How Many Ways

Since the first Sunday of Advent my wife and I have attended thirteen worship services focusing upon the hanging of the greens, children's programs, and musical presentations. No two were alike. None tried to duplicate what some other church was doing. Scenery was different in each church. All age groups were involved. Senior adults participated in most. A four month old baby did quite well, thank you, in the manger in the last one we were able to attend. Each service told the biblical story of Christmas in a beautiful and creative way.

Just how many ways can you tell the story of the birth of the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, the Son of God? The gospels of Matthew and Luke each had its own unique record. Traditions seemed to have blossomed once Christianity became an acceptable religion a couple of centuries later. Since then many cultures have added different expressions of celebration to the occasion of remembering the birth of the Savior of the world.

Trees and wreaths, lights and ornaments, ancient and modern scenes set in miniature have added color and wonder to the season. Music has played an important role from early years. The biblical record has maintained a central part of every presentation of the beginnings of the Story. Yet each year the story of the birth of the Messiah remains rich and magnetic in its power to draw people to the image of a baby lying helpless in a stable manger while people of the lowest social order pay homage.

During the season of Advent leading up to Christmas Day itself, we see part of the Story told and retold in readings, drama, music, and nativity scenes. It is told in churches, in homes, in front yard scenes, and even in some businesses and schools. During these four plus weeks, the beginning of the Story is told over and over again and we never grow tired of it.

When the decorations are taken down, the living tree is not so living any more and has to be left on the roadside, when the presents are no longer new, and the nativity scene that sat on the sideboard is packed away, how do we tell the rest of the Story? What happens to the Story the rest of the year? One of the earliest ideas of Advent was not a celebration of a birth in Bethlehem but a diligent alertness for a second coming. Has that part of the Story taken the place of the first appearance of the Son of God?

It is now approximately 360 days until Christmas. It may only be one day until the Second Coming. The whole Story still needs to be told. I doubt if there are any Christmas cantatas or children's plays currently in rehearsal. I doubt if any church's calendar has a caroling party scheduled in the coming weeks. I doubt if anyone is planning to keep their not-so-living tree in their house for another six months. People have few if any plans to tell the portion of the Story about the Messiah's birth in the near future.

Yet the whole Story must be told! How will we tell the Story between Christmas Day, 2011 and the first Sunday of Advent, 2012? The shepherds without a doubt continued to talk about the experience for months to come. The magi from the east had it in their plans for years. You know Herod lost sleep over it until he died, wondering who this new threat was to his throne and if he had eliminated it.

Ebenezer Scrooge promised to keep Christmas in his heart throughout the year. So he gave Bob Cratchit a raise, helped Tim get healthy, and made a big donation to the benevolence society. When did he tell the Story? Helping others is all well and fine, but if the Story stays in your heart, then you have denied others the greatest Gift of all.

In 2012 we must tell the Story. The Story is all about Emmanuel, God with us. It is not about trees and wreaths and decorations. It is not about presents and gifts or even coins in a red kettle outside a store. It is about Emmanuel, God with us. We have not told the Story until we have told about a manger, hungry crowds being fed, hurting people being healed, a cross, and an empty tomb. Then we will have told the Story. We must give the thirsty a drink of water, but we must be willing to do it in the name of Emmanuel. We must be willing to feed the hungry but in the name of Emmanuel. We must be willing to provide a roof for the homeless but in the name of Emmanuel. We must give hope to the hopeless but in the name of Emmanuel. Then we will have told the Story, and there are lots of ways to do it.

Christmas Was Risky

God became a human being. That human being gave up being equal with God the Father and took on all the weaknesses of a typical mortal including the ability to be tempted by the wiles and ways of this world. God did this to show us how much he loved us. Jesus, the Son of God, became Emmanuel. I call that risky.

Apparently God did not have a Plan B. If Jesus failed to meet the requirements for the job while existing in full human nature, there was no back up plan, at least none that scripture seems to imply. Jesus had to be sinless to finish the plan. I call that risky.

To add to the high stakes that God was seeing, when the job that Jesus had come to accomplish was finished, God created the Church out of a bunch of weak, sinful, and rebellious human beings that said they would follow Jesus anywhere. He put the entire task of spreading the news about what Jesus had done in their hands. He made no provision for any back up plan if they failed or just lost interest. Again there was no Plan B. I call that risky.

Another year is about to begin. The Church has had the same marching orders for 2000 years. Holy Spirit continues to be our one source for strength, wisdom, and boldness essential to carrying out the task received so many years ago. God took a big chance subjecting his Son to the temptations that surround every mortal. He took a big chance giving a world mission responsibility to those first disciples. He continues to take a big chance on the Church's willingness to take a risk as well.

In 2012 the Church must take some big risks. We must do ministry with less money than we will think we need. We must do ministry in a culture that is less interested in what we have to say. We must make sacrifices in ways that we cannot imagine at this time. We must make decisions about what we must maintain and what we will allow to disappear before 2013 arrives. We must start living in a much riskier fashion.

Christians must decide if they will be safe or faithful in 2012. It is terribly difficult to do both in this world. Associations must decide whom they can help, how they can help, and what they must let die in the process. State and national conventions must decide why they exist, eliminate what does not support that purpose, and be honest in their reasoning. In 2012 taking the necessary risks will mean some things must die or disappear. Taking the necessary risks will mean division and realignment of priorities and support.

Taking the necessary risks always follows determining God's will. Simply taking risks does not make a fool any less a fool. The Church God established at Pentecost takes risk because faithfulness to his Plan demands taking risks in this world. You count the cost. You weigh the sacrifice. In the end it is faithfulness to God's Plan that must come out on top.

Christmas was risky, but then God being God, he knew what was involved from the beginning. The Plan it initiated concerned the spiritual eternity of mankind. As we enter 2012, we will find ourselves having to decide if we are willing to take the risks. There will be sacrifices that bring discomfort and loss, but faithfulness demands risk, and we do still believe that the God who started this Plan is still in control. The Church, to be the Church that cost the life of the Son of God, has no other choice but to take the risks. I hope we all enjoy stepping into the dark!

I Suggest We Keep the Fourth Candle Burning

The Advent Wreath is almost complete. It lacks only the Christ candle lit on Christmas Eve (or Day if you prefer) and the fourth purple candle on the wreath itself, the love candle. During Advent churches and individuals have moved the emphasis from hope to peace to joy and now to love. All of these lead to a primary focus on the central candle, the Reason for the Season, the Christ candle.

Some time on Christmas Day all of these candles will be extinguished. When all the decorations are boxed up and stored away, the Advent Wreath likewise will find itself placed in tissue or styrofoam peanuts, set in a box, and stored in a closet, the attic, the garage, or wherever until a day or two before Advent begins in 2012. Sad to say much of the spiritual focus of the candles on this wreath will be packed away as well.

I suggest a radical idea. Keep that fourth candle burning all year. Let the love candle stay lit as a reminder that God's love is available on more than a seasonal basis. God's love is just as much present in the rough times as in the party times. God's love endures through more than a season of festivity. It still brings its power to bear when resolutions are made and broken, when human love reveals itself in paper hearts and chocolate candy, and when God's love itself takes the form of a cross.

Somehow we need to be reminded during the rest of the year that divine love is the foundation for self-sacrifice and compassion and random acts of kindness that look beyond simple physical need. We need to see the light of God's love reflected in our conversations with our neighbors, in our business practices, in how we treat our families, and in how we do church. God's love should shine through those dark nights of frustration and despair. One candle can dispel a lot of shadows.

Keeping one candle burning all year might be a bit impractical. That's more than a few pennies worth of wax. An option might be then to decide that you will love others as God loves you which is all the time. You will show that love in attitude, word, and action. You will smile when you don't feel like it. You will say kind words when the person doesn't deserve to hear them. You will do acts of kindness knowing that you will never receive a thank you. That would keep the candle of love burning all year.

Our families would have an easier time getting along with each other and encouraging each other when situations got difficult. Our workplace would lose a lot of its frustration and political tricks. Just think about our churches! We would actually think more of others than of ourselves. We would honor others above ourselves. We would act more like the Savior who loved us enough to die for us. We would work together to build His Kingdom instead of trying to build our own. All because we refused to blow out the love candle.

God is love. Maybe in 2012 we could try to remember that for an entire year.

Finding a Reason to Rejoice

The third Sunday of Advent carries the traditional theme of joy. It has been preceded by Sundays emphasizing hope and peace. The fourth Sunday will focus on love. We have been called to fill our hearts with hope. We have been called to seek peace in our world. Now we are called to find reasons to rejoice. That is not always an easy task.

Advent throughout its history has at times emphasized the Second Coming of Christ rather than celebrating his first. It also carries a tradition as a time, not for celebration, but as a time of repentance and contrition. After all Christ did not come into the world to tell us we were doing a fine job of things. He was born to die because we had done such a lousy job of things. Perhaps a little more repentance and contrition would do us good.

