The Virus

I am writing this while listening to the Senate debate the pending legislation which will literally create out of thin air about two trillion dollars, which will be distributed to many different entities to help combat the financial effects of the Covid 19 virus.  As of this writing, the vote hasn’t been taken, so I don’t know how this will turn out.

Nor do I know how this whole pandemic thing will turn out.  We could turn the corner in a few weeks, or it could be several months that the virus hangs around.  And I suspect that the virus will always be with us in some form or another.  Hopefully, we can develop a vaccine to combat its spread, just as we do with influenza and other illnesses.

The other unknown is the recovery of the economy.  We may be in a kind of a morass of recession for several years.  Or we may snap out of it in a few months.

There is so much that is unknown right now.  We humans don’t like not knowing.  We like to at least THINK that we know what is coming our way, even when we know deep within us that we have no clue about the next minute, let alone the next day, month, or year.  We fool ourselves into thinking we’ve got the world (and our lives) by the tail.  And we live like it, too.  However, the reality is that we don’t know if we’ll take another breath, let alone eat another meal.  I may not finish this blog post.

The virus pandemic has made many of us stop and reconsider our daily lives and routines.  It has forced us to consider things besides whether or not the “Y” will be busy this evening when we go to exercise.  We now are considering things besides whether to get fried chicken or Chinese at the Dillons deli for dinner tonight.   We are now considering more of the basics and feel a great sense of helplessness against an enemy that is unseen, mostly unknown, and more stealthy than a cat pursuing a mouse.

We are being hauled up short by the truth that we really aren’t in charge.  We don’t know it all.  We haven’t prepared for all situations.  Our 401-K funds, our BMW’s, and our club memberships do little for us in times like these.  Suddenly, bread, hamburger, and toilet paper take center stage in our lives as we scramble to adjust to a new normal.

I don’t know how this will all end.  Yes, we’ve been through hardship before.  Yes, we’ve always managed to overcome.  But the scars of those battles last a lifetime.  Those who fought in WWII never completely shed the scars of battle.  The same for Vietnam, Korea, and Desert Storm.  Those of us who lived through the Oklahoma City bombing or the Twin Towers disaster will never be the same.  The assassinations of the 1960’s, the civil rights movement…those and others forever change us in some way, both as a nation and as individuals.  And this pandemic will also change us in some way.

My hope is that change will be for the good.  My hope is that we will become a better people…a society that recognizes its failures as well as its successes.  My hope is that we will begin to better acknowledge the God of heaven and earth and turn toward him instead of away.  Will those things happen?  I haven’t a clue.  But I do know that I can make a difference by the way I think, behave, and speak.  I can acknowledge God and serve him as best I can.

I can only change me.  God in heaven, I do acknowledge you as the Lord and God of the universe.  I repent of my failings in life…my greed, jealousy, sense of superiority, apathy toward the needs of others, and a host of other sins and failures.  Continue to work with me as a work-in-progress as I open my heart to those around me in service to them.  Give me the wisdom and strength to do “abundantly more than I could ever think or ask.”

Demonstrate Your Faith

I think it is important for you to know how we have made the decision to cancel services for the next couple of weeks.  You need to know that this was not a quick decision.  Nor was it one made in a vacuum.  We have worked hard to gather the best possible information, relying on several sources.  We have considered the desires and wishes of those in our church family.  And we have made the commitment that we would be good citizens and follow any directives from government agencies or officials regarding crowds and meetings.

We have been gathering information, seeking the latest announcements and directives, and meeting together as a staff for the past couple of weeks.  Initially, it was thought that this would be a mild thing, with not a lot of consequence.  However, there were daily updates alluding to the eventual reality that this was going to be much bigger than anyone thought.  We all were made rather breathless, so to speak, by the swiftness of the shut down of the normal way of life for many of us.

Doing the best we could in our information-gathering, and meeting pretty much daily with staff and keeping the Elders apprised of our discussions, we mutually came to the decision to basically shut down the building to all events except for those grief and support groups that felt they needed to continue to meet for the health and well-being of their participants.  The shut down will not at this time affect office hours; however, should the authorities recommend such, we will also close the office.  We will let you know should that happen.

