Take Up and Read

CNN reported that "a fairly large number" of New Testaments were burned in a town outside Tel Aviv. According to reports, Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of Or-Yehuda organized students who confiscated and burned several hundred copies of the New Testament. The deputy mayor gave several interviews to Israeli media talking about how he had collected the New Testaments and other Messianic propaganda to stop their spread through out his city. Soon he was doing damage control when pressed by foreign media whose Russian, Italian and French audiences back home were highly offended. He claimed that he had only confiscated the material and unruly students had burned them after he had left. The incident upset many religious freedom advocates and others in Israel; public burnings of sacred texts brings back images of Nazi book-burnings of Jewish sacred texts in the 1930's.

Messianic Jews are a minority in Israel. They are Jewish and practice the rituals of Judaism, but they also believe in the divinity of Jesus. Much like the first Christians in the New Testament, they maintain the dietary restrictions and festivals of Judaism, but see their meaning in the salvation brought by the Messiah Jehshua (Jesus Christ). Messianic Jews often suffer discrimination in Israel. The CNN story pointed to a bombing at the house of one Messianic pastor and the boycott of a high school Bible competition when one of the winners was discovered to be a Messianic Jew. (You gotta love that, right?)

On a lark several years ago, I counted the number of Bibles I had in my office-- there were 22. Granted, half of those were versions included with my computer Bible. But access to God's word is not much of a problem for any of us; no one come barging in to confiscate and burn our Bibles. That is a blessing that many in the world cannot claim. Read your Bible today... and then pray for your brothers and sisters around the world who may find that difficult to do.

On Mowing the Lawn

I am in the rather unique position (especially for a preacher) of living in the same house in which I grew up. Mom and Dad moved back to Arkansas after living 45 years in Virginia (they decided they didn’t like it) to help care for my grandmother in her declining years. They made us an offer we couldn't refuse, and we were able to buy the old homestead. If I would have known when I was a kid that I would one day own the place, I would have taken much better care of it!

Something dawned on me yesterday as I was mowing that same old lawn for what seemed like the two jillioneth time. When I was a kid, I hated cutting the grass more than just about anything. It wasn't like it was such extremely hard work. When my Dad was a kid, he had to chop cotton all day long. I know, because when I complained about cutting the grass, he would tell me about chopping cotton all day long. Mowing the lawn only took about an hour and a half, but that was time I couldn’t spend on more important things-- like playing basketball or tennis! Dad even at one point bought a riding lawn-mower. I still have the dent in the side of MY HOUSE where my sister crashed into the house on the mower, but that's another story. I don't know why I despised cutting the grass so much, but I did.

So there I was yesterday mowing the same lawn that I have mowed since I was 12, and it hit me, “I really kinda enjoy cutting the grass now.” It's not just that I don't mind it so much anymore; I really do enjoy it. It's relaxing. And it’s not like I have to waste time anymore playing basketball or tennis! What I once saw as a dreaded chore when I was a kid now is a source of relaxation. In other words, at some point between 1969 and 2008, I got older… and wiser.

A Place for Broken People

A Catholic church in Bertha, MN has filed a restraining order to prevent the parents of a severely autistic 13-year-old boy from attending services. The church claims that the boy (all 6 feet, 225 pounds of him) "struck a child during mass, nearly knocks elderly parishioners over when he hastily exits, spits, sometimes urinates in church, fights when he is being restrained." He once pulled a girl into his lap (his parents sit on his lap to calm him) and got into two cars and started the engines (his parents claim that the sound of revving engines also calm him). The church offered to set up live video in a private room or even have private services, but his parents refused. They sit on the back room or in the cry room, an they have been leaving during the closing song to avoid Adam contacting people. They believe Adam has a right to be in church, and his special needs create a special need for God to be in his life. They continued to bring Adam to church despite the court order, although they now have found a new congregation.

