Food For Thought & Call to Action

I commend this article to you, written by Rebecca McLaughlin.  The title of it is, “Why I Don’t Sit With My Husband At Church.”  Immediately below is a short bio on McLaughlin.

Rebecca McLaughlin holds a PhD from Cambridge University as well as a theology degree from Oak Hill Seminary.  Formerly vice president of content at The Veritas Forum, Rebecca is now co-founder of Vocable Communications.  Her first book, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Worldview, will be published by Crossway in 2019. Follow her on Twitter or at rebeccamclaughlin.org. This piece was adapted from a previous post published on McLaughlin’s blog.

“Are you and Bryan okay?” asked a friend.

“Yes, why?”

“I noticed you weren’t sitting together in church.”

I often hear this question. The answer hinges on the rising need for hospitality in church.

Gospel invitation has always been the call of Christ, but it’s all the more urgent as 21st-century American Christianity suffers from thin discipleship, and American culture no longer pushes people toward church. Every week, men and women wander into our gatherings for the first time, some invited, others of their own accord. Some have recently moved and are seeking community while others haven’t been to church in a while, or ever. Their experience will determine whether they ever come back.

For my husband and me, offering hospitality has meant breaking down a common church practice: sitting together as a family.

Here are five reasons why we often separate on Sunday mornings:

1. Outsiders shouldn’t be outsiders.

A year ago, I looked behind me during the early service and noticed a woman in her late 20s standing at the back of the church alone. She hovered, looking for a place to sit in a service mostly filled with families. Our church is majority white; she is black. Many of us have been here for years; she was new. When I beckoned to her, she looked confused. I felt embarrassed. Then I asked myself, “Would I rather be too friendly or risk her feeling like no one cared?” I walked over and said, “Please, come sit with me!”

After the service, we talked briefly. When she left, I wondered if I’d put her off. But later that week, our pastor emailed to let me know that a newcomer had reported being welcomed by a British woman with small children and how much it had meant to her.

Every Sunday, my husband and I walk into church and see someone new sitting alone. If possible, we go and sit with them. If there are two people, we divide. It’s often awkward and uncomfortable but nonetheless worth it. Why? Because the gospel is a story of juxtaposition in community: Jesus sat with a Samaritan woman and asked her for a drink. Phillip got into the chariot with an Ethiopian eunuch. The early church ate together.

Our Sunday mornings do not require “having it together,” but they do require being together. Newcomers need us and we need them.

2. Family is more than immediate family.

My younger daughter loves another couple in our church. She often sits with them, and people routinely think that my friend is her mom. When my friend has had a hard week, my daughter’s affection encourages her, which in turn gladdens my heart and reminds me of a simple but poignant truth—that we’re all family in the church.

The Bible insists on this: We are brothers and sisters in one body. As part of this body, my five-year-old does not need my undivided attention. She belongs to a much bigger story, a gospel story in which she is an active participant, not just a pre-Christian, training within the confines of the nuclear family for a future role that might one day be outward-looking. Liuan Huska’s recent article on attachment parenting makes the point that the Christian family is not a closed unit but rather part of a larger ecosystem. Community starts now.

Although being a healthy family sometimes requires drawing boundaries, we must be careful how we operate in community. If we close off in biological pods every Sunday, we leave out singles, newcomers, and others. If we open up, we experience a gospel gift—the body of Christ in all its fullness.

3. Your spouse is too much like you.

My husband and I joke that we have very little in common: He’s from Oklahoma; I’m from England. He’s an engineer; I’m an English literature nerd. The list goes on. But at the end of the day, most of us marry people who are, broadly speaking, like us. Even marriages formed across racial or cultural difference seldom transgress socio-economic, age, or educational divides.

If our churches are in the messy gospel business of fostering family across differences, then it makes sense to sit with others unlike us.

Sometimes this means traversing racial divides. My brothers and sisters of color have felt the weight of political disappointment in unique ways in the last two years, and some are part of a quiet exodus from majority-white churches. I mourn this exodus and long for us to live as the unified body of Christ. When I sit with friends of color at church, I get a tiny foretaste of the vision cast in Scripture: people from every tribe and tongue and nation worshiping Jesus.

It’s also vital for us to create bonds across socioeconomic divides. For my husband, this often means sitting with guys who experience life circumstances he as a middle-class professional doesn’t face.

Although it’s sometimes hard to find commonality with people whose lives are different than our own, nonetheless it’s part of our beautiful calling as a church, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, black, white, or Asian, male nor female, slave nor free, single or married, prosperous or unemployed, wealthy or homeless, but Christ is all and is in all (Gal. 3:28).

4. Your marriage isn’t only for your benefit.

Marriage is a gift that we steward not just for ourselves and our children but also for the church. People in healthy marriages are outward-looking, spurring one another on to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). Of course, spouses sometimes need each other in church. There are times when I’m so broken internally after a painful week that I need to sit together with my husband and experience healing in common worship. For other couples, sitting together will be the right decision for prolonged periods of time. But if all is well in our marriages, we should feel driven to love not just our spouse but others, as well.

One Sunday, for example, I was comforting a friend going through a divorce. She was sitting with me, and I had my arm around her for much of the service. At one point, my husband put his arm around me. Although I usually delight in physical affection, I gently withdrew. The last thing my friend needed emotionally right then was to witness happy couple PDA.

God designed marriage to be a picture of the church—a place where we welcome newcomers and model a form of family that transcends biological kin.

