Taking a Wrong Turn

I would assume that worker’s comp covers things like this. After all, Tatyana Simanava sustained very serious injuries—broken arm, dislocated shoulder, cuts on her face and head—while at work. Well, what she was really trying to do was find the bathroom. It seems that the 21 year old Russian model was on her way to a photo shoot on a luxury bus when she asked the way to the bathroom. She got confused in the passageway and walked through an exit door. The bus was traveled on a freeway at about 40 mph when she tumbled onto the pavement. A passing car saw the accident and immediately pulled over to help. She is quoted as saying, "Everybody said it is lucky that I am alive." It is probably just a coincidence that it turns out that Tatyana is blond. Probably.

As one with a notoriously bad sense of direction, I can understand how it is easy to get turned around in an unfamiliar place. More than once I have gotten up to leave after visiting someone and opened the door of their closet. (Of course, I did not step into the closet, nor was the closet traveling at 40 mph!) I can understand getting lost. It is easy to get lost. And sometimes there are serious consequences when you are lost.

That is the human experience. We are lost and there are serious consequences. The mission of the Son of God was to "seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). The word translated "lost" literally means "to ruin or cause destruction," and it is often translated by the word "perish." Paul says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18). He says that evil "deceives those who are perishing" (2 Thess 2:10). The condition of mankind is that of being lost; we have all taken a very serious wrong turn.

Shortly after her tumble from the bus, the banged-up fashion model said, "I am not angry, but I would like that there are some changes made, that nothing like this can happen again." OK, watching where you are going might help keep one from falling out of a moving bus. But then, we plunged into sin with our eyes wide open. The cross is God’s answer; He is "not wanting anyone to perish" (2 Peter 3:9). But those who know the good news that God found us and rescued us at the cross must share it with others. By our words and our lives, we are the smell of salvation. Paul said, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Cor. 2:15). Our call today is to be the aroma that draws the lost to the only one who can save them.

What I Really Need

I like gadgets. I always have liked gadgets. I remember as seeing as a kid someone with a remote control for their television. I thought I had touched the future! This was the ultimate gadget—you could change channels and adjust the volume without moving. Now this was in an age in which no one got more than three channels, so channel surfing really wasn’t all that big a deal. But this was THE gadget! Now it was at least twenty years later before I owned a TV with a remote control. I love gadgets, but I’m seldom on the cutting edge of actually having them.

The gadget I am looking at now is PDA phone, like the Palm Treo (I’m not sure whether I want the Palm or Windows Mobile, but If it goes like the TV remote, I have 20 years to decide). But my reason for wanting the PDA phone is much higher (and spiritual)— I would always have access to my Bible program. There are times when you are out and don’t have a Bible with you, but it would be right there on the phone. Several versions. With search capability. I need all that because I am a preacher. Let me know if any of this is working for you; I have spring it on Lynn at some point.

OK, seriously. Is the reason that we don’t read the Bible more than we do really because we don’t have it yet in the optimal form? Would you read the Bible more if you had the perfect edition with just the right print size and style? Will I really read my phone more than I do my printed Bible (or computer Bible)? Or do you think our failure to make reading God’s word more a part of our lives has more to do with our priorities?

There was a man in Kansas City who was critically injured in an explosion—he was blinded, lost both of his hands and mangle in other ways. As he recovered, one of his great frustrations was that he could not read the Bible for himself. He heard about a woman in England who could read Braille with her lips, so he decided to learn Braille. He was discouraged again because the explosion had also damaged the nerves in his lips. But as he was trying to make the Braille-through-the-lips technique work, he accidentally he touched the Braille page with his tongue and he could feel the little bumps. He went on to learn Braille, and he would read through the Bible many times after that.

Here was a guy who wanted God’s word so much he could literally taste it! I think the “gadget” that would allow all of us to read the Bible more is a heart that so desires God and His truth in our lives that we’re going read and feed no matter what. OK, I still want the Treo, but what I really need is that hunger of heart that won’t be filled with anything less that God.

How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path. (Psalm 119:103-104)

The Pilgrim Heart

I am currently reading Pilgrim Heart by Daryl Tippens of Pepperdine University. I hope by the end of the day to have it finished, but I wanted to write a few lines now. This is an extremely well-written and unique look at the pilgrim life of the disciple. The book is subtitled, “The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life.” Drawing from ancient and modern writers on the spiritual disciplines, Tippens paints a dramatic head and heart picture of what it means to walk in the way of the cross every day. Quoting Edward Fudge—

Tippens' vision of discipleship is not only human and personal; it is dynamic, earthy, and social. Biblical faith is embodied in a journey, Tippens insists, not in the clouds but here on the ground. It is a pilgrimage of people living in human bodies, experiencing "passion, tears and laughter" in company with others on the same journey with Jesus. "A faithful heart is always a passionate pilgrim heart," Tippens concludes, "ever on the road, ever moving forward - searching for understanding, seeking the face of God."