This is likely much more complicated than comes across in a short news story (which you can read and watch). Could it be possible that this church is much too concerned about decorum or embarrassment and not enough about meeting the needs of this family and teaching people how to mediate God's grace to broken people in a fallen world? Could it also be possible that Adam's parents, in a rush to have others accept him, are placing him in an overstimulating environment that he can't handle? Who knows. Is Adam behavior really dangerous to others or just embarrassing and undignified? (In the story, the truly dangerous behaviors appear to be largely one-time events). Are church leaders really trying to protect the safety of people or the image of the church? I don't think one can tell from this news article, and so its a good idea to reserve judgment. In fact, it is usually a good idea to reserve judgment!

But isn't church supposed to be a place for broken people? Most of us can sit quietly in our pew (well, our chair) and act dignified. We don't pee on ourselves, pitch fits or bowl over people in the foyer... So good for us! But we are all broken people. Our dignified and sanctified exterior is just an act. How embarrassing it must be for God to have people like us sitting in His church, singing His songs and eating at His table. But God loves us despite our brokenness. If want church to be a place where only the dignified and sanctified are allowed, then we'll have to take our restraining order against ourselves!

Small Group Me (Millennium Edition)

Just so the Looney's don't feel left out of my blog ramblings on small groups and technology, here is a picture snapped off of the Moore's TV as Bob, Kate and Jack (who had gone to bed before the picture was taken) joined our small group Tuesday night all the way from Houston via the magic of web cam. Isn't technology wonderful! It was great to hang out with them, even if it was long distance. (It might have just been me, but Bob and Kate sure seemed to move a lot more herky-jerkily than they used to!)

BTW, the iPhone is a wonderful phone and iPod... but what a lousy camera! Or maybe I'm just a lousy photographer. Or perhaps both.

Are You a Wise Guy?

In today’s Old Testament reading (1 Kings 2-3), Solomon begins his rule as king over Israel. God appeared to him in a dream telling him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5). As children we often played the game of "If you could have any wish, what would it be?" My answer was always, "Three more wishes." Solomon plays that game for real, and he tells God that his heart's desire was for wisdom to lead God's people. That pleased God, and He tells Solomon in 1 Kings 3:10-13--

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

So Solomon gets what amounted to three more wishes! He gets wisdom to rule... plus great wealth and honor. The stage is set for one of the most spectacular reigns in history.

But in the next chapter, the seeds are sown for Solomon's downfall. (Actually, it probably starts in 3:1ff as Solomon takes his frist foreign wife). Beginning in 4:20, Solomon begins to accumulate the baubles of power. He amasses great numbers of horses and chariots along with massive barns and stalls in which to house them. So what’s the big deal? Are not such extravagances the privilege of power? Not if Solomon would have been... well, wise! Moses instructs the future kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:16,17—

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

But Solomon does acquire many horses and soon will amass staggering mounts of gold and silver (so much that he doesn't even count the silver, 2 Chron 9:20). Later will come the 1000 wives and concubines. And in keeping with the warning of Moses, the result was that his heart was led away from God.

Solomon here provides a warning between the difference in knowing truth and living truth, between having wisdom and living wisely. Solomon had great wisdom... he just didn't let it get in the way of how he lived! I wonder how many of us fall into this same trap? Do you believe that God and spiritual things are the most important realities? Do we really live that way? For a wise guy, Solomon was really pretty foolish. How about us?

Unity in Diversity

Someone has said that if two people in any relationship are exactly the same, then one of them is unnecessary. In the text we looked at in Sunday’s sermon (Rom 12:3-8), Paul makes it clear that he does not expect us to all be alike. We are as different from one another as are the different parts of our physical bodies different in form and function. Paul's point is that we are still one body despite those differences, connected not only to God but to each other as well (see verse 5).

And he argues here for a diversity of gifts that benefit the body. His whole argument for unity here is based on the assumption that real and necessary diversity exists in the body of Christ. The Christians in Rome were gifted in such diverse ways as prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, financial giving, leadership, and showing mercy. And so it is with us. While we may all function in some ways in every one of these (and many other areas) areas, our diversity shows up in the unique ways that God gifts one area above others. Unity does not make us boring clones of one another. Rather our diversity blesses the whole body as we use our different gifts to God's glory.

