Taking Inventory

For more than twenty years, Dad ran his own business-- Tucker Office Equipment, Inc. This was a true family business: Mom ran the office, my Aunt Audi ran the office supply department, and both my sister and I worked at “the shop” (short for "sweat shop") at various times in our lives. I drove the delivery truck all through my high school years; at one point I wrecked it 3 times in 2 months (never my fault, of course). I once asked Dad why I made only $1 an hour while everyone else made at least minimum wage. He told me, “Because everyone else can be fired!” Made sense to me.

One of the things that I helped Dad each year (even before I was old enough to officially be on the payroll making that $1 an hour) with was his yearly inventory. Every ever, every single typewriter, adding machines, dictating machines, mimeograph machines (if you don’t know what these ancient devices are, just Google them) and every other machine in stock had to be documented and accounted for. My job was to put my hand on every one of those machines and call out the model and serial number for Dad to write down in a ledger. That required me to climb up stacks of teetering boxes or scaling up old, rickety shelves back in the somewhat inadequate warehouse. I think there was some kind of law that required the top boxes in the stack of machines to always be turned so that the serial number was on the back and bottom of the box! Taking inventory was both uncomfortable and even a little bit dangerous.

And it still is today. Paul ends 2 Corinthians with a warning for his readers to take inventory. As I re-read 2 Corinthians 12-13 this morning (our daily reading), I was reminded again of how personal a letter was 2 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians often sounds academic as Paul answers questions and polemic as he encourages them to change. 2 Corinthians sounds like Paul has a tear in his eye as he writes. As he closes 2 Corinthians, Paul is preparing for a third visit to Corinth. The last visit did not go well (2 Cor. 2:1), and he fears he will have to deal with some people who have still refused to repent of the rebellious attitudes that have threatened the church. So he tells his readers that they needed to take inventory of themselves to see where they are spiritually--

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. (2 Corinthians 13:5-6)

Were they still in the faith? Were they making spiritual progress? Were they some of the ones with whom Paul would have to deal when he got to town? They wouldn’t know unless they examined themselves—unless they took spiritual inventory.

We need to do the same thing. Where have we been and where are we going? Sometimes we fool ourselves by simply comparing ourselves around us are doing. Paul had already warned the Corinthians about this comparison game-- "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (2 Cor 10:12)

It’s hard to take a realistic spiritual inventory, to look deep into your own heart and see where you are and where you are going. You may find yourself on top of a stack of shaky boxes teetering back and forth; you may even find yourself falling… or that you have already fallen. But if you don’t take time to examine yourself, how will you ever know where you are?

Don't Know Much About Nothing at All

The people at The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released the results of a survey they conducted entitled “Religious Knowledge Survey.” You can take what I assume is a shorted version of the test on their website; feel free to respond with how well you did. I missed one—there was a question on “nirvana” and I got mixed up and answered “Kurt Cobain.” Anyway, I am usually thrilled to get a 93% on any test… and usually quite surprised.

The headlines you see on various news outlets reporting on this survey usually say “Survey: Atheists Know More About Religion Than Believers” (Time) or “Atheists, Agnostics Most Knowledgeable About Religion” (L.A. Times). And sure enough, atheists and agnostics scored higher on the test than did many believers. Catholics didn’t do very well on the test at all, many not even recognizing the doctrine of transubstantiation (which is uniquely their own). Of course, there were many Protestants who didn’t seem to know that Martin Luther was pretty big in that Reformation thing. There really weren't that many Bible questions on the survey; most of the questions had to do with specific religious practices and beliefs. Maybe that is why atheists did so well—they have to keep up with that the stuff they don’t believe in.

The good news is that 80% of the people surveyed knew that Mother Teresa was Catholic. The bad news is that 4% of those surveyed thought that Stephen King wrote Moby Dick. Maybe so many don’t know much about religion because, as Art Garfunkel used to sing, we "don't know much about nothing at all."

The Grace of Giving

The topic that Paul brings up in our daily reading today from 2 Corinthians 8 is my least favorite topic in the Bible, At least, it's my least favorite topic on which to preach and teach-- GIVING. The internal problems experienced by the church in Corinth had caused them to stop their giving. That is always the way it works right; get mad at how things are going at church, and you start leaving the ol’ checkbook at home. Paul encourages them to get back to this business of giving, something in which they had once been strong:

And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. (8:10-12)

Paul is collecting a gift from the Gentile churches to relieve the suffering of the Jewish church in Jerusalem. This is important not just because of the great need that exists; this is also a chance for Gentiles and Jews to declare solidarity in the gospel. So Paul encourages the church to give, “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (2 Cor 8:7).