Nevertheless this Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent and our current tradition says that it is the day we emphasize the joy in our faith. The Apostle Paul felt he had every reason to rejoice in spite of all the mess he had experienced. He tells the Philippian Christians to "rejoice...and again...rejoice"  (Philippians 4:4). They weren't rich and powerful. They had no reason to believe that the Roman government would bless them above all other citizenry. They were ordinary folks trying to find enough to eat each day and have enough money left over to pay their taxes, not a whole lot different than common folks today.

Finding reason to rejoice in the midst of less than joyful times has been a recurring problem for thousands of years. The almost innate need to rejoice has been the basis for many of our annual celebrations. We create a reason even when we may not feel like it. Weddings and birthdays are naturals. Look at the times our banks and post offices close each year and you find many other reasons to celebrate. If that is not enough, Hallmark cards will create a hundred more reasons to "send the very best".

The short book carrying the name of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk ends on one of the greatest calls for joy we find in all of scripture (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Our joy is to be independent of life around us. Abundance in neither flocks nor crops should be the source of our joy, but rather the relationship we have with God. That is also the heart of what Paul was trying to convey to his readers.

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the words for "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", there was no great joy in his country. The terrible suffering of the American Civil War was being experienced by the nation. He wrote out of a deep grief for what his fellow citizens were enduring. His conclusion, however, was that God was greater still and human suffering, terrible as it was, would not endure. God's healing love would win in the end.

The third Sunday of Advent serves to remind us that joy can be experienced when the stalls and fields are empty. That special day serves to remind us that joy can be experienced when persecution envelopes us. The Sunday given to an emphasis upon joy should remind us when the fires of war seem ready to overcome our world that will not be the final word for our lives.

Christ came once before to bring us hope for our future, peace to carry us into that future, and love that is the foundation for that future. We can rejoice, we can find joy today in spite of all the news that comes to us, because the One who came once before is coming again. May we find joy in that promise throughout the year.

They May Not Tell You Beforehand

A few weeks ago I had the unexpected experience of a brief stay in the hospital due to a blocked artery in my heart. At 95% blockage the doctors told me I was lucky to have gotten through the situation without a heart attack. With no damage having been done, I could go back to my regular schedule with a new awareness of how things can happen with no warning.

I had felt a strange pressure in the middle of my chest and a burning in my throat. Those were the warnings my body gave me that my heart's arterial system was about to shut down. For years I had focused on a heart healthy diet. I had exercised every day. I had kept my blood pressure under control and cholesterol levels in the healthy range. I took comprehensive vitamins to supplement the already controlled diet. I still developed a blocked artery.

We all know that these things can happen. Cancer is well known for being discovered in stages too advanced to make treatment successful. Other diseases can give us the same problems. We find out too late a problem exists. Our options become limited. In the end we sometimes have only one option. Accept the end as it comes.

This same scenario is too often visible in our relationships among family members and between friends. It also occurs in churches, associations, and conventions. We are not sure what is going on, but something feels unusual. Something is wrong. We sense a deep and serious problem exists, but we cannot define it. The end result could be fatal if preventive action is not soon taken. Yet we have little warning of the coming crisis.

The medical personnel found nothing on ECGs or blood tests that would show anything was wrong around my heart. Only when they went into the arteries with a camera did they find the obvious cause of the unwanted pain. Once discovered the problem was evident and the cure obvious. A procedure to insert a stint took less than a hour and a day later I was home. Sometimes we must look deeper into our relationships to make sure that possible trouble is not hiding and building into something deadly.

I told my doctor that I felt I had a problem and did not know what to do about it. That started the process of treatment. We must do the same with family members and friends. We must communicate! My health was valuable. I wanted to do something about keeping it in the best condition possible. Our relationships are likewise valuable. We must do whatever is necessary to keep those relationships healthy. We must communicate!

I didn't blame the doctor for my condition. I went to the doctor because I knew that any help I needed must begin there. Don't blame a family member or friend when you sense trouble in the relationship. Express your concern and ask for help from the only one who can work with you to solve the problem, the other member in the relationship.

Within the church we too often push felt problems under the proverbial rug. We don't want to hurt someone's feelings. We don't want to make something big out of something that appears small. We operate as if we can ignore a problem and it will go away. It almost never does.

We must communicate! Redemption is a foundational aspect of good communication. You want to restore what may appear to be damaged or broken. In redemption you think of the needs of others. In redemption you express value. In redemption you take action to restore that which you had before. Few church, association, or convention conflicts would exist for long if redemption was the goal in every discussion.

Only through an emphasis upon redemptive and open communication can reconciliation be reached and healthy relationships restored. Only as we seek the divinely defined health of God's people through reaching out to others, by considering others better than ourselves, and by honoring others (Romans 12:3-16) will we be able to maintain the family relationships within the family of God that he intended.

Trust is the key to reconciliation and spiritual health. I trusted my doctors. I will again. When others know they can trust me, they will be open with me in their communication. They will reveal their fears and their pains. They will explore with me how I can help. Sometimes I will have to ask and hope that enough trusts exists that they will share what they had planned on keeping hidden. That is when the blocked arteries are discovered and healing/restoration can begin.

Thankful in All Things

The Apostle Paul said few things that are harder to live out than being thankful in all circumstances (Eph. 5:20; I Thess. 5:18). Times can be rough. Pain and suffering are widespread. Relationships are bruised or broken. Life goes on when all desire to live has ceased. The best laid plans fall flat on their face. Dreams come crashing down. Helplessness and hopelessness are far more common than either help or hope.

Then Paul rises up before us and says, "In all things give thanks!" We have to ask what world is this guy living in. Is he for real? Does he know what life is all about? Has he had to sacrifice more than a little comfort? What does he know about pain, long term pain? What does he know about broken bones and broken hearts?

We want to point our finger in his face and tell him that he knows nothing about the depth of agony one can experience in this life. We want to tell him that he hasn't experienced the day in and day out struggles we have in this 21st century world. Sure, he can give thanks, but he has no right to expect that from someone who has to live in this day and time.

I see Paul going quiet and rather introspective. Then he quotes a few selections from some of the letters he wrote to the churches he helped start. He might mention 2 Corinthians 11:21-29 or 12:7-10. Maybe he would throw in part of his letter to the Philippians, 4:10-13, to show how he had made it through all the times of sacrifice. He would say that yes, times could be very difficult, dangerous, even life-threatening. Yet even in the worst of times we can and should give thanks.

Paul might tell us that in the midst of tragedy, God can still bring out good (Romans 8:28). Even in the midst of suffering and pain, we can see God's hand at work to make us stronger. Paul would tell us that God is greater than any natural or moral evil that may come upon us. We cannot settle for the short view. A much bigger picture demands our attention. Even in the worst of times, we can give thanks because God is sovereign and can bring something better out of the mess we might be facing.

Perseverance might be seen as an active waiting. God wants us to persevere through the rough times because he has something better waiting for us. We might not experience that something better if we don't hang in there. Heed the lesson of the butterfly escaping from its cocoon. We don't just sit back and wait. We are working with God to prepare ourselves for what he has planned. That's perseverance. That's walking and working by faith. Paul says we are to rejoice in the midst of the struggle, not because we are struggling but because the struggle produces something beautiful that could never be without the pain (Romans 5:1-5).

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in America. This day is special to our country. It is a unique part of our national history. For followers of Jesus Christ like the Apostle Paul, it should be a standard part of our daily existence. Every day should be a day of thanksgiving. It's not easy. Sometimes we have to look hard to find a reason to believe that good is on its way. Sometimes we have to be thankful simply because God is in control and not us.

The Persecuted Church

November 13 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The event is sponsored and promoted by such organizations as The Voice of the Martyrs, <persecution.com>. The free Church of the west would do well to remember its many brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who must worship their God in darkened rooms and secret places in wilderness areas. Persecution is real. Loss of financial support, jobs, homes, health, and even life are risks that believers of Christ must often face if they seek to remain faithful.

Throughout the year I notice how our nation remembers those who have contributed to its strength and progress. Not all notables are military. We memorialize those who have made life safer, easier, and its materials and cultural blessings more accessible to more people. We have celebrations, parades, speeches, offer awards and examples to those who have succeeded and to those who would follow.

How do we as Christians measure up in celebrating the heroes of our Father's Kingdom? Even setting aside some names that would raise disagreement, we have more than enough martyrs in our faith heritage to give us reason to remember with pride those who have gone before. Not considering the martyrs, individuals beyond count have made sacrifices that resulted in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. They turned their backs on family, material comforts, and positions of privilege. Do our church members celebrate these individuals? Do our church members know what they have done? Do our church members know their names?

David Platt, pastor of the Church at Brook Hills, has a special interest in the persecuted church, the Secret Church, due to his contact with them in various countries. His broadcasts of Bible studies under that name have been received by more than 50,000 people at a time through simulcasts. His experiences in working with the persecuted church have led him to see the strength of the church can never be in its material image or possessions but only in its faithful sacrifice. His book, Radical, is a result of this faith pilgrimage.

