Going Against the Flow

Something To Think About, Going Against the Flow:

The actual historical footprint of the New Testament is so brief that somewhere on earth there was someone born about the same time as Jesus Christ, who was still alive when John penned the last book of the New Testament.  John, himself, didn't miss it by much.  Yet in that brief period of time the followers of Christ faced most of the crises that have marked the two millennia of the Christian era. Obviously, the followers of Christ faced persecution.  Jesus Christ the founder of Christianity was crucified.  Almost all of His closest followers were martyred. I don't think Peter's question about the propriety of paying taxes was merely a query he was repeating.  Jesus enemies accused him of being subversive.  His followers were trying to sort out just what it meant to follow this Rabbi who spoke with such authority.  The question about the legality of paying taxes to the hated Roman overlords was proposed because the Pharisees had heard something in Jesus words to indicate that this was a point where they might trip him up.  The ruling authorities were not friendly to Jesus and His followers. I found the words "Is it lawful," eight times in the Gospels.  Both Jesus followers and His enemies realized that the teachings of Jesus were counter-cultural.  Some with a desire to trap the Lord and others with a sincere desire to follow Him wanted to know how do these things sort out?  It sounds like Jesus is saying things that would lead on to a conclusion different than others around us about taxes, divorce, the Sabbath, good works, and more.  What does it mean to follow Jesus? The Apostle Paul spoke clearly about the relationship of Jesus' followers to the world around them, do not be conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2)   John and James spoke in terms of starkest contrast.  You can be someone who fits in, or you can be my follower; you can't be both.  It appears that we Christians in America are emerging from an unnatural period of history, one in which the world around us has been more friendly to Christian values than is usually the case.  We can debate another time as to whether that is a good thing or not.  Right now, I'm just pointing out that what is, is, and we need to deal with it.  The mob who demanded Jesus' crucifixion declared, "We have no king but Caesar." I don't hear a consensus yet, but I hear voices that trouble me, and some of them come from the church: "We have no God but tolerance." "Our guiding principle is to fit in." "It's OK to believe something, just don't get too carried away with it." Jesus challenges those who would follow Him to take up their cross and follow Him. You need to do a bit of translation, but this montage from the film Pearl Harbor, comes close to making the point. It's STTA.

Something marked off my bucket-list: So What?

Something To Think About, 51.4:

I'm going to guess that Iv'e been trying for at least ten years.  This past Saturday I finally succeeded.  I really don't know how.  I do know it doesn't matter--at least not much. I ride a bike.  I do it to get a bit of exercise, and because I enjoy it.  I live in a beautiful area for riding, changing terrain, lovely woods and pasture land.  Sometimes the sky is just breath-taking.  I'd say 70% of the time I take a ride up Potts creek, turning uphill at Mountain Lake.  I head home down the steep side of Pitzer's Ridge.  The circuit is just short of ten miles, and it has the aerobic benefit of being mostly uphill.  The Potts Creek section is what cyclists call a "false-flat."  It looks flat, but all you have to do is look at the way the creek is flowing to know it's not.  It's a slight uphill grade with a couple of bumps along the way.  When you turn uphill at Mountain Lake, unless you have the kind of legs that we old cyclists envy, you have to do some down-shifting.   For a mile or so the grade's not too bad.  On a good day, I can keep a 10 mph pace with a burst of 15 at one point.  For those of you who don't know, that's what good cyclists would call "S-L-O-W."  Then things get steeper.  Usually there is some standing on the pedals.  It's probably bad style, but I avoid using my lowest gear.  Knowing I could down-shift once or twice more if "I needed to."  keeps my head in the game.  There are a couple of switchback curves and then I top out.   The hard work of the ride is done at this point.  There are a couple more switchbacks as you start the downhill, so you can't just let it go.  I watch for oncoming traffic and for gravel on the pavement and work on my cornering skills.  About halfway through the last switchback I start accelerating and after one more gradual curve I'll pedal as fast as I can.  Before long, I can't keep up.  I may continue to turn the pedals, but I'm not adding any speed.  At this point I'm reaping the benefit of the gain in altitude I labored for in the first three-fourths of the ride.  Without really trying I'll get forty-five mph or so.  If I flail the pedals as fast as I can in the upper section, and then fold my body into a less non-aerodynamic position I can hit the upper forties.  It's been a silly goal of mine to get over fifty.   Fourteen years ago I had a bad bike wreck, and even though it didn't involve excessive speed, it causes those who care about me to be concerned for my safety, so very few share my enthusiasm for the "5-0" goal. This past Saturday I felt good.  I flailed at the right place.  I forced my body into a lower crouch than usual--low enough that I couldn't see the speedometer on my handlebars.  The road was clean and there was no traffic, so I could take the best line.  When I raised my head enough for a peak, I saw the "5."     If a cyclist gives a shout of triumph on a deserted road, does he really make any sound?  When I got further down the road I checked--my cycle-computer records top speed--and gravity had propelled me to 51.4 mph. I bored you by telling you about my biking routine so we could get to this important curve in the road.     SO WHAT? A movie of a few years ago, made "bucket-list" a part of our vocabulary.  I've had conversations with people in airports who were spending thousands of dollars in a quest to cross something off a mental list of thing they want to do before they die.  Others make themselves miserable because they realize they'll kick the bucket before they come close to emptying it. I could be all self-righteous if I wanted and tell how my bucket-list item cost nothing, and is a part of my exercise routine, so it actually provides some benefit, but I won't.  The fact is, I don't know why I went faster last Saturday than I have before.  I do know it doesn't matter and that is the lesson in my downhill story.  The Bible challenges us to spend our lives--our time this side of the overturned bucket, doing that which will last to the other side.  Jesus spoke of laying uptreasures in heaven.  The Apostle Paul counselled building our house (life) with "gold, silver, and precious stones," rather than "wood, hay, and stubble," for our life work will be tested by fire.   John 14:3 says Jesus is preparing a place for His followers.  I'm quite sure mine won't have a plaque on the wall commemorating my "Fifty+ mph" achievement. Here is a one-line bucket list:   DO SOMETHING THAT WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY. It's STTA.

A Serious Shortage of Dragons

Something To Think About, A Serious Shortage of Dragons:

As far as I can tell, dragons are only good for one thing, to be slain.  And, just trust me on this ladies, dragons ought to be slain by men.  The problem is, for most of we guys, dragons are as hard to find as a four leaf clover in a Minnesota blizzard.   Manly deeds for men to accomplish, in manly fashion, in the company of other men, followed by female accolades for their manly accomplishments are pretty rare.  Sure I sometimes rescue my wife's computer from blue-screen oblivion, and I know that the battle many of you guys daily fight with deadlines, contrary customers and unreasonable bosses is no piece of cake, but true dragon slaying should involves sweat; it's actually a good thing if a bit of blood is part of the adventure--at least there ought to be some danger involved--and after dragons are suitably dispatched there ought to be a sore muscle or two, and a callous that wasn't there before. A couple of younger friends and I just returned from a dragon hunt.  The head of the beast is already on the wall of my mental trophy room.  As dragons go, this was just a yearling.  One would be hard pressed to heat his coffee with the beast's breath, but in these Smaug-less times one must make-do.  I assembled my weapons--compressor, generator, pry-bar, jacks, come-along, log-chain (Log-chain sounds more impressive, don't you think, than just chain?), and, of course, my truck.  My comrades and I met at the appointed time before the dragons lair, and we slew that sucker.  (For those of you who want a literal description, an older friend has an old piece of heavy-duty machinery that is mounted on a trailer.  It is powered by a four-cylinder engine so it is fairly heavy.  Both tires were flat.  We were able to inflate one.  We coaxed the machine onto a flatbed trailer, hauled it to its new location and managed to get it off without turning it over or breaking any bones.)  If only Tolkien were still alive.  While I was washing the dragon stench from my body I thought of how I had enjoyed my little quest.     "The old sage with three younger warriors goes off to battle and comes home successful." It was fun. During the first twenty-five, or so, years of my dad's life he was a farmer.  His career of eating by the sweat of his brow was interrupted by his part in the defeat of the Nazis.  After that he wore a hard-hat, and steel-toed shoes.  He worked outside when it was twenty below.  His job involved trains, huge cranes, and molten metal.  Dead dragons were piled up like cord-wood.  For many of us, though, going to "work" means sitting in a padded chair in a climate-controlled room.  I'll leave you women out of this for a moment.  We guys are seriously in need of dragons to be slain, so much so that some guys go around slaying things that aren't dragons.  In fact they lay waste things that don't look remotely like a fire-breathing serpent. I'm at the end of the appropriate length of something about which to think, so let me just finish this way.  My colleagues and I could have found someone with a boom on a truck who could have picked that machine up, set it on a trailer and taken it off on the other end, without ever breaking a sweat.  Call me crazy if you want, but I'm really glad we didn't.  I can't imagine us getting together next week, slapping each other on the back and saying, "You know, I wasn't sure we'd get it done, but we got that guy paid."  Everyone knows that you can't just pay a hit-man to slay a dragon.  And ladies, even if you can bench-press a refrigerator, if you happen to run into a dragon, please look all maiden-in-distress-ish, and when your guy steps up and sends that dragon back to the pit from whence it came, even if it is nothing more than a dragon-ette, hug his neck, put some extra jelly on his biscuit, and tell him what a prime specimen of a dragon-slayer he is.  Then stand back; the popping buttons could be dangerous. Be watching.  Dragons are rare these days.  When you meet one, don't waste it.  Slay that sucker. It's STTA.

