Is the Mike Law Amendment Necessary for the Southern Baptist Convention?

I like steak.  Not surprising, since I grew up on a cattle ranch. I have a few friends, however, who are vegetarians.  When we eat together, I find myself thinking of many jokes I could make, including, “You don’t know what you’re missing.”  But I’ve learned to stop myself.  As my adult children regularly remind me, “Dad, you are not as funny as you think you are.”  I’ve also learned not to make jokes about vegetarians when I preach.  As best I can tell, both vegetarians and steak eaters go to heaven.

What does this have to do with the Mike Law proposed amendment to the Southern Baptist Convention?  Brother Law’s proposal simply reads, “The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention, and sympathetic with its purposes and work (i.e., a “cooperating” church as that term is used in the Convention’s governing documents) which: Does not affirm, appoint, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind.”

The Convention has previously amended its Constitution to withdraw fellowship from churches that discriminate based on ethnicity and those that do not follow Convention beliefs about sexual abuse.  Both of these address issues systemic sin in congregational life.

Is it a sin for a church to call a woman staff member a “Children’s Pastor?”  Is it a sin for a church to call a woman worship leader a “Worship Pastor?”

Isn’t there room in the SBC for both those who eat meat and those who abstain from eating meat?  Aren’t there whole chapters in Romans about this?

Set aside for a moment the whole question of whether women should be Lead Pastors.  Brother Law’s amendment, as currently worded, takes a non-essential to salvation interpretation of one issue and elevates to a level of primacy.  What’s next?  Will the Convention dictate what translation you must use in preaching?  Will the Convention tell your church you must have elders? 

I have read Brother Law’s web site explaining his rationale for his amendment.  I respect his arguments, though I do not agree with them.  His interpretation works for the church he pastors, although I notice on his church website they have a woman who serves as a deaconess.  Even though the vast majority of SBC churches do not have deaconesses, I am glad he has the freedom to say, “This works for the flock God has called me to lead.”

Let us respect the autonomy of every church, knowing that God will ultimately judge whether each church is doing what is right in his eyes.  The Law Amendment is not necessary; Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is enough, with the affirming language in Article XIV, Cooperation: “Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ’s people.”

This leads me to ask the most important question of all: Will passing the Law amendment bringing anyone to Jesus? 

Let the answer to that question determine God’s will for our convention. 

Finest Hour…

It was May 1940.  All was quiet on the battle line between Germany and France.  Standing toe to toe were the army divisions of Hitler’s Third Reich against the combined armies of Britain and France.  The French felt secure behind the Maginot Line, a line of defensive fortifications built after World War I.  They correctly anticipated another war with Germany would come.  They erred in thinking it would be a repeat of the battles of World War I – long sieges of trench warfare.

On May 10th, Hitler broke the stalemate and invaded The Netherlands and Belgium, neutral countries.  The French had not extended the Maginot Line up across those borders.  The German Army flanked the French and the British and drove toward Paris.  Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister stepped down and a new prime minister, Winston Churchill took his place.

The British Expeditionary Force, some 338,000 men, were trapped against the sea near a town called Dunkirk.  While the French Army fought a rear-guard action, the British Army evacuated across the English Channel, carried by a makeshift fleet of naval vessels, commercial ships, and private boats.  But their tanks, artillery, guns, and thousands of other items that equip an army to fight lay in fields around Dunkirk.

Paris fell on June 14th.  By June 18th, the French began to negotiate terms of surrender with the Germans.  Britain now stood alone against the Nazis.

It appeared the situation was hopeless.  The British had an army, but no weapons.  Their air force was numerically inferior to the Luftwaffe.  Their greatest asset, their fleet, was ill-equipped to fight in the narrow waters of the Channel.  It seemed a matter of time before Hitler crossed the channel and invaded England.  Hitler believed, having driven the British Army from the European continent, it would never return.

On the same day France began to negotiate surrender, June 18th, Winston Churchill made a speech, first to Parliament, then on the BBC to the British people.  He did not paint a rosy picture.  He confessed the hour was dark, the times were challenging.  He acknowledged that he did not exactly know how victory would be achieved.  In spite of the uncertainty, he called the British people to stand courageously against the evil represented by Nazi Germany. 

He concluded one of the greatest speeches of our time with these stirring words:  “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was our Finest Hour.”

This year, 2020, has been filled with crisis.  First, COVID19.  Then the troubles of the economy.  Politics this year seems to bring out the worst in people, not their best.  People are stressed, emotions are running high.

I’m not sure why, but it seems many people I know have suffered a tragedy this year: a friend’s house burns; siblings with cancer; a niece dies tragically; a brain tumor is found.  These things always happen, but it seems this year they are heavier, occupying more space in our souls.

