Illuminating a Dark World

We have spent incalculable hours plopped in uncomfortable pews listening to the various ways we can build up our brothers and sisters in Christ. We promote every conceivable method to glue our members together; ice cream socials, finger food brunches, and dinner-on-the-grounds to name a few, yet how often are we encouraged to step outside our fellowship, and mingle with the sinner who really needs our help?how often are we encouraged to step outside our fellowship, and mingle with the sinner who really needs our help?

Often, after hearing the typical Sunday morning sermon, we are left with the impression that we are to separate ourselves from the sinner completely; yes, this helps remove their influence on our lives, but it also removes our influence in their lives. We can continue to ignore the sinner on their own turf, or maybe just wait for them to show up at the church building...isn't that a novel idea!

Several churches I'm aware of practice love to the max, but primarily among themselves. Too often we get so involved in our own church relationships that we overlook those on the outside. The church should be a refuge of love for the Christian, but not a place to hide from the sinner who needs our help.

Our light shines brightest when those around us have no lamps. Going into a dark sinful world is often scary and not very pleasant, but Jesus set the example of associating with sinners in order to teach them the good news, and if we ignore their silent pleas for help, we are missing the point and looking the wrong direction. Jesus set the example in Matthew 9:12,13:

But when he heard it, he said, "those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

update; the children are back

In an earlier post; Let the little children come, I wrestled with the problem of keeping children in Sunday School when the parents obviously could care less, and made no provision for their spiritual welfare. The three children mentioned in that post attended with their visiting Grandmother, but when she returned home they disappeared for months.

Just wanted to let those who commented on this post, as well as others that dropped by, that with a lot of effort and tons of prayer from the church, the Sunday School teacher arranged for the children to be picked up on Sunday mornings, and once again we're blessed to see their smiling faces.

God certainly works in marvelous ways; when we are dazed and staggered by seemingly impossible situations with no answers at hand, or on the horizon, He already has the solution. By trusting Him, persevering in our endeavors to solve the problem, and even quietly waiting for God's perfect timing, we eventually see daylight at the end of the tunnel, and the perfect answer to our prayers.

church identity crisis, or a needed adjustment

The Christian Chronicle currently features an article by Bobby Ross Jr posing the question whether or not the church is facing an identity crisis. Many different opinions are noted in this feature story, but it's obvious while many differ on why there is an identity crisis, most agree this is occurring in the Church of Christ.

Another discussion of this identity crisis can be found at Scott Freeman's blog. Comments on his post also point out that this identity problem is happening throughout the Restoration churches.

I would venture to opine that the only ones not having this identity crisis are those in the my-way-or-the-highway churches (including some COC groups) that have always maintained they alone are the true church of Christ. While many churches are pulling their heads out of the sand and seeking new ways to help their communities and communicate Jesus to the lost, many of our legalistic brethren are still oblivious to change, and honestly believe they already have everything down exactly as the Lord reveals, and certainly don't need to make any corrections. If you disagree with one of theses churches YOU are the one having an identity crisis!

Scott Freeman wrote; "I often wonder how big the table of fellowship might be." For some churches a very small table would suffice. Any church groups believing they alone are blessed with perfect scriptural interpretation will always find plenty of elbow room around their fellowship table. Any church groups believing they alone are blessed with perfect scriptural interpretation will always find plenty of elbow room around their fellowship table. Judging other believers as lost unless they lockstep to our particular belief system guarantees a small fellowship.

If Christians are having this crisis, just imagine the difficulty of those outside the body of Christ seeking to identify with a church! It's impossible for all of us to arrive at the same conclusions about every verse of scripture, and until we can agree to disagree, and still love and fellowship each other, we will continue to have a church identity problem.

No doubt many churches are having an identity crisis; perhaps this is God's way of drawing His children together around a larger table, where there is room for all Christians to extend their hands in fellowship, fully united in the body of Christ.

the traditional lord's supper

When we follow the same traditional worship service formula for years without the slightest deviation in form, our worship service becomes etched in stone. Any changes, even slight variations, are often deemed unacceptable, even sinful, by those who have adopted as absolute truth, the traditions of men.