This is a new normal for us.  We cannot visit at the hospitals or nursing homes.  We are reluctant to visit anyone at their home.  We are careful about who we let into the building during office hours.  We have essentially scrapped sermon series and Bible classes for the indeterminate future.  Our observance of Communion as a body has been suspended.  We no longer can gather to sing, pray, or listen to the Word of God.

And that’s OK, for a while.  We need to obey the governing authorities and demonstrate our faith in tangible ways that don’t put others in jeopardy.

For those of you who are members of RiverWalk, I ask you to continue your contributions to the church, as our expenses go on even though services do not.  You can mail them in, use some form of direct payment arrangement with your bank, bring them by should the office be open to accept them, or any other means you may have available to you.  We understand if you have been temporarily laid off or your source of income has been reduced due to the virus.  But if you can, please remember the Church in your financial plans during this time.

Check on your neighbors.  Don’t hoard supplies.  Wash your hands often.  Give to others as they have need.  And remember that the God of the universe loves you.

A Great Opportunity

It is what it is.  I know that people have long ago tired of hearing that sentence.  However, it is just as pertinent today as it was years ago.  The corona virus outbreak world-wide is something that must be contended with just as it is.  It is not how we wish it to be, and we many times feel helpless to bring things back under human control.  We are stressed, concerned, and even worried that this thing may take years to recover from, and that the casualties will be high.  And those concerns may be well within the bounds of what actually happens.  We just don’t know now, and won’t know for a time just how this thing shakes out.

I’ve also heard or read many different opinions from a religious perspective regarding this outbreak.  Some say it is a judgment from God upon the present Administration in Washington, D.C.  Others say it is a general world-wide judgment, and the end of the world is coming soon.  Still others say it is a wake-up call from God for the Church to come back to the basics of the Gospel.  And yet others say that God intends for us to evaluate our own lives regarding out complacency, greed, and consumption.

All of those opinions may have some merit.  This IS a good time to do some serious self-evaluation.  This IS a good time to take a look at modern society.  This IS a good time to be sure we are ready for the second coming.

It’s also a great time to be and do the hands and feet of Jesus Christ as we minister to those in need…those who are down…those who have been thrown into the poverty pit by this virus.  It is a great time to give monetarily, give of our time, and give of our love.  It is a time for prayer, meditation, and reflection.

No doubt this experience will change us in one or more permanent ways as well as in several temporary ways.  Just as the events of 9-11 changed us, this experience will as well.  And that can be a good thing.  We may come out of this with a little more humility, a little more compassion, and a little more grace toward others.

So, let’s get through this together.  Let’s continue to pray.  Let’s continue to trust God.  Let’s continue to follow the pattern of Jesus and serve.  We Christians have a great opportunity here.  We need to take full advantage of it.

Just Stop It !!

Today, a Facebook friend and fellow Christian posted something on her timeline that had to do with fact checking some of the President’s claims and statements.  The fact checking showed that several of his comments were either false or were substantially embellished.  The fact check also cited sources for its checks.

This type of thing (fact-checking), is done regularly by several organizations, checking the veracity of statements and claims made by politicians and others.  Some of these are, to be sure, biased in some way.  Others, however, have shown a remarkable lack of overt bias and a desire for the truth to come out.

My friend was immediately attacked by her Christian “friends,” who accused her of hatred, teaching children to hate, and spreading vicious lies about the President.  Their words were not at all spoken “with grace and seasoned with salt,” as the great Apostle Paul admonished in Colossians 4.  Rather, it was an all-out frontal assault, it seemed, on a fellow Christian.

I private messaged her to encourage her.  We had a short back-and-forth in which she made a statement to me that hauled me up short.  She was talking about one of her fellow church-members who she said had told her that it was acceptable to lie for the President.  Her exact words in her message to me were these:  “I had a woman at the church, some one so well respected by her peers tell me flat out that it was okay to lie for Trump and to post his lies because he is the best president we've ever had.”

Did you get that?  Did you see what this Christian woman ostensibly said to my friend?  According to her, it is proper to lie and to spread those lies…because why?  Because “he is the best president we’ve ever had.”  What does the Bible say about those who intentionally lie, gossip, and spread falsehoods?  Those who create discord and chaos?  Those who willfully sin?