Every time I preach on money, I get this vision of some televangelist in a white suit with slicked back hair and a painted on grin. I hear Ray Stevens singing, "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex on His Television Show?" I think of Jim and Tammy Fay’s air conditioned doghouse and Christian amusement park. And I hear people grumbling that “All this church is interested in is in getting my money?” I make my living (and a pretty good one) because people at my church give liberally. And every time I mention giving, I worry that people might think I have ulterior motives. (“Tuck must be getting that iPad and needs more money”). Yep, money is my least favorite topic on which to teach.

But was Jesus’ favorite topic! According to one writer's count, one of every six verses in Jesus teaching (you know, the stuff written in red letters) is something about money and material things. Sixteen of Jesus’ parables deal with use of money. Jesus probably spoke about money and material things more than any topic other than the kingdom of God.

This emphasis is carried over in the rest of the New Testament as well. There is more said about money than is said about heaven and hell combined! Five times more is said about money than about prayer. (Really? Really). By one preacher’s count (granted, you always must look with suspicion at the preacher’s count), something like two thousand verses deal with money, possessions and material things. The only thing mentioned in the New Testament more is love. Caveat: Most of the verses and teaching about money and material things are warnings against loving it and the encouragement to share it with others. Like love (the other favorite Bible topic), money only works when you give it away!

OK, why am I so reluctant to teach on money and giving? Paul encouraged the Corinthians to “be strong also in the grace of giving” (2 Cor 8:7, NCV). We do want to be strong in grace, right? So maybe I should get a white suit and slick back my hair? Maybe not.

How Can It Be?

My sermon this Sunday will come from our reading today from 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. That is a littler surprising because the end of the chapter has my favorite verse and preaching text in all the Bible--

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

That captures the miracle of the cross and the great exchange of grace in one short verse. Jesus took upon Himself our sin so that we could take upon ourselves His righteousness. The One who was sinless became sin so that the sinful could become “the righteousness of God.” That is the gospel! The God who created us left heaven’s throne to suffer the pain, humiliation, and rejection for the cross in order to save us from ourselves. In some way somewhere between metaphor and reality, God took on Himself our sinfulness so that we could become His righteousness. We will never, ever doubt how much God loves us if we will just keep our eyes on the cross.

John Wesley’s preaching was the theological force behind the Reformation in England, but it was his brother’s hymns that drove its worship renewal. Charles Wesley began to write his first of 6500 hymns the day after his conversion. He read Psalm 40:3, “He has put a new song in my mouth…” He yearned for God to give him a new song, and he began to write. His journal contains this entry for May 23, 1738—

At noon I began a hymn on my conversation but was persuaded to break off for fear of pride.... I prayed Christ to stand by me and finish the hymn.

That song was finished and published under the title “Free Grace” but would come to be known as “And Can It Be.” It’s had several different tunes and different arrangements. This a cappella arrangement (which we sing often) is my absolute favorite song to sing before or during communion to remind me of God’s amazing love--

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in my Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, scorned his perfect love.

You left Your Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite Your grace;
Emptied Yourself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;

Boldly I come before your throne
To claim Your mercy immense and free
No greater love will e’re be known,
For O my God it found out me

Amazing love! How can it be
That You, my God, should die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That You, my God, should die for me?

God Needs More Cracked Pots

It appears that Terry Jones’ 15 minutes of fame has thankfully come to an end. Jones is the Florida preacher who announced that he and his Dove World Outreach Center would burn a big pile of Korans on September 11. This is, by the way, the same church that sent elementary kids to school on the first day of classes last year wearing “Islam is of the Devil” T-shirts. That got a little attention, but this threat to burn the Koran got Mr. Jones all kind of media face time and even drew comments (negative ones) from Gen. Petraeus and President Obama. For a time, Terry Jones replaced Fred Phelps as the top religious crackpot in the country. That's just what the church needs-- more crackpots like these clowns to cause our culture to take the Christian faith even less seriously than it does already!