Man-made traditions are not always horrible monsters, but become monsters when some in the church insist only these traditions are acceptable to God. Often scripture is twisted to fit a particular belief system, then thrust on the rest of the church as gospel truth. Traditions, over time, take on an aura of respectability regardless of their merit.

Commenting on John Dobbs site recently I listed a few traditional habits we often follow when participating in the communion service. The following practices are easily recognized by many in the church, and are absolute prerequisites (tongue-in-cheek somewhat) when commemorating the Lord's supper:

• Always place the little lacy tablecloth on the communion table properly.
• Always center the trays on the communion table; bread to the left of course.
• Wear a coat, shinny shoes, and a rag tied around your neck.
• When walking to the front be sure to get in step so all things will be done decently and in order.
• Use the little plastic cups that the older members can't grasp, and men with large hands can’t get out of the tray.
• Use the same prayers week after week so there is no confusion about what is going on.
• Women can pass the emblems horizontally (from side-to-side while seated) to men, but not vertically (while standing.)
  
• When the communion service is completed, and just prior to the giving process, be sure to say, “this is not a part of the communion service, but is a convenient time to give of our means.”

The list can go on forever. Following these steps will ensure a robotic communion service that any unthinking Christian can participate in without the slightest need to think outside the box. Not that all these practices are inappropriate, but with no variations over the years they become so engraved in our mind as being the only acceptable methods that anyone guilty of changing the format in the slightest is considered a suspect Christian.

once more with gusto

After a three-month hiatus since my "There's always a final post" statement, and missing the astute comments from my brilliant blog friends, I have once again decided to leap in with both feet, and drag my old occasional opinion blog back into the public arena.

This blog continues to see the need (even if with a small voice) to question the dangerous human traditions that continue to swirl around many in the Church of Christ separating them from not only other groups spawned within the Restoration Movement, but from other believers in Jesus as well. Thankfully, an ever increasing number in the COC realize they have brothers and sisters outside their little groups, and work overtime to extend their hands in fellowship to those once considered too imperfect to wear His name.

As always feel free to comment; our opinions will often differ, but hopefully not our dedication to follow Jesus faithfully.

final thoughts

There's always a final post...

It's time to head off in a different direction, and limit my time on the computer. I will continue reading and tossing out an occasional opinion on your blogs.

Thanks to everyone who took time to read my posts, and those who left so many great comments. I have been blessed to know you; I pray God will watch over you at all times.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

a sobering statistic

Living in an affluent society has a tendency to insulate us from the pain and hunger children experience every day in some parts of the world. God knows and loves every child, and surely as His children we are responsible (to the best of our ability) to make a difference in their lives. If we honestly proclaim Jesus as our Lord, and walk in His path, we can't ignore or side-step our obligation to help these children.

Lifeline of Hope, an international orphan aid & adoption organization, in their Nov 2006 Family Bulletin included this sobering statistic:

By the end of this day...and every day, thirty thousand children will be lost to disease, war, starvation, suicide, drugs and murder throughout our world. The saddest part of this heart-wrenching statistic is that each and every death is needless and preventable!

What else needs to be said!

let the little children come

There must be some way to help children learn about Jesus even when their parents could care less. While I'm not always pleased with the Sunday School System in our churches, I am convinced they are a boon for children who, for whatever reason, may not be reached by any other method.

Recently a grandmother (out of state member of the COC) came into our area for a few months to help her daughter (who is not currently in church) during some difficult times. Grandmother always brought her three grandchildren to Sunday school, but now since moving back to her home state the children no longer have anyone in their family concerned with getting them up and ready on Sunday morning

I mentioned my concern to the grandmother that the children might have a difficult time getting to church after she left, and offered to help in any way necessary so they could continue meeting with us; she thought she could influence her daughter to bring the children on Sunday, but a month later and nothing seems to be happening! I discovered the parents are separated, and the children are bouncing around like crazy, so it may be difficult to form a viable plan that will insure the children have the opportunity to continue their biblical education.