Our temptation is to retreat, to be self-occupied.  We crave a sense of safety.  We checkout so we will not feel our fears and anxieties. 

I find myself longing for a voice to call to us all, urging us to be courageous.  What if God did not mean 2020 to be a year of discouragement and defeat, but a year when we are courageous?  Could it be that we should brace ourselves to our duties, loving our neighbor as ourselves, loving our enemies, serving, and caring for the least of these?  Could it be that 2020 is to be a year we bear up, asking God for strength to carry on, asking God for wisdom to know what to do, asking God for a deep peace that calms our anxieties?

What if God was calling to each of us, saying, “I want you to make 2020 your finest hour.”  Would it change what you post on Social Media?  Would you seek to understand before you speak?  Would you be less concerned about your rights and more concerned with what is just and fair for all?

Maybe the voice I long for does not belong to Winston Churchill.  Maybe it belongs to God. Maybe it is his voice crying to our souls to live above defeat and discouragement.  Could it be God is challenging you to make this year your finest hour?

In a thousand years (if, as preachers say, the Lord tarries), what will our descendants say about 2020?  Will they say, “This was their finest hour.”

God Bless America...

Irving Berlin was born into a Russian Jewish family.  The family fled Siberia, looking for a better life in the United States.  Berlin was five when the family arrived at Ellis Island in New York Harbor.  The family did not find instant wealth; what they found was opportunity.

Berlin became a successful songwriter and singer (his first hit was “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”).  When World War I broke out, he was writing songs for Broadway musicals.  It was then he wrote a song called “God Bless America” for a patriotic revue.  The song, however, didn’t work in that show, so it was shelved.  There it gathered dust for 20 years.

In 1938, war clouds were gathering in Europe.  Patriotism began to surge in the United States. A patriotic radio special was planned for November 11, 1938, Armistice Day.  Berlin was asked to contribute a song.  He pulled out his old song and reworked it, writing a new introduction for Kate Smith to sing:  "While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free / Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer."   Though the introduction is seldom sung today, it stated Berlin’s clear intention: this song was a prayer, like a psalm.  His father was a cantor in the synagogue.  Berlin would have known all about a song containing a prayer.

The song became an instant hit, a second, unofficial national anthem.  It was sung at both Republican and Democratic conventions and rallies.  Communities would sing the song at War Bond rallies and 4th of July celebrations during World War 2.  The song made its film debut in 1943, in an Army film called “This is the Army (not a great title).”  The star of the film was Ronald Reagan.

The song had detractors, of course.  The KKK opposed the song because it was written by a Jewish immigrant.  Arlo Guthrie thought the song glossed over the troubles of the United States, and in response wrote “This Land is Your Land, this Land is My Land.”  Others were troubled by the overt religious tone of the song. 

Though Berlin was culturally and ethnically Jewish, he did not actively participate in Synagogue.  Speaking about “God Bless America,” he said: "To me, ’God Bless America' was not just a song but an expression of my feeling toward the country to which I owe what I have and what I am."  Apparently, though his faith was not personal, he sensed he was blessed to live in a country where he had the freedom to be more than Russia would have ever allowed.

“God Bless America” is now 102 years old.  It has seen its way through two World Wars, a Great Depression, a Great Recession, wars in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iran, and Afghanistan.  Three Presidents died since the song was first written and nuclear bombs were exploded.  Communistic Russia was created and died during the lifespan of the song.  In 1918, when Berlin first wrote the song, there was no paved coast to coast road in the United States.  “God Bless America” has witnessed the rise of radio, TV, computers, indoor plumbing, the internet, and air-conditioning. 

In times of crisis, it is still the song we reach for.  Who can forget members of Congress standing on the steps of the capitol building on the night of September 11, 2001, Republicans and Democrats, singing together “God Bless America.”  We sing it when we dedicate memorials, when we gather for a sporting event, when we celebrate the 4th. 

In this strange year, we need to reach for this song again, not just to sing it, but to offer it as the prayer it was meant to be:

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her,

And guide her,

Through the night,

With the light from above.

Fathers of the Bible…

Adam was the first father.  He had one son kill another.  Talk about a family feud.  I wonder what he said to Cain when he left home to get away from his reputation? 