5. We all need disillusionment with church.

Many of us leave the church because we have become disillusioned. But what if disillusionment is part of the point? “Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream,” wrote the German pastor-theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “But God speedily shatters those dreams.”

Bonhoeffer knew disappointment with the church on an epic scale. But he writes, “Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great sense of disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and, if we are fortunate, with ourselves.”

Disillusionment, argues Bonhoeffer, is not the end of Christian community but rather the entry point. We can only truly know Christ in each other when our dreams have been shattered and we see the broken sinners around us for who they are. What is worse, they must see us. Like the first Christians, all of us will utterly fail to live up to the biblical ideal. But if our faith is built on a man on a cross, failure is not the end, a sign that it’s has all gone wrong and we better find another church. Instead, it’s the beginning. We can’t find resurrection except through death.

My hope is that, in the midst of our disillusionment with church, all of us—marrieds, singles, and kids—will grow in our sacrificial love for each other as we reach across our differences. And perhaps one day, my friend and I will look at each other with concern and ask, “Are you and your husband okay? I noticed you were sitting together in church.”

The Christian Thing To Do

I've been thinking today (yes, dangerous, I know), especiall following a brief conversation I had to day with my barber. I gave her a $20 for a $15 cut and told her to keep the change. That started a conversation about money and what we think of when we think of money. I told her that I began thinking of money more as a tool to be used ever since I heard a missionary tell about how he used money to effect good evangelism.

I said that I thought that to acquire money just for the thrill of acquiring it was not where I was, and whether or not she gave me the $5 extra back in change or not was immaterial to me. That amount of money will not change my life one way or the other, whether I have it or not.

We then got into a conversation about tips at restaurants, for some reason. I told her that I've begun to tip wait staff at least 20% and will go as high as 30% or more for really good service. We agreed that most wait staff could use the money. Many probably are single parents, adults trying to support other people, students, or between jobs otherwise. Most probably have bills, not very good vehicles, and a host of personal issues they need to be working on and through.

As I thought more about the conversation I had with my barber today, I thought to myself the old truth, “I may not be able to do everything, but I can do something.” And that would apply to my dealings with wait staff in a restaurant. I can't fix their marriages or relationships. I can't pay their bills or catch them up on the rent. I can't buy them a newer vehicle or rid them of an abusive spouse. For the older ones who can't afford to retire, I can't magically provide them with a stash of mutual funds that they can retire on.

But I can do something. I can let them know they are appreciated. I can let them know that I care. And I can help them in a small way to maintain their dignity and sense of self-worth. These people, by and large, work hard for sometimes little pay. The least we can do is honor and recognize that in a tangible way.

After all, it's the Christian thing to do.

It's Not Your Table

Tom Shipp, a Methodist minister in the early 20^th century, tells a story about his receiving communion that rings especially true today.  As a boy, Shipp had to live with what would now be called a foster family because of the untimely deaths of both his mother and grandmother.  In those days, these kinds of arrangements were considered to be more of a “hired hand” arrangement than someone joining the family.

The first family he lived with did not consider him part of the family.  They did not allow him to eat at the table with them; he had to eat by himself after they finished.  He also had to room in the barn rather than in the house.

Shipp tolerated this for a year, then asked to be moved to another family.  This new family considered him to be part of their family.  He ate with them, slept with them, and participated in family events as any family member would do.

The family attended a Methodist church.  Shipp tells the story from here.

“The first Sunday I attended church it was communion.  The ushers directed people to the communion table.  The family I was with insisted that I go with them.  As I knelt down to receive the elements, the man I had previously worked for knelt down beside me on my right, and the man for whom I was now working was at my left.

The communion elements were served.  And the man at my right for whom I had worked took my hand and held it just as I reached for the bread.  I can still feel the tension.  The man to my left was a German, and his face turned bright red.  I can still hear the words that he said as he leaned forward, the preacher still holding the elements, not moving.  He said to the man, ‘It’s not your table!’  There was a hush over the whole sanctuary.  ‘It’s not your table!  It’s not your table!’

Finally, before matters came to blows, the man released his grip and I was allowed to take communion for the first time.”

This is Jay again.  “It’s not your table.”  As we approach the communion table in whatever manner we do, we need to remember that the table is not ours…it’s the Lord’s.  It is he that desires to share with us.  It is he who calls us to his table.  Those he calls, we have no right to turn away.

Our church family may not consist of those we especially like.  Our family may have people in it who grate on us the wrong way, or hold a different political or social opinion, or are much wealthier or poorer than we are.  They may look different than we do.  They may be immigrants or the working poor or the homeless.  But we all come to the table of the Lord because he has called us there…to his table…and has invited us to take and eat; take and drink.

May we always be welcoming, hospitable, and gracious when dealing with our church family.  May we always seek the common good, do our part to keep the family healthy, and constantly recognize with respect and humility just who the head of the family is.

Keep the Faith

I’m reading a book called “Confronting Christianity” by Rebecca McLaughlin.  In it, she addresses twelve “tough questions” for Christianity such as, “Doesn’t Christianity cause violence?” and “How can you take the Bible literally?”

In the chapter answering the question of Christianity causing violence, at the end of the chapter, McLaughlin quotes Nicholas Kristof in a July 11, 2011 opinion piece in the New York Times newspaper.  I looked up the entire article, copied it, read it, and would like to share a couple of paragraphs from it.

