The Gospel According to Paul...Atreides...

Some notes I typed from my Bible study this morning...more like ramblings...

The language of “the table” is a bit vague here.  In the original writing from Psalm 69, “they” are the enemies of the psalmist.  In that psalm, the writer is asking God go pour out wrath on them and that the “table set before them become a snare…retribution, and a trap.”  It seems to me that the table set before them is one that is set by God.  A pagan sitting at God’s table would suggest a pagan being confronted with both the truth of who God is and the choice to submit to God. Those who choose to reject God are doomed.  In this sense the table becomes a bad thing to that person.  The table that is God’s nourishment in the word becomes a snare and a trap.  The trap of rejecting God causes them to be judged for their rejection and they find themselves trapped in the slavery of guilt and shame.  I don’t think it is as if God has given only specific people this “spirit of stupor”, nor do I believe that this “spirit of stupor” makes people stupid.  When we go back to Psalm 69, the wording is negative in the sense that God did not give people a sense of understanding (eyes to see and ears to hear).  They can’t automatically understand the gospel without some measure of desire to seek it out.  Paul makes this a positive statement in saying that this “non-giving” of understanding is the same as being given what I would call a “confused spirit” towards spiritual things.  We are automatically numb to the gospel.  We aren’t born into faith and therefore must be awakened to it by some means.  Something has to happen that causes us to seek out eternity.  Something breaks through the fogginess and “stupor”.  I have that line from the movie Dune in my head where Paul Atreides constantly hears the phrase “The sleeper must awaken!” in his own mind.  I think this state of not having eyes to see or ears to hear just means that we are given a totally blank slate when it comes to the decision to accept Christ.  God has made things so that “the sleeper must awaken” and search out the truth of Christ.  In other words, I might see and hear something that is overtly Christian in nature, but I have to make a choice to investigate that and see where it leads.  I can SEE something that is overtly Christian in nature, but I don’t recognize it as explicitly Christian in nature and pointing towards Jesus.  I might just see that it is different.  With my “non-seeing” eyes, I am attracted to the “otherness” of this thing.  Upon investigation, I awaken to the fact that that this Christian thing (a preacher, a book, a website, a whatever) is pointing to Jesus.  Then my eyes that were not coerced to see find the truth of Jesus for themselves and this leads to salvation.

Who Gets To Preach?

Just doing a little Bible study this morning.  The following are some thoughts from the commentary that I have been writing in order to process my thoughts on the book of Romans.  If you're interested in where this is coming from, read Romans 10:13-15 and then read the following.  

At it’s most basic form, preaching is merely a public proclamation of something.  If I am preaching, I am publicly announcing information about a specific topic.  Preaching isn’t something that’s necessarily done in the private of your own home, unless it is to a group of people.  You can’t preach to yourself, in other words!  Of course, there are those who get up in public and spout complete nonsense and sound like they are making things up, so I suppose this is where a little credibility would be good (coming from education and ordination), but there are PLENTY of people who are “educated” and “ordained” who have seem to have NO idea what the Bible says.  So how does the average teenager “preach”?  Is education important or not? 

            What if a person merely preaches what he or she knows?  I am a BIG fan of saying “I don’t know” whenever a person asks a question that I cannot answer.  In my short ministry career, I have made a great deal of use out of, “Let me get back to you on that?”  The bottom line is that you don’t have to be a Bible scholar in order to give some very basic good news, and THAT’S really good news!  John 9 contains a story about a guy who was healed of blindness by Jesus.  He was brought in and questioned by the Jewish religious authorities as to who healed him and what exactly happened.  This guy honestly didn’t know ANYTHING about Jesus.  The Jewish teachers told the guy that Jesus was a sinner.  The guy basically said, “I don’t know anything about that.  What I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”  He had already described the miracle of Jesus putting clay on his eyes in his first interview with the Pharisees. 