Noah had three sons.  They apparently helped with the hundred-year ark building program and stuck by the old man during the year on the ark (the other choice involved a lot of treading water).  But after the flood was over, Noah got drunk one day and made a fool of himself.  One of his sons saw him naked, so Noah cursed his son by cursing his grandson.  Grandson: “Why doesn’t Grandpa like me?” Dad: “Well, he was passed out from drinking too much, naked as the day he was born…”   

Abraham sent his first born (Ishmael) away, because his first wife made him.  It was easier to make the boy and his mother pay the price of his poor judgment than fight with Sarah, his first wife.  Abraham was ready to offer his second born, Isaac, as an offering to God until God stopped him.  That made for awkward family memories: “Remember the time Dad almost killed you as a sacrifice?” 

Isaac had two boys as well, twins.  He learned nothing from the mistakes of his father.  He too favored one child over another.  When he mixed up the blessing meant for the first-born, Esau, giving it to Jacob, the younger, he made no attempt to reverse it.  He figured he would just let them fight it out, which they did.  For decades. 

Jacob had twelve boys from two wives and two concubines.  You thought your blended family was tough.  He favored one of the boys, Joseph, over the others.  His brothers had enough of it and sold their brother into slavery.  Sure, it turned out God was working the whole time to save Jacob and his family, but still, the relationships were strained.  After their father died, the brothers went to Joseph, who was a pretty high-up politician in Egypt, and said, “Dad said not to kill us.” That’s a pretty low bar for family ties.  If someone had ever asked Jacob how to have a close-knit family, I think he would have said, “Danged if I know how.”  

Manoah waited a long time to be a father.  When an angel told him he would be a dad, he asked for advice about how to raise the boy.  He wound up making sure Samson never cut his hair, but he gave in to every demand his son made.  He was a classic enabler.   Maybe he should have asked for a spine instead of wisdom.   

Samuel put his sons into the family business of leading God’s people.  They absorbed none of their Dad’s preaching.  They were supposed to be assistant judges but turned out to judges for sale, ready to sell a decision to the highest bidder.  It must of broke their Dad’s heart, what with him being a preacher and all.   

Saul hated his son’s best friend, David.  The boy drove him crazy – literally.  

David had a son rape his daughter; then another son killed the rapist son, and then the killer son rebelled against his dad. The whole thing turned into a war.  When his son is killed, David weeps, maybe because he realized he’d been such a lousy dad.  For a man after God’s own heart, his heart had to hurt because of the way his kids turned out. 

Solomon had so many wives and concubines he could hardly remember their names.  Must of made for awkward family meals: “Now are you the son of wife number 178 or wife 231?”  If therapists had existed in those days, I can imagine one of his sons saying to his therapist: “My dad didn’t even know my name!” 

I don’t know about you, but compared to these guys, I’m looking pretty good as a Dad. 

Why so many stories about failed fathers in the Bible?  Because none of us can be the perfect Dad.  We can do the best we can, but at the end of the day, we aren’t perfect and we can’t control our children.  It turns out that everyone is responsible for their own choices, their own decisions. 

In the Bible there is one perfect Father.  So, on this Father’s Day, if you are a Dad, accept His grace and ask for His help.  Stop trying to be the perfect Dad.  Admit your mistakes.  Your kids aren’t dumb; they know sometimes you just mess up.   

And cut your Dad some grace as well.  He wasn’t perfect.  No matter how bad he wounded you, try to remember he is a flawed person.  If you need help giving that grace, there is a Heavenly Father who can help you.  He’s the only Dad who ever had a perfect Son.   Because of their perfect relationship, your relationships can be better.  They will show you the way. 

Racism Needs to Die…

If you don’t believe in God, racism is not a problem for you.  If there is no god, racism is the extension of Darwin’s theory of natural selection: the superior rises to supplant the inferior.  Therefore, it is only natural that whatever race adapts to changing conditions will thrive and other races will decline. 

Most religions in the history of mankind were nationalistic, with implied racism.  Each nation had their god or gods.  A nation’s gods were thought to favor them and stand against the enemies of the nation.  War was a contest to see whose god was greater, and thus whose race was superior.  If you conquered a nation, you felt the freedom to enslave that nation, because your god favored your race. 

The first hint in human history that this was not right was a promise given to a man named Abraham.  His God told him he would bless him and that all nations on earth would be blessed by him.  This was radical.  A nation would not fight to prove the power of their god, but would seek to bless other people, other races as a way to worship their God. 

The nation that sprang from Abraham never fully embraced this.  It was easier to be like every other nation and enslave the nations they conquered.  The people Israel conquered were objects to be killed or property to be taken, as slaves. God tried to warn them this was a perversion of justice, but they would not listen.  In God’s ironic judgment, Israel was conquered and enslaved.  But this did not break their ethnic pride.  Jews were still referred to people of other races as “dogs.”  You can figure out the modern slang equivalent. 

