We Have Moved

The Blog is now being hosted on our church web site at

http://denbigh.org/category/tucks-blog/

Moving Day

The Tuck @ Denbigh Church of Christ blog has moved.  I'm still at the same place (sorry to get some of your hopes us), but my blog has moved to its new home to OUR NEW CHURCH WEB SITE. (Thanks to Will King for all his hard work in getting us up and running.)

Just click on "Tuck's blog" at the top of the home page and you can still read all new and old posts there.  All of my loyal and faithful readers (both of you) are encouraged to visit the new site.

On Justice and Leaving Room for God

Our most traumatic day as a nation since December 7, 1941 began twelve years ago today at 8:46 a.m., September 11, 2001, when American Flight 11 crashed into North Tower of the World Trade Center. Shortly thereafter, airliners crashed into South Tower, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. By the end of the day, more than 3000 people had died in the most horrific terrorist attack in history. President Bush said this to the nation—

The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them. 

The word that was stressed over and over was "Justice."  Since that statement was made, we have fought two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) in which more Americans died than during the 9-11 attacks. We have launched countless lethal drone attacks and deployed teams of Special Forces warriors that led to the deaths of monsters like Osama bin Laden and many of his henchmen. But in the process, we have killed many innocent non-combatants and in the process created many more monsters. Is that really justice?

We haven't been very successful in fighting wars against unseen foes like communism and terrorism. Nor are we very good at learning lessons from those efforts where we essentially fight for a while, lose a lot of good people, kill many more people, and just quit and go home without seeing too much change. I wish someone would do a little more reflecting on that before we start lobbing missiles into Syria. I keep hearing this voice in the back of my head that sounds strangely like Dr. Phil saying, “So how’s that working for you?”

We must be a people who seek justice because God is a God of justice. The Old Testament law called for a justice of justice of punitive restitution for property crimes and an “eye for eye” reciprocity for violent crimes. Paul calls for kings to not only have swords, but use them as instruments of God (Rom 13:3-5). Jesus never doubted Pilate’s authority; he simply observed that Pilate had no power except what was given from above (John 19:11).  God created the nations and He is God above the nations.

But human justice is always a very tricky thing. Kings wielding swords in search of justice are just as likely to create more injustices. One of our congressman recently wondered if we were simply becoming too insensitive to the use of military force. That raises the question, "Have we become too insensitive to the injustices created by that use of force?" Does God care less about the children of the terrorist leaders killed with their fathers by our missiles than He did about the children who died in the September 11 attacks? Does God love more the children killed in chemical attacks in Syria than He loves the children that will certainly die in Syria if we go shooting missiles there? We may call those deaths "collateral damage," but we can't call it "justice"

OK, no pancake is so thin that it only has one side (my one political certainty). No issue is so clear that there isn't another way of looking at it. This blog started as a retrospective of 9-11 and it sorta just veered off in another direction looking for another point.  What is that point?  Ultimately, there is no real justice other than what comes from God... and sometimes we just have to wait on it. If we don't wait and leave room for God, we can mess justice up. That is why Paul warns us to leave room for God—

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19–21)

What Paul says here is directed to individual Christians (who would become innocent victims of the very king wielding that sword) and not to nations. But maybe this is a warning for our supposedly Christian nation that getting sucked into a tit-for-tat cycle of violence is a sure way to be overcome by evil. We can get so focused on justice that we become the very thing that we hate!

Be Thou My Vision

It is important for a church to have a clear vision... a vision of itself, a vision of the future and a vision of God. Churches often produce a "vision statement," a clear, concise statement of the church's identity and focus. This vision statement becomes both a target for which to aim and a means to measure progress. An old Diana Ross song asks, "Do you know where you're going to?" Not great grammar, but a great idea-- if you don't know where you're going, then how will you know when you get there? Sure, it's easier just to shoot and then draw the circle around whatever you hit. That's easy. but it isn't very productive. We need a clear vision of where we are going.

The text that is often used in vision-casting is Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (KJV). The idea here is that unless we cast a clear vision (and vision statement), then the church will die. The problem is that the verse has to be quoted from the KJV before it makes this great statement about vision casting. Look at what this proverb seems to say when read in different versions--

• NIV: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” 
• NLT: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.” 
• NCV: “Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled” 

Remember Indigo Montoya's famous line, “I don’t think that Bible verse means what you think it means.” (OK, loose paraphrase).  In fact, the verse says the opposite of what we often make it to say! The vision we need is a clear vision of God and from God. It’s about following God’s revelation.  That's why we sometimes skip the second part of the proverb, "But he that keepeth the law, happy is he" (KJV) or "but blessed is he who keeps the law" (NIV).