But in our reading for today, Paul seems to think that what the church needs are more "cracked pots." No text captures Paul’s vision of himself as a servant of Christ better than does this—

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (2 Corinthians 4:4-12)

Paul saw himself as a "jar of clay." The treasure Paul promoted was not worldly wealth or political clout—it was rather “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (v. 4). Paul saw himself as simply the flawed clay jar than contained and carried that blessed treasure. Paul did not promote himself in the way we see crackpots like Terry Jones doing today. Paul was just a jar of clay that contained the gospel.

We may have a bit of a problem understanding his point. Why? We see clay jars as pretty neat things. I brought back a clay crock pot as a souvenir from my first trip to Ukraine; it still sits in an honored place in my office (if you can find it beneath all the clutter). Wacky tourists used to come from all over the country to visit the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. We think jars of clay are valuable in themselves. But to Paul, a clay jar was just a common and disposable article that often contained something of value. He saw jars of clay much as we would view a disposable 2-liter plastic jugs. But unlike 2-liter bottles, clay jars were brittle and breakable. There was no value or strength in a jar of clay, and that was Paul’s point. The precious “gospel of glory” comes in very plain and very breakable clay pots! That is how Paul saw himself; and that is who we are. We are broken jars of clay who are blessed to carry the precious gospel of the glory of Christ.

What God needs today is a few more cracked-pots, broken jars of clay willing to give him their weakness. He doesn’t just need people who know all about Bible; He doesn’t require people who are right on all the issues. God is not looking today for “practically perfect people.” He is looking for flawed jars of clay willing to hold His treasure and carry that treasure to others. Strength and beauty aren’t in the clay pot; they reside only in that which the clay pot contains. The jar of clay may be ordinary and broken, but it can be used by God.

A Key Tradition Is Changed

The picture at right was taken at camp year before last. We had just completed our all-camp relay race that ended with the battle of the canoes at the lake. We had just cheered on the winners and then everyone raced back to the dining hall for supper… and left little Micheala at the lake. Fortunately, the ever-vigilant camp director was on the ball and stayed behind to walk with her back to the dining hall. Actually, I was limping back to the dining hall and she was taking it show to keep me company. Anyway, we were best buds… until she found someone more fun to play with.

Let me share with you what my little buddy did yesterday. I always leave my keys hanging in my office door during church. For years, that has been my tradition-- I don’t want keys rattling around in my pocket while I preach. And if I leave them in my office, someone will invariably lock the office before I'm ready and my keys are locked inside. So every Sunday morning, I get to the building way early and just leave my keys in my office door. It has never been a problem… until yesterday.

Yesterday, Mickey decided to remove my keys from the door and play with them. Her Mom saw her playing with the keys and naturally assumed they were her keys and told Mickey to put the keys back in her purse. Being the obedient child she is, Micheala put the keys (my keys) in Becky’s purse and they all went home. Of course, I couldn’t go home because I had no keys! I knew my keys were NOWHERE in the building because I looked everywhere for them (including inside the refrigerator). They were gone. Fortunately, Roger was still around and gave me a ride home. Later Becky called the house and asked, “Are you by any chance missing some keys?”

So what is the point of all this? Next time, leave the kid at the lake? No, no, no, that’s not it! I guess the point is “Don’t leave your keys in the door.” I know that is the lesson, because when I called home to tell Lynn that I was stranded at the building, she said, “I told you not to leave the keys in your door.” And she had. But then, she knew I have a problem with keys; I left the hotel key in the hotel door on our wedding night!

Traditions are so hard to change. Particularly traditions that have to do with the way you do things at church. But I have to change my tradition. Sometimes you have to change church traditions because of the children. Thanks Mickey, for reminding me of that!

Small Group Pointers

Our 2010-2011 small Group season has officially begun at Denbigh. Well, except for the “improve your marriage” marriage small group that will begin on September 30 (we wanted to give folks a little extra time to get their marriages in line before we start talking about them. We had a great “first group” experience over at the Tanner’s Sunday night. I don’t know how large a small group can become before it is no longer “small,” but we may end up having to come up with a definition before we’re done.

Have you not joined one of our Body Life small groups? Maybe you are waiting to find our which group had the best deserts before you commit to picking a group. I thought I’d give you a little help in making your small group decision by sharing some of Jon Acuff’s (from his Stuff Christians Like blog) pointers about “Things to keep in mind as you join a new small group.”

