Who Will Survive?

A recent CNN article explores the question, “Why do some survive disasters while others do not?”  There have been stories in the news recently of people who faced catastrophe while climbing mountains, hiking in the wilderness, sailing, swimming, flying, etc.  Some are found alive after the crisis while othersare not.  Why the different outcome?  Sure the answer can be found in some combination of luck, circumstance, and answered prayer.  But the article points to the fact that those who would appear to be the best suited for survival, what the article calls “the Rambo types,” were often the first to die in these life-or-death struggles while children were the most likely to survive.  

Why is that?  According to the experts, the Rambo-type often trust themselves (their strengthor expereince) and get into trouble making foolish choices and taking foolish risks trying to save themselves.  Small children often will survive the crisis because they're humble.  They rest when they get tired and sleep in the heat of the day; they know they are too weak to try something heroic on their own.  Humility in the wilderness can keep you from trusting in yourself and waiting for others to do the rescuing.

Humility is pretty important in the wilderness of life too.  Jesus tells us, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Luke 18:17). A prideful insistence on doing things our own way and going in our own direction will just serve to get us more and more lost.  Pride leads us to say, “I can live my life without God.”  Pride can also say, “I already understand what God expects.”   Humility keeps looking to God in the helplessness of a child and reaching out to be blessed by him.  For such is the kingdom of God.

Strange That's It's Strange

I'm not sure what you think of the nomination of Sarah Palin as GOP VP candidate; I'm not completely sure what I think.  If the first characteristic of a good VP candidate is that they be experienced and presidential because of that "one heartbeat away" thing, then I'm not sure she was the best choice.  My initial reaction to her nomination was “Is this Dan Quayle all over again?”  But then that "experienced and presidential" thing would seem to disqualify one of the presidential nominees as well.  And Palin is the only one of the four who has executive branch experience, so there is that.  

What is beginning to irritate me us how some are beginning to question Palin because of her conservative Christian religious beliefs.  Palin has been a member of the Pentecostal church, although for the last six years she and her family have been members of an independent Bible church.  One writer seems concerned that Palin “shows a strong faith in the Bible and in prayer.” He is critical of statements she made at old her church, reminiscing about "getting saved here, getting baptized." And she had the audacity to ask the church to pray that a new proposed natural gas pipeline program ($30 billion bucks worth) was God’s will.  

The fact that people see a government leader asking for prayers before spending $30 billion as a BAD THING is hard to believe.  Are we really at the point in our country that a public official talking about getting saved and getting baptized is seen as proof that they are weird?  Both presidential candidates have gone to great lengths in interviews emphasize their religious beliefs in order to appeal to certain segments of voters.  The fact that Palin seems to taken her religious views seriously seems strange to some.  That it seems strange to them seems strange to me.

Who Goes in Your Wax Museum

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)

Years ago I had lunch with a Mennonite businessman who had a dream. He wanted to build a wax museum honoring Christian leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin. He especially wanted to honor Menno Simons, the founder of the Mennonites. He even was willing to throw me a bone, "We’ll even have your guy (Alexander Campbell) in there too." I told him that I didn’t really think people would pay money see wax figures of old Christian leaders

What I could have said was that Menno Simons have most certainly NOT have liked that idea at all. Simons was former priest and Reformation leader who was very influential in the Anabaptist movement. Simons had a profound influence on many later reformers, including "our guy" Campbell. Simons wanted no honor for himself, including having his name on the title page of his books. Instead they were imprinted with "no other foundation can any man lay."

We owe a great debt to those who taught us of Christ. We all stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. I owe a tremendous spiritual debt to my parents (my primary spiritual influences), my grandmother (for all the Bible stories she read me), Bruce Jackson (my preacher while growing up), Rubel Shelly (my professor in college). And there have been many others.

It is proper for me to respect and to honor them... and to be thankful for their influence in my life. But my only allegiance is to Christ. Respect and honor for our teachers can come to compete with that for Christ Himself. Respecting our teachers can lead us to put them on pedestal... or in a wax museum. We can name our churches after them, dogmatize their doctrines and refuse to go beyond their conclusions and practices.

Maybe ol’ Menno Simons was onto something when he imprinted his books, not with his own name, but rather deflected all attention back to Christ. We indeed stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. But we do our spiritual forebears a great disservice if we point to them rather than to Christ.

On Duty and Beyond

I went through the some of the typical teen rebellion stuff when I went off to college. OK, maybe it wasn't typical college rebellion; after all, I went to Freed-Hardeman. My rebellion was that I decided that I wasn't going to go to church on Sunday Wednesday night. I went to chapel every day and that was enough! After all, how much religious suffering was a person required to endure in a week? I would go on Sunday morning because that was required (because of communion), but the other stuff was optional and I was going to opt out. Besides, Charlie's Angels came on during one of those times.

Well, my rebel-without-a-cause phase lasted about two weeks. I had been raised to go to church and I felt horribly guilty not going. I mentioned in a previous post that my Grandmother had a this quaint way of referring to someone who wasn't going to church; she called them "out of duty." She referred to a relative and said, "They are out of duty." I said, "Ohhh..." I had to find out later what that meant. The way she said it sound like they had some dreadful disease. But that is how I felt after my two-week rebellion against going to church, so I went back. Out of duty.

I'm glad I wised up and went to church. I'm also glad that at some point I came to see that worship is about much more than duty. In that previous post I mentioned, I wrote this--

Worship isn't about performing proscribed acts in precise ways; it is about coming into the presence of God in the presence of other worshippers. Church isn't about running the doctrine up the flag pole to salute it and feel holy in the process; it is about falling at the feet of the Crucified One who makes us holy. Church isn't fulfilling a spiritual obligation; it is a precious gift that God gives us to prepare us for our true spiritual duty-- living our lives to His glory. In worship, we come before God to be uplifted, challenged, loved and rebuked... all at the same time. In worship, we draw near to God as God draws near to us. In worship, the real world of the Spirit breaks into our world and draws into the presence of the Almighty.

Is worship a duty? No, not in the sense of membership requirement or grudging obligation. Worship is what happens when people see God. In scripture, when people realize in some way that they are in the presence of the divine, they worship. Moses taking off his sandals. Peter falling down in a boat load of fish. John falling at the feet of the angel who in turn told him to "Worship God!" Worship is a gift that God gives us; ultimately, it is the gift of Himself. The psalms in our reading for today begin with a call to worship--

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,the great King above all gods. (Psalm 95)

1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. (Psalm 96)

What is it that church is for us? Do we sing for joy to the Lord and shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation? Will we declare His glory among the nations? Or do we just show up to do our duty?

Around the World in 180 Days

Tuesday, September 2, a day that will live in infamy. OK, maybe that is a little over dramatic for the first day of school. But when you are married to a school teacher, the difference between the last day of summer break and the first day of school is the difference between the alarm clock going off at 4:45 and not going off at all. This morning, Lynn turned off the alarm clock and gave a little sigh... or was it a groan. At least I didn't have to pull her out of bed kicking and screaming like I used to do with the girls. She did point out yesterday that there are only 180 school days left before summer break next year!

This is the day that the Lord has made... even when it is the first day of school. May God bless this year of possibilities and opportunities for all our students and teachers. I know that sanctioned prayer is no longer allowed in public school; I also know that many of our teachers and students would not want to face school without it. Quoting from a back to school prayer guide for a private Methodist School--

Loving God, sometimes a new school year seems exciting or scary or both. Sometimes school is great, and sometimes it is hard. But we know that whether we are excited or scared, you are with us. We know that whether school is great or hard, you are with us. We thank you for always being with us. Help us to remember to show our thanks for your gift of learning by
doing our best every day.