As one Christian to another, where does one go when faced with this from another Christian?  How does one respond?  This is such a jaw-dropping admission that I have difficulty fathoming that anyone could sincerely believe and practice this…let alone someone who calls him or herself a child of the Living God.

I don’t care if it is Mr. Trump, Lindsay Graham, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or Ted Cruz she is talking about.  This kind of behavior…this kind of rhetoric…this kind of attacking language…this kind of smug self-righteousness is wrong for the Christian in any venue, any time, any place, for any reason.  Period.  It is disrespectful, repugnant, and ignorant.  It has no place in the Christian culture.

Brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, it’s time to put this to a stop.  Christian people are putting themselves in danger of the consequences of willful sin by this kind of behavior and attitude.  Christian people are in danger of being guilty of dragging others into the same morass of judgment.  Christian people are in danger of causing great harm to the Christian faith in the eyes of those who are not believers.  STOP IT !!  NOW !!!

Blessings

Earlier this week, I put a Facebook post on my timeline that extolled the wondrous blessing of automatic heat in the house via a furnace and natural gas.  That got me to thinking about other incredible blessings we have that we take for granted.  Here are just a few.

I turn a knob in the bathroom and a just-right mix of hot and cold, safe water comes out of the shower head, washes me off, and goes down the hole in the tub where pipes carry it to a treatment plant somewhere.  I don’t have to pump water from a well, carry it from a river, or heat it in a tub to get an incredible shower experience.

I move a lever and water flushes away human waste into those same pipes, carrying it away to be treated.  I don’t have to do anything else to handle the waste I make.  It’s all done for me in a safe and sanitary way.

I open a door in the kitchen, and take out a carton of milk that has been kept at a near-constant 37 degrees, keeping it and other food from spoiling.  I don’t have to bring in a block of ice to cool it, hurry and use the milk all at once, or worry that it will spoil before I can use it.

I lift a lid in the basement and put in clothing, some detergent, and maybe some color-safe bleach, and 45 minutes later the clothes are clean and fresh.  I don’t have to take them to a river or pond, beat them on a rock, or make my own soap.

I open another lid and put the damp clothes in.  About 30 minutes later, they are dry and ready to hang or fold.  I don’t have to traipse outside to hang them on a line, freeze-dry them in winter months, or iron them with an iron I heated on the wood-burning stove.

Today, when I get home, I’ll push a button in my pickup and a large door will open at the house.  I’ll pull in, turn off the engine, and push the button again.  I’m inside a spacious garage that keeps our vehicles frost-free in winter, makes it easy to get in and out of, and keeps them from being vandalized on the street.  And the garage is attached to the house, so I don’t have to go back outside to get into the house.  It is also lit constantly with a LED bulb in the ceiling that provides enough light to do what we need to do most times.

I could go on and on.  Furniture, mattresses, television and entertainment, streets, roads, air conditioning, parks, microwave ovens, dishwashers, recliners, C-PAP machines, lawn mowers, kitchen appliances…you name it and it is probably a relatively recent blessing that only a small portion of the world’s population knows about or uses.

And these are indeed incredible blessings, just like the blessing of the furnace.  Blessings that ultimately come, not from technology or science, but from the God of heaven and earth.  Blessings that are ours to enjoy, and ours to use wisely in service to Him.

Where Does He Go?

I sometimes see or hear comments about those homeless people who you see on the streets, wondering why they don’t find employment, find training for a vocation, or otherwise get off of the street.  Let me tell you about one such man who is a “resident” of our church property in downtown Wichita.

Johnny (not his real name) came to our campus about six months ago.  He had just been placed on parole and got out of prison after serving time most of his adult life for several offenses.  When he was placed on parole, he was released with the amount of money he had in his prison account (less than $100), and the clothes he had while in prison.  He was instructed to report to his parole officer and establish a professional relationship with that person.  Transportation was provided for him to come to Wichita where his parole officer was located.

Johnny has a Social Security card, but because he has spent most of his adult life in prison, he has not worked enough quarters (he needed 40 three-month quarters) to qualify for Social Security or Medicare, even though he is 63 years old.  He COULD possibly qualify for disability when he turns 65, but that is not a given.