So the point really isn't for us to come up with a cleverly worded and polished "Vision Statement" printed up on business cards and published on a spiffy new web site (OK, we do happen to have all of those). The vision to which Proverbs 29:18 refers and the vision that we die without is a clear vision of who God is through His revelation of Himself.   The point isn't for us to decide what we’re going to do in a clever way; the point is to see what it is that God is doing and join with Him in that!  It is God Himself who is our vision!

Does God Want Us to Be Astronauts?

There was a story in the news last week of a church in Tennessee that forced out of its fellowship a family who had “supported” their police officer daughter's lawsuit against the city seeking to get insurance coverage and survivor benefits for her “wife” (they had been married in Maryland). Because her parents attended the legal proceedings with their lesbian daughter, that was seen as “supporting” their daughters sinful lifestyle. The family was given the choice repenting publicly of the sin, leaving the church or being disfellowshipped. I realize that the secular press often is less than accurate when dealing with religious issues, but this story was reported in Christian Chronicle. I also realize that this must have been a very hard thing for everyone involved— the family, the church elders and the church itself. Our postmodern, post-Christian world will make these kinds of cases more common and these kinds of decisions more difficult. We want to be loyal to God, we want to love other people, and we want have a witness to the world. Sometimes it very difficult to do all these things at the same time.

 We live in a diverse, multicultural world that doesn't accept the Bible either as God's word or as moral authority for our lives. What that means is that there are any number of things that are legal in our country but immoral for Christians. We expect that to be the case, don't we? In the Bible, all sexual activity outside marriage (premarital and extramarital) is sinful. Divorce for any reason other than the sexual unfaithfulness of one's spouse is called "adultery" by Jesus Himself. Yet, there is no movement among Christians (at least none that I know about) to make premarital sex, adultery or divorce on grounds other than adultery illegal. Why not? These things are wrong if you accept the Bible, right? But then not everyone accepts the Bible, many who do accept it have wrong-headed notions about what it means ("wrong-headed" in this context means, of course, different from what I think it means).

So is homosexuality really that different? Suppose for the sake of argument that I believe that homosexual practice is sinful and that thus homosexual marriage is outside God’s desire for us. (That should be easy to imagine; it's what I believe). Does that mean I must also believe that homosexual marriage has to be illegal? Must I also believe that homosexual couples must therefore be denied legal rights like survivor benefits or insurance coverage? And must anyone who advocates survivor benefits or insurance coverage for gay couples be seen as supporting a sinful lifestyle and kicked out of the church? Someone might suggest, “But homosexual marriage is an affront and a threat to marriage as God intended it.” But cohabitation without marriage and divorce for reasons other than adultery are a much bigger threats and affronts to marriage, but no one is disfellowshipped because they hang around family members who happen to be in those situations.  And no one demands that they be illegal!

Just because something is sinful doesn't mean it must be illegal. Christians are called to a higher standard than the world, but we are not called to either judge the world or disassociate ourselves from the people in it (1 Cor 5:9-12). Paul says here that we'd have to leave the world (i.e. become astronauts) to totally remove ourselves from sinful people and their sinful choices. But it is before those people and this world that we are called to shine God’s light. If you start kicking people out of church because they hang around sinful people, the first person who will have to go is Jesus!

When All Is Said and Done...

What do Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Steve Jobs' “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” Stanford commencement speech and Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech all have in common? They were all delivered in less than 18 minutes! In fact, the Gettysburg Address took just over 2 minutes to deliver! Speeches that have lasting impact don't have to last forever to get the point across. Or as someone put it, "If you don’t strike oil in 18 minutes, stop boring." Notice these three simple factoids...

• Fact One: The greatest sermon ever preached (The Sermon on the Mount) takes about 12 minutes 30 seconds to read out loud (or about 8 minutes if you talk like I do).
  
• Fact Two: The average sermon today (according to one estimate) is about 45 minutes long.
  
• Fact Three: The average preacher takes 3-4 times as long to preach as did Jesus himself. 

So if you can't strike oil in 18 minutes... An article in Christian Post suggests that preachers might ought to keep their sermons to below that 18-minute mark. Andy Stanley's book Communicating for a Change which suggests "every sermon should have one main idea" and that "many pastors are guilty of trying to fulfill the 40-45 minute sermon expectation by filling their sermons with content not essential to the topic." Well, having something to say and having to say something are two entirely different things.  Having to fill time because you are expected to fill time is never helpful.  But only 18 minutes?

I had a friend who quoted am older preacher as saying, “Sermonettes are for preacherettes.” To preach a sermon shorter than 45 minutes somehow shows a lack of seriousness or maturity or creativity. I wonder if this paraphrase from the Sermon on the Mount is too much off the mark—

And when you preach, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (Matt 6:7, sort of) 

General attention span and audience expectation will vary from place to place. Paul evidently out-preached one brother’s attention span, and when he fell asleep and fell out a window, Paul revived him and went on with the revival!  Someone has observed that “When all is said and done, there is a lot more that is said than is done." That's really the point isn't it, not how long we preach or don't preach.  It is a lot easier to talk about discipleship than it is to live as disciples. Maybe in church and in our lives we need to say less and do more?