In the article entitled “Evangelicals Without Blowhards,” Kristof talks of the bad taste that the term “evangelical Christian” has in the mouths and minds of many, and especially in liberal circles.  He pins much of the blame for that on such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and some of the more outlandish things they’ve said on national media.  Of them, and others like them, Kristof says, “Those self-appointed evangelical leaders come across as hypocrites, monetizing Jesus rather than emulating him. Some seem homophobic, and many who claim to be “pro-life” seem little concerned with human life post-uterus. Those are the preachers who won headlines and disdain.

Kristof goes on, “Partly because of such self-righteousness, the entire evangelical movement often has been pilloried among progressives as reactionary, myopic, anti-intellectual, and if anything, immoral.  Yet that causal dismissal is profoundly unfair of the movement as a whole.  It (the reaction of progressives to Evangelicals) reflects a kind of reverse intolerance, sometimes a reverse bigotry, directed at tens of millions of people who have actually become increasingly engaged in issues of global poverty and justice.”

Kristof then says this in defense of evangelicals:  “Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related.  More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith.  I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way — and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties.”

Fellow believers, people ARE watching us.  They ARE seeing whether we do as we say.  They ARE “in awe” of what God is able to do through us.  We ARE making a difference, even though it may seem like the drudgery of everyday life, living, and yes even service…will never end.

Keep the faith.

An Unbelievable Truth

I’m reading a book called “Confronting Christianity,” a well-written and very well documented book exploring twelve hard questions for the world’s largest religion.  Questions such as, “Doesn’t religion cause violence?”  Or, “How can you take the Bible literally?”  Or, “How could a loving God allow so much suffering?”  Rebecca McLaughlin, the author, digs deeply into scholarly material to help provide answers to these and other questions.

In answering the question of, “Doesn’t Christianity crush diversity?” she comes out with some telling statistical information from a reliable source that I want you to know.

In 2016, The Gospel Coalition (Google it if you want to know more about this organization) published an article by Mark Howard, who works with Elam Ministries, an organization founded in 1990 by Iranian church leaders with a mission to strengthen and expand the church in the Iran region and beyond.  In the article, Howard asserts that “The church in Iran has become the fastest growing in the world, and it is influencing the region for Christ.”

Now, that isn’t something that most Western Christians would readily believe, and in fact would dismiss outright as the ramblings of someone deranged.  Iran?  The church in Iran??  The fastest growing in the world???  That has to be in error.  Alas, but it’s not.  And the church in Afghanistan is right up there with the Iranian church in growth, fueled in part by the Iranian church evangelizing Afghans.

I will quote here from the article.  Despite continued hostility from the late 1970s until now, Iranians have become the Muslim people most open to the gospel in the Middle East.

How did this happen? Two factors have contributed to this openness. First, violence in the name of Islam has caused widespread disillusionment with the regime and led many Iranians to question their beliefs. Second, many Iranian Christians have continued to boldly and faithfully tell others about Christ, in the face of persecution.

As a result, more Iranians have become Christians in the last 20 years than in the previous 13 centuries put together since Islam came to Iran. In 1979, there were an estimated five hundred Christians from a Muslim background in Iran. Today, there are hundreds of thousands—some say more than one million. Whatever the exact number, many Iranians are turning to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The article summarizes the explosion of Christianity in those areas like this:  “Persecution threatened to wipe out Iran’s tiny church.  Instead, the church in Iran has become the fastest growing in the world, and it is influencing the region for Christ.”

Would you ever in a thousand years have thought that Christianity in that area would even have any growth at all, let alone be the fastest-growing religion in the world?  I’m telling you, God is at work.  He is at work in areas that many in the Western world have written off as unreachable…either because of what appears to be an incredibly difficult evangelistic field, or because of our bias against people and nations of other religions and other cultures.

It is reliably told that China will be largely Christian in thirty years.  South Korea already exports more missionaries to foreign fields than the United States.  Nigeria is seeing thousands proclaim Jesus as Lord, especially in the face of persecution and chaotic government.  It is time to recognize the fact that God works in places and in ways that the Western church can sometimes barely fathom, let alone participate in.

May the God of heaven and earth be praised for His marvelous and incredible love!

These Days Will Pass

Toby Levering, preaching minister at our sister church Northside Church of Christ, posted the following today on Facebook.  I’ll comment following your reading his post.

Most days I take the kids to school.  And before I drop them off, we take a few minutes in the parking lot to talk & pray together.  It’s not always about super deep things, but sometimes it is. It’s my imperfect attempt to be a Deuteronomy 6 dad.

Right now, life is a grind.  Every day.  But as we stopped to pray, for whatever reason, it occurred to me that these days will pass. Their hands will continue to grow. This season will change. I will not always have these moments.

It’s just a phase so I must make the most of it. I’ve got to pause, get off my phone, slow down, appreciate these days and moments.  Because, in a day closer than I want to think, these days will pass.

To my fellow parents out there.  Whatever phase you’re in, appreciate it, make the most of it, and do your best to make God a part of it.  Whatever the phase, my job as a parent, is to glorify God and help my children get to heaven. May we make the most of these fleeting moments.

This is Jay again.  Toby is doing a good thing.  This time with his kids is precious and necessary, because life really is a grind, sometimes.

But I want you to key in on what he says toward the end.  “In a day closer than I want to think, these days will pass.”