When Your Bridges Collapse

The I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed during the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, falling into the river and onto its banks, killing 13 people and injuring about 100 more. No smoking gun has ever found that identifies the precise cause of the collapse, though a design flaw was uncovered that may have contributed to it.

Yesterday, Mike Cope gave links on his blog to two articles that were written shortly after the tragedy by well-known Minneapolis preachers. One of them (John Piper) is writing from a Calvinistic perspective; the other (Greg Boyd) writes from a non-Calvinist position (and directly addresses Piper's position).

The two articles are helpful in struggling with tragedy and our broken world. Like Cope, I "continue to be puzzled with how one squares Calvinism with the apparent open-endedness of the world." I like the way that Boyd ends his article--

I suggest it’s far more biblical, and far more rational, to simply say that in a fallen, oppressed world, bridges sometimes collapse — and leave it at that. Rather than trying to see the vindictive hand of God behind catastrophes, it’s wiser to simply acknowledge that the world is an oppressed place where things sometimes go tragically wrong and focus all of our mental and physical energy turning from our self-centered ways to carry out God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Through the Eyes of Worship

John Bunyan's famous allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, tells of the journey of a disciple named Christian to a place called Celestial City. In the course of the pilgrimage, Christian stops at Interpreter's house. He was not allowed to continue his journey until he visited a dark room where a man sat in an iron cage. Christian said to him, "What art thou?" The man answered, "I am what I was not once... I am now a man of despair and I am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out." The man had once been a disciple himself bound for Celestial City just like Christian. But now he was hopelessly engulfed in the imprisonment of despair and doubt and a shaken faith.

The despair of the caged man trapped by his own shaken faith has been shared by many people. H. G. Wells, once described God as "an ever absent help in time of trouble." Have you ever felt that way? Asaph in Psalm 73 (my OT reading for today) seems to have felt precisely that way. What Asaph sees in the world does not correspond with what his faith proclaimed. Faith said that God was good to Israel and to those who are pure in heart. But what Asaph saw around him was the prosperity of the wicked. He sums up the plight of the wicked in verse 12, “This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth.” As he is struggling with this view of the world, he gets another perspective. As he enters the sanctuary of God, everything comes into clear focus (Psalm 73:16-17).

16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;then I understood their final destiny.

As long as Asaph remained isolated from the people of God, from the community of faith, then he struggled with his doubt. But when he goes back to the sanctuary, when he reenters the community of believers, then his faith is renewed and refreshed. It is when he finds himself amid God's people that he begins to see God clearly once again. His faith in God is restored as his participation in worship with the community is restored.

Within the house of God that Asaph gets a whole new perspective of the wicked. He begins to see their prosperity as a house of cards, vulnerable to every wind of chance and fate (73:18-20). This new assessment led to the strong conviction that God does not forsake His own! God is present in the valley of darkness, even in the valley of the shadow of death. He offers comfort in times of distress, counsel in times of perplexity, and strength in times of weakness. So the psalm that began as a bitter cry of disillusionment and lost faith ends with one of the strongest statements of faith and confidence that we find in scripture (Psalm 73:25-28)

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

That sounds like a different man than the one at the beginning of the psalm. In some ways he is different. He is know looking through the eyes of worship.

One of the purposes of worship is to reorient our view of the world around us. It is easy for us to see a world of injustice and randomness. Our word can look for all the world like a place that is out of control. But we get a different perspective when we enter the sanctuary of God and bow before the one on the throne. Worship reminds us of who is sovereign; worship reminds us of who reigns. We need to see that daily, and each week we need a time where we can see that together. The world is a different place when it is viewed through the eyes of worship from the sanctuary of God.

A Child Shall Lead Them

Two weeks ago, Bob made a plea on behalf of Camp Idlewild. Somehow, Bob and I were talked into joining the board of directors for the camp (how did that happen?). One of benefits of this august position is inside knowledge of the financial condition of the camp. Put it this way-- if we were talking medical condition, someone would be reaching for the paddles and epinephrine! Somehow the camp spend several thousand more than it took in this year... and there are unpaid bills that are expecting our immediate attention. We had just had a board meeting the day before, and this was on Bob's mind-- so he shared it with the church. Several people tok the need to heart and made contributions to the camp that day.

Last Sunday, Chris Moore told me that his daughter Ashlyn had been so moved by the camp's need that she had wanted to give her savings to camp (her brother C.J. wanted to do the same thing). Ashlyn and C.J. went to camp for the first time this summer (Ashlyn during the half-week and C.J. with us during Middle School week). They loved it and wanted camp to be there next year-- and they were willing to put their treasure where their heart was (didn't Jesus say something about that?) So during the announcements, Ashlyn, C.J and their mother Kristin came forward and presented me with a check. And Ashlyn wanted to say a few words, so I gave her the mic. Little Ashlyn made this impashioned plea for people to "help the camp so that the camp can help the children." Oh, my! It was cute and convincing. Then after church, Ashlyn planted herself with a bucket by the door with a sign saying, "Help Camp Idlewild." She did the same thing yesterday. Over the last two weeks, Ashlyn helped raise over $2500 for the camp! WOW!

Ashlyn is too young to know (or care) that "we have never done it that way before," allowing children to raise funds in church for a good cause in church. No, she was convicted there was a need, and she had a voice. God can do powerful things through us when we combine our conviction with our voice.

The Cattle on a Thousand Hills

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:9-10)

Israel had this recurring, basic flaw in their worship in the Old Testament. It may be the same basic flaw we have in our worship today. Sometimes they worshiped the wrong gods (a flaw our culture shares), but that isn't the flaw I'm talking about. The flaw was that They misunderstood WHY it was they were to worship God. They thought that worship somehow gave God something that God needed, and thus they were doing God something of a service in worship. (Is this why we call our worship time "the service?") In the Babylonian flood myth The Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods rush to devour the sacrifices offered after the great flood because they were starving. Without humans around to offer sacrifices, the gods had nothing to eat! Evidently, there was some of that thinking going on in Israel.

In Psalm 50, the psalmist Asaph dramatically makes the point that worship does not give God anything. We don’t supply something that is lacking in God when we give acceptable worship. Asaph drives home that point in three ways--

• Everything Israel could give already belonged to God (9-11)
• If God were truly hungry, He would not tell them (12)
• God didn't need their sacrifices or anything else (13)

Israel was like the child who gets Daddy something for Christmas. Whatever the child gives already belongs to the father. If Daddy really needed anything, he would just get it himself; he would not tell the child. But it is important for the child to give Daddy the gift because that teaches the child something important about giving. So the child benefits from giving and the Father takes pleasure in the gift. That is the point of Israel's worship and of our worship today. God demands Israel to continue to give their gifts (50:14-15).

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Like the child who gives Daddy a tie on Christmas morning, the gift of worship shows our love for our Father and deepens the relationship we enjoy with Him. God does not benefit from our worship; we do. And ultimately the gift we receive is the gift of God himself. The Psalm concludes in verse 23--

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.

Our sacrifice of worship gives God nothing, but it gives us something crucial. Our gift of worship allows us to better know God, and He takes pleasure in our feeble offering. And that opens the way for us to better see the salvation of God.

Resting Our Weight

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2).

I read somewhere about a scholar who was translating the Bible into the language of a South Seas island tribe. He ran into a brick wall when he discovered that this language had no word for “trust” or “faith.” Translating the Bible is always difficult, but what do you do when there is no word for faith? One day one of the natives came running into his house, plopped himself in a chair and said, “It's good to rest my weight.” A light bulb went on; that was the word! He translated the Bible word “faith” in God as “resting you weight” on God.” Faith rests itself in God, it changes our way of looking at life.