At least once a year our churches should remember that not all Christians enjoy religious freedom. We should remember that many Christians are paying heavy prices for living out their faith. We should remember that the freedom to worship openly without government interference is a blessing and a freedom granted by man and as such can be taken away by man. We should also remember that the strength of our faith is not determined by the laws of the land but by the Lord of our hearts. Our persecuted brethern know that all too well.

My plea is that on at least one day of the year our churches remember that the strength of our own fairh may well be dependent upon the faithful prayers of individuals who cannot share their prayers. The strength of our faith may be dependent upon the faithful lifestyles of individuals for whom such a lifestyle will result in imprisonment, torture, or death. It may well be that as we enjoy our freedom to worship, we do so because people who have no such freedom are praying for us. Let us take the time to pray for them.

Halloween Is a Lie

(A little time spent indisposed while dealing with a minor medical problem kept this entry from going out on the proper date. It's late, but I wanted to address the subject anyway. TL)

When we look past the cute costumes (some of them at least) and the creative pumpkins and the incredible edible chocolate, we have to admit that Halloween is just a lie. Costumes and masks, the threat of tricks if we don't get treats, and games of skill designed to take very little skill make Halloween a time when we throw reality out the window. We have a great time in pretending, but we know that it is all just a lie.

Sad to say we carry that into our churches. To say someone has lied or to call them a liar to their face is a rather harsh way to say that we disagree with the veracity of their statements. Society frowns upon such blunt statements of disagreement. The recent episode which got a member of Congress censored because he said, "You lie!" in the middle of a presidential address is a prime example. We can disagree with how someone is handling facts or making up facts, but the use of the term "lie" or any of its derivatives is not acceptable in polite company.

Jesus didn't use the word lie very often. His favorite word for such occasions where words and actions contrasted was hypocrite. The intent was the same and his listeners had the same response that modern society has to the word lie. Being told that your lifestyle does not reflect your words does not make for pleasant conversation. Yet Jesus never hesitated when the situation called for the unpleasant task of stating the truth.

In our churches we allow power plays to take place based upon lies and half truths, lies that just sound better. We tolerate it from church leaders because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. We accept it from our ministry staffs because we believe the work of finding another pastor or staff member whom we can trust is not worth the effort of stirring up a confrontation. We allow the hypocrites to destroy the Body of Christ because we believe that any action we take will cause even more serious damage. There is little damage that can be done to the Body of Christ that is more severe than the toleration of lies.

In recent months I have seen this in action as pastors twist history to give themselves a better resume. I have seen it among members who redefine the playing field through deception to keep themselves in power. I have seen it among committee leaders who make decisions based ostensibly upon doing the will of God when it is apparent to everyone that the decisions reflect a self-centered and self-supporting agenda.

We do not expect truth to rule the world when the lord of the world is the father of lies. Within the Body of Christ, however, we should and must expect better. Standing up for the truth got Jesus crucified. Standing up for the truth is never a healthy thing for the individual to do in the eyes of the world. Yet when we bring the deceit of Halloween into the patterns of church life, then we have handed the Body of Christ over to the father of lies. God's judgment will not be pretty.

Why Party?

Tis the season for fall festivals, Neewollah celebrations, and blatant, in-your-face efforts to Christianize a Halloween party. I like to party. I like going to fall festivals hosted by the different churches in my association. I like seeing the various costumes that parents can force their children to wear, even convincing some kids they really like what they are doing, regardless of how hot they get.

The question is are our churches just creating another opportunity for their members to escape the drudgery of their daily existence. If that is the case, then someone needs to do an evaluation of how much work is involved in pulling off a high quality fall festival. It takes a lot of work and time and often money. Is that what our churches are all about?

If we are using these festivals to reach out into our communities and say, "Hey, guys, Christians know how to have fun too, and we don't have to celebrate the demonic and all the bloodletting to do it either", then that might be a good reason. It should be a description, however, of how we Christians live our lives every day. I say we can still find a better reason.

If the reason we have fall festivals or whatever we call them is to create a context in which we can meet the unchurched of our communities in what is a safe environment for them, then we need to look at what we do and see if that is accomplishing our goal. Giving their kids a calorie rush and sending them on their way may not be the most effective way we can impact our community families. I suggest we examine how we intend to impact these families beyond encouraging them to visit the dentist on a regular basis.

Fall festivals and others such events can and should be safe places for the community to meet the church family. Physical and relational safety are paramount priorities. Feel-good environments are hard to find and creating one for the community is always appreciated especially when the focus is on children. The church with its emphasis upon love-based relationships is the ideal group to produce this sort of  context.

The enduring impact, however, is where congregations too often miss their golden opportunity. By focusing upon the feel-good event, the chance to offer a meeting with the gospel of Jesus Christ is often skipped. By avoiding the appearance of being confrontational, we avoid a gospel conversation altogether. This need not be regardless of the physical set-up of the event.

As a minimum every church that hosts a fall festival style event needs to discover a way to register everyone who attends no matter what their current relationship with the church might be. Follow-up on non church members needs to be immediate and by people who will be visible when these guests decide to explore your church family. Greeters, Sunday School teachers, and other class workers are ideal people to be involved in this follow-up.

The church needs to make available information about its own ministry opportunities for anyone who might be unfamiliar with the work of this particular congregation. Offer free copies of the Bible, New Testament, or the Gospel of John, whatever is possible. Offer free issues of Christian life magazines and devotional guides especially if they have the plan of salvation laid out somewhere in their pages.

Open the door for community members to ask questions. Have church members wear a button that tells they are a local church member or may simply have the words "Ask Me!" They can carry around church brochures or the previous Sunday's order of service to hand out to guests who are not familiar with the ministries of the church. With our multicultural context, have information available in languages most common in the community other than English.

A high quality fall festival event requires a lot of work, planning, and people power. Don't let it pass with nothing more than a sigh of relief. Make it count for the Kingdom of God!

Associational Annual Meetings: Past-dwellers or Future-feeders?

It dawned on me that this was a lot like the many church homecomings I have attended. Special reports highlighted what had happened in the previous year. We counted the numbers that showed something had progressed or regressed. We heard multiple sermons. We visited with a lot of people we hadn't seen in a year. And we ate, a lot. After it was over, the question still remained. Was the effort worth it for what we accomplished for the Kingdom of God?

Sometimes it's hard to remember that the priority for our actions is to glorify God and strengthen the work of his Kingdom. We have our reports to make about what we have done. We talk a lot about what we need to do. We strengthen our relationships with other Christians both as individuals and as churches. And we eat, a lot.

Associational annual meetings have multiple purposes. They strengthen fellowship between sister churches at work for the Kingdom of God. They educate the various members about what has worked, what has not worked, what has been done, what has not been done, and who has done it or not done it. They inspire others to try what they have never tried before. They shed light on the unknown and so provide encouragement for churches to go where they have never gone before. They also provide another opportunity to eat, a lot.

Are these good enough reasons to have these annual gatherings of a population that has more white hair, or less hair, each year? With time being our most valuable commodity, is this the best way to spend this asset? If we are to involve the younger generation on the associational level as the state convention is seeking to do on that level, are we focusing on the right purposes? These annual gatherings meant much to our parents in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's when they represented critical times of mutual support. It's doubtful those same  reasons exist today.

If we asked the under 40 crowd today what would be the primary purpose for gathering in an annual associational meeting, what might they tell us? The first response might be, why meet? We have skype if we want to see each other. We have webinar conferencing if we need to get into a group discussion. We have live streaming if we want to hear a sermon or special music. We have fax and email if we need document transfer. We can even vote by hitting a button on our computers if that is necessary. Why meet?

Why meet indeed? This old 20th century guy missed at least half the methods of communication now available for use instead of coming together at a physical location. Yet there is that one form of communication that is missed in all the above that may be the most compelling reason for having annual meetings. We communicate through touch and visual cues when face to face. Few of our electronic means of communication allow these forms to take place. We are the poorer without them.

We are becoming a touch starved society. We may live in the 21st century, but we are creatures that need personal touch. We may have our personal space that no one should enter, but we need others who will approach that space and share their lives with us. We need people in proximity. Infants desperately need physical touch. Because we age does not mean that that need disappears for the continuing development of a healthy personality. Observe any elderly person when you put your arm around their shoulder in that gentle, supporting fashion!

Without a doubt we need to be in a constant process of evaluating why we meet. What do we hope to accomplish? Did we accomplish what we set out to do? If we didn't, what needs to change? How can we through the process tell everyone they are important and have a role to play in the future of the association? How do we pass the future of the church into the hands of the next generation? It will happen. We might as well plan how to do it.

My closing suggestions:
1. Minimize the organizational business.
2. Magnify worship, celebration, and inspiration.
3. Maximize intergenerational activities.
4. Multiply opportunities for involvement.
5. Mercifully avoid alliteration if at all possible.

We need associational annual meetings. We need short meetings. We need focused meetings We need the in-person connection. We need to worship together. We need to celebrate together as a family, a family of all ages.  We need to eat together, just not as much.