• The first night you go to a new small group is like a first date. Try not to openly sob on that night. Imagine how great a first date would go if you started sobbing before they even brought out the blooming onion at Outback.
  
  
• You have an 87% chance that there will be a couple in your group who has been married for about 15 minutes.
  
  
• You have an 89% chance that couple will attempt to give you marriage advice they have culled from their 15 minutes of marriage.
  
  
• Be upfront about your age when finding a group. Age, parenthood and location are usually the three main criteria groups are built on. We failed to mention our age early on, prompting one guy to say when we did, “Yeah, but you don’t look that old.”
  
  
• Nothing brings a group together like an arch nemesis. Feel free to find a shared enemy small group that you can prank.
  
  
• Be the person that has the best small group dessert, but don’t overdo it. We once went to a small group that had a four course meal of the most elaborate finger food I’ve ever had. If at any point you find yourself wrapping food in bacon in preparation for small group, pull back a little.
  
  
• Try to make your personal introduction shorter than an average sermon. No one needs to know about that time you got bit by a rat on the foot in the seventh grade. Unless you lost the foot or kept the rat and have it with you.
  
  
• Don’t tweet or blog stuff about the group without their permission. No one likes to read about themselves unexpectedly on Twitter.
  
  
• Every group has certain people in it. (The person who cries, the Theologian, the “but is that really so bad?” crazy person, etc.”) Make sure you know where you fit in.

Well, I’m sure that was very helpful for all of us. Now-- go out and find a small group to join! If you can’t find one, create one. Roger will be happy to teach it.

Speaking About Speaking in Tongues

Years ago, a van load of teenagers with their youth minister stopped by our church for a Sunday night service. There is a church near us that that was called at the time “Denbigh Church of God.” The similarity in our names and locations caused some confusion, and even now after they changed their name to “World Outreach Center” we still occasionally get calls and mail meant for them. It was obvious that this van load of teens thought they were going to that other church. We were just a little more low-key than the “Spirit-filled” worship they were expecting (our praise band was one guy with a pitch pipe).

I talked for a while with the youth minister after church, and what he wanted to talk about was the view of my church on speaking in tongues. Of course, I felt duty bound to convince him that he couldn't really speak in tongues because the "age of miracles" (good Biblical term) had passed. Of course, he was completely convinced that he could speak in tongues and had witnessed plenty of miracles. I talked about the “that which is perfect” from 1 Corinthians 13 and how tongues would cease after we got the completed Bible (an argument I would no longer make, by the way). He talked about Mark 16 and tongues as the sign that would follow those who believe (leaving out the part about handling snakes and drinking poison). We never really argued, but people could probably tell that we each thought the other guy was an idiot. I cringe when I look back on that conversation. I wish we would have talked more about youth ministry and how to get kids to fall in love with Jesus.

If I was to have a do-over with that conversation on tongues, I would probably want to find out exactly HOW they used tongues in their church. My faith tradition has always acted as if the New Testament clearly regulates how church SINGING is to be done (though nothing very specific mentioned). But Paul regulates speaking in TONGUES about as specifically as the Old Testament regulates the offering of sacrifices. Notice just a portion of our reading today from 1 Corinthians 14—

6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

It is obvious from 1 Corinthians 14 that Paul expected everything that was done in church to encourage and build-up the whole church. Because tongues (whatever they were) were by their very nature unintelligible to others, they were not to be used in church. Five words people could understand were better than ten thousand words in a tongue (v. 19). Tongues were flashy and could attract people's attention, but they could not teach. Tongues could encourage the heart of the one who was speaking, but they only confused other people who could not understand, especially those who were new to the church (v. 23). As far as the church was concerned, speaking in tongues was like speaking to the air (v. 9).

If someone today wants to speak in tongues (whatever that is) in their own private devotions at home, they get no argument from me. I no longer feel compelled to argue them out of the notion that God can still do that sort of thing today. As far as I’m concerned, God can do anything He wants to do. Paul accepts tongues (he spoke in tongues more than anyone), but he really did discourage their use in church. And if they are to be used in church at all, then Paul gives some very specific regulations on how they are to be used-- only 2 or 3 tongue-speakers were to soeak at any one service, they were to speak only one at a time, and they were to speak only if someone interpreted what they had said. That is very different from the way that I've seen tongues used in modern churches.

But after all, if you are going to do "Bible things," should you do them in "Bible ways?"