So how long are my sermons?  Well, Steve Job’s speech at Stanford was about 14 minutes; Churchill's greatest speech was about 12 minutes. My sermons usually combine a Jobs and a Churchill.

Faithfulness in Real Life

Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m. at our building we will say our final good-bye and pay our last respects to our sister May Rhodes. May passed away last week after a valiant battle against a host of health issues. May is an great example of someone who refused to let her struggles get the best of her, an example of faithfulness in real life.

Life was not easy for May when she was a girl or a young woman. If she ever shared her story with you, you'll know that this is a tremendous understatement. And in recent years, May's multiple health issues have been a constant and continual struggle for her. And yet, every Sunday that May could possibly and physically be here, she was right here at church, wearing her trademark hat and giving her trademark answer, “I’m doing all right.”

 At May’s side for the last 41 years were husband Gene, also an examples of faithfulness in real life. I don’t know how one holds down a full-time job and then also serves as a full-time care-giver and encourager, but Gene did. He was always here with May and always has a smile on his face, even if sometimes that smile was one of sheer exhaustion. One of the lines from the traditional marriage vows pledges faithfulness “in sickness and in health.” Gene was a man who took that promise seriously and thus provides the rest of us an example of what faithfulness looks like in real life.

How many people use problems in their past or our struggles in their present as excuses to give up on living life with joy and faith that God will make every all right? How many husbands and wives give up on their marriages because of problems and issues that really don’t look all that great when compared to those May and Gene faced every day? Faithfulness in real life is keeping your focus on God and your commitments to one another as you just put one foot in front of the other day after day. Sometimes life doesn't come easily, but God is always good. Thanks May and Gene for showing us what faithfulness looks like in real life. And may God's richest blessings be on the entire family during this difficult time.

Camp Idlewild 2013

Another year of Camp Idlewild is in the books. Camp has been a labor of love for me since I went for the first time when I was 9 years old. There haven’t been too many summers in my life that I wasn't trudging around many of those 72 acres in Surry County, As I get more mature (i.e. “old”), it is harder to generate the needed energy for camp each year, but I am always glad that I went back.

The 2013 installment of Camp Idlewild was one of our best. We certainly were blessed with the best weather ever; I didn't have to reschedule a singe event because of rain or heat (first time that has happened). Our overall numbers were off a bit— 17 girls and 9 boys, but what we lacked in sheer numbers we made up with enthusiasm and volume! We did have one serious injury as Esther Stevens broke her collarbone the very first day, but we are glad to hear that she won't need the surgery they feared that might be required. In fact, Esther went back to camp this week with the senior high group.

Our theme for the week was “The Amazing (G)Race.” We looked at the "Amazing Race" we are called to

live in the Christian life and we can only live in through God's grace. Our Bible classes were based in Philippians and God’s call to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Our devotionals at night looked at the “Fork in the Road” decisions that some Old Testament characters (Daniel, Joseph, David, Abraham, and Josiah) had to make in their amazing race and how we make many similar decisions that impact our lives both now and in the future. The kids did a great job staying with us in classes and during devotionals. One highlight was when Peter Stephens and Jacob Potts stepped in to lead singing at devo after Roger and David left camp earlier Friday.

Thanks to all who worked so hard to make camp such a success-- Roger Brown (my right hand man who abandoned us a day early... though I have no hard feeling), Sean Goodyeon (our wild and crazy athletic director), David Stevens and Sarah Reasons (who did a great job as Bible Teachers), Lynn Tucker (our camp nurse), Bruce Gaynon and Scott Carr (our “Energizer Bunny” handymen who never stopped the whole week), Cindy Byrd and Dawn Tanner (great job with crafts, canteen and several other jobs), Wally Nooner (our intrepid head cook) Sara Goodyeon (Wally right-hand assistant) and Angela Johnson (who took care of the dining hall). I can say enough about the job Will Respess, Jacob Potts, Afton Adkins, Kimberly Respess and Crystal Sweatt did as my youngest group of counselors ever... and some of the best.

Thanks to everyone who made this week special-- campers, staff, our Denbigh church family... and especially thanks be to our God.

Being Smart

I was watching a newscast the other day on PBS about a new law recently in D.C. requiring that large companies that operate in the district pay a “living minimum wage” of $12.50 an hour. Wal-Mart has threatened to shelve plans to expand into the area if this law is passed. Two financial experts with opposing views presented the pros and cons of this law, disagreeing strongly with each other. It wasn't their points I noticed; it was how they conducted themselves.

