Facing the Giants

Kate Looney sent me a news story yesterday about a movie coming out in September entitled "Facing the Giants." This is a low-budget movie made by Christian filmmakers that is something of a cross between a homemade “Hoosiers,” a small- school “Friday Night Lights” and the Book of Job. The Motion Picture Association of America created a small stir when they gave the movies a PG rating. The MPAA describes a “PG” rating like this—

The theme of a PG-rated film may itself call for parental guidance," states the online explanation of the rating system. "There may be some profanity in these films. There may be some violence or brief nudity. ... The PG rating, suggesting parental guidance, is thus an alert for examination of a film by parents before deciding on its viewing by their children. Obviously such a line is difficult to draw.

"Facing the Giants" is a about a burned-out, depressed football coach whose life on and off the field takes a turn for the better… a miraculous turn. There is none of the violence, language, brief nudity or adult themes in the film that generall cuases ratings disputes. So why the rating? The movie is simply too Christian and too evangelistic. The word they used was “proselytizing.” The MPAA decided that this little movie “was heavily laden with messages from one religion and that this might offend people from other religions.” As the article observes, “Faith has joined that list of deadly sins that the MPAA board wants to warn parents to worry about.”

Well, I guess we should be thankful that the movie was only rated PG and not PG-13… or worse. It wasn’t so many years ago that non-religious parents would send their kids to Sunday School or VBS because they wanted their children exposed to religious and moral training. Now the MPAA is wants to warn parents that exposing their kids to Christian messages in a movie might be dangerous and damaging. The world has changed. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto!

And we need to realize that. We need to understand that our world is a post-Christian, secular culture that no longer accepts Christian values as good or a Christian heritage as the common experience of most. There are some people who cannot understand why anyone would share religious faith with someone. Oh, they see an ill-defined, abstract spirituality as a good thing, but be serious enough about Christian faith to want to share it with someone else? Well that is just not done in polite company.

But at the same time, there are many others who are desperately seeking God. They want someone to show them truth and meaning in their life, even if they don’t yet realize that this is what they are wanting. We need to be God’s messengers of meaning to those who are seeking. That may mean running the risk of being looked down as passé and informed by the cultural elite. It may mean getting a PG rating on you life. But that is what we must risk to be God’s harbingers of good news in a world that needs it!

No More Naval Gazing

The ABC headline read “No More Navel Gazing in Church.” Any time there is a religion-related headline in the news, I pay attention. (Finding something to blog about every day is harder than it sees… especially for a guy who seldom has original thoughts). Well, it seems that a Catholic priest in Cinisello Balsamo, Italy has launched a campaign to ban bare midriffs in church. They posted signs at the entrance that read “God knew what your navel looked like even before you were born, so there is no need to expose it in church.” Evidently guards are posted at larger Italian churches to enforce the dress codes, but this church went with the signs because guards were too expensive.

Several rambling thoughts were brought to mind by this news blurb. First, I do wish that my Christian sisters would give more thought (make that 'different thought") on how they dress. I know all about style… OK, I know very little about style. But the last think that Christian men who are trying to take purity seriously need is for Christian women not to take modesty seriously. Yes, I know that the purity of our thoughts is our responsibility and that a guy can lust no matter how a woman is dressed. After all, Jesus talked about men lusting in Matthew 5 when ladies were covered from neck-to-toe with head-coverings! But ladies, come on. Help us out here! There are enough Brittany Spears-wannabes out there without you making it harder on us as well!

Second, how a Christian (man or woman) dresses at church is not nearly as important as how they dress period. Sure, there are some ways to dress that would be inappropriate for church. For example, a formal gown or tuxedo would be inappropriate for church, at least at Denbigh. (One day, we’ll add ties to that list!). But if something is inappropriate for church because it is immodest, then it is inappropriate anywhere, not just church! It is not just bad taste to tell a dirty joke or use vulgar language at church— it is wrong to do that anywhere. We should be more concerned about how we dress period.

Third, maybe, just maybe, a church-wide ban on navel gazing is itself a form of navel gazing. We have to think that some of the people going to church there in Italy were non-church people. I wonder what impact those signs (or fashion police at the doors) would have on non-churched people who wandered in off the street looking for God. Yes, inappropriate clothing might compromise something of the solemnity of the atmosphere at church. But come on! Would Jesus be even remotely care about atmosphere? No, He was concerned with people, and He always met them where they were. He did not refuse to talk with the woman of John 8 until she put on something decent! A church that is so focused on its atmosphere that it stops people at the door is navel gazing—looking inward to the point where it doesn’t look outward.

What is it that the church fusses and fights and fumes over? Not the cross. Not the lost. Navel gazing. It is the style of our worship (traditional or contemporary), what we do on Sunday nights (at the building or small group) and what Bible we read (KJV or NIV). We seem to focus most intensely on ourselves and issues that matter only to us. Navel-gazing. It is time to take our eyes off of ourselves and look both upward and outward.

The Point of Worship

A two inch long discolored eyetooth is reverenced by 400 million Buddhists as the most sacred object on earth. The tooth is supposed to have been reclaimed from the Buddha's funeral pyre in 543 B.C. and was brought to Ceylon 800 years later. Today the tooth sets upon a golden lotus in the Glorious Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Ceylon. It is surrounded by rubies and tons of flowers. Each year a 100,000 faithful Buddhists come from many countries to gaze at the sacred tooth and bring gifts of gold, silver and jewels to the temple.