It may seem like life goes on forever just as it is.  But you and I both know that isn’t true.  I speak from experience, just as Toby understands; “In a day closer than I want to think, THESE DAYS WILL PASS.”  Toby intentionally created those before-school moments with his kids.  You can create moments such as this as well.  So, create the moments…and do as he says…get off your phone, slow down, and appreciate these days and moments.  Because they will never come again.

A Response

Last week, I received a response to my last post on the bulletin back page.  In the event you don’t recall, I mentioned that another congregation was advertising their church experience as being “fun.”  I said that church could be about many things…thanksgiving, fellowship, instruction, worship, humility, service, joy…but in my opinion, “fun” as generally defined wasn’t necessarily one of those.

In the response, the writer rightly says that as we enter the sanctuary, “Should we not be meditating on why we are there, or praying for our Lord to be with us?”  She differentiated here the difference between an auditorium and a sanctuary, giving the idea of some kind of hallowed area in the building that was to be used only for certain purposes.  I prefer to not designate any area of the building as necessarily holy or sanctified; rather, to understand the purpose behind any gathering in any part of the building.

However, I do not dispute her premise.  The answer is, “Yes, of course.”  As we enter our time with our church family, wherever that is, we also enter into the presence of God in a way that we normally do not do individually.  As the writer/responder says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them.”  It seems that God is present in a crowd of believers, even if only a crowd of two or three, in some way that is special and unique.

The writer then goes on.  “People all over the world are being persecuted and many killed because of their belief in our God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  They are forbidden to gather for worship or even own a Bible.  We are so blessed in our country to openly meet to worship together.  We are blessed to own Bibles and openly speak of our faith.  Can we show our God how thankful and humbled we truly are by showing reverence when we enter to worship?”

And then I thought about Psalm 100.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Somehow, it seems, God desires us to sing and shout with joy, giving praise and thanksgiving to him, and gladly serve him while also humbly recognizing our brokenness and dependence on him.  While at first, these seem to be opposites, the reality is they are part of the whole of the worship experience.

Encountering God is so much more than any one descriptive term.  It transcends any ideas we have of proper decorum, thoughtful reflection, ritual exercises (communion, singing, etc), fellowship, commonality, joyful expression and the like.  Encountering God is one of the Great Indescribables and Undefinables of life.  To limit it in any way, whether as to place, time, season, or event, is to miss out on one of the great blessings of the Faith.

"Fun" Church

I recently ran across a social media post about a local church that was starting a new year push for attendance with a promotion using various fictional characters such as Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, and others. One of the comments in the post had this to say. "We make church fun because we want to introduce everyone to Jesus because of what He has done in our lives."

While churches certainly can do whatever they think best without any interference from me, I have to wonder if the goal of having church is to make it fun. Maybe I'm old school, but it seems to me that church that is fun may well be church that is shallow in substance and reality.

I'm thinking, and this is only my humble opinion (IMHO on social media), that church should be a place where, among other things, humble, sinful, and contrite human beings, trembling, approach the footstool and throne of a holy and unfathomable God, thanking Him for the righteousness imputed to them through the holy sacrifice of the very Begotten Son of this same God.

I'm not cognizant of any way that church can be fun and also be what I've just described. There's no fun in admitting my brokenness to God and to other humans. There's no fun in knowing that Jesus Christ took my unrighteousness to the Cross and gave me His righteousness in the place of my unrighteousness. There's no fun in approaching the footstool of a righteous God in naked reverence and righteous fear with nothing to offer except the blood of Jesus.

Church also is a place of acceptance, safety, celebration, fellowship, renewal, thanksgiving, praise, and spiritual growth. It is, or should be all of this and even more. But to describe all of this as being fun is, in my mind, reducing all of the greatness of God's revealed mystery into something that entertains and takes our minds off of the reality of our brokenness and depravity for a short time.

Can there be times and periods of fun in church life? Of course. Fellowship, activities together, and even classes can have times of fun and enjoyment. But we must always have as the underpinning of our faith the reality of the God of the universe so desiring relationship and fellowship with his creation that he offered himself in righteous sacrifice in order to make that happen.

To do any less is, in my mind, to cheapen church and “trample underfoot the Son of God.” May God help us all.

Saying Good Bye

Today, I had a lunch date with a woman friend who I will probably never see again. (Yes, my wife knew all about it and was invited to the lunch, but couldn't come because of work.) Aimee was our across-the-street neighbor when we moved to where we are now. She, along with her hubby and young daughter, became friends of ours over the years.

A few years ago, they moved to another location. We maintained a connection via social media, however. Some months ago, she contacted me, saying that she had been thrown out of their house by her husband, who had developed a relationship with another woman, and had been living in her car for several days. We immediately invited her to join us at our place. She had no clue the ouster was coming, and needed time to gather herself.

She stayed with us for only a few days, finding a place to stay and other friends that would help her. She has been in survival mode for quite some time. But we've maintained contact through all of this, and have served as an “ear” for her from time to time.

Recently, she found out about work that she could do (she has a disability) in Ohio at a women's fraternity. (Yeah, I didn't know women had fraternities either.) She interviewed, and was given the job. The work fits her perfectly and will be a good thing for her. She also will be able to get out of this area, which has so many reminders of a life no longer viable. She will be leaving for Ohio this coming Wednesday, so I asked if she could have lunch one last time before she left.

I admire how she has crawled out of the hole dug for her and has determined to make her own way in the world. Her daughter, now in Iowa, originally siding with her father, has recently begun to repair the relationship with her mom. The divorce is final, so that's over. She has no reason to stay here or come back here.