We will never have peace with God through our own ability to either figure out all the rules or keep all the rules. If we really believe that to please God we must be able to sift through all the Bible as if it were a codebook, figure out all the of its hidden messages and rules, and then keep all of those rules perfectly-- well, that is a recipe for constant conflict. Despite our best intentions, such an approach is destined to bring conflict within ourselves and with others. Such an approach rests our weight on ourselves-- on our intelligence and ability. We simply can't bear up under that kind of weight.

Peace with God comes when we rest our weight on God-- on his wisdom and on his accomplishments. That is the message of the cross. We are saved through what Jesus did for us there... and ONLY because of what Jesus did for us there. The cross is the only structure in the universe that is sturdy enough to hold us under the weight of our sin. That is why Paul refused to boast in any of his many accomplishments. They all paled before the glory of the cross.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

Ahoy, Ye Crews!

Our 2008 Vacation Bible School is in the books. For the last several years, it has felt that VBS has been our final act of summer, at least as a church. Once we get through VBS, then the summer with all of its busyness (and people gone on vacations) is bascially over. This year we had Upwards soccer and cheer camp in June, Idlewild Christian Camp (33 of us participated in that) in July, our Mexico mission trip and then finally VBS in August. Whew! The old boring routine looks pretty good right now!

We had about 85 kids ages 2 through 5th grade, most of them not from our church, attend our VBS. The theme this year was from the Veggie Tale movie "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." The theme verse was Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength" (NCV). In Veggie Tale speak, the message is that God can make all of us heroes through the strength of Jesus." The theme song, which we song over and over, was "Calling All Heroes."

We had a great group of adults leading the various activities, some serving for the very first time. Nathan Tanner did an outstanding job as "The Commodore" keeping the kids pumped up. The hard part was getting him to come out of character! Each year I am amazed at how my quiet little wife transforms into such an animated actress when she is teaching Bible lesson. The crafts, snacks and a science lab with experiments all reinforced the Bible lesson.

To tell you the truth, I really wasn't expecting too much from VBS this year; it didn't seem like we were stressing it as much as in the past (but we had so much else going on). Oh, me of little faith! It was great to see all the kids and all the enthusiasm. Some of these kids started with us as preschoolers and now are ready to "graduate" (to Middle School) and were talking about coming back next year as helpers. What even more surprising... Josh and Sylvia were talking Friday night about what we would do next year!

Being a Church of Christ

I recently got a note from some former members who were asking my input in their search for a church home in their new city. I spend some time looking at a church website and reading the preacher's blog so that I could get a feel for the church and give a reasonably intelligent answer to their questions... at least as intelligent as I get. One of the preacher's blog entries got me thinking.

He said that when he is around peers from different Christian fellowships and is asked what is his church background, he usually tells them "I'm Church of Christ." OK, that is grammatically awkward, but we don't have an "ist" that fits (like Baptist or Methodist). And that is really the point, isn't it? He went on to suggest that he is always a little hesitant when he says "Church of Christ." I run into people who connect "Church of Christ" with a smug, arrogant and prideful "We're the only ones who are right" attitude. In fact, I ran into the manager of a store in the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills California (long story) who heard "Church of Christ" and responded, "That's the church that thinks its the only one going to heaven!" Unfortunately, that is the baggage that "Church of Christ" carries. Some congregations have stopped using "Church of Christ" in their name just because of that negative baggage.

But that isn't the point the brother made in his blog. The hesitancy he feels in using the name "Church of Christ" is the "of Christ" part. What enormous pressure it is to wear the name of Christ in your church name. What great responsibility to model the life of Christ, the teachings of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ in your church. Quoting from his blog--

The name Church of Christ should always cause us to ask: "Are we of Christ?" "Are we Christ-like people?" "How well do we live up to a name that describes a people belonging to him?" If we claim to be the Church of Christ, we must recognize that we'll have to conform our American way of life to His death and resurrection way of life, not the other way around...To be a church that is worthy of the name Church of Christ will require relinquishing power and becoming vulnerable in order to serve others who are different from us. May the Lord give us the grace we need to more fully become a Church of Christ.

I think that is pretty much on target.

The Lips of Flattery

1 Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
2 Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue
4 that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips—who is our master?” (Psalm 12:1-4)

David is so upset here by the wickedness he sees around him that despairs that righteous people were disappearing from the earth. Maybe you have felt that way as you've read newspaper reports of the latest examples of man's inhumanity to man. But what has David so upset here are neighbors who lie to one another "with flattering lips and insincere hearts." Of all the sins evidenced in the world around him, it was insincere flattery that upsets David! He is so moved by what he see that he cries out to God, "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue..." (12:3). And God responds that He will do just that (Psalm 12:5).

Is flattery really such a bad thing? In the way in which we generally use the word, flattery isn't a bad at all. It certainly isn't bad for a husband to tell his wife that she looks nice or for a parent to praise his or her child for getting an "A" on the big spelling test. David isn't discouraging co-workers from commending one another on a job well done or one church member from recognizing the faithful ministry of another. Hey, it is even OK to tell the preacher that he did a good job on a sermon.

This flattery isn't really flattery, at least not in the sense in which David uses the word in Psalm 12. He is speaking of the untruthful and insincere compliments that some dole out in an attempt to deceive or manipulate another person to achieve their own end. If complimentary words are used to put someone off guard or to mislead them into thinking one thing when the person giving the compliment really thinks something else entirely-- that is the flattery David is striking against here.

Here is a rule of thumb that you can use to make sure that your compliments are not really flattery. If your compliment was given or your kind words were spoken for the benefit of the person receiving them, then that is not the kind of flattery that David warns us against. However, if your compliment or kind words were said because of a benefit that you receive or an ulterior motive that you have, then you are on dangerous ground. It is good and holy to uplift the heart of another with kind words. But God will cut off the lips of the flatterer!

Cookies and Kool-Aid

I am writing this on the computer in the auditorium after sneaking away for a few minutes during a break in our first night of VBS. I remember going to VBS as a kid; it was the only time we got cookies and Kool-Aid at church. They told us that we were to be a "Booster" (not grouchy like a rooster) and invite all our friends to VBS so that we would all get cookies and Kool-Aid. Cookies and Kool-Aid at VBS was a pretty big deal.

Now VBS is a multimedia Bible adventure with a science lab, craft station, and outside game activities that all support a Bible lesson that is presented on a special set by Bible teachers in full costume. The refreshments are built into the Bible lesson to reinforce the story (tonight they had pop-rocks in a orange soda with mint that foamed up to remind them of the burning bush story). Actually, the burning bush was a great first lesson because the whole church building smelled like burning Styrofoam from last minute additions to the set. Yep, this is a long way from cookies and Kool-Aid and flannel-graph lessons.

But then, it's the same old story. God spoke from the burning bush; God speaks to us today through his word. The packaging is different; the refreshments are different. The truth is the same. So is the excitement on faces of the kids.

Everything Is Broken

It is good to be back home after our sojourn in the far country. We had a great visit with my parents. I didn't get to play golf with my Dad this trip; there's nothing like 105 degree heat to get one out of the golfing mood! But we had a great visit.

Not long before I left, Julia Denton mentioned a Bob Dylan song to me and how well the lyrics fir in with my sermon series on the 7 Churches of Asia. I've never been much of a Dylan fan; I get too tired listening so hard because I'm to understand the slurred lyrics. As it turns out, the song she sent me does fit well, and I will probably use it in my sermon on Sardis. As it also turns out, I bumped into to Dylan's lyrics Wednesday night. The church Sonya and Bob attend in Nashville is having a summer series that they call "A Musical Conversation." They have been having local music talent (and there is a little of that in Nashville) come in a perform and discussing faith issues as raised by the music. We were there for Buddy Greene, who did a great job singing a little and talking about the gospel and the stories behind some of the songs.