The fact that an old beat-up and burned-up tooth could become the object of worship of millions is hard to imagine. But the fact of its veneration reminds us of two inescapable facts concerning worship:

• First, human beings are by nature worshipful creatures. French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal said that each has “a God-shaped void” within that we seek to fill with God. A. W. Tozer said, “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.”
  
• Second, left to our own devices, humans will always get worship wrong. We may be by nature worshipful, but we are not by nature very discriminating about what worship. So we get it all mixed up. We don’t fill Pascal’s void with God, so we settle for substitutes.

Is there any part of our Christian life and service that is any more important than is our worship? Is not our whole reason for existence to give God glory and praise? But do we get it right? Gordon Dahl once said, “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship.” That is an accusation of the worst kind… a true one!

The point of worship is not “getting it right.” The point is not getting the right forms and theology (the “five acts” and no piano). The point is not getting the right experience or exuberance (raising hands and raising the roof). The point of worship is God. Get the right view of God, and you will likely have the right idea of worship. But have the wrong view of God, and your worship will always be wrong! May God move us beyond the old debates on forms and formats and move us closer and closer to Him.

The Power of Prayer

Yesterday we talked about the need to share our lives and struggles with one another so that the power of intercessory prayer can be brought to bear in our lives. That presupposes that we really believe prayer has power, right? That reminds me of an old story on prayer that is both funny and profound from Christian writer and sociologist Tony Campolo. If you have ever read Campolo, you know that he takes a slightly different view of things. This story is one of his classics. Let me tell it in his own words—

There is this Pentecostal college near Eastern College where I teach. Now I am not Pentecostal, but I talk so fast that I think they think I'm speaking in tongues, so it works out okay. One day they invited me to speak at a chapel service. I like speaking there because they're a dynamic, happy people, and I enjoy being with them. Just before I spoke, eight guys took me into a back room of the chapel and got me down on my knees. Then they laid their hands on my head and prayed for me. That was good. I need all the prayer I can get.

There was only one problem. These guys prayed a long time. That's usually okay too, but the longer they prayed, the more tired they got. The more tired they got, the more they leaned on my head. I want to tell you, when eight Pentecostals are leaning on your head, it doesn't feel so good.

One guy wasn't even praying for me. Instead, he went on and on praying for somebody named Charlie Stoltzfis. He shouted, `Dear Lord, you know Charlie Stoltzfis. He lives in that silver trailer down the road about a mile. You know the trailer, Lord. It's just down the road on the right-hand side.'

I felt like saying, “Knock it off. You think God is saying, ‘What's that address again?’” Anyway, he went on, “Lord, Charlie told me this today he has decided to leave his wife and three kids. He told me he was walking out on his family. Lord, step in and do something. Bring the people of the family back together again.”

All the while, I'm kneeling there with eight guys leaning on my head. I'm asking myself, “When is he going to knock it off so I can get these Pentecostal preachers off my head?” He kept going on about Charlie Stoltzfis leaving his wife and his kids, giving God reminders that he lived in this silver trailer a mile down the road on the right-hand side.

Finally, the prayers were over, and I went to the pulpit and preached. After I finished I got in my car, drove to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and headed for home. As I drove onto the turnpike, I noticed a hitchhiker. Now, I know you're not supposed to pick them up, but hey, I'm a preacher. Whenever I can get anybody locked in as a captive audience, I do it. I stopped and picked him up.

We drove a few minutes, and I said, “Hi, my name is Tony Campolo. What's yours?” He said, “My name is Charlie Stoltzfis.” I couldn't believe it. I got off the turnpike at the next exit and headed back. He got a bit uneasy with that. After a few minutes, he said, “Hey, mister! Where are you taking me?” I said, “I'm taking you home, Charlie.”

He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why?” I said, “It's because you just left your wife and three children, right?” That blew him away — “Yes! Yes! That's right” — with shock written over his face. He plastered himself against the car door and never took his eyes off me.

I drove off the turnpike at the next exit. Then I really did him in, as I drove right to his silver trailer. When I pulled up, his eyes seemed to bulge as he asked, “How did you know I live here?” I said, “God told me.” Well, I believe God did tell me.

We got out of the car, and I ordered him to get in the trailer. Half shaking, he answered, “Right, mister. Sure! Sure, I'm going in.” When he opened the trailer door, his wife exclaimed, “You're back, you're back.”

He whispered in her ear, and the more he talked the bigger her eyes got. Then I said with real authority, “The two of you sit down. I'm going to talk, and you two are going to listen.” Man, did they listen! That afternoon, I led those two young people to Jesus Christ. Today, that guy is a preacher of out in California.

We believe that God is active and working in His people today, right? We really do believe that “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” right? We say that God still works in mysterious ways, correct? And we firmly believe that God answers prayers, true? Then why do we so often act so very surprised when God does just that?

Our Comic Book World

D.C. Comics announced earlier this week that it is bringing back the classic Batwoman comic book character… and that she will be a lesbian. Batwoman will make her return to comic book pages in July as part of a weekly series. The original Batwoman was started in 1956 and killed off in 1979. The editors at D.C. Comics suggest that they just wanted to make Batwoman a more unique personality that is different from the others in the “Bat-family.” They insist that this move is not "just about having a gay character” but is rather an effort "for overall diversity" in the D.C. universe. One critic suggested that having an ugly or overweight or male-pattern balding superhero would be much more inclusive.