I don't know about you, but these kinds of meetings and good-byes are difficult for me. Knowing I will probably never see her again, even though we are obviously “just friends,” makes it doubly difficult. Social media will relieve some of that, but it is not an adequate substitute.

Life sometimes hands us situations, circumstances, and conditions that we are not prepared for, not expecting, and haven't a clue how to handle. Such was the case here when we learned she was homeless. We knew we would be riding this one out with her, along with other friends of hers. And we did. Hopefully, we were helpful to her along the way.

Aimee, we wish you many blessings as you start life anew yet again. And if you happen to be traveling in Kansas close by, let us know. We'd love to see you and catch up with you.

The Balance Perspective

I think it’s appropriate to comment here on the shooting incident that occurred at a Church of Christ in Texas last week.  This should not be a political issue, but rather a human issue.  As Bud Norman said in his daily column last week, Churches of Christ are “blessedly apolitical and focused on more eternal matters.”  There is, however, a truth that cries out to be heard.

Those of the church family who were killed by the shooter are surely to be greatly missed by the church and blood families as well as friends.  The trauma inflicted on the survivors in the congregation will be deep and long-lasting.  The deacon who shot the intruder will face and confront life-long after-effects of his action.  No one emerged from this a winner.

There was also another victim here.  The shooter.  He has been described variously as “evil,” a “threat,” or in some other neutral terminology by the media.  Those descriptions may well be correct; however, we need to remember most of all that he was a human being.  He had a father, mother, and possibly other blood relatives.  He may have had friends.  He had a soul.  He was loved by God.  He was one of whom it was said in II Peter of God, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  He was indeed one of whom Jesus said that we are to, “Love your enemy.”  He had a name:  Keith Thomas Kinnumen.

But please don’t misunderstand.  Even though the above is true, it is also true that Mr. Kinnumen, and only Mr. Kinnumen is responsible for the deaths of two people, and his own demise at the hands of another.  Only he is responsible for the trauma and stress.  Only he is responsible for the grief and heartache. 

As Christians it seems we are balanced between two poles, if you will.  On the one hand, we are to love as Christ loved; on the other, the reality of this fallen creation demands that we sometimes do things that seem to fly in the face of this overarching love.  We may be called to make, in a split second, decisions regarding our love for God, love for fellow-man and how that is to be lived out in our lives.  Sadly, those that responded did what they had to do.  That has been the case in innumerable places and situations before that, and regrettably will continue to be the case.

May we always understand that no matter where we as Christians may be on the political spectrum, or what our opinion is regarding the Second Amendment and gun control, we dare not dehumanize those whom God loves and desires that they come to repentance.  Let us be thankful for those who “stand in the gap,” protecting and serving.  And may we always long for The Day when all will be restored, evil will be forever defeated, and God’s people will forever be with him and with each other.

Jay Plank

God and Inspiration

When we Christians say that the writers of the Bible were inspired, we are saying that the words they penned, although they were their own based on their own recollections, experiences, or knowledge, came as a result of some kind of prompting, nudging, or other means of helping the writer write what was written.  And that nudging or prompting came from the Holy Spirit of God, guiding (in whatever ways and means he saw fit) the writers in what they have written.

So, we believe that the words of the Bible are essentially God-breathed, and as such are inerrant and worthy of being read, understood, and followed.  We know that sometimes things are lost in translation, and we also know that there are some minor variations in the various Greek texts, but those variations and translation issues don’t change the fundamental teaching of what was written.

But what about now?  Are people inspired now when writing or speaking?  Or was inspiration only a gift for the Old and New Testament writers?  Most Christians would say that inspiration has ceased, at least as far as the inspiration of Biblical material is concerned.  But does God not play any role in human speech and writing anymore?  Are we totally on our own?  I think not.

I have only anecdotal evidence…things that I myself have experienced…to lean on, but I know that there have been times in my life where I was prompted to write or to say something that, when I thought about it later, asked myself if I really said that…and if so, where in the world did it come from.

I know that when I write, I sometimes can flow words and sentences such that the only way I can express it is that I get lost in what I am writing.  Then later, I read what I said and wonder where the words and thoughts they express came from.

The same has happened when talking with someone else.  Especially in counseling or mentoring situations, I have found myself listening to what I am saying, wondering if I am really saying it or if someone else has taken over.

I don’t pretend to believe that these incidents are at all miraculous in nature.  However, I do believe that the hand of God works through my thoughts and abilities to help me to not only create thoughts I otherwise would not have apprehended, but put them to words either written or spoken that convey those thoughts accurately.  I also believe God works through the latent talents and abilities of others to produce the result He desires, whether those abilities are in art, music, drama, writing, carpentry, food prep, accounting…the list could go on endlessly.

I believe God IS interested in our daily lives.  I believe God IS interested in how we use the abilities he has given us.  I believe God DOES guide us at times to fulfill His will in whatever ways he sees fit.  And to that end, I need to dedicate whatever abilities I have to his service, and allow him to work with me, alongside me, and through me.

Yesterday and Today

I've spent some time the last few days on YouTube watching various videos of Peter, Paul, and Mary. For those who may have been living on a deserted island for the past 60 or so years, Peter , Paul, and Mary was a folk singing group organized in the early 1960's and continuing on most of the next fifty years until Mary's death in 2009. The group was, and continues to be an icon of the boomers as well as generations since.