            The question that we have to ask ourselves is this: What do I KNOW about Jesus?  Here’s the answer to that question.  You and I know our own testimony.  I know my story of how I came to faith.  I have stories of what has appeared to me to be supernatural intercession in my life.  There has been provision that I just can’t account for with mere timing.  There are too many times when “enough” fell out of literally nowhere.  I know WHO Jesus is.  I know WHAT Jesus did.  I know WHY Jesus did it.  I know the RESULT of my decision.  I know the AFFECT of faith in my life.  I know the CHANGE that has resulted in my life as a result of my decision to follow Christ.  ANYONE can do that!  Lots of “preachers” do a really bad job of it!  I have heard teenagers do a better job of presenting the Gospel to their peers than I ever could and I LOVE to see it happen (of course I taught them everything they know…hehe…just kidding).  Preaching is mostly telling.  Yes, the preacher on Sunday morning is probably going to be just a little more studied and will have researched the “nerdy” aspects of the Bible prior to preaching, but he’s teaching doctrine and theology.  That type of preaching is totally necessary for building people up on knowledge, BUT teaching theology and doctrine does not SAVE people.  When people hear and respond in a personal way to a personal message of salvation, they find their eternities are turned upside down!  Again, ANYONE can deliver such a message. 

Happy 239th Devil Dogs!

As I woke up this morning and read the first Facebook post of the day, which was from my wife, I was swept up in a wave of both nostalgia and pride.  I remember boot camp, field training, squad in the offense, squad in the defense, M60's, parachute jumps, helicopter rappelling, field days, friends, brothers, and sisters.  Katy, my wife has, without fail, greeted me on the morning of November 10th for the 16 years that we have been married by answering my call, "Back in 1775..." with "my Marine Corps came alive".  This morning, she started it and I answered.  I have spent the last two hours of my day looking at Facebook posts from Devil Dogs barking from every corner of the United States, "Happy Birthday, Marines!"  Now, I know that not every single prior service Marine had a great experience in the Corps and is not as fond of the Corps as I still am.  I get that.  I don't have a problem with it.  However, the vast majority of Marines look back on their experience on 10 November every year and they tell another Marine, "Happy Birthday".  They dig through the closet and put on an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor for the day.  They may even look back through some old pictures and try to reconnect with old friends.  Many will try to find a Marine Corps Ball to crash!  There's just something about 10 November that speaks to us.  What is it?

As I reflect on my own time in the Corps and I think about the reaction from people when they find out that I served, I think the answer is in the legacy and in the reality of what a Marine truly is.  I substitute teach at the Middle School next door to the church where I am currently serving as student pastor.  Kids ask me if I served in the military.  I tell them yes.  Many automatically assume, "Army?"  When I say "Nope.  Marine Corps".  There is a different reaction.  There is a sudden reverence, not for me, but for that very name.  There is often a moment of understanding that we are different.  What is it about being a Marine that causes people to give pause?

Now, I'm not knocking my Army, Air Force, Navy, or Coast Guard brothers and sisters.  I hold you all in high regard.  I am grateful for every single one of you, so don't take this as an inter-service attack.  I'm merely commenting on the experience.

We're sized up differently.  No sane criminal attacks a person wearing an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.  Why?  I can imagine that a criminal wanting to attack a person sizes up each target individually.  Size, weight, gender, build, numbers, lighting, etc.  However, if I am a criminal and I detect that a potential target is a Marine, I now have a GREAT DEAL more to add to the equation.  If I am a criminal I have to add to my understanding that this person WILL kill me if I hesitate.  I'm pretty sure it will be a brutal, swift, and relatively violent death, so now I have two choices.  I can certainly proceed, but I need to make sure I have surprise on my side.  The knife I have in my hand suddenly seems very small and inadequate.  "I'm gonna need a gun for this one...but then again...maybe I should just move on to another target...yeah, that'll probably be safer".  Whether or not evil recognizes it or not, it fears the Marine.  People gravitate to Marines because they know that their chances of survival when the proverbial sewage hits the fan is increased when they have a Marine on their team.  They are encouraged by the authority that Marines command.  They rally to a cause when Marines are present.  They know that they have a fighting chance when "the Marines have landed".  Let's face it.  Marines are STILL convinced at 40 years old and have been out of the Corps for over 15 years to believe that three to one odds in the enemy's favor still aren't that bad.  We think, "Okay.  I got this.  I kill that one first, break a leg over there, push his nose into his brain housing group and move on".