The spirituality for which Tippens is looking is one that seeks the heavens but has its feet firmly planted on the ground. He speaks of “a God-focused spirituality that is also paradoxically creation-centered. Tippens spends the bulk of his book exploring 14 spiritual disciplines, what he calls “practices of the pilgrim heart,” that can lead us in the way of Jesus everyday. These
include—

1. Emptying: Lessening our attachment to possessions, power and prestige.
2. Welcoming: A holy hospitality reflects Christ’s grace in everyday life.
3. Resting: Rest and solitude refresh us and acknowledge our place in God’s creation.
4. Befriending: The “mutual regard and care for souls” requires time, distance and self-sacrifice.
5. Confessing: We must tell the truth about our weakness and hear a word of absolution.
6. Forgiving: The divine activity of reflecting God’s forgiveness to other people.
7. Listening: Waiting patiently and expectantly for God to reveal himself and speak to us.
8. Discerning: Learning to think with one’s heart, head and imagination.
9. Singing: Singing is “words of faith set to music convert us, encourage us, console us, sustain us, and take us to heaven’s door.””
10. Feasting: The sharing of table fellowship and meories of the past.
11. Creating: Focus on God’s “truth of beauty” in an appreciation of the arts.
12. Reading and Story: These remind us who we are, where we are going and Who has called us and is traveling by our side.
13. Suffering: We experience the suffering of Jesus and “the fire that purifies.”
14. Seeking: The pilgrim heart is always on the pilgrimage, seeking the end of the journey.

Tippens not only writes of the quest for everyday spirituality, we writes about it very, very well! He quotes writers that I would have likely never read on my own (the college professor pointing out the holes in my education), and he often points me in directions that I found fresh and often surprising.

Edward Fudge has a great review of this book in New Wineskins. You can buy the book from its publisher, New Leaf Publishers.

The Great Physician

A doctor and two nurses who cared for patients in the aftermath of Katrina were arrested yesterday and charged with second degree murder for intentionally administering lethal doses of morphine and Versed (a sedative) to patients too sick to be evacuated following the disaster. Louisiana State Attorney Charles Foti said, “This is not euthanasia; it is homicide.” The doctor allegedly told a nurse administrator three days after Katrina hit that that the patients remaining at the hospital would not survive and “a decision had been made to administer lethal doses.”

The investigation will be ongoing and very difficult. Some health care experts point out that administering morphine and Versed to critically ill patients suffering in 100-degree heat was an indicated response. “No doubt it was appropriate to receive some morphine. The question is, did they give too much?” said Dr. Maria Silveira, a specialist in end-of-life ethics. These issues are complex ones, made even more so by the political complexities following the Katrina disaster. It is likely that we’ll he hearing more about this story for months to come.

One of the lines of the Hippocratic Oath is “to never do harm to anyone.” (Of course, the next line is, “To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death. Nor will I give a woman a pessary to procure abortion.” We’ll leave euthanasia and abortion for another blog, OK?) If these health care workers really did intentionally kill people, for whatever reason, then that is a violation of the trust we placed in them and they should be prosecuted. If the State of Louisiana is making political hay at the expense of dedicated medical professionals serving in an impossibly difficult situation (one which the State of Louisiana may have exacerbated by their neglect), then that is unconscionable as well.

We are especially outraged when people entrusted with the special responsibility to serve abuse that trust to hurt the very ones that they are to serve. That was one of the things that really got the juices of the prophets flowing (See Isaiah 1:23, Amos Micah 3:11, 7:3). The princes, priests and prophets of Israel were extorting bribes and promoting themselves rather than serving the people. Jesus says much the same thing about the religious leaders of his day. Jesus blasts the Scribes and Pharisees for their self-promotion that serves to slam the door of heaven in the faces of those who would seek God (see Matt 23:13, Luke 11:52). Like Old Testament leaders, the scribes and Pharisees leaders were supposed to serve people and show the way to heaven. But their legalistic piety only promoted their own status and served to obscure the face of God.

Has not the church today been given the sacred trust to help people see God? Is not our job to point to the Great Physican who can heal sin-sick souls? When the church turns inward on itself and promotes its own interests and fusses and feuds over its own issues, are we not violating that sacred trust given us by Christ? Jesus is the Great Physician who has sent us out into a sick and dying world. Are we seeking serve that world, or are we too busy erecting barriers to cross and hoops to jump through that keep the sick away?

Ever After

The Daily Press carried a story Friday from The Roanoke Times about a couple named John and Jessie Mason. John ("JN") and Jessie met in the fall of 1936. When married, they stayed married. In fact, in the more than seventy years that they were together, JN and Jessie were seldom apart. They lived in the same town and the same house most of their lives. Jessie didn't drive, so JN drove her everywhere-- to the store, to the bank, to church. He would wait out in the car while she was at the hairdresser. Even after he started loosing his eyesight, JN would drive and Jesse would navigate. (Don't try this at home).

Jesse died of a stroke last June at the age of 93. After learning of her death, JN told a friend that Jessie was waiting on him. The friend called JN’s son and said, “You better get over here because he's going to join her.” And within 10 hours, JN died as well. The couple had been in declining health, and JN had survived for almost five years battling lung cancer. But there was no need to go on battling once Jesse was gone. His son says, “The cause of death is listed as pneumonia related to lung cancer, which is not accurate. He died of a broken heart.”

What a great story. In this day and age, you don’t hear too many stories like that (of course, most of their story wasn’t lived out in this day and age). If I could script the rest of my life story, I would like to use this same script. It is a sweet story. But remember that this real life story was lived out in real time. Imagine a man in a Buick with the window down reading the newspaper for two hours waiting for his wife to “get her hair fixed.” Imagine an old woman struggling with her own eyes reading to an old man who had gone legally blind. Imagine all the ups and downs, setbacks and struggles, tragedies and triumphs that together make up real life. The fairytale ending to the love story of JN and Jesse Mason was won by day-to-day life commitment and sacrifice that likely didn’t seem one little bit like a fairy tale! Happily-ever-after is always lived out one day at a time two people commitment themselves to each other and to living out what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

The Beautiful Game

I have to admit that all the hoopla over the World Cup escaped me. I know that soccer (called “football” by parts of the world who don’t have real football) is called “the beautiful sport.” But I just don’t get it. One of the things that gives human beings an edge over the animal kingdom is our opposable thumbs… so we invent a sport where you can’t use you hands? The most significant moment in sports history was in 1823 when William Ebb Ellis picked up the soccer ball during a match and ran with it!