Their concerts were wholesome and heartfelt, as were their songs. Suitable for children of all ages, Peter, Paul and Mary will be enjoyed by music lovers in generations to come, just as Sinatra, Martin, Glenn Miller and others of the earlier eras continue to be enjoyed by the generations of today.

But I don't write this to extol the virtues of the group or the individuals in the group. Sometimes as we age, we think back to earlier days and times. We sometimes wistfully wish we could transport ourselves back to those times. We long for the innocence of those times. And we do things like listen to those old songs indelibly imprinted in our conscience by groups and individuals we will never forget. The songs themselves sometimes take us back to specific times of our lives in ways that are unique to each of us.

God knew what he was doing when he created us with the capacity to remember, reminisce, and lose ourselves at times in memories of days and years gone by. Those memories evoke emotions and thoughts that help keep us grounded and give us a respite from the struggles of the present. They help us sort things out and appreciate what we enjoy now in life and living.

However, there is a danger in dwelling too much on the past. It's one thing to enjoy remembering and recounting one's life from time to time. It's quite another to live in that past as an escape from the present.

Nothing remains the same forever. Things change. The world changes. We change. Our thoughts change. Our opinions change. Our relationships change. Like it or not, time marches on, and we can either stay up with it or lose ourselves in the past. And to do that is to live in a reality of one's creation...not the reality that truly is.

So, put on those vinyl records of PP&M, The Carpenters, The Moody Blues, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, The Righteous Brothers, or whoever else you enjoy. Enjoy them for a time. Remember. Recall.

Then, put them away and go out into the present. Live in the reality that is yours today. And as you do, remember the God who put you here and has given you the life you now enjoy.

The Promise

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righeouusness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

The above are some of the last words of the Apostle Paul as he awaited his execution at the hands of Rome. Paul was confident he would see his Lord and Savior, and if there was any fear or apprehension in his mind, it never showed in any of his writing...least of all this portion.

Mariann also fought the good fight. She kept the faith. And today she finished her race. A part of our life group and member of our church family, Mariann battled liver cancer and its associated physical ailments for several years. She was working on getting on the transplant list and being healthy enough to survive the surgery when an infection took hold of her body and rapidly spread. There was nothing that could be done.

Mariann was also confident. In recent conversations with her, she was saying that she wanted to heal...wanted to qualify for a transplant...wanted to live. But, she said, she was also good with the alternative if she did not make the list or have the surgery. There were days she felt better; there were days she felt worse. There were days when she brightened up the room; there were days when her disposition was in need of some outside encouragement. But through it all, she held on to the Promise...and I'm not talking about words, but rather The Word.

I'm reminded of a gospel song, “The Promise.” It tells the story of the daughter of Jairus who had died (Matthew 9). The father of the girl came to Jesus and asked him to come to the house and heal his daughter, knowing only that she was very ill.

When Jesus arrived with the father, the crowd there told them that he shouldn't bother Jesus because the daughter had died. Jesus told the crowd that she was only asleep, and they laughed at him. Putting the crowd out, Jesus went into the daughter and raised her, healing her.

The chorus of the song, “The Promise,” goes like this:

There's a Promise coming down that dusty road
From His holy hand healing virtue flows
He's got the keys to what you need
Death and hell He will defeat
There's a Promise coming down that dusty road

Mariann didn't experience the healing of Jesus in this life. However, by clinging to “The Promise,” she now has experienced total and complete healing. And she will continue to be an example to the rest of us who knew her and went with her through the ordeal of liver failure.

May God continue to heal, bless, and comfort Steve and the family.

Why Do We Even Try?

Kendra Broekhuis, a friend of mine, is an author and speaker.  She and her family moved to the inner city some years ago to learn to practice, “Love your neighbor.”  They have three living children (and one miscarriage child).  Awhile back, Kendra wrote the following.  Although what she wrote is specifically for parents of small children, the message is good for us all.

Sometimes I wonder why we even try.

Why do we go through the fuss of getting here with three small children?  Why do we come to sit down, just to have to get up and walk out when the baby starts screaming through the middle of prayer?  Why do we mess with the Kid Shuffles and the Mom Shushing? WHY DO I RUIN MY KID'S NAP FOR THIS?

But there's three things I want my children to know about Church:

1.      Christianity is not just about a personal relationship where you hide in your room and keep your life between you and Jesus.  There's an entire Body involved, which makes that whole "Jesus but not Church" thing a decapitated version of this faith.

2.      Church is community when the world feels friendless.  It's family when your own blood breaks down or is too far away to touch.  It's the place - no matter how much our own nation gets it wrong - for Jesus People of every tribe, tongue, and nation to belong.

3.      In a healthy church, the sick are the most welcome - the ones who know they need the Doctor.  The ones who desire to bring their sin to light and who want to rest in Grace.  And that's not a coming of age thing, but a heart thing.

And so even though I can't force the Spirit into my children's lives, I also don't expect them to suddenly "get it" on their own someday if Church isn't made a priority now.  So we talk the Bible at home.  But we also see that these kids - they're picking up on what we're doing here each Sunday.  Word by word.  Song by song.

I want my kids to not only hear but to see how much we needed the Church all along - even during seasons when all Mommy and Daddy heard were broken up pieces of a half hour sermon.

Kendra’s book, “Here Goes Nothing: An Introvert's Reckless Attempt to Love Her Neighbor” is available on Amazon and at bookstores.

