Here is an update on a previous post. Evidently, when you base your theology on God providing money, you will fight over money when things change.

What a sad commentary on Christianity.

The social nature of smoking meat

I never realized how social smoking meat was until I built my smoker. Today, the principal of our school stopped by (I am smoking pulled pork for a faculty lunch on Monday), 2 kids from my classes came by to see the smoke, a lady from church put a small brisket and turkey breast on my smoker, my neighbor brought over a pork loin all while the butts were smoking. 

There is something about gathering around food that is cooking, especially food that cooks slowly.  It gives you time to converse, to relax, to appreciate each other as you wait for the mouth-watering goodness that is about to happen.

I truly appreciate all those who made this possible - Tim with his welding and sandblasting expertise and friendship.  Steve and Steve, with their mechanical know-how and willingness to put up with me making it up as we went along.  Rachael, for having the idea of getting, no, building a smoker.  Deb, for putting up with the goofiness and the seemingly endless amount of wood that keeps showing up.

Below are some pictures of Steve and Steve with our progress and the finished project.

Day one

 Finally getting close

 You have to love the night-time cutting action

 measure twice, cut once, I think

Playing with big boy toys

 The inside view.

 She is so ugly she is almost cute.

 Steve, Steve, and me with our trial smoke

 Today's production.  2 pork butts, a turkey breast, a brisket and a pork roast.

Casting off Churchianity

I recently had a conversation with a middle school student that got me to thinking about orthodoxy and orthopraxy - right beliefs and right actions, loosely defined.  We were talking about some work that I would like some of our groups at church to do.  He was saying that he could just do it himself, and I was trying to explain how that can stunt someone's spiritual growth.

For too long in the church we have read this scripture Ephesians 4:11-16 incompletely. We read verse 11 with gusto - "It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers," and we stop there. We stop because most of us can say "God didn't give me to that calling" and we move on. The problem is in the remaining verses: "12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love."

The purpose of some being called is "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ."  For too long we have professionalized things and left these jobs that were designed for the lay people to be done by the clergy.  We are doing no favors when clergy does jobs that God has for the laity.  It stunts the spiritual growth of the laity, it doesn't build up the body of Christ as it should be, and it burns out the clergy.  This has been going on for way too long - more than 1000 years.  The good news is that it seems to be changing.

In our little tribe we have people who are volunteering to visit the sick and the shut-ins. We have people working in the nursery.  We have groups of young adults and teens looking for service opportunities in the community.  And we are working to find those opportunities so they can grow their faith.  James declared that faith without works is dead.  That is so true. We need to have our beliefs drive our actions which reinforces our beliefs which drives new actions.  It is how we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We are committed to helping all believers achieve their God-ordained potential in Christ. Sometimes that means we don't do the easy thing and do things for them.  We have to let them work through the bumps so they can grow their faith and become the people God wants them to be.  It also means that those who have chosen to sit and do little and not fulfilling what God has for them.

Tough stuff, but good stuff.  Let's reclaim biblical Christianity and cast off Churchianity

How long would you stay under this man's leadership?

I cannot imagine this happening in a service where the Good News of Jesus Christ is supposed to be preached.  Evidently something is going on there, and it appears that it isn't good. A step back to reassess the situation might be in order here.

I am proud to be a Nazarene

This General Assembly we have elected 2 great men to be General Superintendents. Dr. David Busic was elected on Tuesday, and Dr. Gustavo Crocker was elected on Wednesday. Both are Godly men with very different backgrounds. Dr. Busic

Dr. David Busic

is a pastor who comes to the Board of General Superintendents from the presidency of Nazarene Theological Seminary. Dr. Crocker is a Guatemalan who has been serving as the Eurasia Regional Director. This makes the 2nd General Superintendent who is not an American citizen, and the 3rd multi-lingual General Superintendent. We truly are a global church. Praise God for His faithfulness to us as it took 53 ballots to finish the elections.

Dr. Gustavo Crocker

Love = Obedience

Our text this week was John 21:1-19 and there are some great lessons in it.  When Jesus restores Peter, he asks him three times if he loves him.  After each of Peter's responses, Jesus gives him a task to perform - feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep - that is clearly linked to Peter's love for Jesus.  It is strikingly similar to the three denials of Christ that Peter uttered during Christ's Passion.