In a good marriage, the husband and wife act as a unit; they are “one flesh” in a very special sense. But husbands and wives in even the best marriage always have differences. Show me a couple that never argues and I’ll show you a couple that never talks! (And even they “argue in their hearts”). Marriage is based upon a God-given difference between husbands and wives so that they complement one another in many different ways. Sameness will just not work… viva la difference! And unity in the church is also based on differences, the commitment to use our different gifts for the glory of God and the blessing of the family.

Like a human body and a good marriage, unity is found in diverse and different Christians using their very different gifts and perspectives to glorify the one God and uplift the one body. If unity requires us to become alike, then unity will always remain an impossible dream. Unity is possible (make that commanded) only when we accept our gifts different gifts along with the fact that they do make us different. When we are free to do that, then we are free to use our gifts to serve one another… and the one and only God.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Lynn and I were without a small group last night. The college age group that meets at our house ended early for the summer due to things like graduation and concerts and people moving away. We decided to use our unexpected free night to go see The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It is very rare for us to see a movie at all (this is the first this year). But we had been blown away by the first installment in the Narnia series-- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. We had been really looking forward to the sequel. I won't take the time to do a full review of the movie, but take the time to look at the reviews at New Wineskins and Plugged-In Online.

Here's my opinion. Prince Caspian was a great movie. There were some ways that it was better than the first. The special effects were stunning. There were more laugh-out-loud funny moments. It really was was a great movie. So why didn't I like it as much as the first one? Probably for the same reason that I didn't like the second book nearly as well as the first. Behind all the fantasy and epic battles, the story behind The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is Lewis fantasy version of the biggest story ever told. Aslan the Lion lays down his life to redeem Edmund's betrayal and rises from the dead to defeat the forces of evil. Hard to improve on that plot!

I read that the movie people were actually thinking about skipping Caspian (which is kind of a bridge story to the rest of the Narnia series) and going straight to Lewis' third book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (now in pre-production for a 2010 release). They did Caspian because it is the only other book to feature all four of the Pevensie children. Well, I'm glad they didn't skip it! Lord willing, well be right there in 2010 to see the next one. And we'll buy the DVD when it's out. We just might not watch it 5-6 times like we have the first one!

Small Group 2.0

During our Tuesday night small group Bible study a week ago, Ken told us that he would be in D.C. all this week and miss the next study. Ken and Alicia host the study, but Alicia assured us that the house would be there for us even though Ken would not. I jokingly said that Ken could probably set up a teleconference or something from his hotel room and join the small group that way. Evidently I had thrown down the gauntlet. So when I walked in to the study Tuesday night, there was Ken's face on their TV grinning at me and waving. We had our study as if Ken was sitting right there with us. The mike was so good that he said he could hear what people were saying went they went into the kitchen during refreshment time (so we had to be careful what we said about him).

What a great idea! Maybe if we wire people up like this, it will encourage more participation in Bible study. After all, everyone likes to watch TV, right? You get to stay home and watch TV and participate in the Bible study group discussion all at the same time! Sure, it was a little hard to share refreshments, so the Bible model of "table fellowship" will need to be adjusted a bit. And there would always be the temptation to change the channel when the study got a little slow (as if that could ever happen).

But it really was a interesting experience. We immediately started thinking about ways to do this same thing to include members of our group who have recently moved away from our area. We have this technology, we may as well use it.

Anniversary

I must really be getting old-- I totally missed my anniversary yesterday. It came and went and I didn't even think about it at all until Lynn reminded me last night. No, it wasn't my wedding anniversary; one doesn't grow old by forgetting many of those! No, it was the 28th year that Lynn and I have been at Denbigh. The second Sunday in May of 1980 was when I started working full-time with the Denbigh Church of Christ. I was hired as the youth minister... and 3 months later Lloyd Unsell left to move back to Oklahoma and I took over as the interim preacher. And I have been taking up space filling-in ever since. Wow, how time flies!