The Greater Danger

In the book “Foundations of the Christian Faith,” James Montgomery Boice talks of the tension between church and state, and the role of the Christian in that tension.  He speaks of the sovereignty of God over that of the state as a “God-dominant” condition.  And he uses the example of Pontius Pilate and Jesus, who told Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

In this text, Jesus recognizes the authority of the state, but does so with the understanding that this authority is derived from a greater authority…God.  And Jesus also gives the Jews the greater condemnation because they were sinning out of hate-filled hearts and against their own laws, where Pilate was sinning against his conscience—he had already pronounced Jesus innocent.

He concludes this part of the discussion with these words.

“…the greater danger lies, not with the state, but with those who are closest to spiritual things.  Others may sin out of ignorance or neglect or cowardice.  But religious people are inclined to sin out of arrogance or pride or actual hatred of God and God’s truth—even when they think they are most moral.”

This is Jay again.  This statement hauled me up short.  Boice’s point is well-taken.  To think that I may sin out of arrogance and pride, or even hatred of God or the Truth of God, is a sobering thought.  The fact that I have knowledge of God and His Word creates a greater accountability on my part before the Righteous Judge.  And to know that I might commit that kind of sin thinking I am the most moral and righteous is doubly-frightening.

This world is filled with sin-traps.  And this is a big one.  It is obvious that we can never successfully navigate life unaided.  But thanks be to God, who provides us with the “paths of righteousness” and leads us in those paths “for His name’s sake.”

Comments from Attorney General William Barr

Barr is right about religion

BY JAY AMBROSE

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Attorney General William Barr recently gave a speech on religious freedom at the University of Notre Dame law school. He said that that mainstream faiths were being attacked by secularists, mass media, academia, movies, TV and the like, that our traditional moral system was being degraded and that the traditional self-discipline of the past was fleeing.

In no time at all, he was proven correct. He was not attacked just by atheists and know-nothing politicians, but by fellow Catholics of a leftist persuasion and even a theological professor who said he was threatening separation of church and state. Christians should not carry their faith with them while exercising public duties, we were told. They just might then disregard the rule of law, for instance, and threaten the rights of nonbelievers.

Barr dispelled that goofiness in what he actually said. He does not want government insisting on any faith. He wants religious freedom. He wants limited government that becomes more possible as we get the kind of moral discipline and virtue that the Judeo-Christian tradition instills. When people behave decently, they can be counted on to govern themselves. They do not need of a cop on every corner or bureaucratic enthusiasm for rules that enclose our lives instead of opening them.

But, oh dear, some say, Christians of the Barr kind will heed moral notions that transform our democracy into a theocracy. I wonder if these superiors among us know what Christian morals actually are: if they understand, for instance, what Paul said when he talked about love and described its elements: patience, kindness, humility, calmness, delight in truth, perseverance in helping others, hope and letting one’s life revolve around something bigger than self.

Now let’s turn to secular morals.

Relativity is a biggie. No moral truth is absolutely true, some secularists tell us, and you wonder if they ever heard of the philosopher who asked if it is then sometimes OK to torture a baby to death for the fun of it? We get multiculturalism that tells us all cultures are equal in their values even though we know some cultures approve of killing homosexuals, adulteresses and people of other faiths. We have utilitarians who are willing to dismiss some evils if they make large numbers of people happy, and we know this can be a terror. We have political correctness that often sees the trivial as momentous and sometimes punishes transgressions by ruining lives.

All of this gets complicated. But it is not complicated to say that someone heeding basic religious precepts is ordinarily going to be far less dangerous to democracy than, say, Sen. Bernie Sanders and his historically catastrophic aspirations for governmental envelopment. Though not generally recognized, Christianity has been a major force in giving us science, universities, liberty and the values that still instruct to at least some extent the values of nonbelievers. Though the New Atheists say religion gives us war, research indicates that no more than 10% of wars have some religious connection.

None of this is meant to say that no horrors have been committed in the name of religion or that religious people are ipso facto better than the non-religious. Most Christians recognize their own sinfulness. But it is the case that religion is in steep decline in America today and that the consequences could be the loss of meaning and of what has made us great. The sociologist Charles Murray has shown for instance that the most constant churchgoers among us are the upper middle class and that the working class is suffering mightily from the communal help and guidance that came from churches dying out where they live.

Hurrah for Barr.

The Church and Irrelevance

As you may know, I’ve been wading through the book by James Montgomery Boice; “Foundations of the Christian Faith.”  In the book, Boice goes into great depth on many topics having to do with Christianity and the Christian faith.  In one chapter, he talks about “The Secular Church.”  That is, the church that is abandoning divine authority in favor of the voice of human reasoning and understanding.  He outlines four consequences of that abandonment and substitution of humanity’s reasoning.

First, he says it produces “a pitiful state of uncertainty and insecurity in church leaders.”

“Church leaders,” says Robin Scroggs, professor of New Testament at the Chicago Theological Seminary, “find ourselves in the abyss of a continual uncertainty…we have no assurance that where we happen to be is the best or final place to stand.”

Second, he says that the church turns “to the world and its values.”

“The secular world,” he says, “with its vacillating but audible words (is) the only place to which one could turn for direction.”

A third result, he says, “is a pragmatic dependence upon the fifty-one per-cent vote, the validation of values, goals, objectives and programs by consensus.  Earthly authority will inevitably take Scripture’s place.”

