More on why we flagellate ourselves

Why do Christians naturally assume the worst about ourselves? Read this article. It is an eye opener.

Future NFL Halftime Acts

Since the NFL has decided to use AARP members for its halftime shows at the Superbowl, you might hear some of these songs in the future.

Why do we like to think the worst about ourselves?

What is it about American Christians that causes us to think the worst about ourselves?  Do we have some kind of innate inferiority complex that causes us to believe any statistic that comes down the pike if it expresses a negative view of Christianity?

Take a look at this piece in Christianity Today.  The author makes a valid point that the statistics we love to go around quoting are all negative statistics, and many of them are flat out misleading if not fabricated falsehoods. I remember sitting in a meeting watching a video of a prominent teen evangelist who was breathlessly telling us that only 4% of American kids will be Christians in the next generation.  I leaned over to the pastor sitting next to me and said "I know how to lie with statistics too" and we both smiled.  That number comes from an informal survey (read nonscientific) done by a seminary professor more than 10 years ago with a sample size of just over 200 people.  More on that here.   Yet people keep running around repeating it as if it were inscribed on stone tablets found found on Mt. Sinai.  It's wrong people!  Get over it!  Stop repeating the lie.!


Maybe Christians should try this form of therapy.



Let's try something new for a while.  Let's only say positive things about the church that are true.  Let's declare a fast from criticalness.  Let's speak positively about the Body of Christ, and see if it becomes more attractive to people.  How about that for a change.

I realize this will crimp the fundraising plans of many who make their living out of scaring Christians into thinking they are under siege.  But this too shall pass.  And the world may just be a better place afterward.

It's worth a shot, don't you think?

Memorial Day

Take a look at this clip and remember those who gave all for our country.  I tear up every time I watch it, specifically at the scenes of soldiers loading into their landing crafts.  It reminds me of my dad, who was a landing craft driver during the Normandy invasion.  I cannot imagine the terror, the chaos, or the valor required to do that job.  Those were amazing men.

The other scene that just tears me up is the two WWII vets in the cemetery, one missing part of a leg.  I can't imagine standing there where brave young men who you went through training with are buried.  Why did you live and they die?  Fate?  Luck?  Divine intervention?  We may never know.

Watch the clip and remember those who gave all for our freedom.

How do you celebrate Pentecost?

For Christians there are four major religious holidays:

Christmas

Good Friday

Easter

Pentecost

The first three receive quite a bit of attention, but the last one receives scant attention outside the church, and not much more inside the church. Pentecost celebrates the arrival of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. This was the Comforter that Jesus had promised to the disciples.  It was the fulfillment of the Emmanuel - God with us - idea.  Jesus was the incarnation of God and walked with us on the earth.  But he was limited by time and space and the human body.  The Holy Spirit is not limited by time, space and the human body.  The Spirit can be with all of us at the same time,and he can, and will, indwell in our soul and shape our character into the Christlikeness that we are called to.

This Sunday, take some time to celebrate Pentecost.  If your church doesn't celebrate Pentecost, encourage your pastor to do so.  The Spirit of the Living God dwelling with us gives us the power of God in our lives.  It is the greatest gift of God this side of heaven.  The Spirit is there to guide us, comfort us, encourage us, enlighten us and so much more.

Celebrate Pentecost and thank God for his Spirit who lives with us. It is the greatest gift we can receive until we see Jesus face to face.

Existential Questions for Christians

Admiral James Stockdale's opening questions during the 1992 Vice Presidential debate are good questions for all of us to consider as we travel through our journey of this life as we prepare for the next life.  Who am I?  Why am I here?  These are great existential questions for us to consider as we live each day.