Both of the experts were respectful, they never interrupted one another or attacked each other even though they plainly disagreed and clearly thought the other guy was completely wrong. There were no personal attacks or charges how “you people” always are. I didn't just think they were both smart guys; I also thought they were nice guys. How different is that from the sideshow of CNN, Fox News or MSNBC where people scream at each other, wave their arms and constantly interrupt as they talk over and past each other. It was just refreshing to listen to an exchange of ideas without all the theatrics.

In Acts 17, Paul is invited to speak before the philosophers and at the Aeropagus in Athens. They were people who had nothing to do but sit around and talk “about and listening to the latest ideas” (Acts 17:21). Paul had to have been a little annoyed at this point; he had just been run out of Thessalonica and Berea, and all the shrines to pagan idols around him were bothering him. So how does Paul conduct himself as he speaks to these pagan professors? Well, Paul compliments them on their displays of piety and faith (17:22), points to one of their shrines (17:23), and even quotes from their poets (17:28). His presentation of God and faith is respectful, He seems to go out of his way to find both common ground and something to commend about their beliefs. He doesn’t compromise anything about the message of the gospel, but he wants to find the best way to communicate. He refuses to be argumentative or combative. He isn’t about winning arguments; he is trying to win hearts and souls.

Maybe there is a reminder here when we get into discussions of issues, politics or even our faith. Volume and theatrics may make a good show, but they don’t convince anyone who doesn’t already agree with you anyway. Maybe in our discussions, we need not to not try so hard to be smart... and try harder to be nice.

Teens for Him

Our teens did a great job last night sharing some of their experiences from the Mid Ohio Valley Work Camp (MOVWC) that they participated in last month.  One of the inconveniences that happens when you have small groups on Sunday nights (rather than a single large group gathering) is that you don't have ready-made opportunities to have special events shared with the church family.  I'm glad we had this chance to get all the teens that participated up front of the church talking with us about this special time of service and sharing with youth groups from all over the eastern part of the country.

Below is the quickly thrown together (but then extremely low quality) video that we showed last night of the specific houses that our teens had a hand in painting.  These were all houses that shared two things in common-- they desperately needed a coat or two of paint and their owners were not financially or physically able to do the work themselves.  If giving a cup of cold water in Jesus name doesn't loose it's reward, how wonderful is it to paint someone's entire house!



 What a great opportunity to serve others in the name of Jesus and meet other teens that were committed to serving in the same way.  Below is a link to local news coverage of this ministry.

http://www.thenewscenter.tv/home/headlines/MOV-Work-Camp--212392081.html

Jesus Friend of Sinners

A church recently observed a special anniversary as a congregation, and everyone who had ever attended there was invited to come back for a special service. A facility was rented for an after-church meal and several past and present preachers were asked to speak. People travelled from far and wide to attend this special service. In fact, the service was so special that one family member who had not been to any church churches in more than thirty years decided to come to honor the memory of a grandfather who was a former elder and “who would want me to be there.”

Timing (as they say) is everything. It just so happens that the week before this anniversary, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and refused to reinstate Proposition 8, cases that both have a profound impact on the recognition of same-sex marriage. One of the speakers for this special anniversary service used the event as a bully pulpit to rail against the Supreme Court, the homosexual agenda and called the church to take a stand against militant homosexuals. There were stirring “amens” as many agreed with his points. But as it turned out, the family member who had not been in church in more than thirty years is a homosexual. He is not “militant,” but he is indeed smart enough to know where he is not wanted— and he will likely never come back to that church. Or nay church.  Jesus was known as someone who “receives sinners and eats with them.” Sadly, His church has never seemed to work very hard to build up that same reputation.

I understand the frustration many feel with “the direction of our country.” I sympathize with those who fear our culture is going to hell in a hand-basket. I pray that our country’s leaders will lead us in the ways of peace and holiness even as I doubt that they can really lead us anywhere at all. I do believe that the practice of homosexuality is a sin… just as I believe that heterosexual sex outside of marriage, divorce for reasons other than adultery, and married people abusing alcohol are all sins as well. All of those things are legal. All of those things are bad for the institution of marriage. None of those things were prohibited by the Defense of Marriage Act.

Christians must stand for Christian morality, but we do that by living it. Seriously. Graciously. We do not stand up for Christian morality by holding up signs (literally or metaphorically) proclaiming that God hates certain people. We do not stand up for Christianity morality by standing in our pulpits railing against people  that we don’t think are there anyway. Jesus never attacked the sins of His culture of his day by standing on a street corner or in a pulpit screaming at people. He attacked the sins of His culture by sitting around a table and eating with sinners and calling them to “go your way and sin no more.”