The fourth and final consequence Boice outlines comes from a quote by Peter Berger of Rutgers University.  Berger criticized the lack of authority in the church, which leads to irrelevance.  It was the word “irrelevance” that caught my eye and forced me to thoroughly digest Berger’s quote in the book by Boice.  Here is the quote.

“If there is going to be a renaissance of religion, its bearers will not be people who have been falling all over each other to be ‘relevant to modern man.’  Strong eruptions of religious faith have always been marked by the appearance of people with firm, unapologetic, often uncompromising convictions—that is, by types that are the very opposite from those presently engaged in the various ‘relevance’ operations.  Put simply:  Ages of faith are not marked by ‘dialogue,’ but by proclamation….  I would affirm that the concern for the institutional structures of the Church will be vain unless there is also a new conviction and a new authority in the Christian community.”

This is Jay again.  The church has been, and continues to struggle with irrelevance in today’s society.  I had a conversation just today with our pulpit minister on this topic, and he told me of a recent minister’s conference where the topic was the decline of the church.

Instead of installing more lighting, buying more instruments, putting on more pageants, and engaging in more concerts, perhaps we need to come down firmly on doctrine and the authority of the Scriptures…and do so with conviction…unapologetically.  I’m not talking about the dogma and traditions that have invaded Christendom for centuries…I’m talking about the foundations of the Christian faith.  God, Jesus Christ, the Atonement, Grace, Adoption, and the like.  Leave instrumental music, the name over the door of the building, the way we do communion, and women’s role in the church behind.  Concentrate instead on those things “which pertain to life and godliness.”  Preach them.  Speak them.  Live them.  And we may yet see that renaissance that is wistfully and longingly spoken of by so many.

The Power of Grace and Forgiveness

Earlier this week, Amber Guyger, former Dallas police officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Bothan Jean.  You’ve probably heard about this if you follow the news at all.  It made national headlines.  You’ve also probably heard about people who are protesting the sentence, demanding justice for the young man who was killed in yet another seemingly too familiar scenario of police versus minority.

Let’s try to go beyond all of that for a moment.  Some facts are crystal clear.  First, this event was a tragedy for everyone involved.  There are no winners.  Everyone loses.

Second, the circumstances surrounding the incident are unique in nature.  Normally, things like this don’t happen.

Third, many lives were unalterably changed forever.  The police officer and her family.  The family of the young man.  Friends, business associates and others all have suffered unwanted change in life.

Fourth, there is a place here for justice.  Someone has to pay the penalty for what was done.  Otherwise, the rule of law is worthless.

Fifth, there is also a place here for mercy.  If ever there was a need and a time for mercy, this situation…this circumstance…would be it.

And last, if there ever was a time for the Christian virtues of love and forgiveness to come out, this would be it.  And those virtues were very much on display when Brandt Jean publicly forgave Ms. Guyger, wished the best for her, said he wished she would not have to serve time, said he loved her just as he loved everyone, and asked the judge if he could give her a hug.  The judge approved, and there was a tearful, emotional scene in the middle of the courtroom that shook those watching to their depth of their souls.

One more thing.  This is an opportunity…an opportunity for redemption, healing, and love to prevail over hate, politics, and ideology.  This is an opportunity for Christians to show what we are made of, and to demonstrate in stark and unmistakable terms the love and forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

Just like the Nickel Mines tragedy, when several Amish school girls were murdered in their school some years ago, the world witnessed here what love and forgiveness can do…the power that is in grace extended to the undeserving.

May the world take note and follow the example.

Of Cold Fronts and Gratitude

Have you ever been outside when a cold front air mass came through where you were?  Before the front comes through, the old warm, humid air mass that has kept everyone miserable for several days blows in with southerly winds.  Then, for a brief moment, the wind subsides and there is a calm.  And in just a split moment, there is the first whiff of cool, fresh air on the north side of the front.  The breeze quickens and continues to cool things off in a very, very refreshing sort of way.  And you know that the big blue line you’ve seen on the weather maps in the last few hours has gone through you.

If you’ve never experienced that, you need to do so once in your lifetime.  There are several reasons for doing so.

1.       Change.  Things change.  Situations change.  Life changes.  Change is all about us.  We can embrace the inevitable, or we can continue to rail against it to no avail.  As Archie Bunker once said, “I like change better when everything stays the same!”

2.      It DOES get better.  The staleness and stagnation of the old, humid air mass gives way to refreshment and coolness.  The spirits of people are lifted, and things perk up.  It’s the same with life.  It WILL get better.  There are many downers in life, but there are the peaks as well.  Look for them.

3.      Provision.  There is indeed a Provider who knows what His creation needs and sees to it that those needs are met.  Colliding air masses promote rainfall, change of season, and other benefits.  Our needs are being met as the blue line of the cold front passes through us.

4.      Gratitude.  We live in a generally ungrateful world.  We humans believe, for the most part, that we make ourselves into what we are and have to look out for ourselves.  To an extent, that’s true.  But there are many things about life and living that we haven’t any idea how to control or manipulate.  The weather is one of them.  That front will come through regardless of what humanity may do to slow it down or speed it up.  We need to have a measure of gratitude for those things which come our way purely from the grace of a merciful Creator.

Whatever your taste in weather…rainy, foggy, snow, cold, warm, cloudy…whatever it is, some time take the time to follow an air mass as it creeps closer to you, then plan to be outdoors when it comes through.  And think of the lessons that it brings to you.