There was a time when parents allowed almost anyone to pick up their kids and take them to church, but since the advent of the religious pervert most parents are shying away from this option...and I don't blame them!

So, what is a good plan to help children attend Sunday School when the parents obviously don't care?

wait for the lord

Job was a shining exemplar of trust and patience, he waited for the Lord to make His point, and trusted Him for deliverance. Americans seem to seldom practice patience anymore; any new trinket that catches our fancy must be seized immediately, even if our pockets are empty, and our checking account has bottomed-out. We circumvent the problem with good old Yankee ingenuity; we grab the plastic monster and charge! Waiting is not the favorite pastime for most of us, we want it right now. Yep, I'm guilty too!

While impatience in a secular society is often dangerous, it can become a major disaster in the spiritual realm if we're not willing to wait for the Lord:

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14 ESV

Too often we ask favors of God, but when instant answers are not forthcoming we become impatient and frustrated, and doubt God's ability to deliver as promised. Often it's difficult to realize that Gods timetable in no way resembles ours. How often do we give up too soon while the Lord is still in the process of answering our prayers?

Patience is one tough attribute to possess, but we need to trust more in the Lord, and try real hard to get a better grasp of His eternal timetable.

robotic christians

We all know Christians who have thoughtlessly accepted their parents religion as gospel truth, and hoisted the same age-old personal opinions and lifeless traditions on their backs as their parents bore. Not that everything our forefathers believed and practiced is wrong, but anything that effects our eternal salvation should be accepted only after thorough investigation in the light of God's word.

Each of us will stand or fall before God's judgement alone; it will do us absolutely no good to point our bony fingers at some other person blaming them for our failures. Being a Christian is not a robotic existence where we follow blindly the teachings of men, rather an active participation in following Jesus wherever He leads.

Strolling through life haphazardly without sensing God's presence, and doing His work out of habit rather than love can be lethal to the soul. Everyday (24/7) we are in the presence of our Creator as His angels minister in our behalf, and we are beneficiaries of His eternal promises; surely this should inspire us to live vibrant and gracious lives before Him, not following by habit, but by faith and love.

While spiritual perfection will always elude us, we acknowledge the sacrificial blood of Jesus, and our confessed faith in Him certainly gives us abundant hope. Mimicking Christianity as a lifeless robot is not cool, but living a spirit filled life is the answer. There is great news though:

He saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ESV Titus 3: 5-7

We are blessed; God loves us beyond measure.

my way or the highway

Divisions in the body of Christ are wrong!

It's amazing how easy it is over time to forge a belief system based on our personal interpretation of scripture supported by our dubious common sense.

We often harbor opinions of our parents, relatives, and church family without really understanding the history of these opinions. Often these opinions are embedded in us from birth and have no basis in fact, yet we are primed and more than willing to fuss and fight at the drop of a hat to defend our perception of truth with anyone daring to state an opposing viewpoint.

It's time to reach out to others who don't share our opinions, and let them know we consider them our brothers and sisters without condemning them for what we consider infractions of our "church" rules; not treating them like misguided children, but as equals in God's kingdom.

Many moons ago I honestly believed anyone not professing to be a bona fide member of "our" one and only church (Church of Christ) was apostate; thus only those of us who shared the same personal interpretation of scripture were in favor with God...you can imagine the fate of those who disagreed with us!

There are now, and will be in the future, non-essential opinions that separate Christians in the church, and we can't smugly assume we're always right while everyone else is wrong...we need hours of honest dialogue coupled with an abundance of unfeigned love for those we differ with if our goal of unity is to be realized. We need to completely abandon our my-way-or-the-highway philosophy and agree to extend our hands in fellowship to God's children, even if they (God forbid) only use one cup for communion, or pound piano keys in their worship service.

sowing discord

Erik Tryggestad writing for The Christian Chronicle presents some difficult scenarios American evangelists create in mission fields when they opt to push teachings that are divisive.

Some mission based churches are being divided by the very things that have long divided churches in America. Some quotes from the article:

Some churches in Malawi sing during the Lord’s Supper. Others don’t.