There's MORE, though.  Let's say I am a criminal preparing to attack a person whom I am pretty sure is NOT a Marine, but I see an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on a t-shirt nearby.  He looks like he may be a Devil Dog.  Here's what I know.  I may not be attacking him or his family, but that Marine will still kill me.  Why?  Because he's trained to protect.  He's a paladin.  He's a samurai.  He's one of the good guys.  He has been trained to die for people whom he doesn't even know.  Why?  Because it's the right thing to do.  Because one of the most American things to do is to support and defend the weak.  Marines will counterattack and neutralize someone simply for harming or attacking someone smaller or weaker (if you happen to survive a counterattack by a Marine, the limp or scar that you carry will remind you of your folly for the rest of your life).  He was born a warrior and will continue to be a warrior until the very day that he draws his last breath.  On 10 November, each of us are reminded of the oaths that we once took.  Not ONE SINGLE MARINE I know considers himself or herself to have been released from that oath.  We know that we STILL support and defend the Constitution.  We deal death to evil and life to the good.  We, until we are released from this life by death, will continue to do so and to look at every single law abiding American as sheep to be protected...

...at least THIS Marine does...

Kingdom Building or Empire Building

I just read an article this morning that compared and contrasted a couple of churches by the same name and a few things occurred to me.  If you want to read the original article by Eric Geiger, the link is http://ericgeiger.com/2014/09/tale-two-mars-hills/#.VAcNF2RdXKU.

The article is about both Mars Hill churches that have basically lost their pastors for different reasons.  While I am not writing THIS article to criticize either of these pastors (God forbid I put myself in the place of the Almighty and begin to cast my own judgment on those who are just as flawed as myself), I do have a couple of observations of church in general that might be relevant.  I'm probably wrong in just about everything, but here I go anyway.

I have a question.  Why are so many "popular" megachurch pastors seeming to have difficulty and failing in today's church?  I'm not naming names, but you can do a quick internet search and come up with a number of names and churches that have suffered fallen pastors in the last ten years.  I realize that we hear about them because they are "popular" megachurch pastors and that small, unknown pastors fail just as much, but the "big" ones seem to be really dropping like flies or getting caught up on controversy regularly.  Are the churches getting too big?  Are they getting so big and "popular" that they begin to believe their own hype?  I think it's a GREAT thing that large churches plant smaller churches, but is it really church planting?  Is the church planting that is happening focused on Kingdom building or empire building?  What I mean is that it seems to me that some of the larger churches have begun, over recent years, to open up what seem to be franchises rather than planting independent churches.  Maybe I am totally wrong and the churches that, Mars Hill in Seattle for example, has planted are totally independent and have nothing to do with the mother church outside of sharing the name, but I would bet that this is not the case.  There are pastors who had to sign a no compete clause to leave Mars Hill just so they would not minister within a ten-mile radius of Mars Hill in Seattle, so I can't imagine that the mother church just supported the daughter churches until they were healthy and then just completely let go.

Why can't a church just plant a church, give it a different name from the mother church, set up and train a completely independent staff, be a resource when times get tough, and just let the church be a church that is ministering in the Kingdom of God on its own?  Why does the planted church have to be a part of the conglomerate of churches?  Why does the church have to simulcast that one guy to all of its campuses in order to control a message?

Years ago, I sat at a church planting conference in Lynchburg behind these two kids who were probably in school at Liberty University (not knocking Liberty, mind you.  I received my M.Div from there.  Great school.)  I honestly heard one of them say the following: "When I get invited to come back to speak at one of these conferences and they ask me how my church was so successful, I'm gonna be like, 'I don't know.  It was just God!"  Now, on the surface, that seems fine and innocent and even humble by giving credit to God for church growth.  I didn't take it that way, though.  The inflection and focus was not even ON God in the conversation.  It felt dark and selfish.  When did church planters become rock stars and cease to become ministers?  Why do we all need to plant a church, write a book, and go multi-site in order to feel worthy of our position in the Kingdom?  Now I'm not saying all of that is BAD, but it feels like a slight shift in focus.  "When I get invited back..." is about ME and not about God.  If my ambition is to be invited to a church conference as a speaker, then am I doing this for the right reason?  If I need to have an empire of ten churches, all of which broadcast MY message during the week, am I becoming a narcissistic overlord?  More importantly, does the church get so big that I cannot focus on actually ministering and have to become a politician in order to get anything done, thereby losing time to actually do ministry and maintain my relationship with God?  Does the church machine become so big and my name becomes so intertwined with it that I just break under the pressure and compromise morals and theology?