Well, it could be that a few folks don’t share my lack of appreciation of soccer. It is the most popular sport in the world... by far. It was estimated that 1.1 billion people watched the World Cup final on television. That means that roughly one sixth of the world’s population saw French star Zinedine Zidane's meltdown and head butt an Italian opponent! And FIFI estimates that if you counted all the people who watched the entire World Cup event including all the qualifying matches, the number would be 28.8 billion.

OK, so soccer is popular. I'll grant you that. Big deal. Just because a lot of people take something seriously, that doesn't does make it serious, right? Consider the following “serious” sporting events—

• Checkers: Ron King (great name for a checker player) won the U.S. checkers championship in Medina, Ohio. He is known as “Muhammad Ali of checkers” because he trash-talks opponents. Also competing was Alex "The Mad Russian" Moiseyev. These guys take their checkers very seriously.
  
• Polo: The Gilgit tribe beat Chitral, 9-6 in their annual no rules allowed Pakastani polo match. No rules means if opponent gets in the way, club him! (Just like in the World Cup). You can’t hit the guy’s horse though; that’s frowned on. When a star player was “killed” (really “only” a broken neck and concussion), fans screamed for him to be dragged away so the match could continue! Tough crowd.

What makes soccer the world’s sport is that a lot of people watch it! Profound, huh? If more people watched, then guys would make millions playing checkers, and No-Rules-Polo would be “the beautiful sport.” Right? Just because a lot of people watch something, doesn’t make it good. It just makes it popular.

At the risk of overstating the point, Christians need to have a very healthy skepticism of the popular. (I'm talking about life here, not sports). Is it true that we are to not love the world or the things in the world? (1 John 2:15). Is it true that the world in its wisdom does not know God? (1 Cor 1:21). Is it true that to follow Christ, we must follow Him outside the camp of the world? (Heb 13:13, July 12 blog). Because something is popular does not necessarily make it good. Christians need to be very careful when following the crowd unless we know where the crowd is going!

OK, if you like soccer, that great! It was a good World Cup. I was just kidding around a little; I’m not trying to pick a fight. (The last think I need is a head butt from some outraged soccer fan.) Sometimes something that is popular can be good as well. But I’m more of a purest. I am a fan of Arkansas Razorback football… which is usually neither popular nor good!

The Blessing of Frosty Glasses

Things can really look different from different perspectives. One of the things I have always disliked about wearing glasses (which I’ve done since first grade), is their negative impact on coping with weather. A light drizzling rain is no big deal; you don’t even have to walk fast to keep from getting wet. Unless you are wearing glasses, and then the raindrops that keep falling on your head obscure your vision. And what about those hot and humid days when you step outside and your glasses fog up to the point where you can’t see?

Well, that just happened to me a little earlier, but I had a whole new perspective on the experience. It seems that our air conditioning has been conspiring against us of late. My old Taurus decided that I really didn’t need AC, and so I drove around for while really wishing I had the AC back. Then both AC units at home decided that right before having company would be a great time to go on strike until they got some Freon. And then the AC went out completely on Lynn’s car last week. It needs Freon, plus a new line and switch... and a compressor to drive the whole thing. Arghh! So this morning, when I stepped our of my old, frosty car and my glasses fogged up, I had to chuckle to myself, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

A change in perspective would solve a lot of our minor annoyances and gripes. Ever complain about the soaring price of gas? But what happens if you pull into the same gas station and they are completely out of gas, as is every other station around? Sure, it’s annoying that gas is so expensive, but at least it is around for me to buy. And it’s relatively much cheaper than it is in the rest of the world. And I have a car (two cars) in which to put gas. And I have a job that allows me to have money to buy gas. The things were generally find to complain about usually are a whole series of God’s blessings if we will just look from a different perspective.

I was thrilled that my glasses fogged over this morning. It was a great gift from God. I hope I can become better at finding His goodness and gifts with the other daily aggravations of my day!

Outside the Camp

The most imposing sight you will see driving down the Outer Banks of North Carolina is the Wright Brother's memorial in Kitty Hawk. The monument is dedicated to Orville and Wilbur Wright, the two men who launched the modern age of flight. But if you would have read about the Wright’s in the papers of their day, you would have gotten the idea that they were rather strange eccentrics who were out of touch with the real world. They lived in a day and age when people said that it was physically impossible for a heavier than air vehicle to ever get off the ground. If God would have meant for man to fly, He would have given him wings!

But the Wrights would not listen to the conventional reasoning. They had a vision of flight, and they were dedicated to its pursuit. They paid a heavy personal price at times, but they seemed to be on to something. Today there is a monument to their courage in Kitty Hawk… and there are other monuments at LAX and DFW and LaGuardia and even Newport News-Williamsburg International. The critics have been silenced, drowned out by the roar of vehicles that have taken man to the moon and back.