Then came Jesus.  He healed Jew and non-Jew alike.  He did not advocate a violent rebellion against the hated Roman conquerors who occupied Palestine.  He dared to say, “Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you.”  He was the first person in history to say something that courageous, that radical. 

Jesus made it clear that everyone, no matter their race, had the same problem: sin.  Sin could not fix itself, so he would die on a cross and be raised from the dead to break the power of sin and bring us to new life, eternal life.  To his followers, this meant they could never claim superiority over any other race, because everyone needed Jesus. 

After Jesus ascended into heaven, it took a while for his followers to get how radical Jesus’ kingdom was to be.  They first told the good news to people just like them.  Then the good news spread to Samaritans, who they despised. The good news broke out to people of different cultures, races, and by 60 AD, there was hundreds of small communities of Jesus followers who ate together, worshiped together, and served together.  They had different racial backgrounds, but they had one thing in common: they had all experienced the amazing grace of Jesus. 

So why is racism a sin for Christians?  Racism is the belief that I am better than you because I am a different race than you.  This is a direct contradiction of the gospel.  I cannot see myself as better than you because I am a sinner in need of grace like you.  Even if you are different than me, believe different than me, hold values different than me, I am commanded by my Savior to love you.  Last time I checked, refusing to do what God wants me to do is a sin.  That sin must be confessed and forgiven. 

The challenge of racism in our era is its cleverness.  Sure, we have made progress.  Schools are integrated and there are no more signs over bathrooms and water-fountains saying, “Whites only.”  But racism still lives in the dark corner of our souls when we see a person of another race and make a judgment about him or her based on the color of their skin.  I must ask myself, “If a black man jogs by my house, do I feel threatened?  If I do, what does that say about me?” 

Racism only dies when people are willing to do the hard work of examining their own hearts.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart … See if there is any offensive way in me…. (Psalm 139:23-24).”  If God told you there was racism in your heart, would you listen?  Would you confess it and ask for forgiveness? 

Given the state of our nation, what would happen if all of us were brave enough to pray, “God, see if there is any offensive way in me.”  Only then would racism die.  And it needs to die.  In you.  In me.  Let it die. 

I Can’t Breathe…

Let me state the obvious: I’m not a black man.  I’ve never been particularly worried about being stopped by the police.  I’ve never coached my son on how to act when an officer of the law gives an order, fearing that if he doesn’t give exactly the right responses, he would be shot.

My friends of color tell me there is a different reality.  They tell me they worry about their children every day being shot by law enforcement.  They tell me about shopping in stores and being followed by clerks, who profile them as potential thieves.  They tell me about being demeaned because of the color of their skin in the workplace and in the marketplace.

I never thought much about “white privilege.”  But I could not help but wonder: what if I was in Minneapolis and gave a store clerk a fake $20 bill?  What would happen?  The police might be called.  If they asked me where I got that bill, I would probably say “I don’t know.”  I would tell them I didn’t know it was fake.  The officers would probably believe me, just because I’m white.  That’s “white privilege.”

If I were arrested, I probably wouldn’t panic.  If the officers tried to put me in a police car and I said I was claustrophobic, they would probably let me stand outside until I was able to calm myself.  If they put me on the ground and I protested, “I can’t breathe,” they probably would have let me up and told me to stay still.  All because I’m white.

My friends in law enforcement tell me something was dreadfully wrong with what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis.  The incident is an unfortunate reminder that even if 99% of law enforcement do their jobs and protect the rights of all, 1% is still too high a failure rate.  There are many good law enforcement officers out there.  But the incident with George Floyd is even more terrible than a police shooting of someone unarmed.  This is occurred while a man begged for mercy: “I can’t breathe.” 

I think about the Savior I follow.  He was not white.  He was not black.  He was a Mediterranean Jew, who probably had an olive complexion.  Jesus knew what it meant to be profiled.  The Roman authorities thought every Jew had rebellion on their mind.  The Romans believed in law and order.  They would flood areas of their empire with troops to suppress any activity that threatened their power.  Innocent people were often beaten, or imprisoned, or killed, just because of their race.

All four gospels make clear that Jesus was not strung up by a mob.  It was all very tidy, very legal.  He was condemned by a Jewish court, then condemned by Pilate, the supreme authority of Rome.  Though his death was part of God’s plan, it was still wrong, horribly wrong, for him to die.  But it was done legally, by all the law enforcement officials. 