In a Family...

In Romans 12, Paul makes an argument for a unity based on a diversity of our gifts. We all have different functions in the body, and we must use our different gifts to build up the body. But we must be very careful not to make Paul say more than what he really said. Paul does argue for a diversity of function, but he doesn’t suggest that our function makes us valuable to God or his kingdom. After making a similar argument on the diversity of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 (our daily Bible reading tomorrow), Paul includes this disclaimer—

22 Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Some parts of the body seem more prominent and important, but we treat the less prominent parts with special modesty and care. In the same way, “more prominent” parts of the body of Christ (whoever they may be) must go out of their way to take care of the less prominent parts (whoever they may be).

Here is the difference between an organization and a family. In an organization, there is often a hierarchy of importance. Those who contribute the most to the organization are valued the most. Well, the church isn’t an organization; it is a family. In a family, everyone is valuable just because they are part of the family. They may not perform as vital a function in the family as another person, but they are valuable simply because they are family. Daddy may be the breadwinner and the entire family depends directly upon him. Baby doesn't contribute a single function to the family... except providing constant chaos. But who is the most important to the family? All are family! Pragmatically, by virtue of a greater need, Baby may get the lion’s share of the family's attention. In a family, sometimes it is the one who needs the most attention that gets the most attention.

We must make the church the kind of family where there are no prominent members or non-prominent members. We are family, and we must not allow ourselves to order ourselves based upon the hierarchy of an organization. We are God's family. And thus we are of equal value to God and to one another.

Family Disagreements

In 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul is dealing with the issue of meats offered to idols. In today’s reading (see Tuesday’s blog). In today’s reading, Paul warns the Corinthians not to make concessions to idolatry (10:14-22) , assures them that any food from God is from God (10:25-27) and reminds them not to flaunt their freedom in front of believers who have differing opinions (10:28-30). Boy, dealing with foods offered to idols was really complicated; I glad we don’t have any hard issues today!

Don’t miss an obvious point here—Paul assumes that there will be differences among believers. We can’t have freedom in Christ without disagreeing on exactly what that freedom entails. Most of our disagreements are over trivial points of procedure and opinion… though we’ll never admit for a second that our opinion is anything trivial! All families have disagreements. We have to work through family disagreements all the time? How? What are some things healthy families do when there is disagreement?

• We take turns (“You had your way last time, so now it’s my turn.”)
• We talk and come to consensus (we work to come to agreement)
• We give in to the strongest opinion (they'll get spoiled if we do it too much)
• We compromise on a solution (so everyone gets something)
• We go with the majority (life isn’t fair, but we can be sometimes)

Good families use all of these techniques at times. What good families don’t do is have family members get mad when they don’t get their way and run off and jon other families!

The church family will have to deal with disagreements, and a good church family will use all the above options (except to run and to find a new family). Paul reminds us here that there are things that are more important than being right. Sure, there are some things that are non-negotiable, part-n-parcel of the gospel issues. But these are generally not the things that divide us. It was less important for the Corinthians to be right than to be loving. In fact, they could speak with the tongues of men and angels, have the gift of prophecy and fathom all mystery, and if they didn’t have love… But then, that’s another days reading, isn’t it?

On Ice Cream and Manure

Tony Campolo once said, Mixing politics and religion is like mixing ice cream and manure; it really doesn't affect the manure much, but it really messes up the ice cream." The problem is that it is so easy to mix up the two. I just got another reminder this week.

Jon Cash, the longtime weatherman at WAVY TV-10 was fired last week after 21 years on the job. He was the early morning weather guy and early morning news is the only news I watch. So I've spent a lot his Jon's career watching him and his nice-guy, easy-going, slightly-goofy approach to early morning TV. Two more things draw me to the guy-- he is a Redskin fan and he is a preacher. While he talks about the Redskins all the time, I’ve never heard him talk about his faith or his weekend ministry speaking at churches on the air. I am very bummed out that Jon lost his job (though not nearly as bummed out as Jon and his family must be).

So why was he fired? No one is saying. WAVY isn't interested in eyewitness news about itself. But then, being a Redskin fan generally won’t get you fired in this area (though it will does lead to chronic depression). Cash initially said on his website that said “People of faith will be disappointed” when they learn of the reasons. Frankly, I had already decided that I was not watching WAVY TV-10 news... or anything else on the local NBC-affiliate(except Sunday night football of; no need to be a radical extremist about this).