The Hebrew writer points his Jewish readership to what happened to Old Testament sacrifices after they were offered. The blood was offered at the Tabernacle, but “the bodies are burned outside the camp" (Heb 13:10). Ultimately the sacrifice was taken outside the walls of the camp. His point is about what it means to follow our sacrifice Jesus (Hebrews 13:11-14)

12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

If we are to live out the Christian faith in our postmodern, post-Christian world, then we must be willing to leave the camp of our culture. Through Christ, we have a vision of what man’s destiny can be and will be. But we must understand that this is a vision that differs greatly from the vision of our world. The conventional wisdom of the world must be left behind as we follow the Christ where He leads us. And where He leads us is outside the camp of respectability and acceptance by our culture. It is never easy to run counter to the prevailing culture; just ask Wilbur and Orville. But it is only when we leave the camp that we can soar to the heavens.

What a Party!

Well, Friday night turned out to be quite an experience! It wasn’t exactly a surprise 50th birthday party. I mean, I knew that I was having a birthday party... and was fairly sure I was turning fifty. But wow! It was really something! I had been kept completely in the dark about any of the details. For the past three weeks, Lynn has taken all phone calls in secret (I was beginning to get paranoid). I was expecting a few folks for dinner and maybe some good-natured ribbing... but I had no idea that there was going to be all the hoopla!

Will and Michelle really outdid themselves with the “This-Is-Your-Life” video (of course, they are waaaay too young to remember the “This Is Your Life” TV show, right?) Len and Anna Caroline (and the group) did a great job with the “It’s All Right (to Turn Fifty)” song. And whoever it was that talked Len out of the "viagra" line in the song... thank you.

Millard with help from his trusty (or rusty) sidekick Randy was hysterical (mostly) with the comedy routine. I especially liked the "never got a dinner" routine. And I do appreciate him making me feel younger—most of his jokes were way older than me! I greatly appreciated all of you who brought gifts. Even though it expressly forbidden. The thank you cards will be on the way.

Lynn did a fantastic job putting this all together, all the while keeping me pretty much in the dark (of course, that part wasn’t all that hard since I am pretty clueless). She cooked most of the food herself and took care of most of the details. What a blessing she has been in every part of well over half of my fifty years of life!

I was humbled and embarassed by all the attention. After all, all that one really has to do to turn fifty is just hang around long enough. All of those who participated in Friday night really make me glad that I have hung around this long. I have truly been blessed by God to have been a part of this church family. Thank you for my night; it really was something special.

25th Anniversary of My 25th Birthday

Today marks the 25th anniversary of my 25th birthday. Somehow that just sounds better than saying that I am now fifty (as in 50) years old today. Any birthday with that ends in zero seems more significant, but 50 somehow seems more significant still— one half of a century. I’ll have to live to 100 to be middle age now. And because most people don’t live to be 100 (the average lifespan in America is 77.2 years), then I am older than middle age. And the only thing older than middle age is old. Wow, how did that happen?

I checked to see what significant things happened on my birthday. Not much. John of Arc was found not guilty of witchcraft in 1436 (4 years after being burned at the stake... ooops). Tennis star Chris Evert doesn't like July 7-- she lost 5 Wimbledon finals on this date (3 to Martina Navratilova and 2 to Billy Jean King). I do share a birthday with several celebrities-- Satchel Paige, Doc Severinson, Ringo Starr and Ralph Sampson (different years, of course). So it seems that not much of significance has ever happened on my birthday. What was most instructive to me was to note some of the things that happened in the year that I was born. Current events for the year 1956 included the following—

• Abigail Van Buren's "Dear Abby" column first appeared (Jan 9)
• Canadian Football Council was formed (Jan 22)
• Elvis Presley's first hit "Heartbreak Hotel" became #1 (Apr 21)
• The Red’s Frank Robinson hits the first of his 586 HRs (Apr 28)
• "The Bob Hope Show" last aired on NBC-TV (May 22)
• John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for 1st time (Jun 15)
• Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin ended a 16 film partnership (Jun 19)
• Dick Clark's first hosted American Bandstand (Jul 9)
• U.S. national motto “In God We Trust” was authorized (Jul 30)
• Chet Huntley and David Brinkley (NBC News) teamed up (Oct 29)
• "The Wizard of Oz" first appeared on television (Nov 3)
• President Eisenhower was re-elected over Adlai Stevenson (Nov 6)
• Supreme Court struck down segregation on public buses (Nov 13)
• Elvis Presley's first movie "Love Me Tender" premiered (Nov 14)
• Wilt Chamberlain's scored 52 points in his first college game (Dec 3)

Elvis’ first #1 hit record, the first meeting of Lennon and McCartney and Dick Clark’s first Bandstand-- all in the year I was born? Well, at least the list above doesn’t include “dirt was invented!” Why does fifty years seem like a long time and a very brief time all at the same time?

It’s been a great first 50 years. God has blessed me more than I can imagine… and much, much more than I deserve. I have been blessed with a great family. It would be pointless to expect better parents, a better wife and or two better two daughters that the ones which which I have been blessed... they simply don't exist. And I have been blessed with a wonderful church family that has had such a rich influence on my life. In fact at some point this year (some math whiz with too much time on their hands can figure the exact date and time) I passed the point where I've been the preacher here longer than I lived before being the preacher here! Is that scary or what?

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3, NLT)

Show Me the Way to Go Home

Our first annual Denbigh July 4th Picnic was a huge success! Betty Tanner did a marvelous job planning every detail of the day. Michelle King and Sheila Sandoval did a great job producing and directing all the activities, games and prizes. And Becky Sweatt did an outstanding job putting together all the food... and the beef brisket she smoked was out-of-this-world! And we all appreciated the flexibility that allowed us to move everything inside into the AC when the thermometer hit 100! We moved chairs out of the way and had two multipurpose rooms filled with fun at both ends of the building. That’s what we intended when we remodeled the worship center, but we had never used it like that before. The whole day was great… thanks to all who participated.