Death's Impact Can Be Limited

The recent death of a cousin brought to mind once more the mortality of life here on earth. Since the church is often described as a living organism (and perhaps the association as well, manmade though it might be), I was once more reminded of the decision that is faced by those in both a local congregation and an association who must decide if it is time for that organism to cease to exist, to die, or if prayer and resources should be devoted to reviving it. The decision should never be easy for a congregation any more than it is for the family who decides if artificial life support must be removed from a loved one.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne: The Tolling Bell - A Devotion

Commentary on the Rev. Donne's thoughts indicate that he was inspired to write this devotion by hearing the bells of a local church announce the death of a member of the community. He says in other parts of the essay that it is not important for him to know who it was that had died, only that a member of his community was gone. He did not have to know the individual to know that his community was lessened because of the loss.

So it is with a family, but it is not so with the Kingdom of God and its citizenry. For a congregation to pass from existence is not to remove its impact and value from the Kingdom of God. To a lesser extent the same can be said of an association. Since God does not measure time by human events, we cannot allow our decisions to be based upon our limited perspective of importance. God looks at eternity. Our sense of value and importance should also be based upon that. At the recent funeral our grief was tempered by the fact that our belief said this loved one's life was not over. It had only transitioned into a more glorious one that the rest of us would one day share with her.

An association or a convention is lessened by the death of a congregation. That does not mean that its impact is lost. While alive that congregation may have impacted hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. Through those individuals future generations would also be affected by the faith that was passed on. The life and value of a congregation can no more be measured by its earthly remains than that of a human being.

At Pentecost God created the Church, not a local congregation. God's Church will have an eternal existence as the Bride of Christ. The local congregation was established to fulfill a purpose in a local setting with worldwide influence. Its eternal life was never guaranteed by anyone. To hold on to it when all viable life is gone is as selfish and unproductive as to force a beloved family member to stay on artificial life support when all possibility of human interaction is gone. The decision is never easy, but love can provide the strength especially for the follower of Christ.

My family is diminished when a member dies. At the same time the family has been expanded as three weddings in one year have added new members. We rejoice as our relationships are increased. We grieve as we are forced to give up one who has been with us for so long. Even in our grief, however, we rejoice at the positives that will go on for generations as stories are told and memories recounted.

If the local congregation must cease to exist because its productive life has ended, then let us rejoice at the influence it has had, the lives that have been transformed through its ministry, and the example it leaves for others to follow. We will be diminished in our earthly numbers, but the Kingdom of God will have lost nothing. Let us rejoice that God is not diminished because our numbers have changed.

When Deacons "Deac"

With every decade new books and studies are written on the role of deacons. Now that elders are becoming more acceptable for Baptists, the same may start to be true for that office as well. In this brief essay I do not intend to write a new book on the role of a deacon. What I do want to offer is a few suggestions about making the office of deacon more effective in the local church. With having encountered the power of deacons a few times in recent weeks, I felt this was an opportune time.

How much power should a deacon have to determine church climate, direction, and priorities? What decisions to deacons make for a church? For what areas of church life are they to be responsible? What should their qualifications be? How long should they be recognized as active in service? For what should a deacon be responsible if he retires from active ministry service? Is such retirement an option for a deacon?

Every church will arrive at its own answers to the above questions. As long as we operate as autonomous congregations with no hierarchy outside to dictate our actions, this will remain so. My prayer is that as they answer these questions, churches will allow the biblical text to guide their discussion more than tradition or some self-appointed church patriarch.

In Acts 6 the Apostles determined there was a problem within the Body. They asked the Body to choose seven men with specific character qualities to solve the problem. They were given one particular task by those they were intended to serve (diaconos = servant, table waiter). Beyond the task of making sure the hungry poor in their midst received proper care, the responsibilities of those deacon are not stated.

The character of a deacon receives much greater emphasis. Not only do we have the three qualities mentioned in Acts 6: good reputation (witness) in the community, full of the Holy Spirit, full of wisdom, but we also have the long list in I Timothy 3:8ff. Too often churches become so involved in determining if a woman can be a deacon, or if a divorced man can be a deacon, or if a single man can be a deacon, that they never get around to reading the rest of the qualifications that Paul enumerates. I might add that pastors should come under the same scrutiny.

Let me share my list of overlooked qualities at this point:
1. Anyone who serves as a deacon should be an upstanding member of the community held in high respect by believers and unbelievers alike. (Acts 6:3)
2. Anyone who serves as a deacon should be grounded in and guided by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 6:3)
3. Anyone who serves as a deacon should be guided by divine wisdom, not worldly common sense. (Acts 6:3, James 3:17)
4. Anyone who serves as a deacon should already have the reputation of seeing material possessions as belonging to God and are to be used for his service before personal comfort and position. (I Tim. 3:8)
5. Anyone who serves as a deacon must have the reputation of being truthful and trustworthy to the point of bringing on personal pain before hurting someone else. (Psalm 15:4)
6. Anyone who serves as a deacon must have shown both within and outside the Body of Christ that the qualifications already exist before taking on the office. (I Tim. 3:10)
7. Anyone who serves as a deacon must show that his household is following in the ways of Christ including the children while living as minors at home. (I Tim. 3:12)
8. Anyone who serves as a deacon must have a commitment to continued spiritual growth and understanding. (I Tim. 3:9)
If our deacons, male or female, had these heart-deep qualities, quite a few of our church controversies would disappear.

Now what would I like to see deacons doing?
1. Support their pastor 100%. If there is a problem, keep it between the pastor and the deacon in private conversation until it is obvious church life is being hurt. Disagreement is not the same as damage.
2. Know the families of the church well. Communicate regularly. Convey information to the pastor regularly.
3. Encourage members to grow spiritually, develop and use their spiritual gifts for the welfare of the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God, and show their love of neighbor through concrete action.
4. Be the first to be peacemakers in the congregation, encouraging members to find common ground, disagreeing in Christian manner, and showing honor to others above themselves.
5. Be servants to all, lords over none.

Deacons can and should be a blessing to a congregation. Following scriptural guidelines is a great place to begin in making sure the blessing is possible.

Faith and Keeping Your Powder Dry

A common proverb of yesteryear goes something like "Put your faith in God, and keep your powder dry." Attributed to Oliver Cromwell during his later years in the mid seventeenth century, the intent is clear. Though a deeply religious man, Cromwell still felt that man had to do his part in carrying out the divine will. Strictly relying upon God to do everything was to be seen as neither God-honoring nor sensible.

Is a Christian called to live out his faith in such fashion? Can a church adopt a posture of waiting for God to accomplish all things? Where do we draw the line between relying upon God to provide and do everything and taking personal responsibility to contribute to the cause?

Perhaps a comparison to God's grace will help in reaching some form of conclusion. God expects us to live morally perfect and holy lives. (Matt. 5:48; I Peter 1:14-16) Yet it is also clear that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). How can we be saved then from the just punishment of our rebellious lives? God's grace accepted by faith is sufficient.

Shall we not also live by faith in God's providence to provide our daily bread? We can, but we also must plant the seed, or work for the loaf, or spend the money on gasolene to drive to the market to buy it. Israel may have stepped out of their tents each morning in the wilderness to find manna, but that hasn't happened often since.

Does such a work ethic deny faith in God to provide? No, it reflects an attitude of divine responsibility placed in the individual. From the beginning of man's existence as recorded in scripture, God has expected man to have a relationship with him based on faith and mutual responsibility. This is called a covenant. At no time has God presented a covenant that said man was to sit and wait for God to drop the beef and potatoes on a plate set before a man and then clean up the mess afterwards. Man has always had a divinely ordained role to play that involved working with God and not just waiting for God.

In Genesis 1 God tells the first man and woman not only to  be fruitful and multiply, but also to subdue the creation around them. That does not come without some effort. Subdue more than implies that something needs to be brought under control that is currently out of control. Those first folks had work to do. The blessing was they didn't have to do it alone. God was still working there by them.

Jesus told his disciples to feed the 5000+. (John 6) They were clueless. Jesus could have used the rocks laying around, turned them into bread. Instead he said for his disciples to go out and round up the resources. The miracle didn't occur until they had done their part.

Jesus brougth Lazarus out of the grave. (John 11) He told someone else to remove the stone at the entrance. You'd think that someone who could raise the dead could move the rock without help. No, he told the people there to be a part of the action.

Faith recently kept me praying hard for the Lord to get my car over the Tennessee mountains when it had sprung a water line leak on the interstate highway. I made it all the way to Evansville, IN. Would God have brought me safely back to North Carolina without ever adding water to the car? I'm not sure I was ready to test God that far. Was that a lack of faith? Was it playing my part in taking care of myself according to the power God had given me?

God is still in the business of miracles. God works miracles even when we are involved. From the beginning he has chosen to work through a covenant relationship with man. Man must respond through faith, and he must respond through surrender. That surrender can involve gathering fish and bread, rolling away a stone, or picking up a hoe and chopping weeds in the freshly created garden. In all cases God intends to be there to guide, assist, and make up for our weakness through his grace.

When all is said, walk by faith, but don't tell God to feed the hungry man when you have a loaf of bread in your hand.