Standing up for Christian morality has nothing to do with the political direction of our country and everything to do with us as sinners holding up the crucified Christ so He draws other sinners to Himself. We will never be followers of the One who was a friend of sinners if we are intent on driving sinners away from Him. We are not the true friends of sinners if we say nothing to them about Jesus and His will for their lives, but the chances are pretty good that we will never get to do that if we are too busy screaming at them. I can't help but think of the words of a song by Casting Crowns—

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners,
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy;
 Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

Such a Worm as I

Hymnal editors have this tendency to edit hymns to make them more “theologically sound” (i.e. “politically correct”). Ellis Crum’s old Sacred Selections had dozens of examples.  "When We All Get to Heaven" became "When the Saved to Get Heaven" (we don't want people to think we are universalists). The line in "Amazing Grace" that originally read, "How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed" became "the hour I first obeyed" (There will be no  faith-only here). And "Doxology" became "Praise God" (we didn't want anyone to think we were a high church church… not much of a problem if you are singing from Scared Selections). 

Sometimes songs are edited evidently to protect our own shaky egos. One hymnal changes the line in "Amazing Grace" to read "that saved and set me free"  rather than "that saved a wretch like me."  We don't want our people to feel bad about themselves. Our current hymnal (yes, we have one; we just don't use it) does the same thing with "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed." We sing "would He devote that sacred head for such a one as I?" What Isaac Watts wrote was, "for such a worm as I?" Worm? We don't want to damage our sensitive self-images by referring to ourselves as "worms." I'm a bit surprised we didn't rewrite "I Need Thee Every Hour" to read "You Need Me Every Hour" and include a version of the Mac Davis’ classic, "Lord It’s Hard to Be Humble When You're Perfect in Every Way."

So David was wrong to lament that he was a worm (Psa 22:6). And Job was wrong to feel hopeless, like his mother was a worm (Job 17:14) and Bildad was wrong to agree with him (Job 25:6). And maybe Paul was being too hard on himself when he said, "What a wretched [or "miserable"] man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Rom 7:24). The only other time that this word “wretched” is used in the New Testament is in Jesus’ description of the proud Laodicean who were actually "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" (Rev 3:17). They could not repent and change until they recognized their true condition before God. Without God, we are all miserable worms without hope... beyond a place where worms don't die.

We do need to have a healthy self-image (a smart, good-looking guy like me recognizes that).  But that self-image needs to be healthy in the sense of accurate, not simply positive or inflated. Paul writes--

Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us,” (Romans 12:3, NLT). 

The beginning of a true and proper self-image is in seeing how desperately we need God.  We need to understand that our worth and our value depends on Him and not upon us. We are not basically good people who get can pretty close to heaven's entry requirements on our own and who only need God's help to get us over the top with the few things we can't do ourselves. We are all wretched and miserable worms who are transformed into the children of God only through His goodness and grace (1 John 3:1-3).

Lessons from a Shredder

Last night, I finally finished the overhaul of our home financial records that I began two weeks ago. To suggest that I’m not the most organized person is an understatement. We have a two-drawer fire file that was jam packed with receipts, canceled checks and paid bills from 2005 to the present that weren't so much "filed" as crammed crammed together waiting for someone to let loose the shredder.  And that's what I did. Along with the receipts and bank records that I needed to keep were all kinds of useless things that were there just because I hadn't taken the time to throw them out...

• Owner’s manuals for appliances we haven't owned in ten years. 
• CD-ROM’s of software that won't run on our computer 
• CD of classical music (I think it came with a copy of TurboTax). 
• A 3-year warranty on a dishwasher we just replaced (after 10 years) 
• Proof-of-Purchase info for things I had forgotten I ever owned 

Not everything I discovered was such junk. I did find (stuck in a old folder of computer documentation) the original 1977 copy of our wedding certificate! That one I kept. But much of the stuff discovered is so worthless that calling "junk" doesn't do it justice! All of those manuals, sales receipts and warranty cards represented purchases of things that at one time were sources of great joy or at least great relief. Buying the new microwave and dishwasher that allowed life as we knew it to continue. When did things that we at one time knew to be optional luxuries suddenly become absolute necessities?

What this exercise in my lack of the spiritual gift of organization reminded me-- we spend a lot of time accumulating things that don't really matter all that much... things that won't matter at all ten years down the road. Jesus words in the Sermon on Mount came back to me as I was sitting there in front of the shredder destroying all the old records that were at one time brand new—

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21) 

God expects us to be good stewards of the material things with which He blesses us.  And there is certainly nothing wrong with buying a new dishwasher or microwave. But we had better make sure that we are storing up much of our material stuff in a format that won't get old or shredded. Brand new shiny things always quickly become rubbish unless we use them to the glory of God. When we use our stuff to bless the lives of others, then we convert our material things into a format that will last forever, and we create a record that the shredder can never touch!

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Get Some Joy

When I was eleven or so, our family went to the state fair in Richmond. I really don't remember much about the trip, except riding a rickety roller-coaster that felt like it would fall over the whole time. And I remember is Dad dragging us to “The History of Coffee” exhibit. Now this would be fascinating to me today, but at the time it was much less interesting than the cotton candy vendor working the next tent down. I griped and complained just long enough (for Dad, that’s about 3 seconds) for him to to point at me and say, “Listen friend, you are going and you are going to like it.” Can you really do that? Can you command an an eleven year old to have a good time at the history of coffee exhibit? Well, I went.