But the message posted on Cash’s website yesterday disappointed me. There is still no word about the reason for his firing, thought he does promise “future statements detailing the events surrounding my brutal firing must be and will be told to the nation in a live broadcast in October.” (So... is Jon already booked on Fox News?) I guess Jon isn’t going “gentle into that good night” but will “rage, rage against the dying of the light.” What follows on his site is heartfelt to be sure; his heart is broken and he feels betrayed right now... and has every right to be. But what he says comes across (to me) as a political rant of Limbaugh-esque proportions.

We are watching citizens lose their homes because of the failure and greed of our system. We are watching the middle class destroyed, mimicking a system that has failed as I myself have witnessed walking the streets of Moscow. We are watching as people try to drive God from every aspect of public life. We are watching fellow brothers and sisters get fired for their faith in our God, or for our founding principles…

So was his disagreement with WAVY about politics or religion, manure or ice cream? Nobody is saying, but his web rant (to me) seems to blend the two. Jon may have been treated unfairly because of his faith... or maybe because of his politics. We have all known Christians that are personally annoying and who do everything they can to hang a “kick-me” sign on their back. And there is a tone in Jon’s rant that makes me wonder. And if I wonder that (and I'm still not watching WAVY in the a.m.), I wonder how non-Christians will view this whole fiasco?

Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church.” There was something about the quiet and dignified way that Christians faced persecution and death that reinforced the truthfulness of their message. Peter wrote to the very people soon to die with him under Nero

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Pet 4:12-14)

Peter is writing to Christians who are suffering the persecutions of a world that has turned against them. 1 Peter was likely written before the official persecutions of Rome began; that will come later to these readers. Peter is writing to believers who are suffering the unofficial opposition of a world that does not understand nor accept their faith.

What Peter tells them is to live holy lives (1 Pt 1:13ff) as “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Pt 2:11) who submit to the rulers of the world (1 Pt 2:13) and thus silence the foolish accusations of others (1 Pt 2:15) and show proper respect to everyone (1 Pt 2:17). And if they do suffer for doing good, they were remember that Jesus suffered for them (1 Pt 2:21). They were not to repay insult for insult (1 Pt 3:9) as they suffer for doing right (1 Pt 3:14) and they were to be prepared to give answer to those who ask about their hope (1 Pt 3:15).

Peter thought that how Christians handled opposition was critical to how their faith would be seen by non-believers. And it still is.

When Being Right Isn't Right Enough

“So what do you win if you are right?” I have no idea what issue Lynn and I were arguing over at the time... there is a good chance I didn't know at the time. But I clearly remember her ending it with that question. What would I win if I continued to press the issue until (in my own mind) I won the argument? What I would “win” was a seriously ticked off wife. If I would have stopped and thought about it, I would have known that I didn't want that! But at the time, whatever the issue happened to be, it was more important to me than me having a happy wife. Sometimes it's not right to be right. Sometimes it’s a whole lot better just to be wrong or wronged and get on with life. (It's fun to kiss and make up, but it is possible to skip the argument and go straight for the kiss!)

In our reading for today from 1 Corinthians 8, Paul begins a discussion of a burning question in the church at Corinth—“Is it OK to eat meat that has been offered to idols?” This was the second of a series of questions that the church evidently sent to Paul, kind of a “stump the apostle” exercise. (The first one was some simple little query about marriage and divorce). Meat for sale in pagan cities was often dedicated to pagan gods and then sold on the open market. So was OK for a Christian to eat meat dedicated to false gods? Or... was it OK to ever eat any meat and risk eating something dedicated to some pagan god or which proceeds were supporting some pagan temple? As is necessary for any good brouhaha, there were believers on both sides of the issue.

I like to call this the “pagan ham issue.” This is a fun issue to debate because none of us have a dog in that fight. No one argues about silly stuff like this today. No, we have much more important fish to fry-- like “Can a woman make an announcement in church?” Or “Is it sinful to sing praises to God if someone happens to be playing a piano in the same room?”

Arguing over a pagan ham sandwich is just silly... unless you read Acts 15:28-29 and decide it wasn't so silly after all! There was a direct command and approved apostolic example (two of the biggies) telling the Gentile Christians not to eat meats offered to idols. Paul himself was present when that letter was written to the earliest Gentile converts. Can we see why some Christians were ready to fight over not eating the pagan ham and thus being faithful to the truth of the gospel?