It follows on a theme from John 14 where Jesus told Judas:
²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Too often in this life we equate words with faith.  We confess that we believe certain things, but our lives do not show evidence of that faith.  We are caught in a trap where we have orthodoxy - right beliefs but we do not have orthopraxis - right actions- in our life.  We talk a good game, but like Peter, when the rubber hits the road, we fail.  We fail to do that which we claim to believe.  We fail to be the hands and feet of Christ.  We fail to avoid the sins that ensnare us.  We fail to do that which Christ has commanded us:

Great Commission

Great Commandment

Good Samaritan

This is a year to put actions to our words.  A year to be the people we are called to be.  We no longer have a privileged position in society.  We have to go out and earn that position by our actions that show the love of Christ to a hurting world.  

Let's be that people.

Saying goodbye to a good and Godly man

This week we will lay to rest Rev. Gerald Walworth, a pastor for more than 50 years, and a good man.  Jerry was my friend, my mentor, my congregant all wrapped up in one joke-telling, people-loving, and church-loving bundle

As a first-time solo pastor, one could view having your predecessor still in your congregation to be a challenge.  Jerry and Jean never made it an issue.  He had retired after serving the Hobart congregation for 37 years, and he was retired.  He was also battling the disease that ultimately claimed his life.

In the 2 years I knew him, I was able to laugh, cry, tell jokes, and run ideas past him.  I valued his counsel on things in the church and in the town.  I also appreciated having someone to talk to about ministry.  Being a solo pastor is hard because you have to work to find people with whom you can share some of your ideas, fears, burdens and frustration.  Jerry had already been there, done that and had a couple of T-shirts to prove it.

Jerry, you fought the good fight and made a difference in the lives of many.  Well done good and faithful servant.  I will miss you.

Pat Robertson has done it again

Pat Robertson and Joe Biden suffer from the same disease - terminal foot in mouth - because more often than not they end up regretting opening their mouths to speak in public.

This one just makes me cringe and shake my head at the same time.

So dating a woman who has adopted children internationally is akin to taking on the United Nations?  Will someone at CBN please tell the emperor that he has no clothes?  And then take his microphone away?

As Kenny Rogers said, you have "know when to walk away..."

Political Chicken

This week has been interesting to say the least with the Chick-Fil-A controversy.  I know the Hobart location was crazy busy all day long, and it was almost a rally atmosphere.  People would cheer in line, cars would honk in support, which elicited more cheers.  Then the rhythmic clapping started and it reminded me of waiting in line to ride the Beast at midnight at Kings Island near Cincinnati.

What I find interesting about all of this is the way certain folks reacted to a private citizen saying the same thing that President Clinton said when he signed the Defense of Marriage Act in the 1990s.  President Obama also espoused the same view when he was campaigning in 2008.

It is interesting that Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Boston, and Chicago aldermen did not attack candidate Obama they way they have attacked Dan Cathy for espousing his views on marriage.

In my opinion, this is a battle that is going to go on for a long time, just like abortion has.  It will raise millions of dollars on both sides, and little will be done to resolve the issue in the political arena.  What needs to be done is for the church focus on teaching what the Bible says in a POSITIVE manner and not engage in Westboro Baptist tactics that do not show the love of Christ in any way.

If we are going to change the culture, we are going to have to be the shining city on the hill that calls people to seek forgiveness and grace as they repent of behaviors that are sinful.  That is what the First Century church did, and it changed the very corrupt and highly-sexualized Roman culture over time.  The church needs to be the church and remain a voice that can speak to all parties in politics.  It's hard to watch your country go down some of the paths it has chosen, but God is not an American, and not all Americans recognize God's authority.  That is an unfortunate reality.

Heaven and Earth

This article really sums up nicely the idea that heaven isn't our focus of the Christian life.  Doing the will of God and living in communion with Him is our focus.  As you read it remember that a new heaven and a new earth are coming (Revelation 21).  I suspect that we will be living with God there, and I look forward to what that work entails

Jesus and me, Jerry Sandusky and (Un) Happy Valley

If we ever needed another reminder that our sin affects more than just us, just look at Penn State University. The sins of a few men in leadership have injured many who had nothing to do with the actions there, and had no idea it was happening.

