A Compass Pointing the Wrong Way

On December 7 (a day that, after all, lives in infamy) New Line Cinema will release the movie “The Golden Compass.” The movie will star Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (“Bond, James Bond”), and is marketed as a “family movie” along the lines of “The Chronicles of Narnia.” In fact, the movie will have the same fantasy themes and the advertising has the same “look and feel” But don’t confuse this "Golden Compass" and Narnia, which C.S. Lewis’ wrote to teach Christian themes to children. In fact, this movie is meant to be the anti-Narnia; the writer of the books upon which the movie is based hated C.S. Lewis and the lion he rode in on.

“The Golden Compass” is the first of a trilogy of children’s novels known as the “Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. This trilogy was an international best seller, although it didn’t do that well in the United States. Pullman is an outspoken atheist and critic of Christianity, and the fantasy themes in his novels are anti-Christian. He said in an interview, “My books are about killing God.” And in fact, in the last book, the main characters do succeed in killing “God.” At one point Pullman has a fallen angel dewscribe God like this to the young heroes of the book--

The Authority, God, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the Father, the Almighty – those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves – the first angel, true, the most powerful, but he was formed of Dust as we are, and Dust is only a name for what happens when matter begins to understand itself.

So the anti-religious and anti-Christian point-of-view of these books are not something that some critics have read into them. This is the point of these books. The point for our kids!

Fortunately, the movie itself will likely not be all that offensive. New Line specifically ordered that the anti-God theme be removed from the movie, understanding that such a project would be economically unviable. But the danger is that the movie will become something of a commercial for the books. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said, “I'm not really concerned about the movie, which looks fairly innocuous. The movie is made for the books. ... It's a deceitful, stealth campaign. Pullman is hoping his books will fly off the shelves at Christmastime.” It is very possible that parents may buy the books for their children not realizing the sinister intent behind them.

Well, I won’t be going to see the movie! Well, at least not until it comes to video. I can say that with some certainty because we just don’t see that many movies in theaters. If I just have to see a fantasy movie with a hidden message, I’ll just watch Narnia again on DVD (for the 10th or so time!) Or I'll wait until March for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to be released, one I will go see in a theater.

Powers and Principalities?

There was an excellent (and lengthy) article by David Kirkpatrick in the New York Times with the unfortunate title “The Evangelical Crackup.” The article does an excellent and balanced job of discussing the change that has taken place in the religious right. While evangelical voters once tended to rally around single-issues (abortion or homosexuality) and national leaders (Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, James Kennedy), that is no longer the case today. Younger leaders (Rick Warren and Bill Hybels) are just as likely to stress AIDS, global warming, poverty and the plight of women in developing countries. Kirkpatrick does a good job illustrating this and giving some of the reasons why this is the case. Give the article a read... I'd be interested in your comments.

A quote from Gene Carlson in the article caught my attention. Carlson was senior pastor for 40 years of the 7000 member Westlink Christian Church. He was very involved in "the Christian Right," leading abortion protests and raising money. Though he still believes that abortion is evil, Carlson has had second thought about his political activism which he says “didn’t really change abortion.” Working to elect Christian politicians never seemed to make any difference in the end. Here was his observation that stopped me, “When you mix politics and religion you get politics.” And maybe that means in the end a Chrisatian politician is a politician?

Christianity was born in a totalitarian dictatorship in which politics was for the powerful and individual rights did not exist. For the most part, those with political power and influence were the enemy of God’s people and truth. James reminded his audience that it was the rich and powerful who were exploiting them and slandering the name of Christ (James 2:6-7). Later he condemns the wealthy ruling class who have hoarded wealth and exploited the powerless (James 5:1-6). Christians were to pray for leaders... so they could be left alone to live in peace (1 Tim 2:1-2). Are the political power structures of our world part of what Paul meant by “the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil?” Is it the case that when the church joins these power structures, even for good and noble purposes, that we run the risk of being twisted by them? Lord Acton’s famous line is, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

I’m not saying that Christians shouldn’t vote on moral issues. I’m not saying that Christians should never run for public office or get involved in political causes. This world needs the leavening influence of godly people in all spheres of life! But I am suggesting that the answer to the problems of this world is the message of the cross, not any political party or candidate or agenda. We will do more to change the woes of this world by sharing the story of Jesus and living out its implications in our own lives than by our political affiliations. Who we vote for is always optional; who we live for is not!