So Paul is now expected to wade in and side with some of the Christians at Corinth over other Christians at Corinth. Paul doesn’t duck the question, but he prefaces his answer and application with something he sees as more important—

Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. 2 If you think you know something, you do not yet know anything as you should. 3 But if any person loves God, that person is known by God. (1 Cor. 8:1-3, NCV)

Paul in essence asks, “What do you win if you are right?” The side (whichever side) that pushes this issue to the point of division is wrong even if they are right. Paul will basically argue that is isn’t wrong to eat meats offered to idols BUT you don’t really win anything by being right! When we think we know “the truth,” we tend to get puffed up with our own importance. We never really argue with the other person, we always tend to argue DOWN to the other person. Thinking we’re the ones who are right usually drives wedges between us and them… and between us and God. Paul says that it ultimate doesn’t really matter so much WHAT you know as WHO you know… or Who knows you.

I like a good theological debate. I think if we keep the heat down and our hearts open, a good theological tussle can be an “iron-sharpens-iron” opportunity to grow in God. At least that is the way it should work. I am afraid that the way that it usually works is the way it was working at Corinth—battle lines are drawn and sides are chosen. Paul encourages us to choose the way of LOVE over the way of WISDOM. It’s better to be LOVING and give in than to be RIGHT and be divided.

Unless the issue is of God Himself, it’s better to GIVE IN than to BE RIGHT. I can say that with absolute confidence because I know for a fact that Lynn hardly ever reads my blog!

Welcome to Corinth

Today’s Daily Bible Reading reading is 1 Corinthians 5. Click on the link to read the text… or click on the little speaker icon in the top left and listen to the text being read to you. This is also the text that I’m preaching from on Sunday. Here is a little preview--

Several years ago, I remember hearing Don McLaughlin ask, "Where did Corinth learn that tolerating incest was OK?" We think that’s an easy question— "They learned it from their sinful pagan culture." After all, Corinth was saturated by all kinds of sexual immorality. I mean, the pagans in Corinth went to "church" to hook up with a prostitute! What do you expect from folks in Sin City? It was their culture to be immoral.

Maybe. Maybe not. Paul begins this who discussion by asserting that even pagans wouldn't have been OK with what was going on in Corinth. Oh, the pagans knew all about sexual sin; they were experts at it! But what they didn’t know about was how to feel morally superior and spiritually smug while being immoral! What has Paul so torqued is that the church not only accepted such blatant immorality; they felt so smug in doing so. It was the church that invented accepting sin while feeling and acting superior!

So here was McLaughlin’s question: Are we more concerned with guarding our church worship than we are about guarding our holiness? People will literally walk out if we do something in the worship hour they don’t like— perform a drama, present some special music, play an instrument or (horrors) have a woman read a scripture. I had a friend that was preaching and that some visitor stand up in the middle of church and yell, “Oh, fooey!” and walked out. People will walk out if you do something non-kosher (in their mind) during the worship hour.

We are concerned about doing worship right... even if right is only in our owns minds based upon our own traditions. But will we walk when something is amiss in the realm of holiness? Are we concerned enough about being holy that we will walk out (literally or figuratively) to preserve it?

• Will we walk out of movie where illicit sex acts are portrayed?
• Will we walk away if someone tells gossip or off-color joke?
• Will we walk to confront a brother/sister who mistreats their spouse?
• Will we walk to the side of someone who is the victim of racism?
• Will we walk way if someone disrespects the president we are to pray for?

At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, “Why is that?” It is because we are more concerned with right church rites than we are with living a holy life before God? We think that being Christian is about how we do church! The important thing about church (we think) is being right in doctrine and worship. But if we aren't right in our holiness before God and others—if we cheat on a spouse, gossip about people, get drunk on Saturdays, lie to our boss, cheat on our taxes, or show prejudice in our treatment of others—well, nobody’s perfect! After all, we’re saved by grace, right. And we hear the tour guide say, “Folks, welcome to Corinth!”