Politics, Economics, and the Gospel

A blog of a former pastor of mine reflects thinking that tends toward a more liberal slant than that with which I am comfortable. Unfortunately for me the problem I find in his thinking is more related to my comfort level than with the biblical veracity of his thoughts. What he says does not reflect traditional, strict capitalist leanings nor does it support a government hands-off style of social provision. His words do reflect a great deal of the radical thought of a Person known as Jesus.

If we are to evaluate our work as churches in 21st century society, then how is our proclamation, both from the pulpit and in our individual lifestyle witnessing, to be compared to the proclamation content and style of Jesus? Is he to be our role model? Is his content to be our content both as churches and as individual Christians? Since it is so easy for us sinful human beings to be distracted by personal agendas, the regular evaluation of who we are and what we represent in the eyes of God is an absolute necessity.

Jesus never mentioned savings accounts or insurance policies. Of course we have to recognize savings accounts were matters of investment with bankers in the days of Jesus. Insurance policies under Jewish tradition consisted of faithful and caring family members. Planning ahead was more a matter of "casting your bread upon the waters" and having it come back to you when you needed it through the generosity of family and friends. We have the social support systems today primarily because we can no longer count on sufficient help coming from family and friends for what society has said we need.

In my reading of scripture I do not remember Jesus ever preaching a sermon or telling a parable that would be either critical or supportive of the occupying Roman administration. He told his listeners that if they were required to carry a Roman soldier's pack one mile, they should volunteer to carry it an extra mile (Matt. 5:41). He healed a centurion's servant and praised his faith (Matt. 8:5ff). He told Pilate that the Roman governor would have no power if it were not allowed from above (John 19:11). These were far more related to revealing the presence of the Spirit of God in this world than to serve as any kind of a political or religious commentary on government.

Trying to give an objective view of a Christian's role in sinful society while being a member of it is at best difficult and at worst self-deceptive leading to destructive conclusions. Trying to apply the teachings of Jesus while both being a sinful human and dealing with sinful humanity brings on the frustration of knowing what's right but having that influenced by a fallen nature.

What shall we preach from the teachings of Jesus? Pray for your enemy. Give food and water to those who are hungry and thirsty. Do not worry about your own physical needs. Be blessed as you give all that you have to the religious (spiritual?) institution. Take in the homeless and stranger. Give without asking to receive. Turn the other cheek when injustice strikes you. Depend in all ways upon your heavenly Father and give all glory to him. Make the Kingdom of God your highest priority.

Yet though we preach these, we must admit that we are not taking care of our neighbors, the homeless, and the stranger. Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not take care of our poor, our elderly, our exceptionally challenged? Do we then provide for a government to do that? We do not cover the costs of medical care or basic classroom needs? Do we provide for a government to do that?

In all of these we recognize the limitations of the family institution. We need something bigger than our family to insure that loved ones and strangers receive what they need. Call it a city council, county social services, state departments of human resources, or the Department of Health and Human Resources. They all represent attempts to provide what we as individuals or as nuclear families cannot.

For me as an individual my questions arise, not in the areas of what people need, but in the areas of defining what they need in contrast to what they want. The Apostle Paul said not to provide food for those who refused to work according to their capabilities (I Thess. 4:11-12; II Thess. 3:10-13). Is that contrary to the teachings of Jesus or an extension of them? We already provide a reasonably free general education from kindergarten through high school. Do we owe our youth more than that at a price that would allow everyone to attend a tech school, two-year, or four-year college? Do we include graduate school?

A socialized medicine program must be seen in the same light. What is the equivalent in medical care when compared to a public education? What is the medical care equivalent to a college degree? Do we offer need-based grants or special interest funding for particular cases? If you cannot afford to go to college but your academics say you deserve to go, we offer scholarships. How do you translate that into long term disease or rehab treatments or organ transplants or highly specialized neurosurgery? Do only those we deem most capable of giving back to society get the enhanced medical care?

It will always be easy for the right wingers to say that we are a free country, and we are only required to give everyone an equal chance to make it on their own. Give them a chance to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. The left wingers will say such a perspective is living in a fantasy world. No matter what we do, we cannot guarantee that everyone will have an equal chance. A compassionate government is the only hope we have of trying to level the playing field.

Jesus in a broad sense said that you do the best you can with what you have in this world while you're here. He might have asked if you are using what you've been given, great or small as it may be, to reflect your relationship with the Creator of all as you prepare for the eternity that is coming. The answer to that question is up to each individual and can only be evaluated in purity by the Holy One Himself.

Death of the Church

Some very wise person somewhere whose name is known to somebody once said, "It is not persecution that will kill the local church. The Church of Jesus Christ thrives when it is solely dependent upon the Holy Spirit that gave it its birth. The local church will die through the complacency of its members."

These are the weapons that Satan will use to kill the local church in the 21st century.

1. The fear of change. When some church members quote Hebrews 13:8 about Jesus being unchanging, they somehow confuse their congregation with the eternal Son of God. Jesus does not change. Everything else in the created order does change. All living things change. Even when they die, they change. To refuse to acknowledge the need to change is to reject the authority of God to sustain his Church as a living organism. Living things must change. The congregation must accept the fact that if it is to be salt and light in its ever-changing context, then it also must change.

2. The maintenance mentality. The explanation for the fear of change is usually grounded in a spiritual mentality that says what we have had or been must be maintained for the sake of who we are. The good old days are the best we can ever hope to be. We must preserve that or seek to recapture it. Such an attitude is nothing more than a lack of faith in the God who created all there is and sent his Son to die for mankind. Such an attitude says that God cannot improve on what he did in the past. We can hope for nothing better in the future. By focusing all resources on preserving the past, we sacrifice the future and the blessings God has waiting for us there.

3. Material wealth over spiritual power. The story is told of St. Thomas Aquinas talking with a pope of his day in one of the great halls of the Vatican. The pope is reported to have said as he looked at all the material splendor around them, "No longer can we say as did St. Peter, 'Gold and silver have I none'." Aquinas' response was quick and to the point. "Neither can we say, 'Rise up and walk'." Too many of our churches have fallen into the same condition. We have become so enamored with our material facilities and our bank accounts that we have no power to affect the lives of the people around us. We offer cushioned pews and air conditioning, but we have no answer to hopelessness, suffering, and relational pain. Our focus has become looking good in the eyes of the world instead of in the eyes of God.

4. The local church over the Kingdom of God. We too often forget that on the Day of Pentecost, God created the Church, not the church. The Church is the bride of Christ and will be transformed into glory on the day its Groom appears. The local church is a tool that serves the Spirit and as surely as it was created on a particular day in a particular community, so it can be removed when it no longer serves its purpose in that community. When Christians forget that Jesus told them to seek first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33), they have transferred their focus from the Kingdom of God and the Church as its representative on earth to the local congregation which is only a passing manifestation of Christian influence in a community. Congregations are born. Congregations die. Some die in grief. Some die thankfully so. Whether the local congregation lives or dies, it is a temporary tool in the hands of the eternal Spirit. To focus upon it rather than the Kingdom of God is to create another idol that we have put in the place of the One True God. That is a big mistake!

Complacency creeps in when we forget whose is the church and why it exists. That complacency can come in many forms, but it is always a complacency toward the priority of the Kingdom of God and allowing something else to take its top position in our lives. If a local congregation loses it power to be a positive influence in its community for the Kingdom of God, don't point a finger at Satan. He can't get in unless some Christian opens the door.

Guilty as Charged!

Matthew 26 is a rough chapter to read especially when you decide to see if you fit anywhere in the story. Jesus takes his closest disciples through the Last Supper. He tells them that one of them will betray him to the authorities resulting  in his arrest and death. He reveals that all of them will abandon him in the hour that he will most need to have his friends close by. Peter discovers that he is no better than anyone else, that he will deny his Master three times in a matter of a few hours. When Jesus needs the prayer support of his friends, they all go to sleep on him! Those were some rough hours and things just got worse.

Failure. Betrayal. Denial. Those first followers of Christ weren't the only ones guilty of these actions however. Every generation of believers in Christ have in some way failed to be there when their Master needed them to be awake and active. We have betrayed our Savior to a world that seeks to destroy him. When questioned about our relationship to Jesus, we all too often deny that we have one, either out of fear or the inconvenience of the situation.

Jesus lived a life of truth. He was loyal to his friends right through a death on a cross, their only hope of spiritual salvation. He promised that as long as we remain faithful to him, he will be faithful to us. If we deny him, he has no choice but to deny that he has a relationship with us. Through our lack of action and failure to speak, we deny him and refuse to stand up for him and the truth he represents.

Individuals are guilty of failing, betraying, and denying their Lord Jesus Christ. So are churches. When churches allow the world to dictate priorities, values, and methods, they are guilty of failing the One whose sacrifice is their foundation. Our churches would do well to read Matthew 26 and apply its lessons to their witness.

Jesus lived out the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Churches must be found faithful to these as well. Jesus lived out the actions of Matthew 25. Churches through their membership and their public actions must also live out these ministries. When churches fail in carrying out their responsibilities as salt and light in their communities, they betray the One who gave his all for them. When churches reject the mandate of Matthew 28, they deny their relationship and their accountability to the Risen Lord.