The world that we live in today has certainly changed. When I was a child, homosexuality was still considered to be a mental disease and aberration today it is a normal and healthy alternative lifestyle. And when I was a child, superheroes were champions of good who fought for “truth, justice and the American way.” But the world in which I grew up is history… my girls would say “ancient history.” It does us no good to point to how bad things are compared now to how things were then. That world no longer exists. And what is more, that world was nowhere nearly as pure as we might remember. When I was a child, George Wallace ran for president on platform of racism and segregation. Yes, the world has changed, and not all the changes have been of the “hell-in-a-hand-basket” variety.

Ours is a postmodern, post-Christian world in which every idea passes as true and nothing is accepted as ultimate truth. And that is precisely the kind of world in which Christianity was born. What early evangelists faced as they took the gospel across the Mediterranean was not a world that denied the idea of God but a world where many ideas masqueraded as gods. In that world, they proclaimed the truth of God and called people to holiness despite the many competing ideas that all claimed to be true. They did not wait for the world to behave, they simply stood in the shadow of the cross and pointed people to its Savior and its lifestyle.

What should we think of comic books recasting Batwoman as a lesbian? She should think that we live in a sinful world, and we should ask ourselves how our lives are shining in the darkness to bring light. What should we do? Well, if you run into Batwoman swooping down a dark alley looking for crime to fight, why not invite her to church with you.

People of Integrity

Lynn Swann is the hall-of-fame wide receiver of the Pittsburg Steelers dynasty of the seventies. He is also a gubernatorial candidate for Pennsylvania who has run on a platform proclaiming that state taxes are much too high. It was recently revealed that Swann had failed to collect the legally required state sales tax from the Pennsylvania customers of his football memorabilia Web site. Getting a little headstart on our campaign, are we?

Arizona gubernatorial candidate Mike Harris is serious about getting elected—he recently donated $100,000 of his own money to his campaign. The problem is that six months ago he successfully convinced a judge to cut his $2,000-per-month child-support payments in half claiming financial hardship. At the same time he conveniently forgot to disclose that he also owed his ex-wife $44,000 from a property sale. When pressed on the obvious contradiction, Harris told a reporter that even paying $1,000 a month was “pretty darn generous” of him. One only hopes that he is not running on a family values platform!

Maybe we have come to have such low expectations of our elected officials that stories like these seem pretty tame. The old saying is that we can tell when a politician is lying because his (or her) lips are moving, and we have come to believe it is so. A politician with the reputation of integrity would be a rare duck indeed.

Since were on old sayings, another one tells us, “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” We cannot do much about the lack of integrity on the world of politics, but we can increase the amount of integrity in the world around us. The only way we can do that is by living as people of integrity. That means being people who always tell the truth. That means following through on what we say we will do. It means honoring our commitments even when doing so puts us at a disadvantage. By living as people of integrity, we can have an impact on the world around us. Living a life of integrity teaches something to the world. As Paul says to Timothy, “Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity” (1 Tim 4:12, the Message)

The Old Man and the Sea

Many years ago, some preachers decided to charter a boat at spend the day fishing. It is pretty easy for us to justify taking a day to go fishing fish-- after all, Peter was a fisherman. and how are we really to appreciate what it is to fish for men if we don't fish for fish every once in awhile? so we went out on the bay for a half day of catching fish... or in my case, watching other people catch fish.

The captain of our fishing boat was a grizzled, salty sea-dog looking man who looked for all the world like he stepped out of Hemmingway's The Old Man and the Sea. He couldn't have looked any more like a seaman if he would have a wooden leg, a parrot on his shoulder and been carrying a bottle of Old Spice! There was once thing that made him different. His voice box had been removed after a battle with throat cancer, and he breathed through an artificial opening that had been created in his throat by a surgeon.

That captain is forever burned in my memory as the ultimate object lesson in the obvious difference between the way we should live and the way we do live. Several times during our expedition I saw our captain steering the boat with his elbow while he struggled to hold a cigarette to the hole in his throat to smoke. He had lost his larynx to cancer, and yet he insisted on doing the very thing that caused his disease in the first place-- smoking cigarettes! He and his family had gone through so much because of his cigarette-induced disease, and yet he had gone back to the very behavior that probably would have cost him his life one day. I say “probably” because tragically the captain died later that same day. He had taken another boatload of fisherman out that afternoon when his boat capsized and sank when caught in a sudden storm. The captain drowned when he could not keep his head up high enough out of the water to breathe.

How many of us continue in the same behavior that once almost destroyed us? I am not just talking about the heart patient that survives delicate surgery only to go right back to eating cheeseburgers and fries. I talking about those who have been rescued from Satan’s clutches only to return to the very things that threatened them. Paul says this to the Ephesians--

21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth
that comes from him,22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of
life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.23 Instead, let the Spirit renew
your thoughts and attitudes.24 Put on your new nature, created to be like
God—truly righteous and holy. (Eph 4:21-24, NLT)

Watching a man so intent on destructive behavior that he would smoke through a hole in his throat is one thing. To return to the life from which Jesus died to rescues us is worse

Ripples

At some point, most of us feel a little like George Bailey on edge of that bridge. You know scene from Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Bailey thinks he’s a worthless failure and that the world would be better off without o him. He is so convinced of that fact that he contemplates jumping off the bridge. Of course, that’s when he meets Clarence, his guardian angel. Clarence’s miracle shows Bailey what life would be like if it there were no George Bailey—and it was a bleak picture indeed. All the people he had helped were now helpless. The life he had saved was lost… and wasn’t there to save others. The world was much different and much darker because there was no George Bailey. So he understands that his was a wonderful life because his life had touched other, who touch others, who touched others.

John Donne was right, “No man is an island, entire to himself.” We are all pieces of the continent and parts of the main. Our lives impact other lives, and we are in turn impacted by others. In small ways and in big was, we touch other people are touched. And like George Bailey, we will never know the depth of the influence that we are having on people and on the world right now.