Who am I?  Am I the person I born to be?  Am I the person who had bad things happen to them previously in their life?  Am I the person who did many bad things to myself and others?  Am I a child of the King?  Am I a victorious Christian? Am I a guilt-ridden Christian lamenting my life and the way it has turned out?  Am I someone who looks forward to what each day brings?  Or am I someone who looks forward to each day as a way of getting one day closer to the end and receiving my eternal reward.  Am I someone people turn to for guidance and comfort?  Am I someone that people don't turn to unless they have to?

I don't have easy answers because each of us is in a different place.  But, for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, we know that we are brothers and sisters of the King.  In Mark 3:35 Jesus said "whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."  Emotionally we may not be there, but that is the reality of what Christ has given to us.

Why am I here?  I'm not going to list all of the possibilities for this, just meditate on the question.  Why am I here?  Do I have a purpose?  Has God shared with my my raison d'etre?  Go read the beginning of Exodus or Isaiah 6 to see examples of God-given purpose.  Read Mark 3 where Jesus calls his disciples.  Read the accounts of Jesus and his mission.  Ask God what your purpose is.  Pray, and sit quietly and listen as he speaks to you.  Let the Lord speak to your soul and it may help you answer some of these questions.

What to do about illegal immigration

The recent Arizona law allowing police to check the status of illegal immigrants has once again brought a vexing issue to the forefront.  What should we do about the flood of illegal immigrants that are in our country and continue to pour over our borders?  The federal government response has been feckless at best, and Arizona is taking steps to secure its own borders and get some kind of control over the people who are overwhelming.

Last summer I wrote this paper on the issue, and I think it is worth revisiting.


When Doing Good May Be Breaking The Law -

Christians are in a particularly difficult spot with this issue. We are commanded to look out for the "least of these" and we are also commanded to obey the law.

I encourage you to read the paper and offer your thoughts here.  It's not that long and an easy read.  But is is a vexing issue for our country.

Sitting with Job

This has been a very trying 14 months in the life of my family.  We have experienced the usual ups and downs of life as well some very unusual events that just have me scratching my head.

My business has been battered by the disaster that is the Michigan economy. I'm still waiting for the recovery that has been talked about some time.  But it is what it is.  I knew there was a risk when I went out on my own.  There is a high risk and a high reward in a venture such as self employment, and I'm in the risk phase right now.  I'm praying that the reward phase is just around the corner.

But the real struggle has been in the health of our family.  Last year I tore my rotator cuff and labrum in an unfortunate incident.  The recovery from the surgery has taken many months and much hard work.  Today is the first day I have been able to throw a tennis ball without any tightness or hitch in my motion.  It's a small victory, but I need a victory.

My kids have both had their share of issues.  One has developed POTS, and the other has a spinal malformation that has just come to light.  I know you never want to ask the question "What else can go wrong" but I'm about there.  I know that my issues are not life-threatening but they are potentially serious medical issues that have turned our lives upside down in the past year.  I long for the days when I awoke and assumed that everything was going to be OK that day. I say this not to evoke sympathy or pity, but to bring up a point.

I have gained a great appreciation for people who have been through periods of suffering.  I have had a taste of what it is like to have the concerns of life just grind you down and suck the joy out of your day.  I've seen the depressive effects of losing hope that things will return to normal.  I've seen the bills that chronic illnesses can generate.

If you have been suffering and I have been indifferent to you, please accept my apology.  Sadly it has taken some ugly life events to open my eyes to the suffering of others.  I pray that God will use this with me in ministry to help others during their time of sitting with Job.  If you haven't read Job lately, open your Bible and take a look at a story of suffering and redemption.  It's a good, but difficult at times, read.  You will also learn that good, Godly friends are invaluable because Job's friends were next thing to useless.

How is this even a good idea?

I can't begin to tell you how wrong this story is.  And sadly, they use the same hymnals that we use.  Memo to self - do not purchase used hymnals.

In Hoc Anno Domini (So the light came into the world)

This is printed every year on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal. It is a powerful testament to what this day is about.

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.


Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.


But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression—for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?


There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?


Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.


And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.