As it turns out, the first son that he did was an old Bob Dylan song called "Everything is Broken." I don't think I'd ever heard the song before, but then I'm not a Dylan fan. But the song really does capture the essence of our world, doesn't it--

Broken lines broken strings; broken threads broken springs
Broken idols broken heads; people sleeping in broken beds
Ain't no use jiving; ain't no use jokin'-- everything is broken.

Broken bottles broken plates; broken switches broken gates
Broken dishes broken parts; streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken-- everything is broken.

Seem like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground
Broken cutters broken saws; broken buckles broken laws
Broken bodies broken bones; broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath feel like you're chokin'-- everything is broken.

Everytime you leave and go off someplace things fall to pieces in my face
Broken hands on broken ploughs; broken treaties broken vows
Broken pipes broken tools; people bending broken rules
Hound dog howling bullfrog croaking-- everything is broken.

The reason that we need Jesus is that everything really is broken. A correct understanding of the gospel has to begin with a correct understanding of the fall. What happened in Eden was not that Adam and Eve just broke God's rules-- they broken God's heart. The result of sin was that the entire world shifted on its axis and everything became broken. The entire creation groans under the weight of that brokenness and looks with expectation to the time when everything will be un-broken (see Romans 8:18-25). The problems we see in the world today are the result of our brokenness-- everything is broken. The only thing that can put our Humpty-Dumpty world back together is the power of the cross. And one day it will. Until then, everything is broken.

Vacation Time

Well, I spent my first day of my visit with my parents the same way that I spent our last visit with them... installing a microwave often. This time, it was uinstalled in their kitchen rather than in mine. The good news was that it was the exact same model that Dad and I had installed at my house during their last visit, and we managed not to make the same mistakes this time. The bad news is that we managed to make some brand new ones. But we finally got'er done; supper is warning up even as I peck this out on my phone.

Family Reunion

As it turns out, our hastily thrown together trip to Arkansas could not have come at a better time. We didn't know for sure that we were coming until Sunday; with Roger and so many more gone on the Mexico trip this week, getting someone to preach for me Sunday was problematic (thanks to Jeff Denton for taking on that task). As it turns out, we were able to be in Little Rock at the same time that my niece Martha and her family were coming through town. We had not seen Martha and Keith and their children in four years... which means we had never seen her two youngest. It was good to meet them for the first time. And we also got to see more of Lezley (another niece) than we have ever seen before-- she is expecting her first child this fall. Sonya (my sister) and Darcy (her seven year old) drove in with us from Nashville, so we were practically all together for a big (Mom must have cooked for 3 days) family reunion meal tonight with only three of our extended family (my girls and Bob) missing. Angelynn will be here tomorrow for her fourth year at Harding; we'll go ahead and count her as here-- she's usually a little late anyway!

Summer Slump

We are in the midst of our summer slump. Traditionally during this time of the year, we have a big dip in our attendance and contribution figures. So many of our Denbigh people aren't from around here, when the summer comes, they end up taking trips to wherever it is that they have come. (It is NOT that we are too busy at the beach and lake to come to church; our folks are much too spiritual for such things!). While our numbers are off, that is not the slump I'm talking about.

My "summer slump" has to do with the fatigue that comes from all the stuff we have going on in the summer combined with the people that are gone. We have had all kinds of extra activities going on in the summer-- Upwards Soccer/Cheer Camp, our week at Idlewild Christian Camp, Mexico Mission Trip, and Vacation Bible School. We have these labor intensive activities at the precise time when we have so many people gone for summer. It would be better if we could schedule summer activities at some time other than the summer! Lynn and I have had about 10 days this summer that weren't prgrammed for some scheduled activity! No next year, I think will have summer during another time of the year.

To protest against the busy summer schedule... we're leaving Wednesday for a unscheduled quick trip to Arkansas to see my folks. Can't let those 10 unscheduled days go to waste!

For Such a Time As This

The book of Esther (my OT reading for today) tells the story of the deliverance of the Jewish people from the plot of the wicked Haman during the reign of Xerxes, king of Persia. The book reads like a series of fortunate coincidences that saw the Jewish people saved from the hand of a megalomaniac intent on destroying them.

• Queen Vashti was deposed and a Jewish girl named Esther was chosen as the new queen of Persia, but she just happens to keep her Jewish heritage a secret.
  
  
• Mordecai, the cousin who raised Esther, just happened to overhear the plot to assassinate King Xerxes; he revealed the plot to Esther who then revealed it to the king.
  
  
• The king just happened not to be able to sleep one night, and he just happened to have read to him the chronicles of the kings read to him, and the selection that was read just happened to include the story of Mordecai and Esther saving his life.
  
  
• So when Esther reveals the plot of Haman and her Jewish ancestry, the king just happens to side with Esther, executes Haman and spares the Jews.

Fortunate coincidences. There are no great miracles stories in this book; in fact, God’s name is not even mentioned in Esther. And yet, His activity in the lives of His people is seen throughout this story; His fingerprints are all over this book. God sometimes shakes mountains and appears in burning bushes; more often, He appears between the lines of our lives.

When Esther hesitates to risk her life to use her position to intervene with the king to save the Jews, Mordecai says, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). That becomes an interesting question given the fact that there were no burning bushes or shaking Sinai. Moses didn’t have wonder what it was that God wanted him to do; God’s voice from the bush and the mountain were breathtakingly clear. But Esther didn’t have that clarity. What Esther had was an opportunity, faith, a lot of uncertainty and a pretty insistent cousin. She made her choice based on faith, and God honored that choice and worked through it. That’s what you and I are called to do today.

Wayne Watson has a great song that is inspired by the Esther story reminding us that we all have been placed upon the earth for such a time as this.

For Such A Time As This Wayne Watson

Old and New Testaments

I think it’s interesting the way we have often used the Old Testament. When we find something we like “back there” in the Old Covenant, then it provides an illustration for us. After all, “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us” (Rom 15:4). But when we come across something back there we don’t like so much, we dismiss it with one of those “but that is just the Old Testament.” So Noah’s gopher wood and the “strange fire” of Nabab and Abihu apply to us. But Nehemiah’s restoration of Israel’s worship in song (today’s reading in Nehemiah 12) through instruments and choirs doesn’t apply to us because it is just the Old Testament. In fact, for many of us Nehemiah’s instruments and choirs ARE gopher wood and strange fire. (I bet if I looked hard enough through my old sermons, I’d find that point in there somewhere.)

Our reading today does illustrate one huge difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and it has nothing to do with worship styles. In our Old Testament reading from Nehemiah 13, Nehemiah’s final reforms focus on the removal of Gentile influence from Jewish life. Gentiles had intermarried with Jews and Gentiles were even using storeroom in the Temple itself. In fact, the biggest Gentile enemies of Jewish restoration (Sanballat and Tobiah) are mentioned here. Jewish religion had to remain pure from pagan influences, and this demanded that Jews separated themselves from Gentiles.

In our New Testament reading from Acts 13, Paul is preaching for the second time in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia. The is an organized opposition from the Jews there, and Paul ends his sermon by saying, “We had to speak the word of God to you [the Jews] first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). Paul applies the prophecy of Isaiah to himself, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:47).

For Nehemiah, faithfulness meant excluding Gentiles. For Paul, faithfulness meant including the Gentiles. Paul says that the cross tore down the dividing wall that the Law (a covenant between God and Israel) had created (see Eph 2:14-16). The difference between the Old and New Laws is not really about worship forms and formats; Paul was perfectly comfortable with Jews carrying over many of those forms and formats from the Old Testament to the New... as long as they didn't bind them on Gentiles. The real difference is that now as we are brought to God through Jesus, we are also brought together as one people, one church.