A certain major department store chain which shall be nameless (but it may start with a “W” and end with “all-Mart”) chain wanted to expand its store in an area, going from a store to a superstore. There was great opposition from smaller retailers who feared a hostile take over of the whole area. But the store argued that the economy of the entire area would be touched by the expansion. That claim was denied by the opposition. So one month the store paid its employees in silver dollars. It was not long before those silver dollars began to show everywhere– in the theater, in gas stations, at the grocery stores… everywhere. The store made its point—its influence was felt across the area.

And so is yours. The impact that you have on the people around you is tremendous. In large and small ways, the world around you is never quite the same because you are there. Like a pebble thrown into a pond produces ripples that change the entire surface, so does the ripple of our life change the world around us. Now, the local merchants in the example could argue, “But is the influence of the department stare good or bad?” And that’s the question for you and I, right? Are the ripples from the peddle that is our life that goes out to touch the world making it better or not.

What Is Your Clostridium Difficile?

Well, a very eventful week came to an end yesterday at the Tucker house. Angelynn was very sick for a solid week with extreme nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain. She went to the doctor Friday, was referred to another doctor… and then ended up in the emergency room most of Sunday afternoon and evening. She was about 4 quarts low on fluids, and they hit her with two different anti-nausea drugs and two different pain-killers. When we finally got home a little before midnight, she was still very sick... but she didn’t care.

She’s fine now. The ER doc suspected the problem and the lab work that came back yesterday confirmed the diagnosis-- antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Several weeks ago, Angelynn had a severe sinus infection and was prescribed two antibiotics. And it was that round of antibiotics that cased her problem.

Normally there is a balance between the good and bad bacteria that live in the large intestine. The "good bacteria" aid in digestion and fight off the "bad bacteria" that is also there. The antibiotics can sometimes kill off the good bacteria, and the "bad" bacteria can begin to take over. In some people, this bad bacteria is called Clostridium difficile (or C. difficile of C dif), and its numbers are normally kept at low levels by the good bacteria. Antibiotics can reduce the healthy bacteria, and then the C difficile multiplies and produces a toxic substance that causes a serious condition called pseudomembranous colitis (PMC).

This bout with pain (hers) and stress (ours) got me thinking about the pain and stress of life. The hardships and difficulties we go through are never pleasant, but according to the Bible they have their purpose (like the good bacteria). James says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." (Jam 1:2-3, NLT). Peter says, “These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure.” (1 Pet 1:7, NCV). Life is filled with difficulties, hardships, struggles and stresses. While we don’t like them, they are a normal part of a healthy life. They make us stronger; they make our faith purer. These normal struggles (like good bacteria) also prepare us and help us fight off the deeper and more toxic struggles (the bad bacteria) that also invade our lives and test our faith. Dealing with a gossipy co-worker or a loud-mouth neighbor is frustrating to be sure, but it is also is a healthy way that we ared prepared for the more serious challenges of life. The absolute worst thing that God could do for us is to remove all the normal frustrations and difficulties in our lives, because then we would be too weak to hold up under true satanic attacks. That’s why James tells us to be joyful when bad stuff happens. While suffering through trials and troubles is hard, it is far harder to face them when you are completely unprepared!

Good to Great

I’ve been reading Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Other's Don't by Jim Collins. This isn’t the kind of book that I usually read... it has no pictures. I generally resist viewing church through a business model, but Collins book is really about organizations, not business.

Collins’ research team identified 11 companies that followed a pattern of “fifteen-year cumulative stock returns at or below the general stock market, punctuated by a transition point, then cumulative returns at least three times the market over the next fifteen years.” In other words, he studied companies that had been average for a long time and then made a transition to great. He also studied related companies in similar positions that made no such transition. For example, Walgreen’s and Eckerd’s were almost identical drugstore chains for years before Walgreen’s became one of the success stories while Eckerd did not. Collins asks “Why?” What was the transition point that allowed Walgreen's and other companies to go from good to great? Why was true about the "great companies" that was not true of the “comparison companies?”

Collins and his team found six key things that separate the good from the great. One of these is “the Flywheel Effect.” He asks us to imagine a massive, metal disk on an axle 100 feet in diameter, 10 feet thick and weighing 25 tons. Your job is to get that flywheel to move as fast as possible. The only way to do that is to move it inch by inch by a series of pushes. It hardly moves at first, but gradually momentum builds. The faster it turns, the easier it is to make it turn… and the faster it goes. He asks, “Which push is the most important push?” His point is that there was no single push in the great companies he studied. Not only could leaders in those companies point to a transition moment in time, they resisted the fact that there was one! There was no charismatic leader who turned things around. In fact, Collins argues that charismatic Lee Iacocca-type leaders can be a hindrance to long term success. Leaders in the great companies were generally the humble, quiet-resolve types who had the strength of character to keep going inch by inch doing the things that lead to long term success. Companies that relied on quick acquisitions and gimmicky technology usually failed in the long term.

I think this illustrates something for us. The Bible is filled with words that encourage to just keep turning the flywheel. Paul told the Thessalonians, “And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right” (2 Thess 3:13). He says to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9). John told Christians suffering for their faith, “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (Rev 14:12). We are called to patience and endurance. We are called to stand. The successful Christian life is rarely marked by dramatic watershed moment where we gain deep insights with absolute clarity or win great victories that define our faith for now and forever. No, we simply keep spinning the flywheel in faithfulness, putting our trust in God. In the end, faithfulness over time is the true measure of the success of the Christian life.