Some of those injured include:

The players who cannot play in bowls through no fault of their own

The victims of Mr. Sandusky

The people who idolized Paterno and PSU

The non-revenue sports at PSU who may see a reduction in funding given the reduction in $$ from the football program

And the list goes on and on.

 It is a good moment for us to remember that our sin can potentially affect many around us. And that is why God's grace is there to help us overcome the power of sin and death. We are called to live in community, not as Lone Rangers. Our actions, however big or small, affect others whether we want to admit it or not.
 
Lord make it so.

Helping your pastor

I know last month was Pastor Appreciation Month, but let me offer another idea for all of you who want to help your pastor.  Pray that he/she will find a good friend and confidant in whom they can talk and be honest.  It's hard to do that with parishioners, and most pastors don't want to bring the church "stuff" home to their spouse and weigh them down with it.

Pray for a Godly friend to come alongside your pastor so that he/she can have someone they trust to confide in.  It makes a huge difference in the lives of clergy members.

Communion

I have never understood the devotion some people have to the plasticized wafers that pass as communion bread in so many churches.  There are times, such as large General Assembly-type gatherings where it makes sense. But for the typical church of less than 100 congregants, why  on earth would you use the chiclet-type bread instead of baking a real loaf of unleavened bread and cutting it up?

I just don't get it.

Happy Birthday to the King James Version of the Bible

Here is a nice, brief history of the King James version.  It's worth a listen.

I guess I should prepare for this

They have figured out something that even Jesus didn't know.  I guess I will hold next month's mortgage payment.


I don't know how to reconcile this with "“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father…” [Mark 13:21]"


But it must be true.  I saw it on the internet.

A shaming book and television show

This article speaks about one of the sins of the church that goes largely unpunished and most practitioners of it are unrepentant.

GOSSIP

It is no wonder that the secular media believes that Christians are fair game.  We provide them with both the target and the ammunition.  And we wonder why they take shots at us?

Why are we punishing the poor and middle class here?

This article has a good take on the current energy policy of the United States.  Interestingly, the author is a Democrat who is taking the current administration to task for their tightened regulations on deep water drilling.  The rise in energy prices punishes those at the bottom of the economic ladder the hardest, since they have the least amount of flexibility in their budget to deal with sudden spikes in gas prices.

I really don't understand why we are refusing to harvest our own resources and insist on importing oil from countries that do not have our best interest at heart.  I'm sure this will be a presidential campaign issue,

Things I love about Kansas City

Over the weekend I was in Kansas City for the commencement exercises at Nazarene Theological Seminary, where I received my Master of Divinity degree. Kansas City is a neat city with a lot going for it. Here is my list of things that I love about Kansas City

10. McGonigles Market on Ward Parkway - Good BBQ and meat at reasonable prices

9. The friendly folks and open air feeling of the city.

8. Smokestack BBQ.

7. Christ Church Anglican - I went there for my worship class and was hooked.

6. Jacob's Well - same story. I love the evening worship there.

5. The faculty at Nazarene Theological Seminary - they made me feel like a part of the community even though I as an in-service student.

4. Jack's Stack BBQ - fine dining and BBQ. What more could you ask for?

Country Club Plaza

3. Country Club Plaza in downtown Kansas City. It is a wonderful mixture of shopping, dining and scenery that I truly enjoyed.

2. Oklahoma Joe's BBQ- great BBQ served in a gas station. Need I say more?

1. Nazarene Theological Seminary - I am a bit wistful thinking about completion of my degree. I made some great friends there and greatly enjoyed the interaction with students and faculty. I will honestly miss being there.

This is a merger well worth considering

As a former member of the Wesleyan Church and a current member of the Church of the Nazarene clergy, I would love to see this idea explored in great depth. I know there are some governance issues, and some college overlap issues, but it is worth a look.

A tax on people who are bad at math

Yep. he got that one right