The cross was a cruel instrument of death.  It was designed by the Romans to send a message: “Don’t mess with Rome.”  When preachers talked about the cross, we usually focus on the nailing of the hands and feet.  Nails piercing flesh result in intense pain.  But the body has a way of producing adrenaline to push the pain back.  The true great cruelty of the cross was asphyxiation.  The body was stretched out and a block of wood was placed above the buttocks.  To breathe, a person would have to lift their weight up, use their upper body and arm strength, pull their weight over the block of wood, and then gasp for air.  As the body tired, as strength left the muscles, the breaths became shallower and shallower.   Oxygen became scarce.  Finally, when strength left the body, the victim could no longer pull his body up to breathe and he died.  This is what happened to Jesus.  He died because he could not breathe.

This is something I need to remember.  My Savior knew exactly how George Floyd felt.  

There is a difference, however.  George Floyd died because he tried to pay with a fake $20 bill.  Jesus died for the sins of the world.  The unfathomable mystery of God is this:  Jesus died for George Floyd, so that whatever sins he committed could be forgiven. Jesus also died for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who put his knee on George Floyd’s neck, so his sins could be forgiven as well.   That, my friends, is the depth of the grace of God. 

Fox in the Neighborhood…

Gina and I were coming home from a visit with family after dark.  It had been a long trip and we were both tired.  It wasn’t yet my bedtime, but it was getting close.  The night was clear, crisp, and cool.  We rounded the corner onto our street, our house just fifty yards away.  The headlights on my truck swept over a creature, sitting like a dog, in the vacant lot catty-corner from our house.  It was a fox.

Growing up in the country, I was taught foxes were not our friends.  They ate Aunt Neta’s chickens.  An animal that stood between me and Aunt Neta’s fried chicken was my mortal enemy.  But beyond the fact that they ate chickens, not much reason was given about why foxes were “undesirables.”  Foxes are omnivores.  Maybe the fear was a fox would try to kill a calf or eat ripe oranges off the tree.  I don’t remember ever hearing of a fox killing a calf.  Frankly if I had to bet on a momma cow defending her calf or a fox, I’d bet on the momma cow every time.

It could be people didn’t like foxes because foxes seemed to know how to outsmart human beings.  They avoided the traps Uncle Earl set to try to catch them.  They would loop back when being chased by dogs and throw them off the trail. We actually talk about this.  To “outfox” someone means to think ahead of them, to gain an advantage over them.  Who likes that?

In some places there are fox hunts.  Hounds are released and people on horseback follow.  At home, though we had horses and guns, we never organized fox hunts.  Usually we saw a fox’s bushy tail as he was running away.  Foxes can run thirty miles-an-hour.  My running is measured at about 30 feet a minute.

I don’t know when my attitude about foxes began to change.  Maybe it was when Disney produced The Fox and The Hound.  The film describes a friendship between a fox and a hound.  They grew up as friends but had to navigate tricky expectations when they came of age.  Or maybe it was Zootopia, a Disney/Pixar film about a rabbit who becomes a police officer and partners with a small-time con artist, a fox.  When I am out in the woods or at the pasture and see a fox, it is a treat, not threat.

Now I had a fox in my neighborhood.  He was frozen in my headlights for a second or two.  He’d been eating some trash in the vacant lot, scavenging for food.  I don’t know how a fox’s brain works, whether they have the same “fight or flight” response as humans.  This fox decided it was time to run.  He sprang from his seated position, turned, and ran into the woods, his meal interrupted.

The fox has been on my mind this week.  He really wasn’t bothering anyone.  He was just trying to survive.

Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog in Brunswick, Georgia.  Sickening video tape shows two men with guns trying to stop him.  There was a struggle.  Arbery was shot three times and died. 

It has taken over two months for charges to be filed against the two men involved, Travis McMichael and Travis McMichael, father and son.  Though I hate to say it, the McMichaels are white; Arbery is black.  The older McMichael recently retired as an investigator for the District Attorney’s office.  He stated he thought Ahmaud was a suspect in a burglary. 

A video surveillance tape has surfaced showing Arbery entering a house under construction and looking around.  He is not seen taking anything.   I’ve done exactly what Arbery did.  While on a walk, I’ve gone into houses under construction and looked around.  It’s fun to see how people are laying out their homes.  If looking around is a crime, a lot of us are guilty. Was Arbery trying to steal something?  We’ll never know. 

What I do know is this: everyone has a right to go for jog without being afraid of being shot because of the color of their skin.  A young man’s life has ended.  His life mattered to God. 

Maybe I’ve thought about the fox this week because of the Arbery shooting.  The fox in my neighborhood is just trying to survive.  That fox reminds me everyone has a right to live.  It is the most important right of all.   