Until recently, the difference never kept congregations from fellowshipping with each other, said Priestly Nkhonjera, a minister in the small African country.

But then some — including missionaries from the United States — started teaching that singing during communion is wrong.

Now some Malawian churches ask visitors about the issue and, based on their response, either welcome them or show them the exit, Nkhonjera said.

The African nation’s woes illustrate what can happen when churches in the United States export their divisions to the mission field, missionaries say. Young congregations in developing countries often find themselves in the middle of controversies among American churches — including divorce and remarriage, the working of the Holy Spirit and how many cups are used in communion.

These problems shouldn't surprise anyone; pushing our opinions on new Christians, and causing divisions within the Lord's body is not a demonstration of Christian love. Read the complete Christian chronicle article for its full impact.

the right ear of malchus

Just some curiosity here!

After Judas applied the finishing touches in his betrayal of Jesus with a kiss, Simon Peter brandished a sword and sliced off the right ear of Malchus (the servant of the high priest,) as described by Luke in chapter 22:49-51 (ESV):

And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, 'Lord shall we strike with the sword?' And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, 'no more of this!' And he touched his ear and healed him.

I'm curious to know what actually happened to the servants ear! When Jesus "touched his ear" did he reattach the ear, replace the ear with a new ear, or just heal what was left dangling from his lopsided head? Whatever the healing process, surely his ear was replaced with the perfect match.

Certainly Malchus instantly realized the great power of Jesus when his ear was miraculously restored, and it's hard to believe the arresting party missed this unusual event; they would have to be physically and spiritually blind to overlook such an unusual occurrence, and it's hard to imagine this group thought they were arresting just another average ol' Joe. I'm curious how this might have shaped their future lives.

When reaching old age, could Grandpa Malchus describe his encounter with the Lord that night to his grandchildren while pointing to his perfectly replaced ear without considering the pain of losing an ear, and the subsequent miraculous replacement? Surely the world of Malchus was shook to the core by this miracle, and it must have crossed his mind that Jesus was the promised son of God. I'm curious if he ever accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and his Lord.

And the sword(s) the apostles carried, that's another poser for another time.

a snake story

The Sierra Nevada mountains in California is a beautiful place to live, but being surrounded by all this beauty and quietness exacts a price; like meeting face to face with a two foot long Gopher snake in your silverware drawer while reaching for a fork. A snake this size may not seem large at first thought, but when crammed in a small drawer it's huge!

A snake out in the woods away from the house doesn't bother me, but when its living inside the house slithering through the kitchen cabinets its a major catastrophe, as far as I'm concerned.

What really hurts is that by the time I finished running through the woods, getting as much space between me and the critter as I could, it disappeared. Now my imagination is running wild with a snake in the house that I can't locate. I can't even put my feet under the table to eat without first checking for a snake. Going to bed at night is another story!

Enough snaky stuff; Just wanted to share this lovely experience.

retraction and removal of lark posts

Sheepishly I have removed the posts from my blog based on articles from Lark.

Kendall Ball (and I thank him) made a comment on the last article I posted asking if I knew the Lark site was purely fictional, similar to The Onion, and some of the other tongue-in-cheek sites. While I knew the information was skewed to a point to embellish certain aspects of the story, I honestly thought the articles were based on facts (even after reading their disclaimer,) but they are 100% fiction.

Please forgive my ignorance! I removed them as soon as I received the confirmation from the Lark site which is presented below:

My email to LarkNews on 8/4/06:

Editor of LarkNews Staff:

Of course many of your articles are based on satire, but I was wondering if the information itself is valid, or just based on humor from start to finish?

Larry

And the reply from the LarkNews staff on 8/6/06:

Larry, thanks for asking. The articles are purely made up. They have no basis in reality to our knowledge.

LarkNews staff
larknews.com

So now I sit around with egg on my face promising myself to check information a whole lot better before I toss it on a page again.