The book of Philippians is the go-to New Testament book on the subject of joy. There are all kinds of refrigerator-magnet type statements to remind of the joy we have in Christ. However, I think there is something about these familiar lines that we can miss if all we do is read them as inspirational statements on joy.

• So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (Phil 2:18) 
• Further, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! (Phil 3:1) 
• Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil 4:4) 

And there are other such statements.  But while Paul does talk about joy in this book, he never really accuses the Philippians of having any! These are all hortatory or command statements— he is commanding them to “get some joy.” In fact, Philippians 4:4 can be translated, “Get some joy in the Lord. I’ll say it again: Get some joy!” So Paul sounds just a bit like Dad telling me, “You will do it and you will like it.” We don’t think of it that way, but Paul commands joy the same way that he commands prayer and thankfulness (see 1 Thess. 5:16-18). OK, we might want to say, "But I'm not by nature one of those a happy, joyful people." Paul seems say, “That's OK…  REPENT and go out get some joy!”

If we find ourselves complaining about everything and being critical of everyone, then it just might be that we're missing something important about the kingdom of God. Rome was a church that was fussing and feuding over the critical issues of Christian faith and practice… like observing holy days and eating certain meats. Which is silly, of course. They should know have known that the really critical issues to argue over have to do with praise teams and whether women can service communion like they do every other church meal! Actually Paul’s point here is somewhat different—

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) 

If we aren't experiencing the joy of the Holy Spirit, then we aren't doing something right. Get some joy!

Sunday Nights and Disposable Time

Our Sunday night “Body Life” small groups are on hiatus for the summer, and we're trying something a little bit different. We're not going to meet together at the building in a reprise of the traditional Sunday night service. One former member used to call this “The J.V. Service,” a basic repeat of the Sunday morning format using “Junior Varsity” songleaders, scripture readers and prayer leaders. What we're going to do this summer is much more radical (radical for us) than it sounds:

• Sunday Night Live: The second Sunday night of each month will be a big blowout worship service at the building. Our praise team will lead us in worship (including learning one new song a week) and I'll lead a discussion-based Bible study (Francis Chan is team-teaching with me this week… though he doesn't know it). We'll have child-care, a potluck and we're appealing to everyone (not just the usual Sunday night crowd) to join us for these three special services during the summer.
• Sunday Night Group: Our building group will continue during the summer as well. We have people who always come on Sunday nights, and we don't want to discourage them. And we have some who only come on Sunday nights, and we certainly don't want to discourage them. But everyone else, do do kinda want to discourage coming... because we want to emphasize part three.
• Sunday Night Service: We are asking those who don’t come to the building to use Sunday night as a time for fellowship and service. Invite people over to your house for Sunday night dinner… using Jesus’ guidelines about who to invite (Luke 14:12-14). Visit people who Jesus says needs someone to visit them (Matt 25:35-36). Take on a project as a family (or group of families) to serve someone who needs a little light in their lives (Matt 5:14-16). 

One of our former elders used to say that most people have only a limited supply of "disposable time."  The more you ask people to spend time unproductively or less productively, the less time they will have to spend on things that really matter.  We hope this will be a better use of our disposable time.

Something has been bothering me (well, enough to bother me, but evidently not enough for me to do something about it). We have a great group of young adults and young families who are part of our church, but when I look around on our traditional Sunday night and Wednesday night gatherings, they aren't here.  What I see is people who look a lot like me-- older (not old) people. People who attend these services are folks who have always attended every service "every time the doors are open."  But our younger people aren't there. Why?  Is it because they just aren't as committed to God? No.  It’s because they don’t gauge their commitment to God solely and primarily on the basis of attending a church service three times a week.  They don't have the disposable time for something they really don't connect to serving God in the first place.

I read recently that about 15% of our “Millennials” (young people born between 1980 and 2000) are “Christian” in any real sense of that word. About 70% of Millennials believe that churches—all churches—are completely irrelevant to modern day life. And the Millennial who has parents who are only nominal Christians (or church goers) will likely completely divorce themselves from Christian faith rather than adopt their parents’ lukewarm faith. Changing around our services is not going to make much of a difference. But we do need to face the fact that equating “Christian faith” with “going to church three times a week” isn't really working for us. And to continue to do the same thing while expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

Make the World Go Away

Talk about someone who quits preaching and goes to meddling! Pastor David Barton told the morning gathering at Whitesburg Baptist Church that they would all have to quit drinking Starbucks coffee and find something else to spend their $5 bucks on. Why? Starbucks “come out” (pun not intended, but I decided to leave it in) in support of gay marriage. Actually, Starbucks was one of 70 companies in 2011 that filed a brief in federal court opposing the Defense of Marriage Act restricting the definition of marriage to that between a man and woman. If I was really serious about this blogging gig, then I spend some time tracking down the rest of those companies, but I trust that you can use Google as well as I.