His Cross - Our Cross

San Pedro Cutud in the Philippines known for annual re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus. Thousands of Catholic believers flock to the small village during Holy Week each year to take part in a pageant commemorating the passion of Jesus. Many participate in self-flagellation, and a small number each year have their hands and feet nailed to makeshift crosses. This year, seven Filipino devotees were nailed to the cross. Ruben Enaje, 45 year old sign maker was nailed to the cross for his twentieth time. He explained that this was his way of thanking God for miraculously surviving a fall from a building when he was a construction worker.

One man who was not nailed to a cross was Dominic Diamond, a British media personality who had earlier told GMA television that he planned to join the annual rite. He saw the faith of these people in the Philippines, and he thought this was the way for him to find his lost faith in God. However, when his time came, Diamond broke down. After contemplated the blood and pain of those before him, he started crying and was taken away in an ambulance as the unforgiving crowd jeered.

By the way, this practice is not sanctioned by the Catholic Church. In fact, Monsignor Pedro Quitorio of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines condemned the traditions of flagellation and crucifixion at San Pedro Cutud as being animistic rather than Christian in its origins. He said, “They think that when they do that they will receive blessings for the coming year. That is not a Christian idea. If you have Christ in you, that's enough blessing. You don't need to duplicate what he did on the cross.”

That is the point of the cross of Jesus, is it not? He went to the cross so that we don’t have to do so. Yes, we are often called to suffer with Christ because we follow Him in a world of suffering. The dark world in which we live opposes the light, and we who follow the light do so at the danger of suffering. So as we come to know Christ, we must come to know “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Phil 3:10). But our suffering is redemptive only in so far as it leads us closer to our Lord. The cross to which Christ calls us is not a literal cross with literal nails—he went through that for us. The cross to which he calls us is one on which we lay down our life in worship to Him (Rom 12;1) and in service to others (1 John 3:16).

They Changed My Bible... Again!

I just received the new update to my Logos Bible program the other day. The promo material from Logos promised that this would be a major edition update, so as I installed the program, I steeled myself for some hard sledding ahead. Back in the day, Bible programs were little more than texts files and with a text management front-end that allowed simple searching. Logos with the Libronix Digital Library System 3.0 is an ultra-sophisticated primary language research tool that is about as deep and broad as any computer program. In fact, it is often far too broad and too deep. Much of the time I use it just like I did the old DOS-based text reader program—I just search and read the Bible text. But when I want to push it, it pushes back. In fact, sometimes when I don’t need to push it, it pushes back!

There is a lot of new stuff here. The makers of the program seem to be pushing the English Standard Version of the Bible, which is a pretty good “formal equivalence” translation of the Bible. The new "reverse interlinear” function is based on the ESV. Because I want to use this and several other new tools, I’m getting used to this new (to me) translation of the Bible. So now I have always open the KJV, NASB and ESV (my formal equivalence Bibles), the NLT, NCV, and Message (my dynamic equivalence Bibles) as well as my main NIV study text. (I'm still trying to fit the NRSV in there somewhere).

At the same time I’m getting used to a new translation, I’m also getting used to several new nuances of the user interface. They moved things around on the menus, and they call several things by new names. And they added a lot of neat stuff, but they hid in some pretty obtuse places. I hated it when they came out with Logos version 2 (first Libronix version) because I was so used to the old program. And just when I was getting comfortable with version 2, out comes version 3. Why don’t they just leave my Bible alone!

But then, that’s the way it is with the Bible, isn’t it? I had a professor who liked to say, “Nothing will mess up a really good sermon like a continued study of the Biblical text.” He’s right. The Bible is a historical document, but it is also the living and active word of God. It continues to be “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12, ESV). The more we read and study it, the more it demands of us. Ultimately, we don’t ever master the Bible. No, the Bible masters us. Just when we think we have it all down pat, the Bible pushes back and demands that we relearn something that was old and it becomes new all over again. No, the word of God never changes, but our view of it constantly changes… and we are constantly changed by it.

If I am occasionally humbled and frustrated and pushed by my computer Bible, should I be surprised when the Bible itself humbles, frustrates and pushes me even more. Listen again to Hebrews 4:12, this time from The Message. If this isn’t the Bible you read, then maybe your aren’t listening closely enough—

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is
sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or
defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to
God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.

Lesson From an Out-of-Shape Elephant

Trainers at the Alaska Zoo have spent months trying to coax Maggie the elephant onto a $100,000 custom-made treadmill, but the pachyderm remains disinterested in her morning exercise routine. She has put two feet on the treadmill and then touched it with a third, but Maggie still has a long way to go before she’s “sweating with the oldies.” Her trainers are letting her call the shots, using treats such as watermelon, apples, carrots, peanuts, bananas and sweet potatoes to motivate her. But so far, Maggie seems rather intent on remaining a coach potato. Trainers remain optimistic they will be able to get her walking after a year or so of work, but Maggie remains unconvinced

Something about this story reminded me of my own attempts to coax myself into a physical fitness routine. Maybe if I would reward myself with favorite foods after a workout, but then somehow I think that a piece of cherry pie would somehow defeat the purpose of the exercise. Ultimately it is not enough to simply know that exercise is a good thing, and I certainly can’t rely on the motivation and positive reinforcement and coaxing of others. At some point, I just have to take responsibility to act on what I know to be true.