I heard about a guy who was asked at his golden wedding anniversary party what fifty years of marriage had taught him. He say, “Well, I’ve learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, forbearance, meekness, self-restraint, forgiveness... and a lot of other qualities that I wouldn't have needed to know if I would have stayed single.”

Bad joke... but an element of truth. Many of the qualities that God wants to teach us are important because we mush live together in community with other believers. And it is that community of believers that helps us to learn those qualities. I love and appreciate the Denbigh church community who has taught me so much about what it means to be a Christian. I look forward to the next 28 years.

Sore Spot

I have a blister on my big toe, and it really bothers me. Blisters are never fun, but this one is a particular sore spot because of where it came from. A little back story, which I know will be infinitely fascinating to you. Last year, I bought a pair of Nike Air Cross Trainers on sale at one of those factory outlet shoe places. I never wear Nike because they are usually much too narrow, but there were 4-E and they felt OK in the store. But soon thereafter I realized that I had paid $50 for a pair of shoes that killed my feet... and I went back to my old pair. Of course me being me, I complained about how uncomfortable those shoes were. And Lynn being Lynn, she thought that if I was going to spend $50 on a pair of shoes, I oughta wear 'em at least until they were completely broken in. After all, they look brand new (and they are because they're too uncomfortable to wear). And besides, you don't buy new shoes right before all the walking up and down all those stairs at Pepperdine.

Well, I went ahead and ordered a new pair of my old standard New Balance 608's so that I wouldn't have to wear those uncomfortable Nike's on our California trip. And now I have a blister on my toe, and it's a real sore spot. Not just because the blister hurts, but because (once again) Lynn was right and I wasn't. You would think with all the practice I have had being wrong through the years that I would be better at admitting it, or at least not being so shocked when it happens. But pride really can get in the way sometimes. Solomon said. "Pride only leads to arguments, but those who take advice are wise." (Proverbs 13:10, NCV). I should have listened.

Anyone in the market for a very-slightly-used pair of Nike's?

From Hosanna to the Heart of Worship

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
........“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
..............“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
...............(from today's New Testament reading-- Luke 11:37-40)

Mike Pilavachi tells of a time when his church was making the transition from renting a school to moving into their own a state of art (i.e. “expensive”) church building. It was an exciting time, but to him it seemed that something had been lost in their worship. After thinking about the problem, he decided, “We became connoisseurs of worship rather than participants.” They fell into the trap of critiquing worship rather than worshipping. They had state-of-the-art sound and lights, so they were constantly fussing with them. They had access to audiovisuals, so they tweaked and experimented. So Pilavachi got rid of their “order of worship.” He decided (with advance planning, one might assume) that everything would be spontaneous. People got into circles and shared prayers, readings. Songs were started by one group and were gradually picked up by other groups. When they stopped focusing on the worship event, they found the heart of worship.

The people in Jerusalem worshipped Jesus… with their words. These same voices only a week later latter would be screaming “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” As Jesus rode into Jerusalem admit the shouts of praise and outward signs of devotion, was he not struck by the difference between their words and their heart? I wonder if He is ever struck by that difference today? Can we give God our worship acts and our worship words without ever giving Him our hearts?

When the church mentioned above did finally go back to their normal order and routine of worship, they sung a song especially written by their worship leader Matt Redmond for the occasion, “The Heart of Worship.” The song is a powerful reminder of what gives our "Hosannas" real meaning--

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come,

Longing just to bring, something that’s of worth that will bless Your heart.

I’ll bring you more than a song, For a song in itself
........is not what you have required

You search much deeper within, the way things appear,
........You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship—
........and it’s all about You, it’s all about You.

I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it—
........When it’s all about You, it’s all about You

God is calling us to the heart of worship. The heart of worship isn’t our songs, our order or even our preaching. It’s all about Him.