I don't know.  Maybe I'm just being a jerk, or a hater.  Maybe MY focus is wrong.  Maybe I really do need to focus on using any avenue that I can to grow the church and make Jesus famous.  That's all fine and I agree with that.  But do I really NEED to do that by growing a church empire that has ten different churches that have the same name?  At some point, won't my personality become a distraction to the Kingdom to a point that I couldn't get out of the way of church growth even if I wanted to?  What if I just ministered in my church, planted churches that could stand on their own two feet, empowered the pastors and staff of those churches, and just cheered them on as we all work together to build the Kingdom and move it forward.  I don't need to LEAD those planted churches if they have qualified leaders.  I need to FIGHT alongside them.  Maybe instead of building an empire of church conglomerates, we need to build a Kingdom of armies that will fight and bleed TOGETHER in the name of Christ.  Anyway, that's just my two cents.

ISIS and the American Patriot

There is a World War II legendary quote by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.  Allegedly he stated something to the effect of, "You cannot invade the mainland United States.  There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass".  Now before you go off and start yelling, "There is no proof he ever said that", I qualified it as a legend and I would imagine that YOU don't really know, either.  I have begun this particular blog post with that quote, whether real or fictitious, to make a point.  In recent days, there has been a great deal of internet traffic and hand-wringing over the possibility of an ISIS invasion.  I read that the border has been targeted for an attack and that terrorist forces are massing in Juarez Mexico, which is just outside of El Paso, Texas.  Now, I could go on a really nutty conspiracy theory rant about how someone just happened to try to bring down Rick Perry thereby leaving that border unopposed by one of the few governors in this country who would probably mount a Hummer and personally lead the Texas National Guard against any invasion, but since that's just crazy I'll let you think that over and decide for yourself.  I think I have a solution to the problem of ISIS.  I'll get back to that in a minute.

As a militiaman myself, I have taken seriously the following from the Code of Virginia:

§ 44-1. Composition of militia.

The militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth who are citizens of the United States and all other able-bodied persons resident in the Commonwealth who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who are at least 16 years of age and, except as hereinafter provided, not more than 55 years of age. The militia shall be divided into four classes: the National Guard, which includes the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard; the Virginia Defense Force; the naval militia; and the unorganized militia.

Now I'm not really 100% sure just exactly how many able-bodied persons there are between the ages of 16 and 55 currently residing in the Commonwealth.  I do know that the United States military has roughly 1.5 million active troops and maybe 850,000 or so reservists.  The last check I did said that there is somewhere in the vicinity of 20 or 21 million veterans (as of 2012), about 800,000 of which live in Virginia.  Now, I know of few, and I mean, FEW veterans who do not own at least one firearm.  I know of MANY who are armed to the freaking TEETH, however.  I will not discuss my loadout here, but let me just say that in less than 60 seconds, this old Devil Dog can be ready to repel an attack and make the average home intruder wish that he or she had picked his or her target a bit more carefully.  So how many veterans with how many guns would you say would be ready to hit the street in even less time than that!?  Grab a shotgun and a few shells and let's mount a defense, right?  Let's just say 25% of the population of veterans are able and armed to do just that.  That cuts us to 200,000 strong.  On top of that, this is only military veterans AND one represents one state of this great Union.  I know a LOT of patriots in my Commonwealth who may have never served, but will grab a hunting rifle and be ready to throw down in less time than it takes you to holler "Allahu Akbar".  I dare you to come to Virginia and tell a redneck he ain't allowed to go fishing or deer hunting because of some crazy rule in your Sharia Law and I can guarantee you that you will find yourself uncorking a bottle that you will in very short order wish to all that is good and holy in this world that you could get put back in.  

