No, all ways of seeing things are not equal!

Something To Think About, No, they aren't just like us: 2/28

It's been a New Millennium long enough that most of us are comfortable with it, indeed, it's all that many young adults really know.  Here in the US, where I live, one of the universal laws of culture is that no one has a right to say that one way of life--one way of seeing the world--is better than another.  We buried the Moral Majority years ago.  A while back we decided to stop making anybody feel bad for the things they think or believe.  Acceptance and tolerance are rule of the day.  Who am I to tell you that your choices or conclusions about what is right and wrong are inferior to mine? Look carefully at the picture of Abubakar Shekau.  He is the leader of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.  The name means 'western education is sinful."  I'm at the front of the line of those who challenge what's wrong with my "Western" culture.  Take notes on any given Sunday, and you'll hear me challenge the values, or lack thereof, of my time and place.  Don't get the idea, though, that this makes me and Abu--I hope he doesn't mind--equal.  We are not.  I, following the tradition of two millennia of Christian preaching, seek to engage people in thinking, and feeling.  I seek to persuade about what is right and wrong.  I ask people to join me in seeking the God of the Bible, and committing our lives to him.  Not only do I refrain from physical coercion, I find it repulsive.  I condemn it.  Abu on the other hand [Warning: What I am about to say is really ugly.]  Seeks to make his point this way: This past Tuesday morning Boko Haram came to the dorm of a boarding school in Yobe state, Nigeria.  While the boys slept in the predawn darkness they set their dorm on fire.  The door was locked.  The terrorists shot and knifed those who attempted to escape through the windows.  At the end of their "raid" about forty boys, and teachers were dead, some burned to ashes, others found dead in the bush, where they had bleed to death in their attempt to flee.  Look at Abu.  He is not ashamed.  He is not a man who gave into what he considers baser motives.  He is proud of what he has done.  He believes that slaughtering school boys in the middle of the night is the right thing to do.  Likely, he will sleep well tonight. Have atrocities been committed in the name of Christ?  Without doubt.  Painting a cross on a shield does not make the unspeakable right.  Are there problems with my "Western" culture, the one Abu hates with such virulence?  Again, there is no doubt.  I'm not trying to whitewash my way. What I am challenging you to do is look into Abu's eyes and then tell me that all world-views are equal.  That no one has the right to tell anyone else that that they are wrong. That view is idiocy. Abu is a fiend. It's STTA.

Here's An Alternative: Do Right!

Something To Think About, Choosing Better: 2/26

Some of my colleagues--conservative Christian leaders--took offense at descriptions of Olympic Gold-medal skier, David Wise as living an "Alternative Lifestyle."  Sit down friends, so you don't faint.  I'm on the media's side.  Yes, the fresh-faced Olympian has chosen an alternative way of life.  Further I very much encourage other young adults to follow in his ski-tracks.   What got my associates' culture-watching noses out of joint is the history of the term "Alternative Lifestyle" in the culture wars.  A real quick survey is in order: We begin with a time not too long ago, when language that referred to people who made sexual/family choices that put them outside the mainstream was intended to put-down, hurt, inflict shame. There was push back and in some cases appropriate repentance.  Being right does not give one the privilege of being mean. As the pendulum swung past center, it became common to describe choices about how humans relate socially and sexually not in terms of right and wrong, but as alternatives--one way is as good as another. Still, because heterosexual, marriage-bound, child-bearing families continued to be the backbone of our culture, most of us reserved the term "alternative" for everybody else.   Now David Wise skis into our living rooms, and hearts.  He is a twenty-three year old husband and dad, who, in spite of his baggy pants and totally rad freestyle routines appears really quite grounded, in the traditional sense.  And then Skyler Wilder of NBC Sports refers to the young man as living an "Alternative Lifestyle.  To quote the kids, conservatives like me are "all like, 'whoa, that's not alternative that's regular.'" No it's not.  Not any more.  I was reminded of that again for the umpteenth time just last night. I'll let others argue about the latest numbers about who is in bed with whom.  I'm just going to speak from my observation.   Brothers, we kid ourselves if we think that most young adults are choosing--even attempting to choose--even considering the choice realistic and desirable--to live by the standards of the Bible.  Premarital, extra-marital, and even inter-marital are not whispered words.  They are celebrated.  The various gender-identifiers are so numerous and fluid that one needs a scorecard to keep them straight.  The one thing that is easy to understand is that our culture accepts them all.  So, I agree with Wilder's characterization, David Wise has chosen an alternative lifestyle.  I don't know him well enough to give a blanket endorsement, but as far as I know he has chosen to do what is right. This is the point that those of us who claim to speak for God need to make clearly and strongly: Morality, right and wrong, that which God blesses, and is therefore acceptable for us to bless in His name is not determined democratically!   When Jesus described the two ways at the end of the Sermon on the Mount,he made clear that most people are on the wrong way.  When Paul counseled the Christians living in the debauchery of Corinth, he clearly challenged them to choose a different way.  Too many of us have been trying to stretch an old, thread-bear sheet of public morality (which may never have been as moral as we would like to believe) over a culture that refuses to be covered.  Rather we need to call people young and old to an alternative--a radical alternative--following Jesus Christ, bringing every aspect of our life under his Lordship. I'm not upset with Skyler Wilder.  Actually I thank him for the reminder. Let's all be alternative.  Do right for a change. It's STTA.