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Change?

I’m sure you remember the old “Light Bulb Jokes” that were popular a few years ago. You know, like “How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “How many can you afford?” Well, I came across some that apply to church:

• How many Christian counselors does it take to change a light bulb?
  Only one, but the light bulb has to WANT to change.
  
• How many preachers does it take to change a light bulb?
  One. He holds the bulb while the world revolves around him.
  
• How many TV evangelists does it take to change a light bulb?
  One. But for the light to continue, send in your donation now!
  
• How many theologians does it take to change a light bulb?
  Three, but they're really one…no, it's three.
  
• How many elders does it take to change a light bulb?
  CHANGE?? That bulb doesn’t need changing.

Change is hard, and church change can be particularly unsettling— changing the order of worship, changing a ministry focus, changing from pews to chairs, and (nobody get any ideas) changing preachers. I have known of churches where building committees disbanded and deacons resigned over discussions over changing the color scheme in the auditorium!

Personal change is even more unsettling. When it comes to things like doing a better job at controlling our temper, finally kicking the nicotine habit, doing better with diet or exercise or spending more time reading the Bible, we often want to hide behind excuse like “I can’t help it” or “Hey, that is just the way that I am.” Or if we try to sound more pious, we may say, “That’s just not my spiritual gift.” But changing and being changed is one of the fundamental truths of Christianity. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3). He said, “Unless you are converted and become like children” (Matt 18:3, NAS). The idea behind “repent” and “convert” are the same-- change.

My reading this morning was from Jeremiah 35. Here God uses the example of the Recabites to spur and motivate unfaithful Judah. The Recabites were a nomadic clan that descended Jonadab, who charged his family to not drink wine or live in houses. They had followed that charge. The Recabites followed their ancestors command, but Judah would not follow God (Jer 35:13-14). Here is the part of the reading that stuck from this morning—“Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” (35:15, NCV). That is how God sums up the message of the prophets to Judah—“Stop doing evil… change and be good.”

Sounds pretty simple. The message of the prophets was “change.” We must forever remain clay that is soft and malleable; we must be wineskins that can expand and stretch. Change is rarely pleasant. But it is what God constantly calls us to do.

It Never Rains in California...

The picture at right was not taken during a riot someplace just after the police let loose with the tear gas. And the background of the picture is not someone's recreation of the surface of Mercury or something. This is a picture from Time of students Emily Roth and Michael Richards last Sunday morning just trying to breathe on the campus of Pepperdine University in the midst of the nearby wildfire that would eventually lead to potions of the campus being evacuated. The fires that are ravaging Southern California are driven by dry Santa Ana winds combined with severe drought conditions that have turned the state into a tinderbox. All that was needed was a spark (a downed powerline in the case of the Milibu fire) and entire regions have gone up in a raging firestorm.

Of course, nature isn’t only culprit here. Rampant development in areas that were never intended to support so many people often provide both the kindling and the spark that begin these fires. More and more homes are built on the edges of what was wilderness; one estimate is that more than 50% of the new housing built in California since 1950 has been built inside severe-fire zones. And not only do more people live where they are affected by the fires, but they also cause (usualy inadvertently, sometimes intentionally) many of the fires. And then there is the irony that after the fires have burned so much of the vegetation, when the rains do finally come, they will likely bring mudslides that can be as destructive as the fires.