So what about the other side?  How many ISIS soldiers are there?  I think ISIS has somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 troops?  Someone can feel free to correct me if I am wrong.  Let's just say that ISIS has a FIELD DAY in their next recruiting drive and they double the high end of their estimate to 20,000 troops.  Oh, I know they are well-armed, but what are they fighting?  Who are they fighting?  They kidnap innocents, duct tape their hands and feet so they can't fight back, buy some recording equipment, and tape a murder after reading some garbage about a Caliphate and Allah or something like that.  They have YET to face down the American Patriot.  How long did it take to kick them out of Iraq?  Four days or something insane like that?

Riddle me this, Batman...how on God's green earth does ISIS seriously expect to mount any serious threat to the United States Mainland?  I'll tell you how they could conceivably do it.  

They could scare enough people with their terror tactics and make us all think that they are much more than they really are.  Fear is the only weapon that the average Islamic terrorist has to use that will have any possible effect.  I for one am sick to death of hearing the rhetoric and am more than just a little amused at the empty threats and hollow words of a delusional religious attempt at the domination of the United States (by the way, the IRS has already accomplished that, so you might want to pick an "unoccupied" country to attack).  

Here's what I think.  I think it's time to dust off our rifles.  Maybe it's time to go to the store and get some ammo.  Maybe it's time to go out and do a little target shooting.  If you're so scared of Islamic terrorists in our midst, let's prepare a real American welcome for them.  I'm talking the type of welcome that Cornwallis got a few years back.  Oh.  I almost forgot.  I promised a solution to the problem of ISIS.  It isn't fancy.  It's not magic.  In fact, it is so simple that you may just wonder why you didn't think of it yourself.  Here it goes:  

Problem: ISIS wants to invade the United States of America
Solution: Good.  Let them come.

The worst nightmare of our enemy is the American Patriot.  The American Patriot is a free man or woman who has a heart of steel and ice for blood.  We bleed red, white, blue and we are NOT afraid to defend our homes, our farms, our children, and our freedom.  Be warned though.  Don't say someone didn't warn you.  There will be no rules of engagement.  There will be no fair fight.  And just know that out in the backwoods of Texas, there will likely be no survivors.  Those boys are just mean.

What Do You Do When It Rains?

Well, we "completed" day one of our mission week at a local neighborhood.  For those just tuning into my life, our church has engaged a local mobile home community in ministry and organized a week of power washing and painting porches and homes with their office.  Today we had about 25 folks from the age of about 11 to 65 launch from New Bridge armed with lots of equipment and a desire to serve.  We arrive onsite at about 8:30am.  We began work between 9am and 9:30.  At about 10am the drizzle started.  At 10:30am, we stopped work as the rain had increased to a point at which we figured it was going not going to stop.  As I sit here this afternoon with a forecast that is not boding well for the rest of the week, I reflect on that passage in Matthew 5:45 where it states that rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Not sure why that one comes immediately to mind, but for some reason I feel like God has a word for me in that this week.

The other thought that comes immediately to mind is that ministry isn't always going to be easy.  The forecast called for rain this morning.  In fact, all this last week the weather forecast was rain and not one drop fell!  This morning, I made the call to go ahead with the project and just see what would happen.  Today, the forecast was actually accurate.  That's the risk of leadership, though, I suppose.  It isn't always going to work out the way that we had planned.  But there's always tomorrow, right?  Over the last three days, I have met a lot of people in this community who just some really nice folks with some really tragic circumstances.  I think that if I were having a hard time in my own life, I would like to know that the church down the road would show for me in the rain if that's what it takes to help me out.  That's the kind of church I would want to be a part of.  So tomorrow, we'll get up and gather at New Bridge.  We'll get in vans with all of our gear and see what the weather is doing.  Maybe it won't rain.  If it does, we will have to fold our operation up again and go home.  The next day, we'll gather at New Bridge again and start over.  The point is that we won't stop.  We won't stop reaching out and getting wet and dirty if it means that we are able to reach into the lives of our neighbors and fight for just one opportunity, rain or shine, to tell them that we're there because Jesus loves them and so do we.

