Monday, February 24, 2014
Reflections on a Sunday
Sometimes it works smoothly, sometimes not so much. And then comes the time when you are again surprised at the goodness of God.
As I wrote up my sermon notes early in the week, I had my doubts. It was a particularly hard passage of Scripture to preach. It was a simple story with very specific application, and not a wide appeal. I thought about skipping it and moving on to something better, but my heart and my soul and the Spirit kept me there.
I struggled to make it interesting. I felt like it was flat and kind of boring. But I stuck with it, and figured I would do the best I could, and let it be. If the Lord wanted that Scripture preached, He would have to bring the zing. In my mind, it was destined to be a dud. But what do I know?
Amazing what happens when you get yourself out of the way and let God be God. When Sunday came, I let it loose, and - if I am permitted to say so - it was pretty terrific. People smiled. They said Amen. At one point, they burst into spontaneous applause. There were some wet eyes. God moved in our midst.
I think that I am going to let God be in charge all the time. It will be better that way.
Thanks to all my Charles Town Baptist friends. I love you, and I am humbled to be your pastor.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Why Church Still Matters
A well known columnist that comments on contemporary life in these United States has identified our culture as postmodern and post-Christian America. That may be so. We are postmodern, certainly. Modernism did not save us, our technology has made our world more comfortable, but it has not made human nature any better. We still fight and struggle with ourselves and one another as much or more as any time in human history.
Post-Christian America? Perhaps. I am confident that church and Christian faith are not as central to our society than they were fifty or a hundred years ago. On the whole, we are more inclusive and accepting of other religious expressions, cultures, and worldviews. The percentage of Americans that attend church services on a regular basis is far less than it was even twenty years ago. The trends of morality (ooh, controversy!) are drifting further from a biblical picture, and more to a humanistic expression.
But does Church still matter in America? Does the Church as an establishment of culture still have something to say? I believe it does. And I am optimistic enough to believe that the best days of Christian faith and Church in America are ahead of us, rather than behind us.
Church still matters because we need some balance to the violence and animosity that pervades our society. As if there is not enough violence in the streets and homes of our nation, we make up more violence and call it entertainment. In a world where people pay money to watch dramatized hatred and murder, someone needs to talk about peace and forgiveness. The world needs to be reminded on a regular basis that love is a better option than bitterness, and that talking about our differences is better than throwing stones. Or fists or bullets.
Church still matters because we are made for community. Humans are social creatures, and as easy as it is to connect though Facebook, Twitter, email, and the rest, there is no substitute for personal contact, face-to-face, in which we build healthy and abiding relationships. Church provides a ready-made setting for honest and constructive social interaction that adds value to our lives. And, no church people are not perfect, either. But most of us are well-intentioned, decent people doing the best we can to deal with our own dysfunctions.
Church still matters because there really is more going on here than meets the eye. While science and technology refuses to acknowledge anything beyond the empirically measurable, most of us have an innate knowledge that we humans are than a collection of molecules or a system of biology. We are made with a soul and despite the science, we all experience love, fear, compassion, anxiety, and desire. We long to know the bigger questions of meaning and purpose and what really happens when we die. Church exists to help us find some answers to the really big mysteries of life.
When I look around this world, and I see the beauty and wonder of it, and at the same time see the tragedy and pain, I am reminded that we are in fact the product of a wonderful Creator who cares for us deeply, but something has gone terribly wrong. The train has jumped the track, and we are need of restoration. Church helps me understand how and why these things work. Church helps me reconcile my own brokenness, find some bits of peace to cultivate in my own dark heart, and be a better person than I would be otherwise.
Churches come in all different kinds and shapes and styles. Find one that you can live with and be a part of something good. Find a minister that has something to say worth hearing. You don't have to agree with everything. Neither do you have to leave your sanity at the door and be a fanatic. But if you walk in the door with an open mind and a smile, I am confident that you will be welcome, you will find a friend or two, and you might even enjoy yourself. Church matters still, because people matter most.
Post-Christian America? Perhaps. I am confident that church and Christian faith are not as central to our society than they were fifty or a hundred years ago. On the whole, we are more inclusive and accepting of other religious expressions, cultures, and worldviews. The percentage of Americans that attend church services on a regular basis is far less than it was even twenty years ago. The trends of morality (ooh, controversy!) are drifting further from a biblical picture, and more to a humanistic expression.
But does Church still matter in America? Does the Church as an establishment of culture still have something to say? I believe it does. And I am optimistic enough to believe that the best days of Christian faith and Church in America are ahead of us, rather than behind us.
Church still matters because we need some balance to the violence and animosity that pervades our society. As if there is not enough violence in the streets and homes of our nation, we make up more violence and call it entertainment. In a world where people pay money to watch dramatized hatred and murder, someone needs to talk about peace and forgiveness. The world needs to be reminded on a regular basis that love is a better option than bitterness, and that talking about our differences is better than throwing stones. Or fists or bullets.
Church still matters because we are made for community. Humans are social creatures, and as easy as it is to connect though Facebook, Twitter, email, and the rest, there is no substitute for personal contact, face-to-face, in which we build healthy and abiding relationships. Church provides a ready-made setting for honest and constructive social interaction that adds value to our lives. And, no church people are not perfect, either. But most of us are well-intentioned, decent people doing the best we can to deal with our own dysfunctions.
Church still matters because there really is more going on here than meets the eye. While science and technology refuses to acknowledge anything beyond the empirically measurable, most of us have an innate knowledge that we humans are than a collection of molecules or a system of biology. We are made with a soul and despite the science, we all experience love, fear, compassion, anxiety, and desire. We long to know the bigger questions of meaning and purpose and what really happens when we die. Church exists to help us find some answers to the really big mysteries of life.