Something To Think About, Gettng Something out of Church: 2/24

OK, I'm an old preacher, so anytime I see that a child has written, in big bold letters,  "SERVE THE LORD!!" you have my attention. Covington Bible Church is privileged to work with and through the Davis family, who serve near Wellington New Zealand.  Like all good missionaries Pink Davis (Yes, that is his name.) is working hard to work himself out of a job.  While doing so, he and Selena are raising three lovely girls.  Recently a proud parent posted this picture of the  two older girls' notes from a recent message. Go Girls! We live in a world where most people carry in their pockets a device that is able to produce whiz-bang effects that would have left a movie producer of just a short time ago slack-jawed in amazement.  Dancing bears no longer amuse us.  The bruins must also change colors in rhythm to the music, talk in several languages, and wear a customizable wardrobe, that will trumpet our favorite sports team's logo at the click of a key.  In this techno-glutted world there are still guys like me who stand up every week and just talk.  We open a 2,000 year old book and tell people what it says.  We may try to insert some technology in our talk, but even the really big churches can't keep up.  Those of us in the ranks of the "also-rans" can't even hope to stay close.  Yet I am convinced that this ancient mode of communication--preaching the message of the Bible--is an effective means of passing on the message.  Rather than moving away from preaching the Word of God, we preacher-types should renew our commitment to it.  I'm not speaking  against PowerPoint, or any of the other audio-visual aids that have become a part of 21st Century church life.  I am speaking for talking a First-Century, and older, text into the lives of 21st Century people.  If we are going to do that, and do it well, there are some commitments we need to make: First, to preachers:  Preach well! One reason preaching has lost favor is because preachers have lost fervor.  I speak not so much about fervor on the platform as I do about diligence in the study.  Those of us who stand up and say, "This is what God says. . ." ought to do our best to say it well. Second to listeners:  Listen hard! Too many take their seat on Sundaymorning, bleary-eyed from the night before, punching in one more text, and pretty well determined to be bored.  They are often not disappointed. This is where Eliana and Aleyah are leading the way.  They sat down on Sunday morning expecting to hear something important.  If something important is going to be said, I probably ought to take note of it.  And they did! Lead on ladies! It's STTA.

Thoughts on Valentine Day:

Something To Think About, 2/14

I know it sounds really bad, but I'm not a particular fan of Valentine Day.  It's not that I don't love my lovely wife, or want her to know that I love her.  I guess it's that I resent, at least  a bit, being told that February 14 is the day I'm supposed to tell her that. For one thing, as is true about most holidays that once had  Theological meaning, the modern celebration of Valentine Day bears almost no resemblance to the martyr in whose honor the day is named.  (See here.)  I guess what really sorta bugs me is that having a day on which one is supposed to express his love for his beloved, kinda implies that I'm not doing a very good job on the other 364.25 days.  I'm sure I don't, but I don't like Hallmark, FTD, and Russel Stover reminding me. So this Valentine Day I'm asking myself, "Do I love my Lord with a love that would remain true even to death?" And I'm making known, that out of all the people on earth I am thrilled to spend my life with Kathy.  I don't even need to ask her to "BE MY VALENTINE."  She shows me again and again that she already is. Thank you.  I love you, Kathy. It's not your fault that a holiday about romance got named after a Christian martyr, so HAPPY VALENTINE DAY. It's STTA.