When you distort the beautiful you end up with the grotesque.

Something To Think About, Really Messed Up:

A colleague in ministry recently traveled to a large foreign city.  While there she was involved in ministry to young women trapped in the sex-trade.  Sex-trafficking has similarities to the drug trade.  There are two ends to both of them--the supply and the demand.  My friend came home with a sharpened awareness of just how horrible the sex-for-profit business is.  That new sensitivity caused her to realize that right in her own region, women--let me be truthful, often these are girls--were being abused for the enrichment and pleasure of others. Let's be honest at the bottom of the sex trade is a desire that is so strong that it could be called a demand.  There are those who have such perverted distorted view of human sexuality, that they are willing to overlook the fact that women in the trade are in essence slaves; the willingly pay big money to the pimps who abuse these women; all to satisfy a desire--a craving.  The Devilish irony is they are like dehydrated sailors drinking salt-water.  What they are doing doesn't, indeed can't, bring satisfaction. At this point I suspect that readers of STTA are feeling compassion for the victims of human-trafficking.  Maybe some of you are supporters of ministries that reach out to these folk.  You are probably thanking the Lord that that is a particular sin that the Lord, in His mercy, has kept you from, maybe delivered you from. We need to realize, though, that the entrapment and sale of one human being for the pleasure of another is based on a distortion of one of God's good gifts.  That distortion is wide-spread in our culture and can be found at the root of almost every sexual sin.  God gave the wonderful gift of human sexuality as a means of procreation, an opportunity to give pleasure and enter a bond like no other within the covenant of marriage, and as a beautiful picture of the relationship of Christ to His Church.  As the writer of Hebrews declares, "Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled." (Heb 13:4) That command (some translations translate it as a statement) can be fulfilled because marriage is honorable and sexual intimacy within marriage is pure, and blessed by God.  Our culture, though, has taken something about giving, and twisted it into an addiction of getting.  It has taken an expression of love, and reduced it to the basest of lusts.  It has distorted a relationship that makes one's partner better and made it into a momentary transaction that uses up another and makes of them a disposable commodity. We might be innocent of the actual acts, but are we guilty of supporting the philosophy that makes the horrors of human/sex-trafficking possible? It's STTA.