Judas handed Jesus to those who wanted him dead. The 21st century church must not hand over the Body of Christ to the ones who want it dead. Yet we do it every time we compromise in order to be found acceptable. We do it every time we compromise in order to be kept safe. We do it every time we allow complacency or a rejection of personal responsibility to result in our refusal to offer the gospel to the world.

God's grace is sufficient to bring repentant hearts back into his arms. God's grace is sufficient to bring fearful and complacent churches back into his great plan for the world. Faithful churches are healthy churches. They remember whose they are. They remember what they are supposed to be. They remember their core values and live by them. They remember who is to receive the glory in all things.

The disciples failed. They ran when things got dangerous. Yet they were blessed in their repentance and faithfulness, and they were empowered to bring the message of the gospel, God's redeeming love, to the world. The faithful church will still do that today through its members and the new disciples that it seeks, trains, and sends back into the world.

Change Happens!

This Saturday my younger son will get married to his best friend. They have been dating for seven years. The length of time should indicate they know what they are doing. They both have jobs. Both are respected in their work. They share common interests and yet also have their differences. My son loves sports. My soon-to-be daughter-in-law has her unique interests in studying people through her psychology training. Two sets of parents have watched their children grow up, go through changes, and now there is this one more change. A new family is born.

This wedding/marriage reflects other changes. Both from the east, they have planned their wedding in California. That is not what you would consider traditional. It will be a waterside wedding on the beach, again not traditional for us Midwesterners. There will be no tuxes, and the bride will be barefooted beneath her wedding gown. Again this might seem a bit nontraditional. She is maintaining her maiden name, and children are not to be considered a foregone conclusion.

Things are different from when my wife and I got married 34 years ago. Traditions are not the hard and fast rules any more. They are options. To be honest I'm just glad to be getting a daughter. I've had two boys. I want a daughter. Now I'm getting one!

None of the traditions that were not followed in this wedding or the marriage ahead need have any impact whatsoever upon the love and commitment these two young people have for each other. They are all outward formalities. The critical aspect of their marriage will be their commitment to the Lord they both claim as Savior and to the vows they make to each other. Those are the things that make their relationship rich and enduring.

The same can be said of a church. Rituals come and go and must be seen as traditions that are options rather than commandments. A healthy church will be wise enough to see the difference between traditions and fundamental beliefs and values. A healthy church will know that traditions can change and often must do so for the gospel to have the opportunity to be heard, understood, and accepted. Compromise on the message cannot be allowed. Compromise on the method of communication is essential.

Every church needs to go through a period of self-evaluation and introspection on a regular basis. Methods that worked 30 years ago may have lost their effectiveness. Programs that met missional needs in the community for the last generation may not be meeting any of the foremost needs of the current generation. Leadership that stopped adjusting to their changing context may need to retool or resign so that prepared leadership can move into position.

Today I read a parable of five foolish maidens and five wise maidens in Matthew 25. All came to the wedding feast prepared, assuming nothing changed. Well, change happened. The groom was late. The situation changed. Plans and preparation had to change. Those who were prepared for change joined the marriage feast. Those who had refused to be prepared for change were left out in the darkness.

Where will our churches be left standing when the Bridegroom comes?

Anniversaries and Homecomings

In a few days my wife and I will be celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary. We will take some time to think about where we have been and what we have done. We will also take some time to think about what we will be doing in the future based upon what we have already done. That makes life just that much more exciting when you think about the great things that still lie ahead.

Churches (and associations) must do more of that. Anniversaries and homecomings are great times to celebreate the journey of the church. Others, perhaps generations of others, have worked hard and often sacrificed much to bring the congregation to where it is today. Such efforts deserve to be celebrated.

The challenge arises when the anniversary becomes such a time of remembering and glorifying a past there is no room for future thought. The anniversary then becomes a funeral. Heroes of the past are lifted up. Great accomplishments experienced and sacrifices made get the top billing. All too often the present is bemoaned as a mere shadow of the greatness of the past. The future is ignored.

Yet the time of remembering the past is perhaps the best time to look to the future. One church mentioned in an article reads at every anniversary celebration the original purpose statement the congregation wrote at the founding of the church. The dreams of the founders are never allowed to be forgotten. The future movement of the church takes the prominent place in the time of celebration.

A healthy church will remember its past with all its victories, struggles, and the lessons each has brought. A healthy church will use these lessons to move into a future undergirded by faith in the God who holds that future. The challenges of the past serve to reaffirm that the God who has brought the church to the present will carry the church into the future. God will continue to prove faithful to his people.

Look ahead in planning your celebration of the past. Let the joy lay a foundation for future celebrations. Dream about the time the generations yet to come will celebrate the victories your church experienced to give them the future they enjoy and will likewise build upon for generations to come after them. Use your anniversaries to dare to dream again!

Small In Whose Eyes?

My association is a small association in comparison to some others. The church where my official membership resides is small compared to some others. Frankly I'm short compared to a lot of people, especially basketball players in high school, college, and the pros. In all these cases I can also point out that we are large when we compare ourselves to some others.

Yet when we make our own comparisons, more often than not it is to the larger guy that we look. We want to be like him, and we always come out on the short end of the deal. We are seeking ways to make ourselves look good when standing beside those we deem larger, bigger, or greater. If we want to see progress or growth or improvement in ourselves, we look to those we already deem ahead of where we are and closer to where we want to be. We don't look at those we sense are already behind us or smaller than us.

A wise man once said (whom I have no idea!) that small is an attitude and not a physical measurement. Such attitudes can make us feel inferior or superior, oppressed or lordly. Such attitudes can lead to us looking up to people or looking down on people. As a friend of mine once said many years ago, "I have an inferiority complex. Everyone is inferior to me!"

Small like beauty can be in the eye of the beholder. The attitude we attach to it will determine our efforts and our results in life in general and for the Kingdom of God in particular. This is just as true for churches and associations as it is for individuals. If you see yourself as small, then you will act that way. If you see yourself as large, great, or powerful, then you will act that way.

For Kingdom work the bottom line is not our size but the size of the God we worship. We will always be small in comparison to him. We will always be powerless in comparison to him. We will always be failures in comparison to him.

However, in his eyes we are of ultimate worth. In his eyes we have been given all things, even heaven itself. In his eyes we are strong enough to conquer even the gates of hell. There is nothing small about any of that!

Satan and his temptation for us to act weak will always look big when we take our eyes off God. (I know who said that: my wife!) As long as we churches and associations keep our eyes on the greatness of our God and the greatness he wants to raise up within us, then it is the world of evil that will begin to diminish in size. As we begin to view our greatness through the eyes of God, then our resources will become greater and the obstacles smaller.

God does not see small churches or small associations. He sees congregations and associations who see themselves as small. He is patient. He continues to work with us. He is daily trying to get us to open our eyes and to see the greatness he has waiting for us, the greatness we can only find in him. So often the great things God is wanting us to do as his Church are not done simply because we refuse to realize he has already made us big enough to do them.

Encouraging Brings Risk to All of Us

My small deskside dictionary provides me with this defintion of encourage: to inspire with courage and hope. One of my biblical heroes is Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. He didn't seek the spotlight, but he helped other people do more than they ever would without him. We don't know of any manuscripts that we are certain he wrote, but he encoraged one who wrote a lot of what constitutes our New Testament. He is not noted for having started any particular churches, but his support gave another young man the start he needed to eventually be an important disciple of the Apostle Paul and a compiler of the second gospel.

Encouragement is something we all need and can be easily given away. Encouragement, however, does bring risk, both for the giver and the recipient. Once offered, encouragement can produce an energy of its own, and the results may be beyond our human ability to control.

To inspire with courage and hope is to let a person see that what he or she may be at the present need not be the final result. That person can be more, go farther, and turn dreams into reality. Sometimes the person who encourages becomes the strong shoulders that allows the other to attain heights undreamed of. Sometimes the encourager can be forgotten in the heady rush of success and accomplishment.

Our churches need to be encouragers. The gospel is all about encouragement. The gospel is a message of encouragement. The gospel shows people what they are, what they can be, and what God has done to make the transformation possible. The gospel leads people to look beyond the limitations of this world and see what they can become both in this world and in eternity. That's real encouragement! Of course these people may leave our churches. They may follow the Spirit to a mission field in the inner city or overseas. If we encourage them, we may lose them.

The association also must be in the business of encouragement. Our member churches too easily can fall into the trap of self-criticism and limited dreams. The local congregation will look at its numerical attendance and financial resources. It will see the bigger church down the road, on television, or in the headlines, and fall into spiritual despair. "We're too small. We're too poor. We're too old." The Holy Spirit gnashes his teeth at such thinking!

The association must be in the business of encouragement. When we take our eyes off God, we will see only our own limitations. We will see only what we can do in our strength. We will see only what our dreams could be without any hope of reaching those dreams.