Back From Camp

The ol' blog was off-line all last week because I and 32 folks from Denbigh (16 staff and 12 campers) spent the week at Camp Idlewild in Surry, VA. This was my 31st year at Idlewild (I started when I was 9) after taking 12 years off. This year we worked with kids in grades 4-8, a span of ages from 9-14 years old. I have never had a year where so many of the people there came from my own church family. It really was a lot of fun. I had intended to post to the blog from camp, but there was never enough spare time to indulge in such frivolities!

It was in one sense a blessedly uneventful week compared to some weeks in the past. No one exploded poisonous gas bombs outside the girl's cabin or threw cherry bombs into the campfire... both of those have happened in the past. Two precious souls were baptized, and that is certainly not uneventful! The kids really seemed to get closer to each other as the week wore on. And they were really more into singing than in past years; we must have sung "Prince of Peace" 25 times.

It was a great week. I have to say that I have missed ol' Camp Idlewild for the last decade or so. And I don't mind admitting in this public forum wouldn't mind doing it all again next year. But then again, this public forum does have an edit feature!

Sue the Bible Guys!

A man named Bradley Fowler is suing Zondervan, the Bible publishing company, for $60 million because the company published a version of the Bible that translated the word for “homosexual” as “homosexual.” Fowler claims that because his pastor used a Bible published by Zondervan, he preached that homosexuality is a sin, and thus Fowler's “family considered him a sinner and he suffered.” So now he is entitled to $60 million to compensate for “the past 20 years of emotional duress and mental instability.” (Well, he does seem to have proved the "mental instability" part of his lawsuit).

In the list of sins that keep one from inheriting the kingdom of God in 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Greek word arsenokoites is rendered as “homosexual offender” in the NIV. The KJV renders the word as “abusers of themselves with mankind” (not as clear and apparently not as offensive to Mr. Fowler). Because the NIV is clear, it is being sued! (The NET better really look out; it redners the two Greek words here as “passive homosexual partners" and "practicing homosexuals.” One might could get the impressiion from that translation that homosexuality is a sin ).

OK, not everyone believes the Bible. And not everyone believes that homosexuality is a sin. And some scholars do suggest other possible translations of the sins Paul condemns. But to sue a company that publishes (they didn’t do the translation themselves) the Bible because your preacher takes it seriously and his preaching makes you feel bad? Come on!

I'm not one to pound the podium agaihst homosexuality as being the worst of all sins. It is a perversion of nature... but so is gossip, which is actually condemned more in the Bible. But let the Bible say what it says! I once heard a panel discussion of scholars debating what the Bible says about homosexuality. The scholars that defended homosexuality as not sin made this statement, “Except for the Old Testament and the writings of Paul, the Bible doesn’t really condemn homosexuality.” That is a pretty sizable chunk of the Bible.

Family Values Statement

One of the first US laws to legitimize divorce took place in 1787 when a prominent gentleman named Isaac Governeur petitioned the New York Legislature for a divorce from his wife who had been unfaithful. The petition was referred to a committee chaired by Alexander Hamilton (yes, that Alexander Hamilton). The committee decided that divorces could be granted by the courts of new colony only on the grounds of adultery. Ironically, Governeur’s divorce attorney that successfully represented him in that divorce lawsuit was Alexander Hamilton.

Hamilton’s legislation remained in effect in the State of New York until the 1966 New York Divorce Reform Law. Until that time, the only way to secure a divorce was on grounds of adultery. What if you wanted a divorce and your spouse would nor cooperate and commit adultery. You could hire someone who would claim to be the other woman (or man, I suppose) for the purposes of divorce. One 20-year-old mother of three named Sarah Ellis was named as the “other woman” in 35 divorce cases in 18 months. She was paid $10 per divorce for her services.

There is an old saying, “You can’t legislate morality.” Of course, that is exactly what we legislate! The things that are illegal are so because they are wrong. But then illegal actions that come to be accepted will eventually cease to be illegal. Over time, the grounds for divorce were expanded to include things other than adultery. And now in most states today, adultery is not even permitted as a legal grounds of divorce. My how times change?

Want to make a strong statement about family values and the sanctity of marriage? Make your marriage work. Granted, that kind of statement takes time; my own family values statement has taken 30 years up to this point. But it is gaining credibility, I think. It is rather ironic that so often the political candidate that supposedly supports family values is the one who has himself been divorced. Not a very stable family values platform.

The Aroma of Christ

In his book What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey tells of an experiment he conducted several years ago (the book is copyrighted in 1997). He asked every non-Christian person that he came in contact with, “What comes to mind if you hear the phrase 'evangelical Christian'?” He says that the answer that he most often gets has to do with political positions on what what Christians are against-- anti-homosexual, anti-abortion, pro-censorship of the web, etc. He says that he even hears some people mention “The Moral Majority.” a group that disbanded years ago. What most non-Christian people don’t seem to connect with “Christians” today is Jesus Christ. Yancey writes, “Not once—not once— have I heard a description redolent of grace. Apparently that is not the aroma that Christians give off in the world.”

So what’s the point? Yeah, that’s what I want to know! What is the point of wearing the name of Jesus if we are unsuccessful of bringing Him to the minds of people around us? The fact is, Jesus had a pretty “street cred” with the marginalized, powerless, sinful and unchurched of His day. Maybe we need to do better?

They Humbled Themselves

Our Old Testament reading for today (2 Chronicles 12) tells of Solomon’s son Rehoboam and his first "official act" as the first king of the divided kingdom of Judah (often referred to as “Israel” in Chronicles since the Chronicler doesn't cover the northern kingdom called “Israel” in Kings). Rehoboam’s first official act as king was to be invaded and overwhelmed by Shishak, the king of Egypt (2 Chron 12:6). God makes it plain that this crisis was brought about because Rehoboam and his people were not following God. Rehoboam and all the people repent, and God acts to remove the Egyptian threat. Notice just a smattering of verses from this story—

• “The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves” (6)
  
  
• “The LORD saw that they humbled themselves” (7)
  
  
• “Since they have humbled themselves” (7)
  
  
• “Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD’s anger turned from him” (12)

What would you say is the key ingredient to repenting before God as seen in this storry? Could it have something to do with humbling ourselves?

We aren't very good at grovelling, are we? We tend to apologize by defending our actions as if they were really understandable reactions to circumstances beyond our control. We say things like, “I sorry I said those things, but I had this really bad day at work…” That suggests that our really bad day somehow justifies (or at least mitigates responsibility for) our bad behavior.

One guy that I once went to school with did some terrible things that created some very serious legal problmes for him (and even more serious problems with God). He went forward one Sunday night to "repent," and part of his statement to the church was to read a couple of passages on forgiveness and inform the church that they were now required to forgive him. That not really repentance, is it?

Even Rehoboam, who was no spiritual giant, understood that repentance meant throwing down all pretext of pride and falling down before God begging for His grace. We would be better at repenting—to God or to one another—if we understood this as well.

Solomon and Me

2 Chronicles 9 tells of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon to discover for herself whether the reports of his great wisdom and wealth were true. When she got there, she played “stump the wise guy,” but none of the questions that she asked were too hard for Solomon to answer. The text says that when she saw his wisdom, his palace and all the trappings of his wealth, she was “overwhelmed” and said—

“The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. (2 Chr 9:5-6)

Solomon was an impressive guy. Based on the gifts that she brought him at the beginning of her visit, the Queen of Sheba was not without resources. And yet Solomon impressed her. One translation said that Solomon’s wisdom and wealth “left her breathless and amazed” (2 Chr 9:4). Well, Solomon did have a way with the ladies! It is what follows that I find interesting. Immediately after she makes her statement about the reports not even being half right, she says—

How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! (2 Chr 9:7).