Message to Evangelicals: Just Be Quiet:

Something To Think About, Just Be Quiet:

Maybe I'm like the guy who just bought a new Hot-mobile.  Before he mortgaged the  next seven years of his life for the new set of wheels, he hardly ever saw a Hot-mobile on the road.  Now every time he goes out he sees half a dozen.  Maybe it's just me, but it seems like I see a lot of posting on blogs and social media directed at Evangelicals and other conservative Christians that basically says, "Just keep quiet about the recent SCOTUS decision on Gay Marriage. Generally the writers of these pieces carefully skirt the question of where they stand on the issue.  At this point they are heeding their own request--they are keeping their mouths, both real and cyber, shut. The gist of their commentary goes something like this: "Evangelicals have done a really poor job teaching about what the Bible says about divorce, social-justice, racial-reconciliation, gluttony, caring for the environment, (the list goes on); so they have no credibility in speaking out with any objections to the rightness of radically redefining our culture's oldest institution--marriage."  If I discerned, in these rebukes against speaking up, a real attempt at a wholistic opposition to sin, I would be more interested in signing on.  I don't see that.  What I do see is a recognition that a group of people have been hurt--such recognition is commendable, but should not necessarily be the controlling issue--and a realization that continuing to maintain the standard the church has held for two millennia is a really non-trendy, uncool, old-school, won't-get-me-invited-to-the-fun-parties kind of position.  Since I'm an Evangelical, and I go on record as telling my fellow-believers to just be quiet, maybe I won't have to wrestle with the tough issues, and will get the invitation to the cool party. A three pack a day smoker may neutralize his friend's criticism of his habit by shaming him for his fondness for, and over-indulgence in, chocolate cake, but when we attend their funerals--one having arrived by means of lung cancer and the other via clogged arteries--we will observe that the truly loving thing for our chocolate loving friend to do would have been to admit his sin and confess his own fault, but to, go on and point out that his own admission in no way changes the destructive force of tobacco addiction.  The wise thing for both would be a plan to work on their problems together. Galatians 6:1 indicates that being one who is "spiritual" is a qualification for seeking to correct another.  We know from the rest of the New Testament that that does not mean "you who are perfect."     Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)    It's STTA.

The Absolute Rule of WHATEVER:

Something To Think About, WHATEVER:

Roger Olson uses a word near the end of his excellent commentary on today's American culture--"anomie,"  A simple definition I found for the word is: "lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group."  I tend to agree with Olson.  Some of our culture is already there; much of the rest appears to be following.  We are rejecting any norms that go beyond personal interests and desires, which leaves only personal interests and desires, and leads to the one standard that appears to be rising to absolute dominance in our public behavior and discourse--whatever.   Whatever your decisions and desires, whatever lifestyle choices you make, I should respect those.  Not only should I tolerate them, I need to embrace them.  It is the absolute standard of Whatever.   There is one caveat to the rule of Whatever.  No one should do anything that hurts anyone else.  But even this amendment has been severely narrowed for those who find Whatever to be a rule of life that is lacking.  In broad terms, personal freedom, and opportunity for individual expression trumps all broader societal concerns.  In the world of Whatever when one side of an argument is "This is what I want."  and the other side is, "This is where these personal decisions will lead."  the now and personal will always win.  It's like the old playground basketball standard, "No blood, no foul."  Unless it can be clearly demonstrated that one person choosing Whatever, will bring clear and immediate harm to another--and violated religious standards don't count--then the Whatever choice should stand. Olson raises the question of whether such a social order can stand. But since that question cannot point to any blood on the pavement, SCOW (the Supreme Court of Whatever) declares that the objection has no standing.  The Main Street Journal, in a recent one-word op-ed piece summed it up well: WHATEVER! Again, I refer you to Roger Olson's excellent article. It's STTA.

Friends don't let friends , , ,

Friends don't let friends . . .
This started out as a slogan against driving while under the influence of alcohol.  "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."  Over the years many "friends don't let friends . . ." sayings have surfaced.  Here is one some friends of mine have reminded me of.  

Friends don't let friends enter eternity without hearing about Jesus.