The church is in the education and motivation business. Our job (both as a collective body and as individual Christians) is to teach others about God and encourage them to act in keeping with their knowledge. Paul tells Timothy that his job as an evangelist was to “correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (2 Tim 4:2, NLT). Preaching is not simply information transmission; teaching is not just about facts and figures. Paul tells the church is to “challenge, warn, and urge your people” (the Message).

But as the old saying goes, “You can lead an elephant to the treadmill, but you can’t make her walk.” (The old saying goes something like that). It is not the job of the church to continually beg, bride and bluster in an attempt to people to do what they already know they should do. Yes, we must continue in what Paul calls “great patience and careful instruction.” The church never gives up on people. But there comes a point when individual Christians simply must take responsibility to put into practice what it is that we have learned about God. If the church does not call its people to personal responsibility and maturity, it may find itself coaxing a flock of obstinate Maggies refusing to budge while demanding more and more attention. At some point, the church must point to the treadmill and say “Walk!”

French Fried History

In July of 1956 (which was the month that I was born), an organization called “Prieuré de Sion” (or “the Priory of Sion”) was founded in the French town of Annemasse by a man named Pierre Plantard. Its purpose, according to official founding by-laws, was “the education and mutual aid of the members.” But its real purpose was to rewrite history in such a way as to support Plantard’s claim of being part of the true royal family of France. He claimed, among other things, that the Priory of Sion was founded during the first crusade by Templar knights and that famous men of history had been key leaders of the organization, men like Leonardo daVinci, Sir Isaac Newton and Victor Hugo. Historical documents referred to as “The Secret Dossiers” were “discovered” that supported the claims of the organization, and a BBC television documentary was produced.

The success of the BBC documentary caused Plantard’s Priory of Sion to be picked up and expanded on by conspiracy theory authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. They worked with Plantard and expanded his work into a book entitled Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Their allegation was that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that their descendants are the true royal family of France. The Priory of Sion is the keeper and defender of this truth, a truth that the Catholic Church wants to suppress and destroy. The slight historical problem was that Plantard’s documents were proven to be a forgery. Plantard (under oath) admitted that he had fabricated everything, and he was ordered by the court to cease all activities related to the Priory of Sion. He died in obscurity in February 2000. In 2005, the son of one of Plantard’s chief collaborator stated that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Priory of Sion.

Assuming you are still with me after all this… what’s the point? The point is that Plantard’s forgery has gained a wide audience today through Dan Brown’s novel The DaVinci Code. Brown’s book revolved around the struggle of the Priory of Sion with the Catholic Church to suppress the truth about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. In the last five years, Brown’s book has sold more than 40 million copies, more than every other book… except the Bible itself. Friday, the movie version of the novel, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, will hit theaters all over the world. I think it is important to know that the supposed “history” behind the novel and movie is based on the work of a thrice-convicted felon who admitted his historical forgery.

I think a few people may go to see this movie. I plan on seeing it; I don't see how I can a=void seeing it! This movie will leave the impression with many that real historical evidence shows that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene that his descendants remain to this day, and that the Priory of Sion preserved the truth that the Catholic Church seeks to destroy. You need to know that the Priory of Sion is no older than I am (in other words, it is very young) and Brown’s book is total fiction. OK, it is pretty good fiction, but it is fiction based on a wild conspiracy theory of a convicted felon. You also need to know that people who see the movie or read the book may have some questions about the historical Jesus. That is good! Well, it’s good if we are ready to engage the discussion and offer answers to the questions. If the Jesus of the DaVinci Code can become an opportunity for us to share our faith the real Jesus with people, then hoopla over the book and movie can become a good thing.

Tiny Cups / Big Meaning

Bailey McBride tells in The Christian Chronicle of being fascinated as a child with the tiny cups of grape juice passed during communion. He writes, “As I watched the trays pass up and down the rows, I watched people with teary eyes and solemn looks take the cup and sip.” He remembers asking his mother why she often cried during communion. She answered by saying, “Someday you will understand.”

I have my own memories of communion cups as a child. Mom would take her turn (probably more than her turn) preparing and cleaning up after communion. This was in the days before the invention of the plastic communion cups, so cleaning up after communion meant hand washing a couple hundred or so tiny communion glasses. Of course, there were many more cups filled than were actually needed, so what did you do with the left-over juice. Well, one could pour it back in the jog, but Mom usually let me drink it. The one stipulation was that I couldn’t drink out of the communion cups; the unused juice had to first be poured into a glass.

There is something different about communion. I don’t think Mom thought that it really made a theological difference in how we disposed of the unused grape juice. There was no transubstantiation or consubstantiation or any other substantiation that had transformed the juice into anything but juice. But she also thought that there was something special that happened when those little cups and slat loaves were eaten in church by Christians kneeling before the cross. Somehow it didn’t seem appropriate to just drink the juice from those little cups. (So it wasn’t completely consistent to see it is OK to pour the juice back into the snuff glass they used when filling the little cups). There is something special that happens when Christians come together to eat and drink at the table of the Lord. I hope we never lose that sense of something special.

Honor to Whom Honor

It’s OK if I brag a little bit, isn’t it? For the second time in three years, my wife Lynn was named the Denbigh-area “Teacher of the Year” by the Wal-Mart Foundation. Several Wal-Mart representatives and her principle marched into her classroom Tuesday to present her the award. Actually, they all came into her room and just stood there for a minute or two. She said she she thought that they must be there to observe her class or something. She was thinking to herself, “Well, are they going to sit down or something so that I can get on with my class?” Nope, they were there to present her with her second such award, something they said had never happened.