Young Adults Matter More Than They Think

Okay, there’s a demographic that I need to define here really quickly.  What do I mean by “young adults”?  I suppose I am referring to those young people who are post-high school and have not settled into the “rigors” of raising a family just yet.  You may be married with kids, but they are young enough that you aren’t quite spending all of your time running to soccer, school, and ballet lessons just yet.  I know this is a little subjective, because my message is for a LOT of people, but I want to focus in on a couple of things here today. 

I have noticed some key things in my twelve years of ministry (I know.  That’s not very long compared to some, but long enough to have noticed some trends).  Churches that are missing generations in their ranks are “incomplete”.  If there is a generation that is “missing”, so to speak, it is the Millennial generation in the church.  I do not mean this to demean those who are present, but by and large, there is a noticeable lack of those young adults who are hanging around and taking an active role in discipleship. 

Hold on!  What do I mean by “active role in discipleship”?  By that, I mean those who are able to prioritize their walk in such a way as they are gathering, learning, assimilating the Bible, and pouring that back out in some way in the form of ministry.  Showing up once or twice a month isn’t “participation”.  Let me now affirm that I do see a presence of those who DO all of these things (you know who you are and you make me proud!), however, they are not the norm. 

What’s the norm?  Well, from what I see, the young adult demographic seems to attend church or Bible study sporadically, not have a personal Bible study time, and live life in such a way that the main filter for life is not yet (many of you are getting there!) through the pages of Scripture.  This is a problem. 

Why is this a problem?  Well, instead of focusing on the problem, I would rather focus on the benefits of young adult ownership in ministry and this is best approached by giving anecdotal evidence.  This week has been a GREAT week at our VBS!  Our student ministry has been involved in presenting the Bible story for a few years now and they do a GREAT job!  As the student pastor, I have intentionally stepped back further and further in order to let other adults and teenagers take the bulk of responsibility.  I have some AWESOME youth staff members who have stepped up and taken a great deal of responsibility for the student ministry in this project (and in other ways, as well).  Some are adults with kids in the student ministry (how awesome that parents and teens are ministering side-by-side!) and others are the young adults to whom I am referring.  One young adult in particular is doing a great job doing the main presentation of the Biblical material, which was my job just a few years ago.  Her husband (yup, she’s married guys.  He’s too awesome, so just forget about it!) is actually running the game station and doing a FANTASTIC job!  Yet another young adult has taken a leadership role in the presentation of VBS as sort of an MC that gets the evening kicked off.  There are other examples of teen and young adult participation, but time and space limit me here. 

Here’s what I notice as I watch these young adults: they are able to connect with a lot of children and teens in a way that I cannot.  I am 40 years old.  I am overweight.  I am not very cool.  I still listen to 80’s thrash metal and like it.  I am becoming more impatient with technology every day.  I didn’t even know what Snap Chat was until last night!  These young people are ideal in that they are none of these things.  They are able to reach into the lives of the generation behind them in a way that I cannot.  But wait, there’s MORE!

It isn’t just the generation behind them that young adults impact.  I have noticed that they cut a far wider swathe through a church than even they realize.  While they provide a solid “next-step” example for children and teens, they provide something for people like me, as well.  For one thing, young adults are an outlet for mentorship.  They give me someone to whom I can pass the torch of ministry.  After all, they do have more years to live than I do.  They also provide the church with hope.  I cannot count the number of times that I have heard our senior saints RELISH in the fact that they look around and see children, teens, and particularly young adults in the church.  It indicates to every generation that the church is alive and well and actually growing in a direction.  I think it displays a legacy to our senior saints and validates all of the years that they have been teaching, working, sweating, and bleeding for the local church.  They look around and see young people from five years old to thirty five years old and realize that it was all worth it! 

So what’s my point?  I suppose my point is that I want the young adults who may be reading this to understand their potential in the church.  Your church needs you.  We NEED you.  We need for you to take the Bible seriously.  We need for you to get up on Sunday morning (or whenever you have a Bible study available) and get to church.  We need for you to grow in faith and stop being mere consumers of the gospel.  We need for you to dig into your Bible and find a willing mentor who will help you to navigate the tough things you encounter.  We need for you to assimilate faith into action and help us to advance the Kingdom of God!  We need for you to make Jesus your first priority and rearrange your life as such.  You are NOT the future of the church, but the very real present.