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid at the Tea Party

I’m not a Tea Party sort of guy; I like coffee. But a lot of people I love are Tea Party people, and I can live with that. I did read with some interest about Glenn Beck’s rally in Washington this past week-end and number of people (evidently somewhere between 2 dozen and 2 million, depending on who is doing the estimating). You really have to admire the guy for his ability to work a crowd. The way that a successful TV personality becomes a successful TV personality is astute audience analysis and the ability to give that audience what they want-- Glenn Beck does that better than anyone.

I think there is a sense in which it is a good thing anytime anyone talks about God and morality in the public arena. So maybe Mr. Beck did some good. Paul talked about good being done despite the false and selfish motives (Phil 1:18). But then, Paul conceded that the gospel was being preaching. I can't help but suspect that Glenn Beck's real agenda is Glenn Beck. I think I'd listen to him more (and the same is true of Keith Olbermann, by the way) if I could denote an iota of humility in there somewhere. I would probably listen to them both more if I had cable TV.

I simply don’t believe that the “God and Country” message coming from either the left or right today has anything at all to do with the gospel. Let me quote a portion of a post by Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor at Highview Baptist Church. Of course, the real reason for the quote is plausible deniability. When people come after the messenger with tar and feather, it is quite helpful to be able to say, “I didn’t say that, that was him!” So here the quote—

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable.

Either we believe the gospel or we don’t. We can believe the gospel and be politically conservative or liberal… or not political at all. But what we can’t do is believe the gospel and think that the answers to society's ultimate problems can be solved politically or that somehow political parties and programs have anything at all to do with the kingdom of God.

By the way, it is jaw-dropping amazing to me how many conservative, fundamentalist types Christians all of a sudden have no problem with Mormonism. Glenn Beck (and Mit Romney) are Mormon, so all of a sudden folks who are pretty exclusive in their views of who is a real Christian open their umbrella wide and embrace Mormonism as another branch of our family tree. Of course, President Obama isn't a real Christian; he is a Muslim and a proponent of Liberation Theology (never mind that you can’t be both at the same time). I'm not suggesting that all Mormons totally accept the official teaching of their church. I'm not suggesting that Mormons can't be Christians despite their church's teaching. But I am saying that this little cartoon does summarize pretty well the basic official Mormon worldview. So don't be too quick to drink the Kool-Aid at your Tea Party!

The Sanctuary

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

When I was a kid, Rule #1 of church building etiquette was "No running in the church building." It always struck me as funny that this was also rule #1 at the pool (where committed Christians wouldn't go anyway), though I never suspected any connection between the two. We were always told that the reason for the rue was the danger of knocking into some old person. I never heard of that ever happening, though perhaps it did. But I suspect that the "no running" rule had more to do with the fact that the church building was viewed as a special and holy place that wasn't to be desecrated by a bunch of kids having fun. We didn't have a sanctuary per se; we had an auditorium. But we pretty much treated the church building as if it were a sacred place, a sanctuary. I clearly remember the song the kids sang as they left the auditorium to go to their classes during VBS-- “Tiptoe, tiptoe in God’s house…”

Well, we don't follow Rule #1 at Denbigh. We got rid of our pews five years ago; we sold them to a church being rebuilt in Louisiana after Katrina. We replaced the pews with chairs that can be stacked and rolled out of the way. So now everything from VBS fun-and-games to teen laser-tag lock-ins to my 50th birthday party are held right there in the auditorium. We still call it “the auditorium because the term "worship center" for our little facility sounds too... sanctimonious. But we definitely don't see it as a sanctuary anymore. And now sometimes old people (like me) get bowled over by kids who are not tip-toeing in God's house!

The church building isn't special, but the church definitely is! In the verse above (part of today’s Bible reading), Paul says that the church is the temple of God in which He lives by His Spirit. To fracture fellowship and disrupt unity with our fusses and feuds (sometimes over how we use the building) desecrates and disrespect God's holy temple. That is Paul very point here! The church at Corinth was splintered by any number of issues and arguments that destroyed their unity and compromised their witness to the world. Paul says that such disharmony is like spray painting graffiti all over the temple of God.

The church through the years has had no shortage of issues that have become wedges that have driven disciples apart and honest seekers away. Very few (if any at all) of those issues have been anywhere near as serious as has been our ignoring God's clarion call to unity. We are the temple of God. Let's not allow God's holy temple to defiled by disunity.

Lord, teach your children to stop their fighting,
Start uniting all as one

Let's get together living forever,

As sanctuaries for you

O Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary,

Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving I'll be a living

Sanctuary for You.