By the way, the award consists of $1000 to Denbigh High School and a $100 Wal-Mart gift card to her. Personally, I think that should be the other way around, but then they didn’t ask me. Oh, and she also was given spiffy blue “Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year” golf shirt, which I'm sure she will be wearing to church Sunday! Lynn is one of those dedicated teachers who always goes in early and stays late, putting up with the paperwork and politics that goes with any bureaucracy because she really cares about her kids. I’m glad she received some recognition for her hard work.

In case you are interested, the following explanation of the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year program appears on the Wal-Mart Foundation website--

More than 3,800 outstanding teachers who are making a positive difference in the lives of young people were recognized through Wal-Mart's 10th annual Teacher of the Year program. The recognition came during Teacher Appreciation Week, which was May 1-7, and in honor of National Teacher's Day, which is Tuesday, May 3. As a result of their selection, schools of winning teachers received $1,000 each from Wal-Mart. Through the program, Wal-Mart donated $4.2 million to schools of winning teachers nationwide. One teacher was selected by each neighborhood Wal-Mart store, SAM'S CLUB, Neighborhood Market store and Wal-Mart Distribution Center across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporate supporters of teachers and education - last year alone the company gave away more than $45 million in support of educational initiatives, according to Betsy Reithemeyer, vice president of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

"Teachers play a pivotal role in the lives of young people," said Reithemeyer. "Everyone remembers at least one special teacher who made a significant difference in their lives. We want to honor those outstanding educators who have done so much good for so many in our communities."

Elders, Like a Shepherd Lead Us

I have been thinking a lot about the role of elders as leaders in the church. I have been blessed through the years to serve under good men who loved God and wanted to lead his church in good and healthy ways. But I am not sure they have always seen the role of elders in the same way. While the Bible gives us a lot of data about elders, it never really spells out how they are to go about “leading” or “managing” or “taking care of” the church (see 1 Tim 3:4-5). It seems to me that there are several different ways that elders can see themselves and their task.

• CEO. In this model, the "Board of Elders" is responsible for every decision and most of their time is spent in meetings making those decisions. In small congregations, this seems to be the default style because often the elders of necessity have their finger in every pie. After 70 people or so, the elders in this model become a bottleneck because nothing can be done until they get around to meeting and discussing and deciding. Not only is the delegation of authority difficult in this model, it is almost unthinkable.
  
• Brakeman. Elders in this model see their role mainly as keeping bad things or even debatable things from happening. Their job is to say “No” and “Woe” and to stop things from getting out of hand. They may be distant from the work itself, but they are always ready to step in to stop things from happening.
  
• Governors. In this model, the elders lead by making decisions based largely on what most people want. Where the CEO (model #1) can be arbitrary and heavy-handed, the Governor tends to find out what the church wants according (opinion polls) and then they get out in front of that. It is very hard in this style of leadership to lead people where they are not already going. Biblical leaders, it seems to me, were often led by God to lead people where they did not want to go.
  
• Super-Deacons. In this model, each elder is especially involved in one part of the work, acting as deacon over the deacons. His area may be Sunday school or the building or benevolence. He may have more of a vested interest in that one area; the rest of the elders tend to let him run with that area. The problem here is that the work can become slanted toward what the elders are interested in themselves rather than in what the church really needs to focus upon. The more elders are involved in special ministry areas, the less time that they will have for people and for prayer.
  
• Managers. Good managers manage people, not processes. I think that is very important for elders to remember. Sometimes elders as managers seem to focus more on managing the process (ministries, events, the building, etc) and stay fairly aloof from people. A big part of the elder’s role is in equipping leaders to lead ministries and then mentoring them. This may be the hardest part of the job!
  
• Shepherds. In this model, the elders lead and care for people, not ministry areas. They mentor people to lead ministry areas, getting them the resources and training they need. They spend a lot of time praying for people, visiting those in need, and teaching the Bible in multiple settings. In Acts 6, the apostles not leaving the ministry of the word and prayer (their role) to wait tables (deacons role).

In smaller churches, elders may have to wear all of these hats at times. But I think the basic leadership style in which they see themselves makes a world of difference. For example, suppose someone complains about the preacher (use your imagination here) and says, "I think the preacher should wear a suit on Sunday." CEO elders may meet to discuss the issue. Board of Governor elders may want to know what most people think about suits. Shepherds will answer, "What did he say when you talked directly to him?" They want to lead people in Biblical ways like "Go to your brother." Shepherds lead and feed; managers guide and mentor. Maybe it is time that we pray, not just that our elders make wise decisions, but that they lead and feed and guide us in the ways of God even when we drag our feet.

Are You a Bible Believer?

The last great watershed moment in the history of Judah is found in Jeremiah 36. Moved by God and aided by Baruch, Jeremiah wrote a book to be delivered to King Jehoiakim. This book contained his prophecies, particularly God's predictions of coming destruction of the nation of Judah (Jer 36:3). Jeremiah instructed Baruch to get the book into the hands of the king, which was no simple task considering that both Jeremiah and Baruch were persona non gratia at the royal court. With the help of concerned officials, Jeremiah’s scroll found its way into the hands of the king. But as the book was read to him, Jehoiakim cut it into pieces with a penknife and then burned it. He showed his contempt for God by destroying God’s book! Less than ten years later, the nation of Judah was in ruins.

Jehoiakim was not the last ruler that tried to destroy God book. Evil men who have sought to eradicate scripture and its influence. The Bible has often been attacked by men intent on keeping people from reading and following it:

• Roman emperors from Decius to Diocletian tried to destroy the Bible and all those who believed in it. Now, two millennium later, the Roman empire is dust and the Bible remains. Today, people name their sons Peter and Paul and they name their dogs “Caesar!”
  