Good habits are hard to create and easy to break. I decided to take a couple of days off work (and my blog) Mondays and Tuesday for the holidays. Mom and Dad are visiting with us this week, and I wanted to spend some extra time with them. Well, now it’s Thursday, and my blog responsibilities are still being shirked. Frankly I don’t know what you regular blog readers (both of you) have been doing for the last several days!

Mom and Dad lived here in Virginia for 46 years or so before they moved back to Arkansas (guess they decided they didn't like it). The whole time that they lived in Virginia, they referred to our annual trips to Arkansas as “Going home.” But now that they have lived in Arkansas for ten years, they say that they are “Going home” when they come back to Virginia. So they were never completely at home in either place-- they have family and friends that they want to spend time with in both places. So wherever they lived, they have had to “go home” occasionally. Thomas Wolfe’s often quoted titled really is true, “You Can't Go Home Again.” But we do try to go home, don’t we?

There is something restless in us all that never quite seems to feel totally at home. Part of that is the old “grass is always greener” thing that keeps us from being totally satisfied with whatever it is that we have. But on a deeper spiritual level, we understand in our better moments of clarity (though they be rare) that this world is never really going to feel like our home. With our spiritual ancestor Abraham, we are “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). We are “aliens and strangers” who are looking for a home and “longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Heb 11:16). We live as strangers and pilgrims in a land that is never fully ours, never really home (1 Peter 1:1, 1:17, 2:11).

We remind ourselves of this as we sing “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through; my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue” and “I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side.” Oh, much of the time we do feel comfortable and contented, and that is good. But then there are times when our restless souls cannot find the true and lasting peace that comes with we are really at home. We are not fully at peace because we are never fully at home.

You see, our real home is not a place at all—it is a story. Home is the story of the cross, the empty tomb and the home with God made possible by them both. So with Abraham, we continue to look for that unseen home. We live as pilgrims who enjoy the sweetness of the journey around us as we look to home. We live as sojourners who endure the perils of our passage by keeping our eye on our true home. We are never fully at home, but we are content in the knowledge that we are going there. St Augustine framed this truth in these words, “I am made for thee. My heart will not rest until I rest in thee.” We are never really home until we are finally with the Father.

Coming Clean

OK, this one sounds a little too much like a preacher’s story. I ran across it years ago (back when I used to file old bulletin articles), and I stumbled across it again recently. You can Google and find the story several places on the web, but it is always used by preachers! So I’m skeptical... but then it’s a good story.

At the risk of spreading an urban (or in this case rural) legend, consider the case of the ermine. The ermine is a small, weasel-like creature indigenous to Canada, the Northern United states, Asia and Europe. In the spring and summer the ermine's coat is dark brown with a white underbelly, but in winter the coat turns entirely white except for the black end of its tail. The animal has long been hunted for its white winter coat, its fur being used to line the capes of nobility. But not only do people prize its fur; the ermine itself is pretty protective of its white coat. It spends hours preening the fur, and it will go to great lengths not to get dirty.

Trappers have used this quirk against the animal. When they find an ermine’s lair, they will coat the entrance with thick black tar. They wait while their dogs are set loose to track the animal. Instinctively, the ermine will make for the safety of its den, but when it sees the black tar covering the entrance, the ermine will turn and face the dogs. The ermine would rather fight its attackers rather than risk dirtying its white coat. The trappers then move in to claim their prize.

Would be that you and I were as zealous for our purity as is the lowly ermine! John spoke of the holy martyrs who had been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). Only those who are so washed can enter the city of God (Rev 22:14). Paul tells us that despite our past impurity, we have been washed (1 Cor 6:11). We become part of Jesus holy bride through the “washing with water of the word” (Eph 5:26). But we live in a world filled with dirt, a world that wants us to participate in the dirt. James tells us to “Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21). We need to be so protective of the purity that Jesus won for us at the cross that we not only run from the immorality around us (1 Cor 6:18), we will turn and fight rather than give into it!

My treatise on ermine trapping may only be a preacher story, but God’s call to holiness and purity is not! We need to take it seriously.

Noboby's Perfect

One can only suppose that it is the kind of thing of which right-wing, conservative, law-and-order-types-- uou know, the Rush Limbaugh-types-- would approve. A guy is a known user of illegal prescription drugs, so you roust him a little and find that, sure enough, he is packing more illegal prescription drugs. That makes sense, right? The problem is that the guy they rousted this time WAS Rush Limbaugh himself!

Just last month, Limbaugh reached a deal in a long-standing case of what is commonly called “doctor shopping.” He had been charged in obtained multiple prescriptions for painkillers from multiple doctors under false pretenses. He had received a (sweetheart) deal of having all charges dismissed after 18 months if he submits to random drug tests and undergoes treatment for his addiction to painkillers.

Yesterday, Mr. Limbaugh was detained at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a valid prescription. Well, actually, it had a prescription… it just wasn’t to Mr. Limbaugh. The explanation was that the drug was legally prescribed, but that it was “labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes.” That actually sounds plausible, I guess. But the privacy angle didn’t work out so well for him in this case. In fact, I think we can expect the commentators and comedians out there to really pile on ol' Rush this time. After all, Viagra is just a lot funnier that Percocet or Percodan!

None of us are perfect... so you would think we would know better. But there is this human tendency to respond to the foibles and failures of others with too much interest and not enough grace. We want to hear all about the latest celebrity scandal; there are entire TV shows dedicated to that kind of gossip. And when we don’t like someone (because of their politics or personality or both), we take special delight in hearing about their failures. Many left-wingers will be pouncing on this latest chapter in the Limbaugh soap opera. (Of course, Rush pounces pretty hard and fast too— just ask Bill and Hillary).