Few places on earth are a beautiful most of the time as Southern California. And that has been the problem over the last half century. More people have migrated there than the land can support. And when nature rebels at the intrusion as it is this week, so many people are affected. Let’s continue to pray for the people out there. Let’s also pray for those who are helping and gearing up to help with the relief effort. Though they have don’t have any specific information yet on their web site (their latest web update was in June), I just have to believe that the folks at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief are gearing up and that the trucks will be rolling out of Nashville before the ashes are cool

On Yard Work and the Meaning of Life

I spent most of my afternoon off yesterday working in the yard, doing the yearly fertilize-aerate-thatch-seed deal that ensures I will have plenty of grass to mow next spring. We are also turning a big flower bed (Dad’s old garden plot) back into lawn so that I will have even more grass to cut! A big chunk of yesterday was actually spent digging at and chopping on a big stump in the middle of the flower bed that had to be removed before it could be tilled and seeded. Boy, I’m sure going to a lot of trouble to be able to cut grass next year!

I was reminded of a passage from Ecclesiastes while I was working yesterday. Not just the “vanity of vanities” part, but I was specifically thinking of Solomon’s setup in Ecclesiastes 1:3-8a--

3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;
round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say.

He could have just as easily said, “The grass that is cut grows back again; the thatch that is de-thatched becomes thatch once more.” That kinda sounds Solomonic, doesn’t it?

How much of our daily work sounds just like this? The project we complete is simply swapped out for another project; the briefing we present is replaced by another. The house that we clean becomes messy again; the meals we prepare must be prepared again tomorrow. What is the point of doing all of these things that are done but are never really done?

Solomon’s point is that nothing means anything “under the sun.” What gives meaning to life is what comes from the other side of the sun. Nothing ultimately has a point in life unless you understanding the God that reigns over all of life. The mundane and ordinary things of life are infused with meaning because of the God that gives meaning. So Ecclesiastes can say this in Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.

Even the mundane and ordinary things of life are giving meaning because they are gifts of God and ways that that He blesses and teaches us. While the grass that I plant and cut and plant again seem like mundane vanity, the fact that all is done under the rule and domain of God changes everything. “Everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it” (Ecc; 3:14). God reigns in the mundane things of life, and because He reigns, even the mundane things are blessings form God.

People of Integrity

Someone has said that character is the kind of person that you are when no one is around to see what kind of person you are. The word that Scripture uses is "integrity." (See Deut 9:5, 1 Kings 9:4, Job 2:3, Psa 78:72, Prov 10:9, Titus 2:7). The word "integrity" comes from the old Latin word "integritas" meaning "soundness." The word is defined as "The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness." This is the meaning of the word "integer" or "whole number." Integrity is used of the person who adheres to a high moral standard. I like Nehemiah's description of his brother Hanani whom he put in charge of Jerusalem-- I guess nepotism is OK as long as you keep it in the family. He said that his brother "was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do." (Neh 7:2).

But what looks like integrity isn't always real integrity. Chuck Swindoll, in his book Growing Deep in the Christian Life, tells this story about integrity that is really not integrity at all.

Several years ago, in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken--over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here." Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Oh, great, let me call the newspaper. I'm gonna have your picture put in the local newspaper. You're the most honest man I've heard of." To which they guy quickly responded, "Oh no, no, don't do that!" Then he leaned closer and whispered, "You see, the woman I'm with is not my wife...she's uh, somebody else's wife."

God calls us to be complete, whole people. That is only true when we seek to what is right no matter the setting or situation.

There Is No Justice!

Tonight the eyes of the college football world will be on the clash between national powerhouses Rutgers and South Florida as a BCS bid and possible national championship is on the line. What? Run that by me again! Rutgers and South Florida? Come on! In one of the weirder things to come down the pike, Big East newbie South Florida— which only started playing major college football 10 years ago—is ranked #2 in the BCS rankings and would play Ohio State for the national championship if the season ended right now! All of the pre-season top 10 teams have lost, and all the current top-10 teams may lose again. This has been a crazy year.