Should we boycott companies that support things that we oppose? I remember the time when preachers urged us not to buy groceries at any grocery store that sold beer and wine. You don't hear that much anymore… we'd all starve!  I also remember the discussions back when Bush Gardens first opened in Williamsburg,  Can Christians work for a beer company? Can we buy tickets that will profit a beer company? Believers have to wrestle with questions like these as long as we live in the world and yet seek not to be of the world. Are these simple questions? Pastor Barton thinks so— 

Biblically there is no way a Christian can help support what is attacking God. I am sorry. You have got to find something else to drink. You can't drink Starbucks and be biblically right on this thing. It is just a real simple principle.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I took a sip of Starbucks after I typed that last line.  But it's OK-- I brewed it myself and didn't actually set foot in a Starbucks.  At least, I hope that's OK!

Seriously, are some good reasons to "boycott" Starbucks… like paying $5 for a cup of coffee!But saying that we can never do business with a company because they support things that we don’t think they should support will  limit where we can do business… and how we can influence our world.  Paul tells us that to “boycott” those in the world who are immoral would mean that we would have to "leave the world" (1 Cor 5:9-10). He asks, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?” (5:12). Too many of us want the world to behave and be more moral so that it will be easier for us to be Christian. So let’s make it illegal to be sexually immoral. Let’s boycott and drive immoral companies out of business! Let’s make sure there aren't any immoral shows on TV. Sounds like we're singing the old Eddie Arnold tune, "Make the world go away."  Well, it won't.  The world isn't going to behave... we have to! 

Jesus was constantly condemned by the Pharisees because he spent too much time getting much too friendly with tax collectors and sinners. If Jesus was here today, He just might be hanging out at Starbucks buying them all a cup of coffee.

On Speaking Salty Words

Last month, 75-year-old Marion Shurtleff walked into a newly opened used bookstore and bought a very old and used Bible. It was a different version from the one she usually reads, and she thought it would be nice to be able to compare how the wording has changed. She found much more in that Bible than she expected. Inside her brand new old Bible was a folded up sheet of yellowed paper. When she unfolded it, the first thing she noticed was her own name. The paper was an essay on “Be Kind to Animals” that she had written as a young girl to earn a Girl Scout merit badge. The essay had been written more than 60 years before and 2000 miles away in her hometown of Covington, KY. She has no idea how it got there, but she is now busy playing Colombo trying to retrace the travels of her long forgotten essay.

This unusual story of coincidence reminds us of the fact that we don’t live isolated lives. We impact others. The things that we say and actions that we take today can have an influence on the people around us., and that influence can last far beyond today. Like Marion Shurtleff, we may find those words and acts impacted us in the future. Paul says,

5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6) 

The problem is we never know which of our words will be the ones to have a lasting impact on someone. Hey, if you knew which one of your essays would turn up 60 years down the road, then you could give special attention to make sure that was a good one. And if you knew which one of your words or actions will be the one that will have a lasting impact on the people around you, then you could give special care to make sure that the word or action really counted.

That's the problem.  We don't know which words or which action will be the one that someone will remember and be impact by. These words may be the careful, prayerful invitation you make to a neighbor to visit church with you; they also might be the kind words you speak on the fly to a cashier who was just  treated rudely by the customer in front of you. Your words that last just might be the Sunday School lesson that you teach after hours of preparation; but they also might be something you say off the cuff that encourages someone in the middle of a particularly bad day. We don't know which of our essays will turn up down the road… so make them all count. Make the most of each and every opportunity to speak words that are seasoned with salt.

From Out of the Whirlwind

What was the first thing that you thought of when you heard a massive tornado had struck Moore, OK, leaving dozens dead, including 9 school children? Likely it wasn't, “I should quote where Job’s kids are killed in a tornado. That is exactly what John Piper tweeted-

“Your sons and daughters were eating and a great wind struck the house, and it fell upon them, and they are dead.” (Job 1:19) 

Many saw that as a wee bit insensitive, although I'm not sure but that Piper was just looking for some Bible words that fit the situation.  At any rate, he quickly took down the tweet. The reason that many saw the tweet in a negative light is that Piper has something of a history when responding to similar tragedies. When a tornado hit his hometown of Minneapolis, he attributed it the Evangelical Lutheran Church  convention softening its stance on homosexuality. He’s made similar statements on things like the Asian tsunami (2004) and the Minneapolis bridge collapse (2007).  Read this post by Rachel Held Evans for longer look at some of Piper's past statements on tragic events.