He does not qualify for food stamps or many government benefits due to his criminal record.  Because he does not qualify for food stamps, he also does not qualify for a government-paid cell phone, even though his parole officer has ordered him to obtain one so she can contact him when needed.  (And if he can’t get one, he is eligible for re-incarceration.)  He has no money otherwise to get a phone, and would not pass a credit check in any event.  He can’t get a prepaid phone because the companies that do that demand a home address.  He has none.

He cannot borrow money.  He has no credit history.  Family long ago disowned him due to his convictions and incarceration.  He does not qualify for many re-training programs or housing programs due to either his age or his history.  Most companies and businesses wouldn’t even look at him to hire because of his age and incarceration history.  He is relatively healthy, and takes advantage of free clinics whenever possible.  He keeps as clean as he can.

Johnny had to find his own counseling service, a condition of his parole.  He had to find one close to where he resides…our campus…because he has to walk everywhere he goes.

Johnny doesn’t want to be here.  He wants a normal life, or as normal as possible.  He is friendly, outgoing, and has a moral compass that works.  However, roadblocks seem to appear in his way each time he tries a route to get out of the cycle of homelessness.  Many of the programs designed to help…don’t help those like him.

So, where does Johnny go?  What does Johnny do?  What would you suggest to Johnny that would get him out of this cycle?  Which platitude that is often said would be the one he could grab hold of and lean on?  No address.  No transportation.  No phone.  No family.  No way to regularly wash clothes and self.  No income.  No government programs that he and I are aware of.  No ID other than a Social Security card and a prison ID.  Not qualified for Social Security or disability at this time.

And who does he turn to for help?  Thankfully, Johnny landed here.  We aren’t able to do much, but we can give him dignity, respect, and from time to time some food, shelter, a restroom, etc.  And we do.  But those things aren’t going to get him out of where he is…those are only going to help maintain him as he is and may prevent him from becoming a statistic of some kind.

If someone has the magic answer, I’m all ears.  Otherwise, we’ll keep plugging away with what we have to work with.  Blessings.

It's About Time

I recently posted a “thing” on my Facebook wall in which I lamented the lack of people writing posts…but rather they just post photos and memes.  One of the respondents, my friend and distant relative Melanie, said that she didn’t post much out of a fear of being attacked by others or turning the post into something political.

At the end of Melanie’s response to my post, she said something that bore through me to the core.  “I guess we can act like Christ said we should next year…or the year after that…or maybe just whenever it is convenient.”

Whoa!!  “Whenever it is convenient?”  Did she really say that?  Yes, she did, and she is absolutely correct.  Far too many of us who call ourselves Christians act like Christ only when we feel like it, when we want to do it, when it is politically advantageous, or when it will benefit us.  All the rest of the time, with a cavalier attitude, we belittle, begrudge, besmirch, malign, impugn, smack down, take down, put down, bully, and generally grind anyone who may disagree with us or have another idea or opinion into the dust.  It’s done all the time at the highest levels of government as well as between friends, relatives, and neighbors.

People are “unfriended” on social media, or are the ones doing the “unfriending.”  Relatives cease to communicate with each other.  Married couples divorce or separate.  Co-workers avoid one-another and don’t even recognize the existence of others with whom they disagree.  Sometimes, this is all taken farther along by a few zealots, and people are physically attacked, beaten, and murdered…all in the name of asserting that I am right and you are so, so wrong.

And then, when it’s convenient, some of these same people attend church, sing in the church choir, serve on a church board, teach a Sunday school class, take of the Eucharist, and proclaim their allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Do you think that God might be getting just a little tired of the charade?  Do you think that God just might be considering some kind of justice and retribution?

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.  Away with the noise of your songs!  I will not listen to the music of your harps.  .  (They) cry out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’  But (they) have rejected what is good.

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”

So, when will those of us who are Christians who are doing the maligning, putting down, and bullying going to begin to live like Christians?  Next week?  Next year?  In a couple of years?  Whenever it is convenient?  Or are we going to wait until God finally has had His fill and says, “ENOUGH!!”  Then we look around at the carnage of our lives, and wonder why things have worked out for us like they have and why God seems to be absent from our lives.