So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.


But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.


Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.


Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.


And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:


Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.


This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since.

At the end of Slavery

I am really looking forward to showing this at church. I think it will be an eye-opening experience for the community and all of us who do not see what is happening around us.

More on the Prosperity Gospel heresy

Here are a couple articles on one of the more popular heresies of our day:  The Prosperity Gospel.

Some Thoughts on the Prosperity Gospel

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

Quoting from the Simple Dollar:

First of all, if the prosperity gospel were true, every single person of faith would be showered in material wealth. I know some well-off people of faith. I also know some very poor people of faith. At the same time, I know some very financially poor atheists and some very well-off atheists.

Second of all, it implies a nonsensical quid pro quo. The entire idea of a prosperity gospel is based on an idea of direct reciprocity – if you believe in God, you will directly be given material wealth. This implies that God is some kind of spiritual ATM – deposit some faith and you can withdraw some cash.

This implies a very direct connection between our spiritual choices and the material world. Yet, if that direct connection were true, people of faith would have all the material wealth and people without faith would have none of the material wealth. As I pointed out above, a cursory examination of the world shows this not to be true.

Do not be seduced by these false teachers. Heed the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:

 ³If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ⁴he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions ⁵and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. (emphasis added).

Do we make Christianity too easy?

I'm not talking about putting obstacles in people's way, but is the "raise your hand and say a prayer" process too easy?  Does it help create a generation of shallow Christians?  I've been giving that some thought lately.  I'm not one to add to the requirements of the Gospel, but the Desert Pastor brings up some good points in his most recent post.

He talks about baptismal preparation, and the practices of the ancient church.  Take a look at this list and see how many of them we still use today:

• 
  
  To varying degrees, the role of the “sponsor” was important.
  
  
  
• A screening interview became common prior to admission into the catechumenate in order to assure sincerity.
• An emphasis on the “Two Ways” during pre-baptismal instruction.
• A preference for baptizing in natural or “living” water sources, with exceptions allowed.
• Immersion as the preferred mode, with allowances made for pouring.
• Baptism is in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Baptisms are primarily held on Easter/Easter Eve.
• Lent is reserved for final catechesis and preparation for baptism.
• Repeated exorcisms, signing with the cross, and laying on of hands were common for catechumens.
• Catechumens were expected to purify their lives and engage in good deeds within the community.
• An affirmation of faith and renunciation of the devil occurred at the time of baptism.
• Partaking of the Eucharist is reserved for baptized believers only.
• Though sometimes quite brief, after-baptism mystagogy occurred

There aren't too many of these that I see practiced in evangelical Christianity today.  Triune baptism, immersion (and there are those who make that their hill to die on) are about it.  I honestly believe that we have so tried to be liked that we have made the process about as meaningful as the frequent shoppers club at our favorite store at the mall.  Consumerism is the culprit in many ways.    The church is competing for leisure time and attention with so many other things.  But is this really the way to build the kingdom?  To have  people raise their hands when their eyes are closed, go through a nominal vetting process and then make them members?  Jesus spent 3 years teaching his disciples.  Most of us didn't spend 3 weeks prior to our acceptance into the body as full-fledged members.  Without that deep acceptance, there is no hope of church discipline of maintaining conduct within the body.  People just leave and go to the next religious store.

I don't mean to sound bitter, but I am chewing on this.  And as we enter Advent and look forward to the return of Christ, I fear that many people who are part of our "frequent worshipers club" will be unhappy when they go to redeem their membership points card.  And we will have done them a disservice.

The First Sunday of Advent

The truth about social networking

I preached on this same subject on Sunday

In my sermon on Tradition, I hit upon what Piper calls an abomination in the clip above.  I called it a heresy, but the effect is the same.  Those who misuse the Gospel to feather their own nest are contradicting Scripture.  And at is basic core, the Prosperity Gospel is spiritually destructive. If God wants you to be rich and healthy, and you get sick and go broke, what does that mean?