SNOW!

Something To Think About, 2/13

The snow that blankets my yard and covers my house and car (which I have to dig out in a little while), covers most of the Southeast US, and is headed North.  Friends further north, who have dealt with this longer, and deeper, expressed a common view: "We are ready for Spring!"  Such is the magnitude, in both breadth and depth, of this weather system that it was cancelling airline flights, provoking declarations of states of emergency, and spreading general bureaucratic heartburn even before it arrived. Here it is.  Deal with it. At this point I could get all Theological, and delve into God's sovereignty, and such, but I'll save that for another day.   (If you crave such musings on this wintry day, here is one.)  Instead I'm choosing to wax thankful and useful. As I write in the comfort of my warm kitchen, utility workers, firemen, EMTs, and policemen are out doing what needs to be done.  I've seen the snowplows go by several times last night and this morning.  A "mom of" posted a picture of Virginia Guardsmen putting chains on their Humvees so they would be ready to help.  Thank you, all.   When I finish this, I need to go out and see if I can dig my car to freedom so I can keep an appointment.  I plan to check on my home-bound neighbors to see if I can be of service to them.  On a day like today, a knock on the door, a cup of hot-chocolate, a trip to the mailbox, or even an encouraging phone-call or email can be a great blessing.  Instead of spending all day asking "Why did this happen to me?"  Let's ask, "What can I do to help?" Finally, a word of encouragement:  My lovely wife says that her favorite passage of scripture is, "This, too will pass." It will. It's STTA.

Gentle Persuasion:

Missionary activity is at the heart of Biblical faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The mandate to take the Good News into all the world was given by the Risen Lord. ". . . make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:19-20) No doubt there have been, and are, missionaries who have used coercion in their attempts to accomplish that task.  As one, however, who has been privileged to know a number of missionaries, I've not met that kind of change-agent.  I've been in places where the change missionaries brought has been evident.  I've seen places where within my lifetime the face of the earth has been changed through their efforts, but not with harshness or arm-twisting.  What I have seen reminds of one of Aesop's fables that I read back in grade school. It seems that the North Wind and the Sun were having a discussion about who was the more powerful. A contest was proposed. A man was walking down the road.  The one who could remove his coat would show that he was mightier. North Wind went first.  He thought he could easily send the coat flapping off in the gale, but the harder he blew the tighter the man clutched his coat to protect himself from the icy blast. Then the Sun took his turn.  Gradually, without any obvious show of power Sun just beamed his warmth on the traveler.  Soon the man's coat was slung over his shoulder as he continued on his way. The greatest force I've seen in the missionary arsenal is the one expressed in a verse we teach preschoolers:  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)   It's STTA.

I mentioned yesterday that I spent the weekend with some veteran missionaries.  Our Missions Conference also included input from a young family who just finished their first couple of years in another culture.  Interaction with both families reinforced something I observe--as missionaries get deeper into the culture of others, they find that in spite of all the language, clothing, food, and lifestyle differences, at the bottom people are the same. Where mere outsiders see fascinating cultural oddities, and beauty; those who take time to learn the culture of another people-group discover that the culture of others, like our own, has two sides.  Both our way and their way of seeing the world and living in it, is a product  of God's image in man, thus cultures have elements of beauty, virtue, family love, and truth.  All cultures, however, are also made up of fallen people, thus our cultures include attempts to control our environment for our own selfish desires.  They are rife with greed, oppression, and all kinds of other evils.  Good missionaries know that "my" task is not to impose my culture on others. Rather it is to humbly point out that the word of God, and the God of the word, confronts all cultures--"all have sinned."  As people come to realize this and begin the lifelong process of Spiritual transformation, they begin to transform their culture from within.  The conscientious missionary does not want the culture of others to become like his/her own.  Rather she/he passionately desires that all cultures would be shaped by God's truth. That's a task in which we should all be interested. It's STTA.