Solomon’s people must have been so proud, so happy because of his greatness and majesty. Well, not really. The beginning of the next chapter tells us that Solomon was not cold in his grave before the 10/12’s of the nation rebels against his son because of the severity of the taxation that Solomon had to impose on his people to put on the kind of show of wealth and power that left the Queen of Sheba so giddy. Solomon's people were not happy because of his wealth; they were oppressed because of it.

Solomon’s reign was not about making his people happy. And it was not about making God happy. Solomon’s reign came to be all about Solomon. All his wealth, building projects, wives, foreign treaties and power were the attempts of a man who had everything to get just one more thing. Solomon chronicles all that for us in Ecclesiastes, and in the end he found it all to be a “chasing after the wind,” and a “vanity of vanities.”

Solomon had everything and he had nothing. Solomon had all the trappings of wealth, power and prestige, but there is no indication that he was ever happy. Maybe we need to remind ourselves of his story the time we decide that we just have to have that one new thing that will make us happy.

Wednesday Nights and a Word from God

Yesterday wrote about our declining interest in Wednesday night Bible study (or Prayer Meeting or WOW or BBFP or whatever we call it these days). Bob commented (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) "I am glad you are thinking through all this, I eagerly await the
solutions you will discover long before I even fully understand the
problem." Yeah, right! I was not attempting to think through anything; that is too much work. I was complaining; that is much more therapeutic.

Roger reminded me that Mike Cope and his minions were discussing ideas for Wednesday nights over at his blog. Read through some of the ideas mentioned there (and in the comments).

So then I was doing my Bible reading this morning and found a word from God. Obviously, there is always a word from God when we read scripture; sometimes they just hit home harder, right? David is encouraging Solomon to be faithful in building the Temple (after David did all the heavy lifting of gathering materials and drawing up the plans). David says this in 1 Chronicles 28:20

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

God would always be there for Solomon; He never fails or forsakes. God calls us to is faithfulness; He will always be with us as long as we seek Him. We don't have to come up with solutions; we must continue to seek God and be faithful. God is with us, and that means that we don't have to be afraid or discouraged. even if we don't have the solutions to Wednesday nights.

Wednesday Night: BBFP and Beyond

Our Wednesday night service for the summer is going to be a very informal gathering Dan Hawley dubbed BBFP or "Breaking Bread, Fellowship and Prayer." This is our summer replacement for WOW ("Worship on Wednesday") which was a replacement for Wednesday Night Class... which was a replacement for Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting. I suspect that Prayer Meeting was a replacement for something, but I'm too young to know what that might have been.

What is BBFP? We eat, pray and hang-out together. OK, it's a little more formal than that; there is a short class in the Family Room. The kids will probably play together while we pray together. The whole thing may die a horrible death, but it kinda started out pretty positively last night. I'm looking forward to seeking how it ends up.

There are two truths that we more or less accept as true. First, our church leaders believe that we need a "peak of the week" meeting in the middle of the busy workweek to center our people back on God and to provide balance to the competing voices that seek our attention. Second, it is becoming more and more evident that our church members don't necessarily agree with that. We have well under half of our Sunday morning attendance here for Wednesdays; sometimes we have about one-third. At some point we let people think that they wouldn't go to hell because they miss Wednesday night... so they miss. What does out declining interest in Wednesday night services show?

• Our people don't have their priorities straight? (True if going to the building is the priority)
  
• Families are just too busy? (So they solve that by cutting back on church?)
  
• Families need more time together? (Which usally means watching more TV)
  
• What we do on Wednesday doesn't seem spiritually significant?

Maybe we need to move away from the attactional mode (doing neat stuff to get people here) to a more missional approach (go out into the community to do good deeds)? Maybe what is changed in not that "you gotta go every time the doors are open" mindset that I grew up with (and still have). Maybe what has changed is the idea that coming to church is essentially serving God. Maybe our people are way ahead of us and understand that serving God is done out there and the last thing we need is more time at the building.

This is one of many things that I don't know.

With All Your Might

The familiar words of Ecclesiastes 9:10 remind us to serve God with all our strength, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." I remember reading of a small boy who came home from school all excited. He told he mother that he had tried out for a part in his first grade play, and he had gotten a part. When she asked him what was his part, he said, "I get to sit in the audience and clap and cheer!" We can learn two things from that little boy:

• First, it is important to have people who clap and cheer. Those who encourage and support are just as important as those who may have "bigger" parts.
  
  
• Second, if your gift is to clap and cheer, then you must do that enthusiastically and with all your might!

The church is a family where everyone is valuable and everyone has a role. To whatever degree God has gifted you, to that degree you must serve Him and His church. But no one gift is any more important than any other gift. No work is more important than any other work. However there is another important message in the end of Ecclesiastes 9:10--

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Whatever our task is in building up the body of Christ, we had better get busy doing it for the time is coming when there will be no more work. Whatever it is that God is calling you to do or to be in His kingdom, stop putting it off! We need people who clap and cheer alright, but we need them to start doing so NOW!

Voting for Issues... With Our Lives

The Congressional battle for Oregon's 5th congressional district illustrates the something of the problem of making moral issues the planks in a political platform. Businessman Mile Erickson is the Republican candidate in Oregon's 5th Congressional District and is running on pro-life platform against Democratic state Sen. Kurt Schrader. But when his girlfriend became pregnant some years ago, he told her that he didn't want a baby, offered to pay for the abortion and then drove her to the abortion clinic. And then they went off on a trip to Mexico together. So abortion is wrong, but then when I or my significant other needs one, maybe its not so wrong. I remember seeing polls that suggest that 75% of Americans believe that abortion is morally wrong and that about the same 75% believe that it should be a choice.

My point is not about abortion. The example could just as easily be the many pro-family, traditional-values candidates who themselves have been divorced (an all too common fact). Christians should be for Biblical values. Because we live in a country where we have the right to participate in the selection of leaders, it makes sense that our values will go with us into the polls. But voting for values is never a simple thing to do. I could say "I won't vote for McCain because he is divorced and I won't vote for Obama because he's pro-choice." We should be concerned with values like caring for the poor, caring for the environment and caring about peace. And we'll all have different ideas about which of those values can be best addressed by which party or candidate.

Do we care about traditional values? Here's what we need to do-- live them! The reason the church has such a muted voice in speaking to the world about values is not because we aren't politically savvy or connected. It is because we have been so ineffective in living our values before the world. The divorce rate for evangelical Christians is the same as the general culture. The number of Christian women who have had abortions is shockingly high. The church is better known by many for raising money for its own buildings than spending money to help the poor. Until we are known as people who consistently (though not perfectly) live our values, we will have little success in interesting the non-Christian world in them.

Sunday Complaints

I got some complaints about our worship service yesterday morning. No, it was not the video highlight montage from our Upwards soccer and cheerleading camp. And it wasn't that we sang "Friends" with all the pictures of the Foster's, Mack's and McDonney's (families that are leaving us) which brought tears to many eyes and lumps in many throats. No, the "criticism" was that the service was short; we ended almost exactly at 11:30! For the record, the sermon was 25 minutes long, so at least I gave everyone their money's worth there. We sang mostly up-tempo songs, so I guess we plowed through them quicker than usual. So we ended exactly "on-time" and many thought that it was too short! I promise to do better next week (hee hee).