We Are the World…

I read in the news today that the streets of Beirut are empty.  Ditto the streets of Baghdad, Beijing, London, and New York.  ISIS, of all people, is telling its followers not to travel because of the virus.  When you look at the Center for Disease Control map of the world, there are a small handful of countries without COVID19 cases.  You can’t help but wonder if that is because of a lack of testing.  Whatever normal was, it isn’t now.

It feels like the whole world is shutting down.  Unemployment claims in our country jumped 3,000% in March.  The governor of my state has shut down all businesses that require close contact.  I squeezed in and got a haircut before the deadline.  Who knows when I get another haircut by a professional?

All around the world restaurants are closed.  We’ve gone back in time when most meals were cooked at home.  I’m seeing parts of my freezer I didn’t know existed.  People are binge watching shows, but if you like to watch sports, you’ve been dropped into the desert.

One evening this week, we went for a drive.  We had no destination, just wanted to get out of the house.  For the first time in my life, I understood the whole idea of a “Sunday drive.”  Just ramble.  Take a road you’ve never taken and see where it takes you.  Everyone in the world is feeling cooped up.

In an odd way, it's comforting to know that everyone in world is experiencing this.  The concern about COVID19 is the same in Wuhan, China as it is in Sumter, SC.  No one wants to get this virus. Everyone wants to get this over as soon as possible.  Everyone is waiting, which is some of the hardest work to do.

If you pause and think about it, when was the last time everyone on the planet was experiencing the same thing?  Never.  The mom in Johannesburg, South Africa deals with the same thing as the mom in Tokyo. 

People have asked me if God is trying to tell us something.  I’m sure he is.  I’ve seen the preachers who are declaring this is the beginning of the end.  Other preachers are saying this is God’s judgment on the world. 

I don’t know for sure about any of the that, but here’s what I do know for sure:  we are all God’s creation.  Human beings spend enormous energy dividing ourselves.  We look at people with a different color skin, or a different language, or a different religion, and we find a reason to hate.  We construct versions of reality that tell us we are better than other people because of where we live or where we’ve gone to school.  I love my country but being an American doesn’t make me better than a Russian. 

The Apostle Paul wrote a great truth in Romans: “God is no respecter of persons…”  There is a lot of theology packed into that verse.  God sees all of us as we truly are.  He knows every person on this planet, all 7.8 billion of us.  He knows every one of us will have a moment when we realize there is a problem we cannot solve by wealth, ancestry, or nationality.  Right now, all 7.6 billion of us are realizing we are vulnerable to virus that is no respecter of persons.  From the slums of Mumbai to the high-rises of Dubai, the virus will not discriminate.

We are the world.  Every person on this planet is a creation of God, whether they know him or not.  Everyone is a microscopic particle away from infection.  We are the world waiting.

That’s why we need something else God said about this world: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes on him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Whatever your fears, anxieties, depressions, do not forget this:  There is a God who loves you.  He gave his son for you.  When you believe this, death - whether it comes from a virus or a cancer or old age – death will not have the last word over you. God does.  And he wants you to have a life that goes beyond death.  A life that starts when you believe.

We are the world God loves.  Believe.

Theology of the Corona Virus…

The Corona Virus is probably the best documented pandemic to ever occur, but it is not the first.  In 1918, the H1N1 influenza virus swept the world.  About 500 million people (27% of the world’s population) contracted the virus, and somewhere between 27 and 100 million people died.   As the virus ravaged the United States, theaters, schools, and even churches were closed.  Preachers in that era were particularly outraged that churches were forced to close, while in many cities, saloons stayed open.

Other epidemics have struck the world. HIV/AIDS has killed an estimated 32 million so far.  Justinian’s plague in 541 to 542AD wiped out forty percent of the population of Europe.  A smallpox epidemic in 732AD caused the death of a third of Japan’s population.  The Cocoliztli Epidemics of the 1500’s resulted in the death of 80% of Mexico’s population.  Epidemics are nothing new in human history.

I’m not an epidemiologist, but I have a friend who is one.  She says the Corona Virus is very deadly and to be prepared for quarantine orders.  People apparently are already onto this; Walmart looked pretty picked over when I went there this week.

When epidemics happen, two reactions are common among common folk.  First is denial: this won’t impact me.  The second is fear:  this will make me sick and perhaps kill me.  Everyone has their own timeline and intensity in their reaction.

It won’t be long before people begin to ask “why?”  The question usually goes like this: “If God loves us, why doesn’t he stop this pandemic?”  To be sure, some preacher somewhere will declare this pandemic to be God’s judgment on the world.  Before we leap to theological conclusions about God’s judgment, let’s get some perspective.

