You've heard about the plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero. A lot of people oppose placing a mosque there. I've heard some people say that the government should do something to stop the construction of this Islamic center.
There was a time in this land when government agencies knew the value of restricting the practices of religious groups considered radical, even to the point of placing limits on where the radicals could worship. I know of a case where a government agency in this land sealed off a house of worship, nailing the doors shut, because the beliefs of the group meeting there were considered dangerous. The government passed a law that "no person should erect or make use of a house for public worship, without license from the authorities." Of course the authorities saw to it that no licenses were issued for this disturbing religious sect.
Oh, wait a minute. These restrictions on houses of worship were directed against Baptists. In 1679 Boston Baptists constructed their first building and the government kicked them out of it and passed an ex post facto law to make sure that Baptists would build no more houses of worship. The beliefs of Baptists were considered a blight on society and the majority agreed that they didn't want any Baptist churches built in that city.
It is because of such persecution that Baptists were in the forefront of the struggle to secure complete religious liberty in this nation. They believed that religious freedom should be a fundamental right and so they declared that people of all faiths should be able to worship when they want and where they want. Baptists were instrumental in the effort to establish the United States as the first place on earth that favored no religion and placed no restrictions on the religious practices of anyone of any faith.
I realize there are raw emotions connected to the events of September 11, 2001. But should we allow these emotions to consume a right that is fundamental to defining the United States as a free country?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Managing God's grace
If you are a Christ-follower then you are a manager--a manager of God's grace.
According to 1 Peter 4:10, the followers of Christ are managers of God's grace in its various forms. Think of it! A manager of the grace of God. Doesn't that sound like an important job?
However, being a member of Christ's management team isn't the same as typical notions of being a manager in corporate America. While management positions are often seen as power positions, 1 Peter 4:10 indicates that we become faithful mangers of God's grace by using the gifts that God has given to us to serve others.
After we have begun a journey of faith with Christ, the Christian life is not primarily about you feeling good or getting the stuff you want or being comfortable in your little version of the American Dream. No, my friends, the name of the game is using whatever God has given you in service to others.
In this way you become a faithful manager of God's grace and it is only as you faithfully manage God's grace that you will find the meaning that you seek.
According to 1 Peter 4:10, the followers of Christ are managers of God's grace in its various forms. Think of it! A manager of the grace of God. Doesn't that sound like an important job?
However, being a member of Christ's management team isn't the same as typical notions of being a manager in corporate America. While management positions are often seen as power positions, 1 Peter 4:10 indicates that we become faithful mangers of God's grace by using the gifts that God has given to us to serve others.
After we have begun a journey of faith with Christ, the Christian life is not primarily about you feeling good or getting the stuff you want or being comfortable in your little version of the American Dream. No, my friends, the name of the game is using whatever God has given you in service to others.
In this way you become a faithful manager of God's grace and it is only as you faithfully manage God's grace that you will find the meaning that you seek.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Above All Else (Part 1)
This past Sunday I began a series of sermons entitled "Above All Else" that will focus on sayings from the Bible that begin with that phrase or something similar. It seems a little strange to preach a multi-part sermon series with the title "Above All Else." Since "above all else" prefaces what is considered most important, you would think that there would be only one sermon in the series, in which case it would not be a series at all. But the various biblical "above all else" sayings were delivered largely to different audiences at different times and the most important concern for one group at one time was not necessarily the most important concern for another group at another time.
On Sunday we considered Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (NIV). If I could add a subtitle to this verse I would borrow a refrain from a Counting Crows song: "You don't wanna waste your life."
Your life springs from your heart--your inner being. So guard your heart because you don't want to waste your life. But how do you guard your heart?
The answer reveals that, somewhat ironically to the thinking of our culture, there is an inextricable link between your inner life and your outward actions. In Proverbs 4:24-27 you are told to watch your mouth and to walk a path of proper behavior and moral integrity. So you guard your inner being, from which your life springs, by guarding your outward behavior. There is not such a hard and fast division between our inner lives and our outward actions. Each one shapes the other.
We considered this passage as we approached the Lord's Table, an act of worship through which we remember the cross where Jesus showed us his heart through his outward actions. I can't think of a better lens for bringing the teaching of Proverbs 4:23 into sharper focus. How do you guard your heart? Live according to Jesus' example of expressing sacrificial love on behalf of those in need. May our hearts be shaped more like our Lord's as we steadfastly follow him.