It doesn’t matter that the quotes of the Bible I have above are from the Old Testament.  God never changes.  If he was tired of the charade then, he’s also tired of the charade now.  It’s time we all took an unbiased look at how we interact with others, both on social media and in person.  It’s time we repented and started acting like the Christians we claim to be.  It’s time we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

It All Matters

This past week, RiverWalk lost three of its long time members, each of whom had arrived at or near the century mark.  Almost 300 years of faith and history was taken from us in the span of a few days.

Sunday evening, at our regular small group gathering, I ditched the normal review of the morning sermon in favor of asking my group to reminisce.  I opened with, “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say - - - - - - ?” and put one of the names in the question.

That questions started a great time of remembrance, thanksgiving, and hope.  Some of our small group only knew the deceased for a few years; others had known them all of their lives.  Yet we all were grateful for having known and loved them, and in turn being known and loved by them.

At the close of the time, I asked the group what we could take away from the lives of these three saints of God.  How do we go forward and honor their lives?  The comments that came were that they were great examples of faith…that they finished well…that they influenced many.

I closed by putting all of those comments together in a sort of sermonette by saying to the effect that these were ordinary people living ordinary lives, doing ordinary things in life…yet they indelibly touched the lives of countless many in ways totally unknown to them through their work.  They taught Sunday School classes.  They counseled and gave advice.  They lived lives of integrity and purpose.  They served the church family.  They went to work.  They served on committees.  They raised families.  But most of all, they displayed the love of God in what they did.

We often think of our lives as routine and ordinary.  But these three show us clearly that we don’t live in a vacuum.  What we do matters.  How we do it matters.  What we say matters.  How we say it matters.  Love God.  Love your neighbor.  All else depends on these.

They Did Good

I have no compunction in letting the world know when something isn't right in the realm of my relationships with retail establishments. I also like to tell of good things, and am doing so here. This involves a trip to the local Dillons on a Saturday afternoon. Going grocery shopping isn't my favorite thing to do in my list of chores, and doing it on Saturday afternoon is worse than normal. But it had to be done, as it was getting rather bare at the Plank home. And no, I'm not going to have someone shop for me or do it online. I'll pick out my own bananas, thank you.

I got the required things, and a few extra. I figured about 80 dollars or so was in my cart. I found a check-out line that didn't seem too busy, staffed by a woman I casually knew, and I knew that she knew that I was a long-time shopper at this store. After the people ahead of me finished and left, I sidled up to the credit card pay thingy and saw that the screen said, “continue checking out.” That didn't look quite right, so I pushed the “cancel” button and it went away and the “fresh” screen came on, allowing me to enter my shopper's reward. Sarah began checking me out, and we engaged in some conversation about why she was at the register instead of where she normally works. She said that there were four call-in's today and she was “recruited” to man (excuse me, woman) a register. She said she didn't do it often, and it was apparent in her movements. They weren't as “polished” as someone's would be who did that job all day long. We talked for a couple of minutes while she checked me, and a nice young man sacked my groceries after asking if plastic was OK.

While she was checking me, I went ahead and ran my card through. When she finished, she handed me the receipt and we finished our conversation. I left.

When I got home, I discovered that I had been charged over 200 dollars for about 80 dollars worth of groceries. It didn't take me long to realize that the people prior to me either never paid, or Sarah never rang up the payment. Recalling events, I think it might have been the latter. I found the dividing line between their groceries and mine, and went back to the store to see if I could make it right. All the way there, I was rehearsing what I would say and what I could say if the person at the help counter didn't believe me. I was just hoping Sarah was still there if I needed her.

I went in, went to the help counter, and gave a sigh of relief that Landon was manning the counter. He and I are also acquainted with each other through my long-time going to that store. I explained what happened, and Landon immediately began adding up the rogue charges. He entered the total in the register, added tax, and I swiped my card for a refund, signed a receipt to give back to him, and expressed by desire that Sarah not be held to account for this error. He assured me it was not a problem and she would be fine. He said he did not have to fill out any forms or make any report, other than the original receipt I gave him. I thanked him profusely and left.

A couple of points here...and lessons.

1. Check your receipt BEFORE you leave the store.

2. Do your best to befriend those you notice in a store who are stable employees. You may need them at some time in the future.

3. Don't jump to conclusions about how a scenario will play out. You will probably be wrong anyway.

4. Thank God for people who trust you when you say something.

Dillons, Sarah, and Landon did good Saturday. They deserve to be recognized.

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.