Associations must encourage each of their member churches to see their context through the eyes of God. The churches must see their resources through the eyes of God. The churches must see their potential through the eyes of God. The association must help each church see the open door that God has placed in front of every congregation (Rev. 3:8). No one can shut the door, but too many churches are willing to walk away from it. Yet if we encourage them, they may move beyond our own resources to help them. They may see themsleves no longer needing the support of the association. Let us dare to celebrate with them!

We as associational leaders must learn how to encourage our churches, their leaders, and their membership. It will be a lot easier if we can help them keep their focus upon God. He offers a lot of encouragement.

Daring to Pray for the Big Stuff

I personally like change. I like seeing things evolve, moving toward the perfect. I also realize that I will never attain perfection in this life, nor will I see every change that I would like to see actually take place. I am called to do what I can with what I have where I am. Thankfully, God does not allow my actions or my abilities to be the end of the story. He wants me to depend upon him to be the foundation for the change that brings about the best. He wants me to expect him to deliver with the stuff that he and I both know I cannot accomplish. I, we, need to dare to pray for the big stuff.

The idea of praying for miracles is basic to Christian life. We pray for healing that is beyond medical skills. We pray to be delivered from natural disasters (I pray a lot for hurricanes to stay out in the ocean!). We pray for the needs of family, friends, country, and world. Miracles are something we want. They represent the hand of God active in our world. They reassure us that God has not forgotten us. They remind us that it is not all in our hands. Miracles represent the big stuff.

When the widow went to the unrighteous judge (Luke 18:1ff), she knew she was demanding something she could not deliver for herself. She had to have help from a greater source. Jesus said that she received what she wanted because of her confidence that the judge had the power to give her what she wanted and because she had the persevering spirit that would never let him forget it. She went after the big stuff.

I look at my churches. I hear their dreams. I listen to their prayers. Rarely do I hear them praying for the big stuff, the kind of stuff that only God can do. Where that does come into play, it usually involves keeping some saint out of heaven or at least out of pain. That may be seen as as worthy prayer and in many cases something only God can do, but our prayers for the big stuff should never be limited to physical needs.

When do we pray for the matters of heavenly importance and concern? Jesus said that our Father already knows about our earthly needs. How much time do we spend praying for Kingdom righteousness? How much time do we spend praying for transformed lives and churches? How much time do we spend praying for things that have eternal significance? That's the big stuff.

Here are some prayer topics I'd like to hear in our prayer meetings. Boldness in sharing our Christian testimonies in the marketplace. New Testament moral guidelines for political decisions. Families committed to having Christ in the center of their homes. Walls of prejudice destroyed in our lives and communities. Courage to make the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12 the personal rule for our lives. True grief over the lost condition of so many souls around us. The demand for power would be surrendered to the desire to serve. Material bounty would be seen as a blessing to help those with less. Secular jobs to be seen as missionary opportunities. Higher emphasis upon church members at work in the fields and less on sitting in the pews. And yes, the list could go on.

This is the big stuff, the transformation that only God can perform. You have to be courageous to pray for the big stuff. When God answers those kinds of prayers, he usually demands that we be part of the answer.

People Investments

I have a retirement program into which I make regular financial investments in preparation for a future that may or may not ever arrive. By most that is considered wise planning. I wish I could invest more, but there is no chance of a future unless I also take care of today.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all investing in the people around us. Sometimes that is intentional. Many times it is not. You can call it mentoring, teaching, directing, or simply influencing. Whatever name you give it, you are investing in people.

As couples we are investing in our spouses. As parents we invest in our children. As workers on the job we invest through our efforts and work ethic in the lives of employers, coworkers, and employees. In our churches we are investing in our membership. As leaders we do it with a high level of intentionality, but everyone does it to one extent or another. And it all relates to our present and our future.

Investing in people should be intentional. As followers of Christ we should always be seeking to influence others in a way that will point them to the relationship they need with Jesus. Our daily actions will influence others as they watch us and interact with us. Our speech will reveal the priorities of our hearts. Our words, tone, and body language will convey a desire to build up or tear down. No matter what we do, for better or for worse we will be investing in people.

Jesus invested his ministry in his followers. He chose twelve to walk with him. He chose three to share in his most critical moments. As church leaders we would do well to follow such an example. The next generation of leaders will look to someone to see what to do or what not to do. If they can see the positive in you, then your investment in their lives will be to the benefit of many yet to come.

Paul's command to his young disciple in I Timothy 4:12 is clear wisdom for all of us. Set an example for the believers in speech, life, love, faith, and purity. Be intentional in pouring yourself into the life or lives of one or more who will carry the mantle after you are gone. Your name is not important, only Christ's. What you have received from others is very important. Share the teaching and set the example of a crucified life in this world, faithfully carrying out the work of the Master until he returns to claim his own.

Bivocational Ministers - Precious Servants

Last week my wife and I attended the annual state convention small church/bivocational ministers retreat at one of our conference centers. The setting in the Uwharrie Mountains was beautiful and the testimonies of these servant leaders left me both inspired and humbled. These pastors and directors of missions may be partially funded but they are definitely fully involved in their ministries.

The Apostle Paul said that the man of God is worthy of his hire, but he was also one to say that he proudly worked to pay his own expenses. He took the offerings of churches such as that in Philippi, but he saw these as extra blessings from God that served more to reward the givers than himself as the recipient. Paul worked a secular job because it set him free from any unnecessary ties to a local congregation. Financially he was free to come and go. He was in the middle of the society he was trying to reach. He proved himself to be a man of integrity that was beholden to no one but God.

Bivocational ministers represent a growing class of Christian servants in our society. With the coming demise of the builder generation that paid most of the bills for our churches, new sources of support for our ministers must be found even as we seek to teach younger generations the biblical basis of tithing. The bivocational ministry lifestyle represents one of the most positive. One denominational leader recently has said that within a few decades perhaps half of our pastors will need to be bivocational. New church planters are being told that bivocational status may be a necessary part of their work if they are to have a healthy church plant.

The blessings of a bivocational ministry setting include many that are limited or ignored by being a fully funded minister. Among these are being involved with the secular world on an ongoing basis. Fellow workers, employers, and employees constitute a relational family different from the church, opening doors to ministry that would otherwise be closed or unknown.

Church members are required to see themselves as ministers because the "paid" staff will not always be available due to work schedules. The lay leadership must step forward and get the work done instead of waiting for the pastor to take care of matters. Spiritual gifts takes on a more obvious and critical role as the church membership must become the church in action.

The finacnial situation can bring additional blessings as the bivocational minister receives income from  a source in addition to the church. This financial support might include extra retirement and health insurance that the church would be hard pressed to provide. These church funds then become available for other ministry and mission needs.

I have often called these men and women in bivocational ministry "God's Jugglers". They must find time for secular jobs, church ministry, personal spiritual development, and THEIR FAMILIES. As the congregation supports their bivocational pastor, they must provide that encouragement to make personal family time a priority. If the church family will understand and cooperate, there is no reason for a bivocational minister's family to feel any ill effect from the minister' work.

In associational work we must applaud our bivocational ministers, we must pray for them, and we must support them in every way we can. Without them a lot of churches would never get started and a lot of developing churches would close their doors.

Freedom and Security

Several years ago while on a mission trip to Ukraine, I heard our interpreter make a rather disturbing comment about his nation. In brief he said that many of his countrymen would gladly go back to the days of the Soviet dominance in return for a guaranteed job, paycheck, and pension. This idea that security is to be preferred to freedom is repeated in a quote by H.L. Mencken from the book Why You Do the Things You Do by Clinton and Sibcy. Mencken says, "The average man does not want to be free. He wants to be safe." (p. 15)

Having just come through another Independence Day holiday season, I am reminded again of the struggle we must continually face and the tension in which we must live to have what we call a free country. Our history is fraught with this dilemma of freedom versus security. The more we have of one the less we have of the other. At what point are we willing to sacrifice one to guarantee the other?

A significant percentage of colonials did not feel the war of rebellion against the mother country was worth the social risks. Yet even those who cried out, "Give me liberty or give me death" knew that there could be no liberty without the order that only law could provide, hence limiting the very freedom for which they were willing to die.

I have often thought that America contains within its breast the seeds that could easily spell its doom and destruction. To be free brings its own risks. Social man has never shown himself able to handle freedom in a manner that is both responsible and non destructive. Freedom can only be sustained through the use of power; yet power, and the control it provides, is the one thing that freedom cannot tolerate.

Tony Campolo, former professor at what once was Eastern Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, said that the use of control and love must always be inversely proportional. The more one seeks to control the less love can be shown. The more one loves the less control will be exerted. Perhaps only in the parent - child relationship can we approach the positive use of both. Perhaps only in the Divine Father - mortal child relationship can control and love both be practiced in perfection.

Scripture rather clearly states that man was born to serve. Only in his sinful bent does he dream of the idea of being his own master. In truth his only free choice is who his master will be. Perhaps our churches and the Kingdom of God would be better served if we preached more on the divine plan of human security under the Lordship of Christ and less on the human need for freedom. Ask any member of the persecuted church in countries we deem less free than our own. Would they rather have the American dream of political freedom or the knowledge that they can be free only as they find their freedom in their slavery to Jesus Christ?