Because we don't wanna waste our lives.
On Sunday we considered Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (NIV). If I could add a subtitle to this verse I would borrow a refrain from a Counting Crows song: "You don't wanna waste your life."
Your life springs from your heart--your inner being. So guard your heart because you don't want to waste your life. But how do you guard your heart?
The answer reveals that, somewhat ironically to the thinking of our culture, there is an inextricable link between your inner life and your outward actions. In Proverbs 4:24-27 you are told to watch your mouth and to walk a path of proper behavior and moral integrity. So you guard your inner being, from which your life springs, by guarding your outward behavior. There is not such a hard and fast division between our inner lives and our outward actions. Each one shapes the other.
We considered this passage as we approached the Lord's Table, an act of worship through which we remember the cross where Jesus showed us his heart through his outward actions. I can't think of a better lens for bringing the teaching of Proverbs 4:23 into sharper focus. How do you guard your heart? Live according to Jesus' example of expressing sacrificial love on behalf of those in need. May our hearts be shaped more like our Lord's as we steadfastly follow him.
Because we don't wanna waste our lives.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Spirit is in the community of faith
This morning, on the eve of Pentecost, I was poking around online and pondering the Holy Spirit. I found a few lines of Barry Litfin that are worth mulling over. A few years ago he wrote a book entitled Getting to know the Church Fathers in which he addressed his concern that evangelicals of today tend to cast aside and important part of their heritage. In an interview at christianitytoday.com, Litfin was asked about the role of the Holy Spirit. His response offers an appropriate reminder for evangelicals. Here is that response and, remember, "pneumatology" is the study of the Holy Spirit and "ecclesiology" is the study of the church:
What do you think? Do we tend to overemphasize the indwelling of the Spirit in the individual believer and downplay the role of the Holy Spirit in the the church as a whole?
The Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity who indwells the believer, but also believers collectively as the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity who indwells the church. What you have to do is
intertwine ecclesiology and pneumatology.
The role of the Holy Spirit that evangelicals typically tap into is "the Spirit in me." So I've got the Spirit and I can sit and look at the text, and I can figure it out. But that's not really the only way to think about the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, but he is also indwelling the fullness of the church.
What a proper pneumatology does is move us away from pure ndividualism and move us toward a high ecclesiology that is willing to then look at the collective witness of the church, which I would define as tradition. The Holy Spirit's role, as much as it is to illumine my personal understanding of Scripture, perhaps even more is to illumine the body as a whole. At which I can partake of that gift of time-honored inheritance.
What do you think? Do we tend to overemphasize the indwelling of the Spirit in the individual believer and downplay the role of the Holy Spirit in the the church as a whole?
Monday, May 10, 2010
God lives here
Terri and I are trying to decide where to go during an upcoming vacation. One of the options under consideration is the Ellerbe Springs Inn in Ellerbe, North Carolina. This facility is now a bed and breakfast and restaurant. I believe several buildings have been added down through the years, but the original house was built in 1820.
I called the folks at the Ellerbe Springs Inn and asked a few questions about the place. Locals have told me that Eleanor Roosevelt once stayed there so I asked which room she stayed in during her visit. I was told that the First Lady stayed in room 4, which has a queen bed, a full bath and a fireplace.
I don't have a historian's account of Roosevelt's visit to Ellerbe, but locals have told me that she didn't stay overnight. According to the story relayed to me, she rested for a little while in room 4 as her party was passing through town. If this is not an accurate presentation of the facts, perhaps someone familiar with this bit of history will correct me.
Ellerbe locals still talk about Eleanor Roosevelt's visit. Last month Lottie Ussery of Ellerbe celebrated her 91st birthday. According to the local paper, Mrs. Ussery's claim to fame is that "she was secretary at Ellerbe Springs during the time that Eleanor Roosevelt visited Ellerbe." Decades later, the fact that a famous person paused for a few minutes in Ellerbe still generates buzz.
We all tend to get excited when we have contact with famous people. I know someone who had a summer job at a restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia as a student and she was thrilled that she once served lunch to Robert Redford. I know someone else who was elated that she ran into Julia Roberts on a city street. As a teenager I got to meet Jimmy Carter in the White House Rose Garden and I still remember the event vividly. (If I live to be 91 is that the fact that will make the paper?)