Does God lie?
Is there something wrong with you?
Are you not good enough?

How do you explain that to a broke 35 year old dying of cancer?  It is an abominable heresy that is so destructive.  Please, avoid any of the Prosperity Gospel folks on television and radio.  They preach a false gospel, and one that you should avoid.

Words of Affirmation

That comic speaks a stark truth that doesn't apply to men only.  When I read it the first time I chuckled, then cringed, realizing the truth behind the statement.  A sad commentary on our society is that many men do go outside looking for affirmation.  Some do it in their work, where their success provides the positive feedback they desire.  Others do it in sports or other activities.  Some do it in the arms of other women (and men).

But men are not alone.  Women who do not feel affirmed will bury themselves in other activities looking for the positive reinforcement they crave.  Some find that in their children, their vocation, groups and clubs.  And sadly, some find it in the arms of another.

Children are the same way.  If a child does not feel affirmed by his or her parents, they will seek out some way receiving that affirmation.  The ways that they choose are often not the means their parents and family would choose for them.

The human need to be loved is universal.  We know that God loves us, but sometimes we just want someone with "skin" to love us and affirm that we have value. We in the church know this, and the Apostle Paul made a special note of it: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Ephesians 4:29.

As we look forward to Advent and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, let's make a special effort to affirm and encourage each other.  The world does enough to tear us down.

Mr. Wesley's quadrilateral

We are in the midst of a four-week sermon series on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral - a method of doing theology that John Wesley gave to the followers of Methodism.  The quadrilateral is often thought of as a 4-legged stool, though one of the legs must be considerably larger and stronger than the others.  The legs are Scripture, reason, experience and tradition.  It is the interrelatedness of each of these legs that allow us to better understand and interpret scripture.

Scripture is the dominant leg, and is the only one that possesses a "trump" card.  If scripture deals with an issue, we should closely follow it's lead.  If it does not, or if we need to interpret the scripture, the others come into play.  Reason is our God-given capacity for thinking and asking the question "Does this make sense?" When we are interpreting scripture we have to ask if what we think it means makes sense and passes what my Trigonometry teacher called "the plausibility test."  Is the answer plausible?

Experience is the Holy Spirit's interaction with the individual believer and the church as a corporate body.  How has the Spirit illumined us on this particular issue?  How has our life experience helped us understand what the scripture might be saying?

What does Christian tradition teach us about the scripture?  Where have the ancient commentators fallen on the issue?  How has the Church of Jesus Christ treated the issue in the past?  Those are all good questions to ask as we look at difficult passages and issues.

This article offers us a fascinating look at the quadrilateral through the lens of one of my favorite foods - biscuits.  I encourage you to take a look at the quadrilateral with fresh eyes and see how it can provide a balanced way for interpreting scripture and providing guidance in life situations.

I'll be preaching on experience this Sunday if you want to come hear my thoughts.

A very neat picture of a father's grace

There is a little glimpse of the Kingdom in the reaction of the dad in this video.

The law of unintended consequences strikes again.

It appears that our headlong rush into "clean energy" without thinking through how the transition will be managed is creating havoc on the electrical grid.  Evidently the wind doesn't blow at a uniform speed and tends to blow more when the demand is lowest.  This phenomenon will create the possibility of higher electricity rates because we will have to use the more expensive natural gas peaking plants to produce electricity since nuclear and coal plants can't be turned on and off easily. So, during a severe recession we decide to launch a strategy that will raise the cost of production and living for air quality benefits we could achieve with nuclear power plants.  Never mind the thousands of birds being shredded, and threatened species being killed.  If ExxonMobil were killing 50 Golden Eagles per year at one of their sites, can you imagine the outcry and the fines that the environmental regulators would hand down?   This is almost Alice in Wonderland-esque at times.

The road to hell sometimes is paved with good intentions.