So what do you think? Has true parity really really come to college football or is this year just a blip on the radar screne and sanity will be restored next year? Last year showed the flaws of the BCS system when there was no real #2 team to play #1 Ohio State, so Florida was chosen at random (largely because their coach whined so pitifully). Of course. Florida then pasted OSU for the title. This year there is no best team… and that means there is no second best team. As one writer put it, “There is no #1… just a bunch of #11’s that keep taking turns.” So at the end of the year, they will have to pick two teams at random to play for the national championship.

Can we not have some playoffs in D-1 football like every other sport! The current system works only if you end up with two clearly best teams, and that has happened like twice! And this year promises to be particularly pitiful because we may end up with 25 mediocre teams and no real #1. South Florida and Rutgers? The only redeeming thing about this year is that Notre Dame hasn’t won a single game!

So what is the Bible point to this rant? Little know Bible Fact: Job said, “Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.” (Job 19:7). Well, he was talking about the BCS system!

Ode to Lice and Radar Guns

Nineteen year old Zachary Skinner was only going 101 mph in his 2006 Hyundai when he flashed past Deputy Grant Steube and his radar gun. He was probably going even faster than that before Steube finally caught up to him with his flashing lights and blaring sirens. When Steube asked him why he was driving so fast, Skinner said that he was rushing to get home before dark because he didn't want to get into trouble for breaking his curfew. As you can probably guess, Skinner was arrested and charged with reckless driving… which meant that he didn’t make it home by dark! You may be wondering why Skinner had a “be home before dark” curfew? Because he had received four other tickets (this was the 5th) in the last 11 months, including two for speeding!

It’s easy to see other people’s hypocrisy, isn’t it? Does it make sense to be so concerned that you make curfew that you drive 100 miles an hour? Not much? How about the Pharisees who so used tithing as an excuse not to care for their aging parents (Mk 7:9-13). Some Jewish women today believe that modesty dictates that their head be covered in public, and they do that by wearing wigs made of human hair and costing thousands of dollars! I heard about one big-hearted guy who robbed a local business because he wanted to give some money to a local charity (maybe he though he was Robin Hood?). Yes, it is easy to see inconsistencies and hypocrisies in others.

But those puppies are a bit harder to spot in our own lives, aren’t they? Robert Burns’ famous poem “Ode to a Louse” ends with the line “O would some Power, the gift to give us, To see ourselves as others see us!” Indeed, it is easy to be blind to our own warts and flaws. I am sure that the Priest and Levite felt completely high and holy when they passed by on the other side and didn’t help the wounded man. Hey, maybe they were on their way to church and didn’t want to be late! But how much harder it is to see when we are the Priest or the Levite!

Let’s do a better job straining out the camels in our own lives, then maybe the gnats (or lice) of others will take care of themselves.

Anything for Love...

By a wide margin, the highest grossing motion picture of all time is Titanic. Well, that makes sense. It is really two movies in one— a love story sandwiched wrapped inside a disaster flick, which makes it the perfect date movie. It is the story of Jack, a fun-loving, self-absorbed penniless artist and Rose, a sad, suicidal socialite being forced to marry a man she did not love. These two people are about as different as night and day, but the boy from steerage accidentally meets the girl from the first class, and they fall immediately and deeply in love. Unfortunately, they don’t live happily ever after; this is after all the Titanic. During the sinking of the great ship, Jack dies so that Rose can live.

Marc Newman uses the movie Titanic to make a point to college students about the nature of true love. The question Newman asks his students to debate in class is this— “Given what we know of Jack’s character, do you think that he and Rose would have had a successful marriage?” After all, their love story didn’t really even get started before it was ended in the great disaster. Would their marriage have worked, or would it have been a disaster. Newman writes—

When push came to shove, Jack was able to make the single grand gesture to the beautiful woman, and give his life that Rose might have a chance to live. But could Jack, would Jack, have married Rose? And if so, could he have put up with the daily self-denials that are required to maintain a marriage over fifty years, when his lover is no longer young and nubile? G.K. Chesterton commented that many people say that they will do anything for love, except sacrifice for it.