If we get so excited over brief encounters with celebrities you would think the followers of Christ would be ecstatic over a constant spiritual reality in their lives. According to John 14:23-24, God makes God's home with those who love the Lord. We're not talking about a chance encounter of a few moments with an earthly star. We're talking about the almighty God of the universe making God's own dwelling place with those who love the Lord.
That's a reality worth staying excited about. Do we live like we believe it to be true?
I called the folks at the Ellerbe Springs Inn and asked a few questions about the place. Locals have told me that Eleanor Roosevelt once stayed there so I asked which room she stayed in during her visit. I was told that the First Lady stayed in room 4, which has a queen bed, a full bath and a fireplace.
I don't have a historian's account of Roosevelt's visit to Ellerbe, but locals have told me that she didn't stay overnight. According to the story relayed to me, she rested for a little while in room 4 as her party was passing through town. If this is not an accurate presentation of the facts, perhaps someone familiar with this bit of history will correct me.
Ellerbe locals still talk about Eleanor Roosevelt's visit. Last month Lottie Ussery of Ellerbe celebrated her 91st birthday. According to the local paper, Mrs. Ussery's claim to fame is that "she was secretary at Ellerbe Springs during the time that Eleanor Roosevelt visited Ellerbe." Decades later, the fact that a famous person paused for a few minutes in Ellerbe still generates buzz.
We all tend to get excited when we have contact with famous people. I know someone who had a summer job at a restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia as a student and she was thrilled that she once served lunch to Robert Redford. I know someone else who was elated that she ran into Julia Roberts on a city street. As a teenager I got to meet Jimmy Carter in the White House Rose Garden and I still remember the event vividly. (If I live to be 91 is that the fact that will make the paper?)
If we get so excited over brief encounters with celebrities you would think the followers of Christ would be ecstatic over a constant spiritual reality in their lives. According to John 14:23-24, God makes God's home with those who love the Lord. We're not talking about a chance encounter of a few moments with an earthly star. We're talking about the almighty God of the universe making God's own dwelling place with those who love the Lord.
That's a reality worth staying excited about. Do we live like we believe it to be true?
Friday, May 7, 2010
Why I love and don't love Mother's Day
As a son, I love Mother's Day. I have a great mother and I love her and I will tell her these things on the second Sunday in May. As a pastor, however, I confess that I don't like Mother's Day because it is a day that is more hurtful than joyous for many.
I think it was 21 years ago when I was an associate pastor in Texas that I had to handle the recognition of mothers in worship on Mother's Day. The senior pastor was absent and I had been told specifically how to handle the task of honoring mothers in keeping with the tradition of that church. Each mother was to receive a flower and I was to read a sentimental poem about the greatness of mothers.
As instructed, I asked the mothers to stand and the flowers began to be distributed as I began to read the poem. But, only seconds into the flower distribution and the reading of the poem, the church organist on the front pew sat back down and began to sob uncontrollably. Her obvious grief could be heard all through the sanctuary. Her son had died a little less than a year before. Smiles evaporated and tears began forming in the eyes of many in that place of worship as we all connected with the sorrow of one mother.
In my faith tradition many churches, on Mother's Day, recognize the oldest mother, the youngest mother and the mother with the most children. I've never quite understood what was being honored in this practice. Why do these mothers deserve to be singled out above others? How does the age, youth or number of children of a mother merit special recognition? And what about the mothers like that church organist for whom Mother's Day, rather than being a day of celebration, is a day of intense sadness? Should these mothers be ignored?
As a senior pastor I have never followed the typical pattern of recognition on Mother's Day. For many years I asked worshippers who were either mothers or who were born of a mother to stand. Of course everyone stood. I then pointed out that all of us were touched in some way on Mother's Day and for many it is a very difficult day for a host of reasons. I always encourage the congregation to be sensitive to and supportive of those for whom Mother's Day is hard. Often I have made available copies of articles written by mothers and others who had a tough time on Mother's Day.
Over the years I have known numerous regular worshippers who make a point not to go to church on Mother's Day because it is just too hard for them. I am well aware that the second Sunday in May is a joyous celebration for many families. But I also know that Mother's Day really hurts for many. The family of God must attempt to effectively and equally "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15, TNIV).
It is interesting that the mother who inspired the creation of Mother's Day, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, was a crusader for positive social change. As an expression of her love for Christ she organized Mother's Day Work Clubs that raised money to help needy people obtain medications they could not afford and promoted peace during the Civil War and healing between the North and South after the war. When her daughter succeeded in establishing Mother's Day as a national observance, the younger Jarvis was appalled that the day established in honor of a woman devoted to social change quickly became a day of profit for flower retailers and greeting card sellers.