How different is the response of God to our failures and foibles. God is hurt by our sin and disappointed in our choices, but He is instantly ready to forgive when we are ready to own responsibility for our actions and make changes in our perspectives. David, who was in a position to know about such things, assures is that God overwhelms our failures with his mercy and grace— listen to Psalm 103:10-13

10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

God doesn’t tolerate sin. He doesn’t overlook sin. He never says that our sins don’t really matter. But he will forgive our sin… completely. And when forgives sin, you don’t have to worry about reading about them later. They are gone. Now, if only God’s people were as serious about forgiveness!

Where Would Jesus Go?

I’m sure that you have no idea that there was a huge Erotica pornography trade show in Los Angeles. Me either… until I read this story. It seems that one of the hottest items given away at the convention was a bright yellow New Testament entitled Jesus Loves Porn Stars. Some 3,300 of these Bibles were given away by the web-based anti-porn ministry xxxchurch (or x3church) during the first day of the three-day trade show. Convention-goers did a double-take when they saw the booth and the Bibles with the unusual covers. Workers at the booth were able to tell people in the porn business that Jesus loves them, and they offered an escape and a fresh start to those who wanted help getting out of the industry.

The special Jesus Loves Porn Star Bible is really The Message translation of the New Testament with special articles and helps. This non-traditional approach to ministry has caused some controversy. The American Bible Society refused to print the Bible; it was subsequently printed by NavPress. There have been Christians who have been critical of other things done by X3, but they defend their ministry decision as an important way to reach out to our broken world in a way no one else is doing.

"We think this goes with the central message of the gospel and Jesus loves you regardless of your profession… This is not about shock tactics, this is about trying to get the word of God to places most say would be impossible but we have found a way to do it."

So... where would Jesus be in all of this? Would He be at the trade show talking about the truth of God with people who desperately need it and encouraging them to get out of a sinful lifestyle? Or would He stand on the sidelines criticizing the effort and complaining about the cover style of the Bible that was produced? Oh, and where would the Pharisees be? It is interesting how the church has come to so value the mantle of its respectability that it rejects as unseemly the very kinds of things that Jesus did. There is food for thought in here somewhere.

Lighted Matches and Blood on His Hands

When I was a kid, I was just sure there was this certain quote in the Bible. I remember looking through a concordance trying to find the quote which had something to do with the inadvisability going to sleep with a lighted match. I searched and search for the quote. What I think I was looking for was Proverbs 6:27, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” Somehow that quote was morphed into something very different, something I was sure was there in the Bible somewhere.

I had a déjà vu of that yesterday. I was preparing for my Wednesday night class by reading in 1 Kings and Chronicles. I was going to make a point about why David was prevented from building the Temple himself. Specifically, I wondered if the blood on David’s hands was all the men he killed in battle or perhaps the innocent blood he shed… like that of Uriah. So I read the text closely. Well, in 2 Samuel 7 where David asks to build the Temple, there is no mention of blood on David’s hands. God promises to build David a house (dynasty) and that his son would build the Temple. In 1 Kings 5 as Solomon is explaining his plans for the Temple to Hiram, king of Tyre, he says that David was too busy at war to build the house of God. And in 1 Chronicles 17, the parallel passage to 2 Samuel 7, again there is no mention of blood being on David’s hands. I carefully re-read all the passages and there was no mention of what I remembered being there. I was sure it was there… right beside the verse about going to sleep with a lighted match!

This reminds me of two things. First, it can be dangerous to rely upon what you think you already know and have learned about the Bible. The absolute enemy of our search for truth is the absolute conviction that we already have it! If all we are after in Bible study is the repetition of what we already know, then Bible study is a pretty pointless pursuit. Sometimes we begin a Bible discussion by saying, “Well, I’ve just always believed that…” And what we may mean is that we aren’t all that open to considering it in any other way. Just because you think a story, interpretation or application is in the Bible doesn’t mean its there. In fact, it may keep you from looking.

Second, sometimes it really is there! In 1 Chronicles 22, David is giving his son instructions for the future Temple project. In giving Solomon his marching orders, David says—

7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.

So it was in there all along—I just didn’t read long enough or hard enough! Sometimes continued study confirms what you believed to be true in the first place. And that’s OK too, isn’t it? While I was tracking down all of that, I ran across a lot of other great stories as well. One day I’ll probably have a debate with myself about whether one of those stories is really in the Bible or not!

Glory Road

The movie Glory Road was released on DVD while the girls were home, and we tried to rent it for two weeks. Well, actually we tried to rent it twice, but then we only rent movies on dollar-Tuesday. We did finally find it last night, and it was well worth the wait. Actually, it would have been much more fun to watch it with the girls; Tressa would have been crying through the whole thing while Angelynn laughed at her! But it was a great movie. I might even be tempted to say “Forget the Titans; this is the best sports movie ever.” But then, I’ll have to watch it a half-dozen more times before I make that determination.

Glory Road is the story of Coach Don Haskins and the Texas Western University basketball team. This little school from El Paso, Texas made an improbable run to win the 1966 NCAA national championship over the Kentucky juggernaut coached by legendary Adolph Rupp. But then, the movie wasn’t really about basketball; it was about racism and integrity. An informal rule in southern basketball dictated that you never play more than one black player at home, two on the road or three if you were behind. Texas Western won the 1966 NCAA championship with an all-black team on the floor, defeating all-white Kentucky. On that court that night, modern basketball began as Texas Western delivered “the emancipation proclamation of 1966.” (Those are the words of NBA coach Pat Riley, the star of that Kentucky team, in an interview that ran during the closing credits of the movie. By the way, Riley had a pretty good night for himself last night in the NBA).