Is it possible that dying for the one you love in a blaze of glory is not nearly as difficult as living and sacrificing for them daily? I think Newman is on to something there. Living for someone in a daily sacrifice of love and self-denial is much harder than a single gesture. Maybe that explains why so many people are giving up on their marriages these days. Maybe that explains why so many people are giving up on living for God.

Coincidental Confluence

Well, I had something happen yesterday and today that I can’t remember ever happening before. I have been Max Lucado’s Grace for the Moment Daily Bible for my devotional Bible readings this year. Like the One Year Bible, it divides each day into readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. Unlike the One Year Bible, it also has devotional thoughts by Max Lucado each day. But that is not the reason that I bought it. As I explained in a blog earlier in the year, I bought this daily reading Bible for two reasons— first, it was the New Century Version, and I wanted to use an unfamiliar translation rather than the original language (the NIV). Second, it only cost me $11.00 at Sam’s Club. I was going to use the NLT this year, but it is hard to beat $11.00!

Here’s the point. Yesterday my New Testament reading was from Colossians 1. Today my Old Testament reading was from Jeremiah 7. That is what has never happened before (that I can recall). Last night, the text for my Wednesday night class was Colossians 1. Today I’ll finish writing my sermon for Sunday, and the text is Jeremiah 7. Both my study texts for the week in my sermon and class study were covered in my devotional reading. That might not sound earth shaking to you, but it has never happened before. I have no point to make here—just that this was highly unusual.

If I tried real hard, I could probably find some parallels in the two passages. Jeremiah warns Judah not to “trust in deceptive words” concerning the temple; Paul tells the Colossians that it was the gospel that was “the word of truth.” Jeremiah tells Judah that God did not just give their ancestors “commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices” but the command “Obey me, and I will be your God.” Paul warns the Colossians not to let others judge them “by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”

I could find more parallels like that, but I don’t have the time. I have to go write a sermon on Jeremiah 7.

A Gospel According to Judge Judy?

Sometimes churches that are new or small don’t have men that are qualified (or feel that they are) to serve as elders. What do you do when you have a church, but no elders? What generally happens is that church decisions are made by a majority of the “Men’s Business Meeting.” Where do you read about that in the Bible? You don’t. It would be Biblical for the whole church to discuss issues, pray about them as a group, and then cast lots (see Acts 1:15-26). But Men's Business Meetings aren't in the Bible.

And sometimes the transition from “Men’s Business Meeting” to eldership is problematic… and traumatic. Very often men who are influential leaders in the Men's Business Meeting model are not Biblically qualified to serve as elders. That means that as the congregation transitions to the Biblical model of elders, these men must to some extent to give up power and influence. Sometime they aren’t willing to do that, and they oppose the move to appointing elders. This can be further complicated when these non-elders have served as trustees, which is required by the state for non-profit organizations owning property.

Several says ago, Alan Smith emailed me a new item (under the subject line "So Sad") that tells of a church in Tennessee that showed up for Bible study only to find the doors of the building had been padlocked closed. It seems that a disagreement had arisen among the leadership concerning the issue mentioned above. The church was moving toward appointing elders, some men opposed that (or perhaps the men who would be appointed). They were trustees, and they seized control of the church building, fired the preacher and padlocked the property… all supported by a legally obtained court order. Perhaps we will being seeing the next Men’s Business Meeting of that church held before Judge Judy!

I wonder if at some point someone thought about what Paul wrote about Christians and property issues in 1 Corinthians 6:1, “If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?” Having one Christian standing in court against another Christian only serves to advertise to the world that Christianity doesn’t really work. We are supposed to proclaiming a message of eternal salvation and peace that passes understanding… and we sue each other over property? Paul says, “If you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!” Even the simplest and least prominent Christian is better to mediate property disputes among Christians than Judge Judy. Paul says this—

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. (1 Corinthians 6:7-8)

OK, it’s human nature-- We want to be right. The only thing better than being right is to have the courts tell us we are right and then enforce the rights we have because we are right! Paul says that when we get to that point, we have already lost.