I wonder if recovering some of the spirit of Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis in our Mother's Day observances might make them a little less painful for many.
I think it was 21 years ago when I was an associate pastor in Texas that I had to handle the recognition of mothers in worship on Mother's Day. The senior pastor was absent and I had been told specifically how to handle the task of honoring mothers in keeping with the tradition of that church. Each mother was to receive a flower and I was to read a sentimental poem about the greatness of mothers.
As instructed, I asked the mothers to stand and the flowers began to be distributed as I began to read the poem. But, only seconds into the flower distribution and the reading of the poem, the church organist on the front pew sat back down and began to sob uncontrollably. Her obvious grief could be heard all through the sanctuary. Her son had died a little less than a year before. Smiles evaporated and tears began forming in the eyes of many in that place of worship as we all connected with the sorrow of one mother.
In my faith tradition many churches, on Mother's Day, recognize the oldest mother, the youngest mother and the mother with the most children. I've never quite understood what was being honored in this practice. Why do these mothers deserve to be singled out above others? How does the age, youth or number of children of a mother merit special recognition? And what about the mothers like that church organist for whom Mother's Day, rather than being a day of celebration, is a day of intense sadness? Should these mothers be ignored?
As a senior pastor I have never followed the typical pattern of recognition on Mother's Day. For many years I asked worshippers who were either mothers or who were born of a mother to stand. Of course everyone stood. I then pointed out that all of us were touched in some way on Mother's Day and for many it is a very difficult day for a host of reasons. I always encourage the congregation to be sensitive to and supportive of those for whom Mother's Day is hard. Often I have made available copies of articles written by mothers and others who had a tough time on Mother's Day.
Over the years I have known numerous regular worshippers who make a point not to go to church on Mother's Day because it is just too hard for them. I am well aware that the second Sunday in May is a joyous celebration for many families. But I also know that Mother's Day really hurts for many. The family of God must attempt to effectively and equally "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15, TNIV).
It is interesting that the mother who inspired the creation of Mother's Day, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, was a crusader for positive social change. As an expression of her love for Christ she organized Mother's Day Work Clubs that raised money to help needy people obtain medications they could not afford and promoted peace during the Civil War and healing between the North and South after the war. When her daughter succeeded in establishing Mother's Day as a national observance, the younger Jarvis was appalled that the day established in honor of a woman devoted to social change quickly became a day of profit for flower retailers and greeting card sellers.
I wonder if recovering some of the spirit of Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis in our Mother's Day observances might make them a little less painful for many.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Reasonless love
Above is a picture of Maxie, a dog belonging to my wife, Terri. I read an article by Mark Galli entitled "Love Needs No Reason" at christianitytoday.com and it reminded me of Maxie. The above picture may not do this dog justice—she may be even, um, less pretty than this photo indicates. Frankly the consensus of Terri’s friends and family members is that Maxie is, well, ugly.
One of Terri's friends, Bruce, works at Brunswick Hospital. Some years back he asked Terri if he could have a picture of Maxie. Terri asked why he wanted such a photo and Bruce explained that the hospital were having an ugliest dog contest and he was pretty sure that he could win with a picture of Maxie.
I think it was sometime last year that my father called Terri and expressed his sympathy to her. Terri wanted to know why he was expressing sympathy and he explained that he had seen a news story that the world’s ugliest dog died and so he was sorry to hear that Maxie passed away. (Maxie was and is fine, by the way.)
Let me tell you how Terri came to have Maxie. This dog wasn’t a stray that showed up at the house and hung around. Terri chose this dog on purpose. She even paid good money for it. A few years ago she took a notion that she wanted a lapdog and she went over to the pound. Maxie was a puppy then and she came over and peed on Terri’s foot. So Terri kept her.
Obviously she did not pick Maxie because of her great beauty. She did not pick her because she was nice to her when they met. Yet, even though she had no apparent reason for it, Terri loved and still loves Maxie. That dog sleeps curled up against Terri.
God’s love for us is sort of like that. God doesn’t love you because you are really pretty or smart or for any other fine attribute that you possess. God even loves us and sacrificed himself for us in spite of the fact that we have all peed on his foot as it were. God loves us for no reason at all. God’s love does not need a reason.
And that’s the way it’s supposed to be with our love for others. Our love must be reasonless because God’s love is reasonless.
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