In one impassioned speech in the movie, Coach Haskins reminds his players that their effort was about more than basketball. They were playing for something bigger than basketball, bigger than themselves. Rather than the pressure of that overwhelming these young men, it gave them the strength to give their best effort and prevail in the end. In the end, they won something more important than a basketball game.

That is the reality of our Christian lives. Every day, we make decisions on how we will relate to people and conduct ourselves in the world. From the slow and disorganized cashier at Wal-Mart to the non-helpful customer (no) service person at the phone company to the nosey neighbor who is always showing up at inconvenient times, we must decide how we will act and react. At one level, it’s just grocery-shopping, bill-adjusting and neighbor-ducking, right? But on another level, how we act and react is all about spiritual warfare. We know what Paul says in Ephesians 6:12--

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (NLT)

Spiritual warfare takes place within the ordinary decisions of our ordinary day. Every choice we make and ever action we take either contributes to the light in our world or to the darkness. What you and I are about at work, school or home today is spiritual living and spiritual warfare. Our life today is about more than just life in the here and now. Every day we are taking steps along the glory road.

How to Live in the Family of God

I taught a series of lessons on the church in Ukraine several years ago. One of the points I kept stressing was that “the church is not a building.” In a part of the world in which religion was repressed for seventy years, many were conditioned to think of “church” as only a special type of architecture. So I wanted to stress that the "church" was not about a building... and I guess I got the point across. In a question-and-answer session, my translator Pavel answered a question on his own, not bothering to wait for me to answer it. He then turned to me and said, “I told them that the church is not just a building.”

Maybe we need the same message too. It is so easy to see “church” as what happens within the walls of a particular building during a particular time. So we have "church services" and "church programs." But the church is not what happens a designated place at the next appointed time; church is what happens in the lives of God's people. The dominant metaphor for the church in the Bible is that of family. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:15—

If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

That's not talking about the proper dress code (suits or hats) or whether or not its OK to eat or let the teens play laser tag in the building. It's not talking about a building at all. The house is not a church building... it is us. The NCV renders this text, "You will know how to live in the family of God." No, we don't think of church in terms of being a building, but we do think of church as what happens when we come to the building. If we are ever to get a handle on what it means to be an ancient church in the modern world, we will have to lose our identity of "doping church" with what goes on at the building.

(Note: The slightly processed picture of our building that I included above was found in a folder on my hard drive labelled "church." Old habits are hard to break.)

Seeds of Division Don't Need to Be Transplanted

Denbigh has been blessed over the years by our much too infrequent run-ins with the Shelburne clan. Ian Shelburne preached for us several weeks ago while he, Danetta and the kids were visiting with Dan and Byrdie. And several years ago, Gene Shelburne shared with us material from his book The Quest for Unity. Yesterday, Dan emailed me an article from Curtis Shelburne, Gene's younger brother. I thought I would share it with you. What a great reminder that most of the fusses and feuds that divide us are over issues that are trasnplanted from other places and others times. Let's resolve to focus on on the gosepl of the crucified and resurrected Lord. If doing that means that we start to rub elbows with "Christ’s emissaries from other brands" (to use Curtis' phrase), then so much the better.

Seeds of Division Don't Need to Be Transplanted

I think I’m correct in stating that, from the genealogical research that some members of the Shelburne, Shelburn, Shelborne, Shelbourne, Shilborne, family have done, it becomes clear that our clan has long had a bent toward the ministry. That’s just a fact and not necessarily praiseworthy. I’m quite sure we have had in the clan our share of horse thieves, too, some of whom were probably also in the ministry. (Well, a circuit preacher’s gotta ride, don’t-cha-know!)

In my own little sub-clan, we’ve also had a good number of missionaries, which means that we’ve had ample opportunity to see such work and such workers fairly close up.
My earliest view of mission work and missionaries in general came from my oldest brother (Ian's Dad, B. Shelburne) and his wife who, since they went to Africa shortly after I was born, I actually got acquainted with on their furloughs. I thought then, and I think now, they were missionaries of the very best sort.

As I got older, I was introduced to one or two of another sort when I would often accompany another of my brothers to a monthly luncheon of area preachers of more or less “our” brand. The guys needing programs for those meetings often invited furloughed missionaries of their own.

With sad regularity, the missionary would start by opining, “When we arrived in Outer Swazilandika, there were 12 Christians in the whole country,” and you got the feeling he wasn’t so sure about 8 of those. “Now there are 127.” The heartwarming nature of the growth was somewhat tempered when you did a little historical research and found that Christ’s emissaries from other brands had already been there for the better part of at least several centuries and the aforementioned math was being done in the head of a guy who was, as one man said, “so narrow that a gnat could stand on the bridge of his nose and kick out both eyes with one foot.” It was further tempered when you listened for a while and realized that were you to spend eternity in close proximity to this fellow, it wouldn’t take you long to decide that when you’d been dispatched to eternity, you’d landed a good deal south of heaven. (Jesus warned us! See Matthew 23:15.)

But my sons recently told me a story that some large-hearted missionaries of the best sort had told them. It seems that word had reached mature Christian “native” leaders in an African country that a “missionary” of the gnat-kicked type above had heard about their worship (drums, joyful dancing, etc.) and was crossing the ocean to set them straight lest God be appalled by their extravagant joy before him. They met the man at the plane and turned him around: “We love you in the Lord. But we will not allow you to transplant seeds of division from your land to ours.” It was then that the missionaries knew for sure that “their converts” were truly rooted and growing beautifully in Christ.

