baby girl while I recorded the audio for the video on foreknowledge. She slept all the way through it, just like she does my preaching on Sunday morning.
1) Victoria Osteen Said Worship Is for Yourself?
Of all the WWUTT videos made, this one came together the fastest taking less than 2 hours (they typically take 4 to 8 hours from start to finish, depending on the material). I uploaded it to YouTube on a Sunday morning before preaching in the first service.
You probably know this came from the comment Lakewood Pastor (and yes, she's a pastor, not just Joel's wife) Victoria Osteen made back in August about how God is happy when we're happy, so worship is for us, not for God. It wasn't until later that I thought of 2 Corinthians 5:15. If I could do the video again, I'd have put that verse in somewhere.
But the point is still clear: those who worship in the flesh to please the self cannot worship and honor God. Joel and Victoria Osteen are false teachers. This is our most popular WWUTT video so far. -->
Special thanks to Todd Friel and the gang at Wretched; to Tim, Len, and Colin at Bible Thumping Wingnut; and the many others who have played and shared our videos on their podcasts and web programs. Somehow you knew I was a man so in love with Christ and took a chance on playing my videos though you didn't know me personally. None of the glory is mine. It's all in Christ alone.
You can find the complete list of videos through the When We Understand the Text website, wwutt.com. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, and follow us on Twitter!