When I look around this world, and I see the beauty and wonder of it, and at the same time see the tragedy and pain, I am reminded that we are in fact the product of a wonderful Creator who cares for us deeply, but something has gone terribly wrong. The train has jumped the track, and we are need of restoration. Church helps me understand how and why these things work. Church helps me reconcile my own brokenness, find some bits of peace to cultivate in my own dark heart, and be a better person than I would be otherwise.
Churches come in all different kinds and shapes and styles. Find one that you can live with and be a part of something good. Find a minister that has something to say worth hearing. You don't have to agree with everything. Neither do you have to leave your sanity at the door and be a fanatic. But if you walk in the door with an open mind and a smile, I am confident that you will be welcome, you will find a friend or two, and you might even enjoy yourself. Church matters still, because people matter most.
Monday, January 20, 2014
We can disagree, but why must we be so disagreeable about it?
I have some friends who are staunch biblical conservatives, apply a very literal interpretation of the Bible, and take a conservative stand on all the hot button issues of today regarding morality and behavior. I understand where they are coming from, I respect their right to their position, and I sometimes cringe at the words that come out of their mouths.
I have some other friends who are proudly liberal. They are progressive in their theology, inclusive in their practices, and proclaim grace above all else. Except, of course, to those who are staunch conservatives and disagree with them. As with my other friends, I understand their position, and I sometimes cringe at their words, too.
We Christians seem to make a sport out of bashing one another. Within the wide spectrum of those who claim to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth, there is diversity, dissension, and a lot of finger pointing. We seem to have arranged ourselves into the camps of liberal, moderate, conservative, with the intention of proclaiming the superiority of our own position, that that my ideas are more "Godly" than the others, and apparently, Jesus likes me best.
Oddly enough, in the Bible, I have found an entirely different story. When Jesus encountered the broken people of his day, the social outcasts, the poor and needy, the sick and grieving, He simply loved them for who they were, expressed compassion and healing to them, and proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Jesus never condoned or excused sin, but he always loved people in spite of their sin. As far as I can tell, the only people that Jesus ever got really mad at were the religious experts who thought they knew better than everyone else.
At the heart of all sin is a core of self importance, self righteousness, and self promotion (You can look up the verses in Isaiah 14:12-15). In the bickering and finger pointing over the social concerns of today, with each camp shouting the benefit and blessedness of his own opinion, there is a foundation of self justification and self righteousness that seems mighty far away from anything that Jesus was ever talking about.
In today's changing world, the political, social, and moral issues about which we tend to argue over are essentially spiritual in nature. And as spiritual people, they are important to us and are expressed as an extension of our faith. And yes, we disagree. But my disagreements do not mean I hate those I disagree with, nor does it justify my behavior to be mean spirited or condescending to those who have another opinion.
A rather wise colleague of mine once said, "In the world of 24 hour news, the one who shouts the loudest decides what the truth is." And in the journalistic entertainment world, we see the wisdom of those words. But when churches and so-called spiritually wise people attempt the same technique, the result is a shouting match with no winners, only losers. Meanwhile, the non-religious folks watch and wonder what is wrong with us.
For all my liberal and conservative friends, if I have any left, let's try some civil discourse, respect for one another, and rather than point a finger, maybe we could talk over a cup of coffee. And at least act a little bit like Jesus in our disagreements.
I have some other friends who are proudly liberal. They are progressive in their theology, inclusive in their practices, and proclaim grace above all else. Except, of course, to those who are staunch conservatives and disagree with them. As with my other friends, I understand their position, and I sometimes cringe at their words, too.
We Christians seem to make a sport out of bashing one another. Within the wide spectrum of those who claim to be followers of Jesus of Nazareth, there is diversity, dissension, and a lot of finger pointing. We seem to have arranged ourselves into the camps of liberal, moderate, conservative, with the intention of proclaiming the superiority of our own position, that that my ideas are more "Godly" than the others, and apparently, Jesus likes me best.
Oddly enough, in the Bible, I have found an entirely different story. When Jesus encountered the broken people of his day, the social outcasts, the poor and needy, the sick and grieving, He simply loved them for who they were, expressed compassion and healing to them, and proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Jesus never condoned or excused sin, but he always loved people in spite of their sin. As far as I can tell, the only people that Jesus ever got really mad at were the religious experts who thought they knew better than everyone else.
At the heart of all sin is a core of self importance, self righteousness, and self promotion (You can look up the verses in Isaiah 14:12-15). In the bickering and finger pointing over the social concerns of today, with each camp shouting the benefit and blessedness of his own opinion, there is a foundation of self justification and self righteousness that seems mighty far away from anything that Jesus was ever talking about.
In today's changing world, the political, social, and moral issues about which we tend to argue over are essentially spiritual in nature. And as spiritual people, they are important to us and are expressed as an extension of our faith. And yes, we disagree. But my disagreements do not mean I hate those I disagree with, nor does it justify my behavior to be mean spirited or condescending to those who have another opinion.
A rather wise colleague of mine once said, "In the world of 24 hour news, the one who shouts the loudest decides what the truth is." And in the journalistic entertainment world, we see the wisdom of those words. But when churches and so-called spiritually wise people attempt the same technique, the result is a shouting match with no winners, only losers. Meanwhile, the non-religious folks watch and wonder what is wrong with us.
For all my liberal and conservative friends, if I have any left, let's try some civil discourse, respect for one another, and rather than point a finger, maybe we could talk over a cup of coffee. And at least act a little bit like Jesus in our disagreements.
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