Here's the annoying part. I need to be as disgusted with myself about my infernal need to be night as I am with churches in far away places. It fact, it is much more important that is challenge my own pride issues. It's just not as fun.

I Will Sing of You Among the People

I ran across a long discussion yesterday on Mike Cope’s blog on instrumental music and our a cappella worship tradition. I won’t try to reconstruct the conversation. But I also ran across a website that was an affirmation of belief in a cappella only worship music. I won’t try to reconstruct that conversation either. But I did spend some time reading through some of the comments made on both web sites. Now my personal history in our heritage only goes back about 5 generations, but I guess there is something about this whole thing that I just don’t get.

Oh, I get the part about the richness of our cappella tradition. And I get the part about the beauty of human voices blending together in harmony. I can’t do it, but I do get it. (Wasn’t harmony made up about the same time and by the same people who made up the instruments in the church thing? Wouldn’t singing in unison be more theologically significant than 4-part harmonies going off in different directions at once? But then I digress.) And I get the part about the danger of turning participatory worship into a presentation or entertainment where the audience becomes only casual observer. (Though the temptation to “show off’ for the benefit of others is just as real for the guy singing tenor as for soloist or guy playing acoustic guitar). And I do get the beauty and simplicity of a cappella, congregational worship. As one of the praise songs that we sing begins, “There’s no place else that I’d rather be…” I have zero desire to change our a cappella worship music tradition. Zero as it none!

But what I do not get is the idea that heaven and hell rests on whether or not you get why you shouldn't use instruments. There are 17 verses in the New Testament that mention singing. Five of those are from Revelation (like the faithful holding harps of God and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, Rev 15:2). Five are quotations from the Old Testament. Most of the rest simply say that someone (Jesus and the disciples, Paul and Silas, etc.) sang. There are no examples of singing in a church worship setting, except for 1 Corinthians 14:26, which sounds more like someone presenting a song solo, not congregational singing. The two texts we discuss the most (Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16) are not even in contexts discussing corporate worship at all—they are discussing personal spiritual living. We are a little short on data to know exactly how God wants us sing praises.

Even if I'm right in deciding that a cappella singing best fits the New Testament data (and I always think I’m right), can’t I at least admit that there really is a bit ambiguity here? Can’t I be comfortable in the choice that I make each Sunday while respecting brothers and sisters down the street who make a different choices? But since the data is ambiguous, should we not take the safest choice and sing sans the piano? Maybe. Or maybe we should say, “You know, there is ambiguity in what the New Testament says about church music, so let’s go back and see what clues God gives us about praise in the Old Testament.”

I don’t want to change our church music. I think there needs to be an a cappella music tradition in the kingdom of God, and I think we’re in a good position to help out there! But what we need to lose is the idea that God moved heaven and earth to send His Son to die on the cross to take captivity captive and make a public spectacle of the powers and authorities … only to see most Christians go to hell because they missed the fine print (or the absence of a fine print) about pianos and organs. If we think that faithfulness and salvation depends on us figuring everything out correctly-- or that we can have no fellowship with anyone who figures things out wrongly-- then we are doomed to spend the rest of our church lives arguing over praise teams, children’s classes, Bible translations and whether we can eat in the church building. I would like to think that there is room in our churches for those of us who really do prefer singing a cappella praise…. but who really don't think it is such a big hairy deal when someone else doesn't.

I met last night with a couple who are placing membership with us. They came to us from a background that uses instruments. They said that they had some reservations about coming to a church that doesn’t have music because they really enjoy that, but then said, “I was ashamed that I had worried about that because the singing here is so beautiful and worshipful.” That's the point, right? At that moment my phone rang—my ring-tone is the chorus of Philip, Craig and Dean’s worship anthem, “You are God alone. From before time began You are on Your throne. You are God alone.” That’s is the point, isn't it?