• The atheist philosopher Voltaire predicted in that within one hundred years his writings would be read by all while the Bible would be a forgotten book found only in museums. That statement was made in 1760. When 1860 rolled around, the Geneva Bible society opened its new headquarters— in the very house where Voltaire had died.

The Bible is indestructible. Kings and philosophers have tried to rid the world of the Book of books, but its still here. The scriptures and the truth they reveal will exist as long as the world remains— the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

But the Bible has one enemy that has always managed to weaken its power and dull its influence. The enemy that succeeds where infidels have failed is the unconcern of Christians who give the Bible lip-service rather than life-service. Several years ago, a survey was taken among people that identified themselves as “Christians.” Everyone on this survey characterized themselves as “Bible believers.” That self-designation made the results of the survey that much more surprising:

• Only 12 percent read the Bible on a daily basis.
• Only 34 percent of these believers read it as much as once a week.
• Only 42 percent said that they read the Bible “occasionally.”

Where do we fit in these statistics? Where do you fit? Are we part of the great multitude of Bible believers who never get around to reading it for ourselves?

Have You Ever Been to the Ocean?

One of my tasks for today is to write a letter to Dr. Jerry Rushford at Pepperdine University. The purpose of the letter is two-fold. First, I need to thank him for his stellar work in putting together the 2006 Pepperdine Bible Lectures. Second, I am supposed to (at his request) make suggestions on how the lectures can be improved for next year. The first task is easy. I am so thankful to Pepperdine (for sharing this event), to my church at Denbigh (for allowing me to go each year) and to God (from whom all blessings flow).

The second part of my task is much more problematic. How could the lectures be improved? What would I change about the experience? How could our yearly Pepperdine adventure be better? I don’t know? We did have a slightly leaky facet and a burned-out bulb in our bathroom. But we had a private bathroom while most other people had to share with three other families, so I don’t think I’ll mention that. Actually, I’m not sure that the experience can be improved. Which is strange… it just seems to get better and better each year!

Jeff Walling tells of a cousin from Iowa who visited him when he lived in California. The cousin had never seen the ocean, so Jeff took him to the beach. The cousin was blown away by the awesome power and expanse of the sea. He decided he had to share the ocean with his friends and family, so he took a mayonnaise jar of ocean water home with him. Somehow a jar of ocean water just does not capture the vastness of the ocean. I feel that way when I try to explain to others about the Pepperdine lectures. You just have to go and experience it for yourself. I was thrilled that two other families from Denbigh (the Guthrie’s and Tanner’s) were there wading in the ocean with us. I hope that next year even more can make the trek to Malibu.

We did bring back a mayonnaise jar of sorts. All three families bought CD's of lectures. As I write this, iTunes and my laptop are busy converting these for my iPod. Eventually these will be available to any of you who want copies. Listening to the CD's won't be the same as being there, but then your legs won't be aching from climbing the hundreds of steps up and down the cliffs at Malibu.

It's good to be back!

Interesting Day

I remember David Chadwell telling about a brother who was being considered for the eldership in a small church. Another brother was adamant that he not be appointed because he was a member of the Teamsters union who had gone out on strike against a local plant the year before. And the Bible specifically says that an elder is not to be a striker (1 Tim 3:3 in the KJV). Paul was talking about a man’s disposition to violence rather than his membership in a labor union. But being a striker is on my mind this morning.

We almost did not get to make this California trip because the Delta pilots were threatening to go out on strike. Delta was trying to stop corporate hemorrhaging by cutting back on benefits paid to pilots, and the pilots were set to strike… 10 days before our trip. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed—both management and the pilots understood that any strike by the financially troubled airline would bring down the whole company. So they settled.

Today we’re looking at another strike. Here we are in California on the day that a strike has been called for all immigrants to shower their power and solidarity. As a way to emphasize how much our country depends on non-citizen workers and to show support for the movement to legalize the status of those here illegally, all immigrants have been called to boycott work, school and shopping today. There will likely be rallies and protests. Some will work but buy nothing; others will protest at lunch breaks or rallies after work. This is an attempt to shut down the economy for one day to show how important immigrant workers are to our economic system. How will that effect us here in our timeshare at Avila Beach? Well, the coffee was made this morning when I came down at 5:00 a.m. That’s a good sign!

If you were expecting some witty observation or insightful proposal for a solution to the issues driving this boycott, then you really came to the wrong blog! I appreciate the struggle of people to create a new life by coming to this country. Hey, I grew up down the road from Jamestown and Williamsburg hearing stories of Captain John Smith and Christopher Newport and their hearty band of adventurers who came to the New World looking for that new life. Of course, Chief Powhatan may tell another story about how important it is to control immigration if you want to perverse your way of life. No witty slogans or simple answers will be offered here because there are none that help.

My perspective is simple… or maybe simplistic. Every face (black, white, brown) that we will see on TV in those crowds participating in marches and protests and rallies is a person created in the image of God to live in relationship with God. The problem with issues like this one (those without simple and clear answers) is that they tend to polarize people into groups. And when you look at groups and issues and protests, very often you fail to see people. Those who walk in the way of the Christ will never fail to focus on people who God loves and for whom Christ died… no matter which side of the aisle they may be on a particular issue. In fact, there should be a warm place in our heart for the aliens and strangers among us, for ultimately Christians are aliens and strangers in the world (1 Pet 1:1, 1:17, 2:11).

Well, if you excuse me, I’ve gotta go get cleaned up. I want to see what Wal-Mart looks like with no workers nor shoppers!