Will King did a long version of the Upward video that we showed Friday night (with a U-2 soundtrack) and we showed the short version in church during the announcements. So being a true conservative, I re-cycled will's unused footage and made a new Sunday night. The lesson was on the "Ripples" of influence that our words and actions have on others. When the church lives together in peace and love, we shine like stars in the heavens (Phil 2:14-15). Christians wives (1 Pet 3:1-2), Christian slaves (1 Tim 6:1), and Christians under stress (1 Pet 2:12) all impact those around them through the way they live their lives. Our influnce goes out like ripples on a pond, and we never know who is going to to pointed to the Father because of us. The Fosters, Mack's and McDonney's have touched us (and hopefully, we them) in many ways. The ripples will be felt for a long time.

Here's the video--

Nemesis: No Ad Required

The following article was orignally an ad on craigslist; I stumbled on it on wadehodges.com. For the record. I don't routinely sit around reading other people's blogs looking for stuff to steal for my own. Most of the stuff on my blog is both good and original. Unfortunately, the stuff that is good isn't original, and the stuff that is original isn't very good! (And no, that last observation isn't orginal). Anyway, here's the craigslist post--

I’ve been trying to think of ways to spice up my life. I’m 35 years old, happily married with two kids and I have a good job in insurance. But somethings missing. I feel like I’m old before my time. I need to inject some excitement into my daily routine before its too late. I need a challenge, something to get the adrenaline pumping again. In short, I need a nemesis. I’m willing to pay $350 up front for you services as an arch enemy over the next six months. Nothing crazy. Steal my parking space, knock my coffee over, trip me when Im running to catch the BART and occasionaly whisper in my ear, “Ahha, we meet again”. That kind of thing. Just keep me on my toes. Complacency will be the death of me. You need to have an evil streak and be blessed with innate guile and cunning. You should also be adept at inconsicuous pursuit. Evil laugh preferred. Send me a photo and a brief explanation why you would be a good nemesis.
British accent preferred.

So do we all need a Goldfinger or a Dr. Moriarity always lurking in the shadows, waiting to do us harm? That would keep us on our toes, wouldn't it? The truth is that we have the arches of all archvillian's who "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He is never deadlier that when we get complacent and think that he isn't really there. He is there and he is the master of inconspicuous pursuit. He is real to jump out atanytime time with an evil laugh, "Ahha, we meet again!" Peter's warning in 1 Peter 5 begins, "Be self-controlled and alert." If we aren't ready for him all the time, we won't be ready.

Looking Upward

We are in the middle (as of about 7:15 p.m. tonight it will be the middle) of our week-long Upward camp. If you aren't familiar with the concept of Upward, you can read more here. But the short explanation is that Upward is like VBS using sports (in our case, it's soccer and cheer-leading). Kids learn about playing soccer and cheering, but the coaches teach them about Jesus at the same time. Some of the kids come from families that aren't in church, and that is the point. I get to get up during our final assembly and invite their parents to visit our church.

What is a bit different for us is that we are working with people from Denbigh Christian Church. And Warwick Memorial Methodist Church. And Saint Jerome Catholic Church. And those folks don't look exactly like us; some may not look anything like us. I guess if we wanted to, we could find a thing or two to disagree and debate over. But what we are doing for this week is just trying to stay focused on Jesus and to point children (and their parents) closer to Him.

And when this week is over, we'll try to keep doing the same thing! Maybe the more we look UPWARD, the less likely we are to fight OUTWARD. OK, so maybe it's not always that simple. But maybe it should be.

A New Command

Sunday morning's sermon stressed the need for Christians to "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" (Rom 15:7). We bring praise to God when we are able to live in unity and love despite our differences. Paul quotes a series of OT texts later in the chapter that talk about being a light to the nations (Gentiles). In Philippians 2:14, Paul tells us that we are to shine like stars in the universe. Jesus' prayer in John 17 for his disciples is that the wold will know through them that the Father had sent Jesus into the world. The means by which all of these are to happen is that disciples live together in love and unity. We proclaim the gospel to the world by the way that we love one another and live with one another. The most familiar statement of this is our NT reading for today-- John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

But for some reason, the immediate context of this new command never really hit me before... or at least, I don't remember it hitting me. Jesus gives the apostles this new command right AFTER he predicts the coming betrayal of Judas and right BEFORE he predicts the coming denial of Peter. So this "new command" stressing the absolute importance of disciples loving one another is given between the bookends of the two greatest failures of Jesus' closest friends to love Him. It is almost as if Jesus wants to make sure that we don't betray each other the way that His closest friends betrayed Him!

So... what are we going to do about that? Historically the church hasn't been very successful in living out Jesus' desires here. Are we going to get better at this?

Sad Commentary

An Indiana Wal-Mart gas station made one of those mistakes that caused local drivers to stampede to the pumps... at midnight, no less. Some sort of computer error (which is usually shorthand for "computer user error") had gasoline selling at well below the expected price. In the middle of the night, drivers began rushing to the pumps to get this once in a lifetime price break. Sadly, the error was discovered quickly... and corrected even more quickly. What was the low, low price that started the stampede? $3.09 a gallon! What a sad commentary on the state of our economy. Sad unless you are an oil sheik or have a lot of stock in Exxon! Who would have believed that $3.09 per gallon would ever be a "too good to be true" price for gas?

Four or five years ago, I got it in my mind that what I really needed was a Ford Explorer; I even got to the point where I was even pricing them at used car lots. I am so thankful that grand plan didn't work out! Never mind the environment... who can afford to fill up one of those things now?

Who Do You Smell Like?

I had to go pick up gas yesterday before I could cut the grass. I have two plastic 2 gallon gas cans, and 2-3 or three times a year I have to go fill them up. And I hate it. No matter how fast I zip to the gas station and back, the car ends up smelling like gas for several gas afterward. No, none of the gas sloshes out of the cans. Yes, I put the sealed cans in the trunk. But no matter how careful I am, the smell of gas permeates the car. Some people like the smell of gas. It should smell great since it costs as much a gallon as Channel #5. But once the car starts smelling like gas, it won't go away.

Paul talks about his life as a smell that permeates and affects those around him-- "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Cor 2:15). The influence of the gospel permeated Paul's life and was unmistakable in everything he did. Not everyone liked the smell or appreciated the influence. So Paul says, "To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life" (2:16).

We are to be the aroma of Christ in the world today. He is to influence our lives to the point where we look like Him, sound like Him and smell like Him. And then we will impact the world like Him. The when people want to know more about Christ, they can just follow their nose!

Object Permanence and the Unseen God

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget coined the term “object permanence.” Newborn infants are incapable of believing in what they don’t see. Hide a favorite toy under a blanket, and for them it no longer exists. Piaget studies led him to conclude that says infants don’t outgrow this until about 7-8 months of age (now believed to be 3-4 months). It is part of the maturation process to be able to believe that things that you don’t see really do exist.

Many in our materialistic world lack the spiritual maturity to live out this object permanence. “Seeing is believing,” we say. Only those things which are verifiable by our senses are real, and while we may give lip-service to spiritual realities beyond, they have little to do with how we live our lives day to day. God is unseen, and therefore for many He remains unreal.

Tell that to Sennacherib. Sennacherib commanded an army that had never known defeat. The Assyrians were feared all over the world for their brutal conquests. They had developed the chariot as weapon of war and invented the chain-mail armor that would continue to be used for several thousand years. For Assyria, war was a science and slaughter was an art form. This was an army that had never known defeat, and in our Old Testament reading for today, that army was camped right outside the gates of Jerusalem.