Several of my friends have been busy doing their best to share the Good News with their friends.  We just finished TEENWEEK.  One of the main purposes of TEENWEEK is to introduce teens to the Lord Jesus Christ.  As I'm typing a group of folk are hosting a supper before a fishing tournament.  Another friend of mine will tell his story--how he came to know the Savior.

Sometimes folk accuse we Christians of being pushy, thinking we are always right.  The fact is, in this dark, cold, dangerous world we have warmth, peace and forgiveness.  We are beggars.  We found where to get bread.  It would be the height of cruelty to not tell other beggars where they can be fed as well.

Find out more here.
 

It's STTA.

Deterioration:

Something To Think About, Deterioration:

Left to themselves all things wind down. Over the past week I've been dealing with rusty pipes, insects in wood--and woodpeckers who consider them as their next meal, concerns about declining stock values, and a business agreement that was missing important details.  You have probably had the experience of putting a letter in a pile, or an email in a digital file, intending to answer it later.  There it remained untouched, until sometime later when it no longer had any relevance.  We not only live in a fallen world, in a sense everything around us is still falling.  Stopping, slowing, or reversing that deterioration always takes work.  The ultimate force in that curse opposition emanates from the cross where Jesus died.  From there and the empty tomb flow forgiveness to deal with sins destruction, reconciliation to counter the endemic alienation that began with Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, and purpose that comes to replace the lostness that infected us all at the fall. As soon as I finish this I'm heading to the hardware store for a couple of new pieces of pipe.  That rusty plumbing will not suddenly grow solid again.  Take a moment and consider what is in your heart.  If you sense there the same deterioration that is going on all around us, I encourage you to get to know Jesus Christ better.  He has accomplished what is needed to reverse the trend. Find out more here.   It's STTA.

What Isn't Temporary?

Something To Think About, Temporariness:

The mom of a new bride was talking to me recently.   "How are the newly-weds?" I asked. "They are doing fine.  They are really enjoying setting up their temporary apartment." The young couple is barely back from their honeymoon.  Both are college students.  The apartment they'll be living in for the next year doesn't open up for another three weeks or so, so they are crashing where one of them lived pre-nuptials.  At first I smiled within.  "Young love," I thought.  "Why go to all the trouble of setting up a place for such a short time?" The fact is, though, we all live on a precarious balance.  My house, car, wardrobe, computers, and stuff in general is all daily succumbing to moth and rust.  What remains will be consumed with fire. Yet God has given me all that He has entrusted to me so thatI can enjoy it.  Clearly maximum gratification comes from using my stuff to the glory of God. At the time the Mother-of-the-Bride spoke with me I was involved in a remodeling project.  I've been doing these for a long time.  One of the calculations that almost always comes into play is, "How long will it last?"  Do I spend the extra money for the better material, or is the less expensive route OK?   My wife questioned me about one decision I made on this project.  My reply was, "I want this to last until I die."  I do, and at my age that is a realistic metric.  The problem is I don't know when my maker will recall me.  The successful farmerthought he had many years of plenty ahead of him.  In truth his future on earth was measured by mere hours.   Peter asks a probing question, "Since all these things are to be destroyed . . . what sort of people ought [we] to be . . . ?" (2 Peter 3:11) I need to constantly keep in mind that everything around me is temporary.  Jesus told us that we should lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth. It's STTA.

The New Normal

Something To Think About, The New Normal:

I'm a really lousy record-keeper so I can't begin to tell you how long I did STTA before I took a break a couple of months ago (here).  As that last STTA indicated my life has changed in the past three and half months.  Though decisions are still being made, I'm settling into my new roles. A couple of observations: First a brief explanation.  I'm a guy, a guy who has done the same thing all of his adult life, and someone who has always been reasonably independent.  I tell you that because I'm not sure how much of my experience is transferable.  If you are really different than me then maybe not so much. In one way the changes have been more profound than I thought they would be.  Especially guys are pretty tied up in what they do.  Change that, and you change a lot.   On the other hand, I woke up on March 16th precisely the same person who had gotten up the day before.  The notion that everything ought to change because of a date on the calendar, whether my paycheck comes from an employer or Social Security, or which office I hang out in, is really pretty ridiculous.   I still have gifts, abilities, and responsibilities given to me by the One who will be my boss until I die.  I need to keep on serving.  As John Piper has so eloquently written, "Don't Waste Your Life."  Now that I'm in a place where I have a greater measure of discretion about what I do with my life, that challenge is more important than ever. l've become much more aware of old people.  I guess it's because I am one.  I go to Walmart and see people riding those scooter/carts, or using their push carts in lieu of a walker, and I'm aware that in about ten minutes I'll be there.  I exercise--not as much as I should--watch my diet--not as closely as I ought--and visit my Dr. as scheduled.  Still I'm aware that most of the sand has passed through the narrow part of my hour glass.  I've been reading a book about making decisions at my end of life.  One of the points the authors make is that we don't have time for do-overs.  I'm not afraid to die, but I see life as more precious. It's been good that I've had a time to step back, get out of Dodge (you can read about just how far out of Dodge I was for a while, here).  My new boss, Pastor Doug Williams, or as I call him the "Right Reverend Boss Man," has been marvelously gracious and patient with me, as has the congregation of CBC.  My wife has walked with me hand-in-hand.  Still, it's taking sometime to rearrange the pieces.  That's not bad.  It's just the way it is. I figure there are many of you, who like me, don't particularly like the word "retirement."  It conjures up a finality and state of leisure that we're not comfortable with.  Just trust me on this.  Don't fight it.  Unless you are prepared to spend a significant portion of your life (see above concerning how precious our remaining time is) giving a long explanation every time somebody asks, "How's Retirement?" just go with it.  It's how most of those around me describe what I did March 15th.  I'm trying to do the same thing in retirement that I did back when I was working.  I'm trying to invest what God has entrusted to me to His glory.  If I correct folk every time they use the word "retirement," I won't have time for much else. This started our being a simple announcement.  Everything above is just introductory. When I sent that March 16 STTA I wasn't sure whether that would be the last one or not.  Turns out it wasn't.  I've been thinking about Something to Think About.  I noticed that no one sent me a note indicating how glad they were that I finally stopped out my little mindless nuggets.  That's enough encouragement for me.  I figure that now that I'm semiretired--that's my preferred term--I'll send out STTA whenever I think of something that I think is worth thinking about.  If that doesn't work for you, just use the unsubscribe button.  Your life is precious, too.  You need to use it the way you think is best. For now, anyhow, it brings me a great deal of joy to once again say . . . It's STTA.

STTA from 3/16/2015, Change

(In the flurry of activity after our transition weekend, 3/15, I never got around to posting this.  I post it now because it will help the next STTA make sense.)

My wife are were just blessed by wonderful weekend.
My Sixty-fifth birthday worked out to be the Sunday on which we finalized a pastoral leadership transition that has been underway for some time.  I stepped into the pulpit yesterday as co-pastor of Covington Bible Church.  I was the lead pastor of CBC for forty-one years.  It's really all I've ever done.  Since July of 2014 I've been in what I called the "Co-mode."  When I stepped down from the platform, yesterday, it was as associate pastor, now working under the leadership of Pastor Doug Williams.  Family gathered to recognize the occasion, and our church and friends were over the top with their kindness toward us.
My first task in my new role is a stint as adjunct instructor at Pacific Islands University.  In a more profound way than usual, "Today is the first day of the rest of my life.  It will be filled with packing, getting a car fixed, and other mundane tasks.
A lot has changed and is changing.  I'm going to take a break from Something to Think About.  If I had a staff, I'd have them send out "Best of STTA" for the next couple of weeks.  I don't have a staff, so, if you are really looking for STTA, you'll just have to do a search in your email archives, or use the link in the sign-off line to go to the blog-site where old STTAs go when they retire.  :)
I'll let you know where this goes.  Right now I have Somethings to Think About.

It's STTA