John Piper is perhaps the best known leader in a modern revival of  Calvinism, the doctrine that says that everything that happens is predetermined by an all-sovereign God who gives life and salvation at His whim with no regard for human faith nor repentance. God predestined some people for hell, and He gives them no choice and no room to repent. Jesus didn't even die for them; He only died for the elect-- who themselves have no freedom to reject God’s saving grace. We choose nothing; everything that happens in the world does so because it has been determined by God. So if God wants to kill some kids in Oklahoma for no reason, well then that’s up to Him.  When you are a Calvinist, there can be no explanation for anything that happens in the word other than God did it.

God does indeed speak out of a whirlwind in the book of Job, but it was not the storm that killed Job's children. That tornado was generated by Satan to hurt Job and prove that his faith would buckle under pressure. Sure, God allowed Satan to have free reign, but God most certainly did not plan the tornado. The whirlwind from which God speaks in the Book of Job is at the end where God does come to job, but not with the explanation Job wanted.  God essentially says,

“Job, there is so much that you can’t understand; it should not surprise you that you can’t understand your suffering. Just trust me here.” 

And Job does. And so must we. In times of tragedy and heartache and loss, there are no easy explanations.  All there is faith.

I believe that Piper’s explanation fails precisely because it is an explanation. Sure, I believe it’s an explanation based on false theological presupposition that is wrongly forced on life to explain a tragedy. But it ultimately fails because it tries to explain in human terms the “why” when that is the one thing that human understanding can't handle. Job wanted to understand why. And God spoke from the whirlwind to say, “You can't understand, but you can always trust.” And that’s what we need to do.

What I Have I Give You

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6, Tuesday's Daily Bible Reading)  

What would have happened if Peter and John would have been on their way to the bank rather than to the Temple when they met the lame man? If they had silver and gold in their pockets, would they have just given the man a denarius and gone on? Probably not! Peter and John were called to shared what they had— and that was Christ. No, they didn't go out that day to specifically look for a chance to preach. But they were willing to share what they had. They began with the physical (health) and then they shared the story of Christ.

Are we willing to share what we have so that the story can be told?  God has blessed us with so much— both His physical blessing and saving grace.  Some were blessed to grow up in Christian families, being taught from the cradle about God.  Others came to know about Him because someone was ready and willing to share what they had been given of God's mercy.  We know the word of life because God placed someone in our lives who knew Him and who were willing to share what they had. Are we? 

Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy told of an aunt who didn't seem to have the time to answer his questions about Auntie, why did they torture Him?" she said, "Because they were wicked." Tolstoy inquired further, "But wasn't He God?" and he asked her to explain more about the crucifixion    But instead of explaining the story,  she said, "Be quiet; I'm going to the dining room to have tea." This left young Tolstoy greatly frustrated. Calvin Miller would comment on this scene—

Tolstoy found it incomprehensible that Christ had been brutalized and his aunt was not interested enough to stay a little past teatime and talk about it. 

We say that the story of the cross is at the center of our faith.  Do we act that way?  Are we willing to share with others what have?

All the Difference in the World

Someone has suggested that Easter in our materialistic world is something of a “cosmic Freudian slip.” In a world totally dedicated to the stuff of the here-and-now, the hereafter somehow sneaks in and makes itself known at Easter time. Because this traditional holiday is traditionally connected to the story of the resurrection, people will pause amid the bunnies, baskets and bonnets to ponder the story... and for a moment, the possibility of eternity sneaks in. And that is a good thing.

Or is it?  Why is it that singing “Joy to the World” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” somehow seems out of place at any other time of the year except Christmas? It's because we have so connected the story of the birth of Jesus to the holiday of Christmas that the holiday is the only time that we think much about it? I wonder if we do the same thing with Easter? Is the resurrection such a traditional Easter message that we think about it only during the Easter season? I did a very quick look back through some of my old sermons (spending too much time doing that is depressing). From what I could tell, about half of the sermons I have preached on the topic of the resurrection have been around Easter time. That sort of makes sense— I know I'm preaching an Easter-theme sermon, so I save the resurrection-texts for that time of year. So has resurrection become a seasonal message?  I hope not.

In the New Testament, the power of the resurrection is a daily spiritual force in the life of the Christian. The resurrection isn't just a historical fact for us to believe; it is the in-breaking of God into our lives. Paul talks about the new life we have through the resurrection (Rom 6:4). We're raised to live above sin in this resurrection power (1 Cor 6:14-15) that is at work within us (Eph 1:18-20). It was that resurrection power that Paul wanted through knowing Christ (Phil 3:9-10). The power of the resurrection is not just a comforting message for us as we contemplate death in the future; it is the power of God in us for in LIFE in our present.

This story that we read yesterday and today as we closed our reading John's gospel is not just God reminding us that He can raise the dead. He is also reminding us that He has power over the train wreck of our lives to raise us to live this life anew. That’s why the story of the resurrection is of first importance (1 Cor 15:3-4). It makes all the difference in the world.