God made this universe a perfect place: no evil, no viruses, no cancer, no addictions.  Look up to heavens and you still see signs of his perfect created order.  Jesus followers believe Satan rebelled against God, then tempted the first people to do the same.  When Adam and Eve sinned, something was unleashed in the universe that didn’t belong.  Perfection was wrecked, all the way down to the molecular level.  Jesus came to break the power of sin by his death on the cross and his resurrection.  One day, according to Revelation, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, with no evil, no viruses, no cancer, no addictions.  But that day has not yet come.

But if God loves us, why doesn’t he stop the virus now?  If we say, “God must have his reasons and we don’t know them,” it feels hollow, shallow.  Yet in a sense, it is profoundly true.  God owes us no explanations.  Ancient people would have laughed at the idea of a god explaining himself. 

This is why the message of the Book of Job is so radical.  When Job cries out to God because he suffers unjustly, God answers him not with an explanation, but with an encounter.  In a crisis, it is appropriate to reach out to God and ask “why?”  It is also good to know that God may answer you not with words, but a whirlwind.  In Jesus, God ultimately comes to give us unlimited access to him, so in a crisis we might cling to him.  God knows we need him more than we need thoughts about him.

When early Jesus followers faced human suffering, they did not write long explanations, trying to explain God’s actions.  They served the suffering.  A plague would strike a Roman city.  The citizens would flee, leaving the sick to die, and hoping the plague would die with them.  Christians stayed, and cared for the sick.  They prayed for God’s mercy.  They prayed for healing.  They thought it more important to be the hands and feet of God, rather than explain God.

How could they stay, when everyone else ran?  Those early Jesus followers had a different economy of life.  They knew life was eternal.  Their hope was not in long life, but in God’s Kingdom.  Death would simply be a passage to the next stage of being with Jesus.

In the days ahead, people we love may get sick.  People we don’t know will get sick.  If you are a Jesus follower, the call is to love all, sick or well.  Reach out to sick people.  Check on each other.  Pray for individuals.  Pray that God will be merciful and stop the spread of this virus.  Do not panic.  And let the peace that passes all understanding guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Front Lines…

Andrew Gillette went to work Tuesday morning.  It was supposed to a be a regular day for the Sumter Deputy Sheriff: patrol, serve an eviction notice, protect the public.  At 11:30 AM, it was no longer a regular day.  For Andrew, it would be his last day.

Andrew was serving an eviction notice to Terry Hasty.  Two other deputies were there to assist.  For reasons we will never know, Terry Hasty opened fire on the deputies.  Andrew was struck in the chest.  Though he was wearing his bullet proof vest, his wounds were fatal.  The officers returned fire and Terry Hasty was killed.

Andrew is survived by his wife and by his eleven-year-old son.  According to those who knew him, he was a follower of Jesus, active in his church.  He was a true public servant.

In tragic irony, it was twenty-four-years ago, minus one day, another Sumter Deputy Sheriff was killed in the line of duty, Charlie Kubala.  I remember that day.  One of my friends served in the department with Charlie.  The loss of his friend hit him hard. 

There’s a term for this kind of grief: survivor’s guilt.  Fellow officers ask, “Could I have done something different?”  There is a weird mix of grief and relief.  Officers realize “It could have been me.” 

Every spouse of an officer on patrol has a fear that lingers near the surface, the fear that the kiss goodbye might be the last kiss. The headlines never talk much about that.  When a fellow officer is killed in the line of duty, that fear comes out, roaring.  Sleepless night follow.  There are hard conversations about changing careers.  Children, who can smell agitation, ask, “Mommy, could that happen to you?”  Teenage children withdraw, reluctant to be vulnerable with their own fear.  It takes a while for normal rhythm to return, if it ever does.

One of the hardest things I have ever done as a pastor was to tell a young woman she was now a widow because her husband, a law enforcement officer, had been killed in the line of duty.  As we walked together through those intense few days, she asked me “Why do people say so many stupid things to me?”  I understood what she was saying.  People forget when tragedy strikes, presence matters more than words.  Acts of service speak louder than explanations.

I live in a town full of front-line responders.  We have the usual array of law enforcement, fire protection, EMTs, doctors, nurses, and other assorted professions devoted to protecting the public and responding to crisis after crisis.  But we also have a military base, with thousands of airmen and soldiers who at a moment’s notice deploy to hostile territory to protect our country.  I’ll never forget the night of 9-11, when an Air Force pilot came up to me at a community prayer service, already in uniform, and told me he was leaving at 4 in the morning.  I prayed with him, and asked God to bring him back safely to his family. The next time I saw him was a year later.  He missed a whole year of his sons’ lives, flying over the front lines.