On Keyboards, Life and Stuff

Well, I believe that an eight year odyssey finally came to an end yesterday. I think it was about that long ago that my old Northgate programmable keyboard finally died. Northgate was a computer company more for keyboards than computers-- they had a very heavy-duty (and just plain heavy) mechanical switch "clicky" keyboard that was infinitely better than all new modern keyboards (which are made with rubber bands or something). The keyboard weighed more than the computer, it never moved around when I typed, and it clicked when you typed just like the original IBM keyboard.

The Northgate company died, and so when my Northgate keyboard also died, I was stuck with a rubber band keyboard. I have tried several after-market keyboards looking for one that I can type on... OK, so the problem may be with me.. But the mushy keyboards they sell these days just don’t work— even with all their multimedia and wireless bells and whistles. I just want a heavy duty, mechanical click keyboard made of metal the way they did in the good old days of the IBM PC

Well, it cost me $70 bucks, but I found one. It seems that a company called Unicomp obtained the rights to the old IBM keyboards from Lexmark, and they are still making them today. You can buy 15 year old IBM keyboards for $150 or more (no kidding), but Unicomp will make you a brand new one in a variety of layouts in any color you like (as long as it is black or white). They even have one with the Control key back beside the “A” key so if I want to go back to using WordStar (if I could find a copy of WordStar) and its old control diamond, I can do that (actually the keyboard is made for Linux users). The keyboard is great, it makes typing much more precise for me, and now all is well with the world. That is, until Lynn reads my blog and realizes that I spend $70 bucks on a keyboard!

There is a lesson here in miniature, I think. How often have we bought into Satan's lie that things in life will be much better when I get a new thing… a new job, a new car, a new house, a new keyboard. Hey, I’m not saying that I was waiting for this keyboard to make my life more fulfilled, but that would make just as much sense as looking to those other things, right? We have proved this truth to ourselves time and time again-- new stuff has an incredibly short shelf-life as far as its ability to satisfy us. If we are made happy by the new stuff, the fact is that what is new today is old next week, and so we’re right back in the hunt looking for something new. No matter how great a “thing” might be, the one thing it cannot do is stay new!

The only thing that never gets old is contentment. Paul says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Tim 6:6). He also said, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:12-13). Notice that the “I can do all things through Christ” comes right after “I have learned the secret of being content.” Content is not our natural or normal state as human beings. It came only when Paul trusted in Christ and looked to Him.

This really is a great keyboard. But you know, I bet voice recognition software would be even better!

Pass It On

In their book False Assumptions, Henry Cloud and John Townsend tell of a Christian client they call “Roy.” Roy struggled with depression to the point where he began to think about suicide. Christian friends were concerned about him and told him, “Just trust in the Lord” and “Take some time off and rekindle your walk with God.” One friend offered the pious advice, “Just let God’s rod and staff be your comfort.” And Roy did begin to spend more time reading the Bible and in prayer. But the depression and despair finally got the best of him, and one night he sat with a loaded revolver ready to take his life.

What saved Roy’s life was a neighbor who came by to borrow a Phillips screwdriver. He sensed something was wrong, and asked Roy what was wrong. They started talking. Roy poured out his heart to this neighbor. The neighbor just listened, asked some questions, and offered no advice. He then invited Roy out to dinner, and they talked some more. When Roy got home, he unloaded his revolver and started down the road to recovery.

What Roy needed was not sanctimonious talk about God. He didn’t just need to read the Bible more or pray that much harder. No, what Roy really needed was to share his life with a friend. He needed people in his life. God was able to work through the listening ear of Roy’s neighbor in a way that was powerful. And that is often the way it is when God moves in mysterious ways. Sometimes He works through circumstance. Sometimes He parts the Rea Sea. But often, He works through people. Very often God gives us spiritual strength through the strength we borrow from other people. Paul says that God “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Cor 1:4). God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Pass it on.