Thoughts on Father's Day

On my desk sits a folding photo frame with a picture of my two sons as young boys on one half. The other half of the frame contains a quote that reads, "A truly rich man is one whose children will run into his arms when his hands are empty." I am proud to say that I am a very rich man.

Love cannot be measured in terms of material goods or dollar value. Yet love that is offered in the form of acceptance, encouragement, openness, support, and time made available is priceless in anyone's eyes. Father's Day is very special when memories include these qualities.

A father's love does not always involve condoning. It does not always involve sparing pain. It does not always involve providing a ready source for personal and immediate gratification. In fact many times it is just the opposite. A father's love can include learning through hard and painful lessons. It can involve clarification of boundaries and limitations not easily accepted. It can involve teaching cost, consequences, accountability, and personal responsibility. Love at times can hurt everyone involved.

Our heavenly Father gives us the best example of love. He has always found a way to show grace. He has always found a way to offer forgiveness and redemption. He has always found a way that will allow the object of his love to become more than they were before.

The Father's love must be revealed in the home and in the church. His love reveals himself and his hopes for his creation. His love reveals his power to control and his refusal to intervene. His love reveals his demands and his grace. His love reveals his requirements and his own willingness to sacrifice.

A church must practice such fatherly love. A congregation exists to reach out and include. It cannot compomise the nature of the One whose blood and Spirit established it. Neither can it stand as judge over those whose Creator has accepted them.

A church must be willing to sacrifice the material and the traditional so that the Truth may shine brightly. The Truth is a Person. His love that led to personal sacrifice on a cross cannot be buried beneath demands that separate the individual from God. A church is not in business simply to offer material goods or financial gain. To the world its arms may often seem empty. But for those who are seeking the Father's kind of love, they must be able to see the arms of the church filled with his forgiving Presence.

Distractions

People aren't the only "things" that can get distracted from their primary purposes or goals. Churches get distracted. Associations get distracted. I suppose that conventions, state and national, can also get distracted.

Different people and different entities have their own unique distractions. What distracts me might not receive a passing glance from another individual. What will take one church along a course it never intended would not gain the attention of another congregation. What might make an association or convention suddenly take a strange, new road would be absent from the agenda of another.

I am firmly convinced that churches, and associations, can have ADD just as much as an individual. The overt and seemingly obvious causes may be as varied as the congregations. From my experience the root problem, however, remains the same. To be or not to be! We are most often distracted by a felt need to survive, and not only to survive, but unfortunately to survive in the same form we have existed throughout the recorded past.

Faithfulness in this world to the cause of Christ always involves risk. Taking risks invariably brings change. Sometimes that change might involve deciding that survival holds a low priority level. Faithfulness takes focus. Thinking in worldly terms can easily distract a church from the faithfulness that is demanded. We are caught in attention deficit because the influences around us appear to be greater, brighter, more acceptable, more threatening, or more powerful than our prior commitments. We suffer spiritual ADD and we are thrown back into survival mode.

Churches can be distracted by the material concerns of buildings and property. They can be distracted by the numerical concerns of attendance and budgets. They can even be distracted by baptisms to the extent that they feel getting someone wet is the end all and neglect the part of the Great Commission that says, "teach them to observe (obey) all that I have commanded you."

Associations can also be guilty of distractions leading them away from their primary purpose. An association is not a local body of believers. It should not try to act like one. An association has become distracted if it begins to operate as a local church, trying to provide activities and ministries which need the context and personal involvement of a local congregation. In some measure the association should be equipping the local churches as surely as the ministerial leadership in a local church should be equipping the saints there. The local church should be the primary context of Kingdom work rather than the association or any other larger organization.

Vision/mission statements do have their place particularly for those of us as individuals or as organizations who have shown the tendency to be distracted from our calling. The Apostle Paul was adamant about his focus. He knew he could be distracted (Acts 16:16-18; Rom. 7:15-19; Gal. 6:17). Therefore several times in one form or another, he mentions his life focus and what he was willing to do to maintain that focus (Acts 20:24; Rom. 9:26-27; I Cor. 2:2; Phil. 3:13-14).

One church in New York City used a very simple technique to avoid some of the dangers of spiritual distraction. Each year on the anniversary date of their founding, they would read their mission statement as a part of their worship service. As a congregation they would recommit themselves to their purpose for existence. They refused to allow themselves to become distracted.

This would be good advice for every church, and every Christian with a life mission. Associations should regularly review why they exist and make sure every member church is also reminded. This world makes it very easy to lose focus as organizations.

Perhaps our churches, and our associations, would become more effective by recognizing that avoiding distractions can never be a one time action. Forget survival. It's overrated. None of us were intended to last forever on this earth anyway, people or institutions. Rather focus on the richness of our calling to be salt, light, and leaven in the world. If we have to empty the salt shaker or run out the batteries to do so, so what? God has something better waiting for us anyway. Take the risk. Give all you've got. Don't get distracted. Whatever it takes, it's worth it.

Remember Me

I am forced to admit that each time I read the final words of the thief on the cross (Luke 23.42), my eyes well up in tears. Here is a plea for one to live on at least in someone's memory when no such existence is deserved. It is a plea that should touch every heart and before God be uttered by every heart. "Remember me" is one of the most human phrases in our language.

Memorial Day has become one of three days in our American calendars on which we remember those who "gave the last full measure of devotion". As others have said, we need to remember that all gave some and some gave all so that we can enjoy freedom as few people on earth do or ever have. We repeat this call to remember on Independence Day in July and again on Veterans' Day in November. As one who can look back through his ancestry and see the record of family members who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (both Blue and Gray!), World War II, and in the Viet Nam conflict, I can with a certain measure of pride say that these have done what they felt was right for their country/state for well over 300 years.

At the same time I look at the calendars of our churches and the celebrations of remembrance by their members, and I see little that reflects any recall of the heroes of our faith, the martyrs who have watered the tree of divine, sacrificial love with their own blood. The Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com) estimates 150,000 to 175,000 believers lose their lives each year because they carry the label of Christian. In most publicized cases this occurs in areas of northern Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia. Yet it also occurs in many other nations where a Christian influence is seen as a threat to the reigning powers.

The second Sunday of November is set aside as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Let our society remember those who paid the greatest price to maintain the freedom of our country. Let us as individuals remember with words of comfort and deeds of support those families whose brave soldiers will live on only in their memory. Let us also take time to remember those who lay down their lives standing for the Kingdom of God. Jim Elliot's (martyred missionary in South America) words are wise for all, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

I'm Still Here

It really is rather sad. An old man, long separated from his life career, taking upon himself the responsibility of calling a world to get ready for the return of Jesus Christ at a particular hour. Actually the prophet Amos got pulled from his farming tasks to call a nation to repentance. He didn't even want to do it. He just had to be obedient. With Amos, however, he didn't reject the basic nature of God as being consistent in his revelation. Bro. Camping felt it absolutely necessary to rewrite part of the Bible so he could follow through on his predictions. That is sad.

Why do people make predictions about the date when the world will end? If they are right, no one will be throwing them a party. If they are wrong, then they become the brunt of the latest round of jokes. There doesn't seem to be much reward in making such predictions.

So why do it? Here are three possible reasons, all bad.
1. A person needs attention. He or she has been ignored by all the people they consider important. Therefore the only way to get the desired attention is to do something that will be sure to trump anything else that might be happening. All eyes will be upon the central figure at least for a little while. It's why kids throw tantrums. It's why people walk tight ropes between sky scrapers. It's why people float in barrels over Niagara Falls. Gaining attention is considered worth the risk of any negative reactions.

2. A person needs a sense of purpose. When all else in life seems to be failing or slipping into insignificance, carrying a message that will have an impact on everyone gives importance. The need to warn others, to offer hope to others, or simply to make others aware of something that seems inevitable is a powerful source for purpose. We all need an answer to why we are here. If we cannot get that answer from acceptable sources, then we will create one.

3. A person is afraid. Knowledge is power. When we have knowledge, we can exercise control. Control keeps us from being weak and at the mercy of other forces. It helps keep our fear from controlling our lives. The unknown causes tremendous fear for many people. They are afraid of what they do not know, do not understand, or cannot control. The future is the great unknown. If we can predict what will happen, then we can have control over the future and limit or remove the fear. Perhaps this is why studies in biblical prophecy are so popular.

Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid of tomorrow, most certainly not to waste time thinking about the end of all things. It is enough to know that God considers us more valuable than a sparrow. It is enough to know that we have a great purpose in glorifying God and leading others to do the same. It is enough to know that we have nothing to fear. God is in control. Our lack of knowledge has no limiting influence upon God's power. We need to be ready for Christ's return ALL the time.

Frankly, each day as I pull up the Astronomy Picture of the Day web site I am amazed at the awesome universe God has created. It is hard for me to believe that he created all that and would not give us a chance to go out there and see it for ourselves up close. This won't happen in the next few months, but then I think God might leave us around here for another several thousand years. In case he doesn't, well, I'm prepared to walk through heavenly fields anytime. After all it may be that the time of the last days started when Jesus said, "It is finished."