The only good thing is the fact that those weird stories are not a part of some churches, for this I'm thankful. Sorry I goofed...

questions, questions, questions

Am I the only person on earth who hates to fill out a questionnaire?

The little COC group where I meet has handed all the members a questionnaire that is a real doozy... it has four categories with seven questions in each category. Each question is to be answered on a scale of 1 to 5; 1 being tops.

A sampling of the questions:

I am motivated to earn as much money as I can to be able to give to the Lord's work.

Meeting obvious needs has special appeal to me, because I respond quickly to needs that I see. Others think that I am being pushy.

I welcome opportunities to do physical jobs thus relieving others in the church to do their work among the members.

When I see problems with the system I am motivated to speak out boldly about it.

Nothing was mentioned about the why of the questionnaire, but I assume it's the brain child of the elders, but who knows! We are allotted two weeks to return them; after that the preacher promises to corral us individually to be sure we respond.

My dilemma is whether to lose the questionnaire, or face the preachers wrath!

disappearing christians

Family Org, a web site of Focus on the Family cites a sobering statistic that should cause us to consider the way we relate, or don't relate, to those in our church family. I have no way of knowing if every detail of this statistic is accurate, but do know that many souls are leaving the church. Below is a quote that is scary, and sad:

Approximately 22 million Americans say they are Christians and made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, and say that commitment is still important to them, but they have struggled with faith or relational issues and therefore quit going to church. Tens of thousands more will join their ranks this week.

When one considers the value God places on even one soul, and multiplies that 22 million times, it is beyond tragic. What must we, as the church, do to stop this migration from His body? It's easy to always condemn those leaving as being weak, if this is true, what are we doing to strengthen them in an effort to make them strong?

There are many professing Christians who have left the church and no one seems to care. No one in their church family has contacted them, and the one leaving feels that the church doesn't care one way or the other about them. If our blood brother or sister just disappeared, for whatever reason, we wouldn't stop looking until we found out exactly what happened, but if it's our Christian brothers and sisters we often just look the other way and write them off.

Not everyone claiming Jesus as their savior will remain faithful, but when 22 million Americans leave the church, something is definitely wrong!

ADDED NOTE: Al Maxey in his newest Reflections article; Churches of Christ in Crisis, describes some of the problems causing the church to decrease numerically.

unhappy soul

Spending time in a coffee shop sipping their horrendously foul brew is not always a complete waste of time. Many people you never see anywhere else are killing a little time, and looking for conversation.

A gentleman who comes in occasionally is generally ignored by the patrons, and even the waitresses spend little time with him; hello ... your order please ... and the usual hope-you-leave-a-tip smile. He is a rather small man in his mid-thirties with long stringy brown hair way past his shoulders, slightly paunchy, heavily scarred face, and a right eye that seems to meander without any specific purpose. He usually sits across from me at the counter (15-20' ft. away,) but one morning he plopped down on a stool beside me without uttering a word, or looking my direction.

I decided to make an effort to engage him in conversation:

"Hello, how are you today?"

No response. Okay, perhaps he didn't hear me, lets try again;

"Hello, hows things going?" (spoke with a little more gusto.)

This time he mumbled something; have no idea what. Okay, were gaining, lets try once more;

"Nice day huh?"

His first decipherable words were softly whispered;

"Not bad!"

Within minutes he was conversing quite well, and I discovered he had been in a car accident when he was only seventeen years old that put him in a coma for two years. He said it was his fault; he had been drinking. As a result of the accident the right side of his face is completely paralyzed (reason enough for a meandering eye.) He still doesn't say much to anyone, but he will nod in my direction when he's in the cafe, and occasionally speak to me.

Bad choices we make, even as teenagers, can often haunt us throughout our remaining days. This man knows other people ignore him because of his appearance, so he responds with silence. Over time perhaps God can work through me (or some other person) in such a way that this man will understand that Jesus died for him, God loves him, and his future can be unimaginably wonderful.

the church gossip

Anonymous email

Mildred, the church gossip, self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.

Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Henry, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Henry and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

Henry, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, Henry quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house . . . walked home . . and left it there all night.