(c) 2006 by Curtis K. Shelburne.

The Next Big Thing?

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the realistic re-telling of the last hours of Jesus, remains the top-grossing R-Rated movie of all time. The big budget adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ allegory of the gospel, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was one of the biggest movies of last year. And now the next big blockbuster to depict the gospel story is scheduled to be released on June 28. That movie is Superman Returns.

Superman? Think about it. Here is a savior who comes from another world to save mankind. That does sound familiar, right? The teaser for the movie contained these words spoken by Marlon Brando as Superman’s father in the 1978 movie--

Even though you have been raised as a human being, you are not one of them. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all-- their capacity for good-- I have sent them you, my only son.

Sound familiar? Superman's real name "Kal-El" and that of his father "Jor-El" both use the Hebrew word for "God.” The plot has Superman returns after a long absence, a story-line not unlike Jesus’ death and resurrection. These kinds of comparisons really got going when James Caviezel, star of The Passion of the Christ, was considered for the role of Superman, a role which eventually went to Brandon Routh. Stephen Skelton has written The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero, a book featured by Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) on his web page.

I think it is important for Christians to understand the popular culture. Jesus spent His time in the streets with common people, not ivory towers separated from them. I think we can use the interest of people in the culture to build bridges to the gospel. That is why we look at the birth of Jesus at Christmas and his death-and-resurrection at Easter— people are already focusing on those themes. I did preach on The Da Vinci Code when the movie was released, and I made a big deal about The Chronicles of Narnia, a movie I’ve seen a half-dozen times. I think it is important to use people interest or questions in spiritual things to point them to spiritual truth.

But there seems to me something else going on when we start seeing Superman as a Christ figure! Do we really think someone will see Superman again beating up on Lex Luther and think, “You now, I really outta go to church?” Will secular people be opened to spiritual truths here? Will discussions about Superman Returns at the water cooler give us chances to share our faith? Maybe, I guess. Who knows?

Or is it maybe that believers are looking to secular culture for some sort of confirmation of faith? If a popular movie throws us a bone (or uses imagery that we can interpret as a bone), maybe that makes us feel better about our faith. After all, we are used to movie like The Da Vinci Code undermining and ridiculing faith. We are used to religious people in movies always turning out to be psycho-killers. So when The Chronicles of Narnia comes along and treats faith respectfully, that is refreshing. So are willing to see Superman as another allegory of faith? Am I the only one who sees this as a super stretch?

If talking about Superman Returns helps you share you faith, that’s great. But if we are willing to take comfort in Hollywood treating faith respectfully, then we are setting ourselves up to be disappointed. It has always been the case that those who follow Christ must follow him outside the camp of respectability (see Hebrews 13:11-14). There is always something of a disgrace to follow the Crucified One. We certainly should not expect our culture to make faith more respectable!

The End of Restoration

Monroe Hawley begins his book The Focus of Our Faith by surveying thirteen historical restoration movements, beginnings with the Paulicans in the sixth century and going through modern Chinese efforts. One of those movements surveyed is our own, the Stone-Campbell movement. Every so often, I hear someone object to the “Stone-Campbell Movement” label by suggesting, “We don’t follow Stone and Campbell; why not just call it ‘Restoration Movement?’” Well, there have been thirteen (at least) such movements; ours isn’t the only one. (Just the only one that got it all right?!)

There are great variations in all these groups, but they do share some common traits. They accept only the Bible and reject tradition as a basis of authority. They produce independent churches with no denominational organization, and they stress holy living and Christian fellowship. Most of these groups practice some form of believer’s baptism (and reject the baptism of infants). And people on this movements were very committed, often giving up everything to follow God. For example, there were about 50,000 Anabaptists martyred between 1525-1535 A.D.

So, where are all of these restoration groups now? (Well, we know where we are... maybe) Some of these groups completely faded from history. Others so divided, fractured and splintered so that they are no longer single movements. Hawley argues that the failure of all of these restoration efforts was is in their FOCUS. Each group found something (maybe several things) that they found "broken" in Christianity. For the Anabaptists, it was the practice of infant baptism and the state church system of Europe. For Stone and Campbell, it was baptism by immersion and the pattern for church organization. For the most part, these things that were found to be in error were external things relating to doctrine, worship and church organization. Because these external things were what these groups saw as WRONG, these tended to be the main focus of the group. So the whole point of Christianity was the relationship of church and state or baptism by immersion. What was lost (or at least overshadowed) in many cases was the focus of God reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus Christ.

What is my point? It is possible for believers in Christ to focus with laser precision on the external forms of religion and completely miss God Himself! That is what Jesus told the Pharisees in John 5, these religious leaders who were themselves great restorationists (John 5:39-40)

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Jesus recognized the Pharisees’ emphasis on the study of scripture. He does not, of course, criticize their study. What he criticizes is the focus of their study. They saw the scriptures and all the laws and traditions that came from their study of the scriptures. What they missed was the Christ at the center of the scriptures. Spiritual life comes from scripture only as we are connected to the Christ of scriptures. The restoration isn’t about church organization and external forms—restoration must center in the person of Christ himself. As Edward Fudge says as he concludes His booklet “The Restoration Movement Fulfilled In Jesus Christ” (available online here) with the statement, “CHRIST is the end (goal - telos) of the Restoration Movement, to all who believe in Jesus.”