Risky Business

In our Old Testament reading for today (1 Samuel 25), David is on the run from Saul and making a living in the "security business" or maybe the "protection rackets." He was hiring out his sword to protect wealthy landowners from robbers and rustlers. Or maybe he was taking payments not to do the robbing and rustling himself. One of his clients is a wealthy land baron named Nabal who was described as “surly and mean in his dealings” while his wife Abigail is said to be “an intelligent and beautiful woman” (1 Sam 25:3), and these descriptions become the backdrop of this story. David provides his basic no-frills protection services to Nabal and his men. The name “Nabal” means “fool” in Hebrew, and Nabal lives up to his name when he decides not to pay David in 1 Samuel 25:10-11—

“Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?”

That reminds me of Robert Duval’s famous line in True Grit when he answers John Wayne, “Well, that’s mighty big talk for a one-eyed fat man.” Nabal thought David’s status as a fugitive from Saul would cause him to turn and run. He thought wrong; David straps on his sword and rushes to make Nabal an offer that he can’t refuse.

One of Nabal’s servants sees disaster riding down upon them and rushes to Abigail to beg for her help. Outwardly Abigail is the most powerless person in the story. She was a woman in a patriarchal culture in which women could not own property, testify in court, or control their own lives apart from their father or husband. And yet, it is Abigail alone who has the courage to do the right thing. She steps between the irresistible force which was David and the immovable object that was Nabal. She makes David a gift of food and speaks words of peace, truth and reconciliation, and she succeeds in averting a massacre. David recognizes in Abigail the working of God (25:32-33) and he sends her home in peace.

Abigail was used as God's instrument of peace, but that was only possible because she was willing to put herself at risk in the process. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9). Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and those who follow Him must be people of peace. And when act to bring God's peace in the lives of others, then we are being children of God. But like Abigail-- and like Jesus Himself-- we will never be peacemakers until we place ourselves at risk. To step between warring factions in an effort to broker peace is always risky business-- whether that is in families, in the workplace or in our churches. Peace is always risky business, but it is also God's business. And that makes it our business.

Poscards from the Left Coast

Our annual oddysey to the land of fruits and nuts for the Pepperdine Lectures is now in the books. My Google gadget countdown timer now reads 364 days until Pepperdine 2009. (Sigh). The trip was wonderful-- after our initial flight was postponed 3 hours; everything went as smooth as silk. Air Tran did much better than Delta has the last 3 years-- we did get tired of pretzels after awhile!

We spend 4 days on the front end in Palm Springs doing absolutely nothing except relaxing. Well, we did have to go to the timeshare sales pitch as payment for the stay, and that was fun. We have stayed in these resorts for the last 3-4 years (this was the first time in Palm Springs). At some point they will figure it out that as long as they keep giving us a nice room for $200 or so for 3-4 days, there is do reason to buy anything! Lets hope they don't.

It reached 101 degrees one day, but it didn't seem all that hot (dry heat). We took the tram ride up from the desert some 10,000 feet or so o the top of Mt. San Jacinto. Lynn loved it... except the part where we rode the tram 10,000 feet up the side of the mountain. It was about 30 degrees cooler once we got there, and we enjoyed hiking around for several hours.

Everything changed once we got to Pepperdine-- from lazy-laid-back to frenetic. The lectures started at 7:30 each morning and went until 10:00 that night, and we didn't miss but one session one day. It was good having Randy and Better Tanner with us again this year. One day we hope to have a whole group of folks from Denbigh trek out there with us. We were so busy that I forgot to do to the displays and buy books like I usually do. I think maybe that as we (I) get older, it is taking longer up and down the mountain between sessions! The lectures and worship times were great. As always, we were there an hour early to stake the front row for praise time with Hallal.

I tried several times to make entries to the blog from my phone, but alas the technology would not cooperate. It seems that Blogger doesn't work with the Safari browser on the iPhone, so the real-time reports that I intended to make did not materialize. And now I have forgotten all the witty things I was going to say. Suffice it to say that this weeks was once again a great time of spiritual renewal and uplift. To paraphrase Jim McGuiggen, "Everyone should be forced to attend the Pepperdine lectures... if they want to."