In 2 Kings 18:19-25, the field commander of the Assyrian army issued a challenge to Hezekiah of Judah, spoken in the hearing of all of Jerusalem. In that challenge he chides Judah for depending on their alliance with Egypt to protect them; Pharaoh was but a “splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s hand and wounds him if he leans on it” (18:21). He also chides Judah for depending on their God to protect them. Had not Hezekiah removed the high places and idols from Jerusalem? Every nation that had been ground up by the Assyrian war machine had their gods, but not god could protect them from the might of Assyria. How much less could this unseen God without idols and high places save them?

Hezekiah refused to answer the challenge. He took the transcript of the challenge of Sennacherib to the Temple. Hezekiah had no army and no options. Part of the Assyrian taunt had been “I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!” (18:23). Hezekiah had no options but faith. So he spread the transcript of Sennacherib’s challenge before the Lord and prayed—

"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.” (2 Kings 19:17-19)

The next morning, Sennacherib woke up to find 185,000 of his crack troops had died during the night. Sennacherib and his army fled in terror back to Nineveh where he was assassinated by his own sons. Sennacherib and his army that had never known defeat had been destroyed by an Unseen God.

It is easy for us to become so busy with the things of this world that we can see that we forget about the reality of what we cannot. Sennacherib would today trade the totality of his empire for one more moment of time to fall before that Unseen God.

Accept One Another

In the 1930's, the key issue that divided many churches was pre-millennialism, an understanding of end-time events that believes Jesus will return to earth to establish a literal thousand year reign over a literal earthly kingdom. Churches were split and relationships lost over this issue. I met a brother several years ago who, as a young man in the 1930's, was forced out of the church that brought him to the Lord because he held the "wrong view" on the end time. His eyes glistened with tears as he told me the story more than 50 years later.

In 1933, Foy E. Wallace and Charles Neal met to debate this issue. Neal began his first speech with an appeal for unity and mutual understanding among brothers who differed in how they approached the texts that taught about the end time. Wallace, who had led the charge to eradicate pre-millennialism among our churches, made it clear what would have to happen before there could be unity among us--

I would like to say, with all kindness and reverence, as I begin my part of the discussion, that if Mr. Neal and those who stand with him had always preached only as I have been preaching, and as those brethren that stand with me on these issues have preached, there would have been no alienation.”

Wallace basically says, “We can have unity when and only when you agree with me!” That does not sound much like either kindness nor reverence, does it? That rather smacks of the Pharisaic arrogance that is destined to perpetually divide and alienate! If unity and fellowship is only possibly when we can agree on everything, then we may as well turn our the light, cause the party is over!

Do we really want to make salvation depend on a correct understanding of the book of Revelation as it relates to the end-time? Do we really want to make fellowship and unity also depend on our understanding it alike? Unity will never come from our agreement on the issues or our similarity in church practice. Unity is the creation of God; only Christ makes us one. This unity is lived out in practical terms when we "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." (Rom 15:7). If Christ accepts us despite our flaws, then we must be willing to accept each other that way as well. We must fellowship our “erring brethren” because that's the only kind we have!

A Wing and a Prayer

Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson were enjoying their hobby-- flying their Microlight Airplaine. Evidently, some people enjoy strapping an engine to a kite and taking it up a couple of thousand feet. Go figure! They were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound in New Zealand when their engine spluttered and shuttered and then died. It's pretty serious to be flying a single-engine airplane of any kind when the engine dies., so Stubbs and Wilson did what most of us would do in similar circumstances. THEY PRAYED! "My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press.

Obviously, since Stubbs was being interviewed about the incident, things must have turned out well. They did. The men were able to make a dead-stick landing, and the plane lightly came to rest. As they say, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing." But what made this story a story is that they happened to land right beside to a sign that read, "Jesus is Lord." Cool! It would have been better if the sign said, "Jesus Saves" or "God is My Co-Pilot." But what a great reminder that prayer really does work.

Here's a little known, less often relied upon truth. Prayer works even when you are not in life-threatening situations!

Suspending Disbelief

I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie last night. Hey, small groups are over and I had to do something on Tuesday night! The best (and most accurate) summary of the movie I have heard was that it was like being in the middle of a video game. It was a non-stop run-jump-shoot action game from the opening scene, and I found myself reaching for a video-game controller. And the action was not exactly what one would call believable. I wonder how many people will come out of the movie thinking that all you need to do to survive a direct nuclear explosion is hide in a lead-lined refrigerator? And if I ever need to catch up to a speeding truck, I now know that you can do so by swinging through the trees on Tarzan vines! Well, you know that you are really going to exercise your "suspend disbelief" muscles when you come away thinking, "Boy, that wasn't nearly as believable as Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Is faith in God something akin to suspending disbelief? Do some of the stories in the Bible sound a bit like the plot from an Indiana Jones movie? A strong wind divides the Red Sea just in time for the Jews to make their escape? A chariot of fire swoops down to carry Elijah to heaven? An army walking around a walled city, blows their trumpets and the wall falls down? There are some pretty unbelievable stories in the Bible, aren't there? So must we suspend disbelief in order to embrace these stories? No, at the center of these stories is an All-Powerful, All-Just and All-Loving God who is acting in human history to accomplish His will. Once you believe in God, then these stories are much more than divine special effects. If God truly exists, then all things are possible.

For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
......you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
......no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:3-4)

Divine Illumination

Just in case you are wondering where I get my sermon ideas, I thought I would share this picture of me at the moment of divine illumination. Kinda transcendent, isn't it?

Michele King took this at our church camp-out. The smoke from the campfire was drifting just right to picked up by the sun streaming through the trees. I wish sermons did come from above like this. Actually, they do come from above; they just take a lot more work than this. But then, if you look at the picture, most everyone else is ward at work getting camp ready and I'm just standing around with my arms crossed! Well, someone has to ponder the great questions of life... like "I wonder when they are going to get supper ready?"

You can see more pictures of our Memorial Day camp-out here.

The Kingdom of God and Man

My sermon yesterday was about the relationship of the Christian to the government from Romans 13. It isn't surprising that Paul has information dealing with the Christian and the civil authority; he is, after all, writing to Rome. Knowing the persecution that is brewing on the horizon for the Romans church, we are a bit surprised that Paul is so gracious when addressing Caesar's government. Paul sees the king as God's servant (Rom 13:4-6) to do good. The word "servant" in verse 4 is the word for "deacon" while the different word for "servant" in verse 6 is applied to the priest in Hebrews 8:2. Paul's general teaching is that the Christian is to obey the civil authorities, honor those who serve, and pay our taxes.

That is his general teaching. The question that has stumped believers since Paul's day is when we get more specific. How involved should Christians to be in governmental affairs? Are we to be so focus on the kingdom of God that we refuse to concern ourselves the kingdoms of men? Should we use political process and power to to make the world better? Do we stand outside humans systems of power, pointing to their flaws and inviting people into God's rule? Do we compromise something about the kingdom of God when we combine it too closely with the power-structure of men? I used the examples of David Lipscomb and James A. Garfield to illustrate how differently some in our movement read scripture here-- Lipscomb believed that Christians shouldn't even vote and Garfield was elected the 20th president of the United States.

An excellent discussion of some of the issues can be viewed in this video. Here Chuck Colson, Gregory Boyd and Shane Claiborne take very different approaches. Obviously, there are generational differences here. (One of these three guys really dresses funny... in a coat and tie!). All three men have written books on the topic of the Christian, politics and the government. They all have substantive differences in their approach, and you will disagree with each at one point or another. But Colson, Boyd and Claiborne are all focused on serving the Crucified One and reflecting His values and kingdom in the world today.

As the election (finally) gets closer, we must avoid the temptation to think that all Christians can or should vote the same way. We must all be focused on the kingdom of God, but how to be the best stewards of our political freedom will certainly vary from Christian to Christian.