We owe these front-line responders a deep debt.  While most of us get the chance to run for cover, they run toward the danger.  They never know when someone with a grudge and a gun will shoot, when a burning roof will collapse, when the cord between life and death is held by their CPR reps, when the rocket will find them on the battlefield. 

I know front-line responders are not perfect.  They are like the rest of us, failing to be the spouses they would like to be, the parents they hope to be.  None of them, not even the ER doctors, are paid enough.   I’ve heard enough stories about officers who handled the tension with an addiction to know front-line responders are not super men or super women.  I am regularly surprised when I talk to front-line responders to find out their agency offered them no post-trauma care, no opportunity to debrief.  Humans are emotional beings.  No one can seal off the emotions permanently.  One thing we can do and should do is make sure every front-line responder can get the mental health care they need.  We owe them that much.

Being a person of faith, I can do one more thing: when I see a law enforcement vehicle, a fire-truck, an ambulance, a Humvee, or an F-16, I can remember to pray for the person flying the plane, riding the truck, or turning the steering wheel.  I can ask God to protect them, watch over them, and go with them.  When evil lashes out and takes the life of someone on the front lines, I can pray for that family.  I can pray that God will comfort them with his presence, which goes beyond words.  So, this week, I will pray for the Gillette family, for God to be their refuge and strength, their peace and their hope.  After all, God is our first and best front-line responder.

What I Really Wish Would Happen with Impeachment…

Just in cased you have been in a comma for the past six months, our President is under the threat of impeachment.  Hearings, witnesses, twitter wars, and political strategists all are seeking to answer this question: “Did the President’s behavior rise to the level of an impeachable offense?”

 That question has not yet been answered, but I wish somethings would happen.

 I wish President Trump would say, “You know, I made a mistake.  I wanted the Ukrainians to do an investigation that would benefit me politically.  I threatened them.  That was wrong. I sinned against my opponent and against God.  It was a dumb thing to do and I won’t do it again. I’m going to stop worrying about being re-elected and get on with running the country.”  King David said, “I have sinned against the Lord” and repented.

 I wish House Democrats would say, “Yes, we have a political agenda.  We don’t like the President.  But maybe we need to pause and ask what’s best for the country.  Maybe we need to say ‘no’ to some of our own political base and think this through.  Let’s be Americans first, and Democrats second.”   Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be the leader must be the servant.” 

 I wish House Republicans would say, “The President did do wrong.  We’re not going to pretend otherwise.  We will support the President when he is right, but we will oppose him when he is wrong.  If the President did commit an impeachable offense, we will not worry about the voters back home.  We’ll do what is right.”  God told Joshua, “Be strong and be of courage.” 

 I wish Senators would wait until the House actually votes on something before getting on TV and posturing about how wrong or right the House is.  Doesn’t the Bible say something about fools talking all the time but wise people listen more than they speak?

 I wish CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC would just report the news.  Jesus said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’”

 I wish Joe Biden would say, “I made some calls because I wanted to help my son.  Looking back, that wasn’t very smart.  I won’t do that again.  Hey, Trump isn’t perfect and neither am I.  Let’s talk about how to solve the problems in our country.”  Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

 I wish Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Robert Jefferies would remember Jesus is our Savior, not Donald Trump.  I wish they would stop worrying about so much about getting America back to God, and remember no matter far America drifts from God, God will still be God.  I wish they talk more about how Jesus changed their lives.  A verse from Psalms says, “Put not your trust in princes.”  Or politicians.

 I wish a computer virus would disable all Russian and Ukrainian hackers.  The Bible says something about a plague descending on the land.  A computer virus sounds like a good tool of God’s judgment.

 I wish God would use this moment to help our country look at itself and make us ask, “What’s wrong with us?  Why are we allowing this?  Why are we focused more on dividing ourselves than uniting ourselves?  We’ve lost our way.  We thought we were big and powerful and didn’t need God.  We really do need him.  Let’s return to God and to his ways.  Let’s get back on track.”  The Psalmist said, “Search me and test me, O Lord, and see if there be any wicked way in me.”

 I’m sure by this time you are rolling your eyes and accusing me of being unrealistic.  Maybe so.  But Jesus came into the real world.  God’s word was written against the backdrop of political maneuvering and intrigue.  Power struggles are splashed across the pages of scripture.  I’m pretty sure God has seen all this before.

 Maybe all this is unrealistic.  Or maybe my wishes should be my prayer list.  “If my people… will humble themselves and pray, then I will heal their land.”

 I really wish for and pray for, some healing in this land.

President Bush in Heaven…

President George H. W. Bush passed away last week.  Tributes have been pouring in.  When he was President, we may not have agreed with all his actions, but in hindsight, we see his wisdom, his decency, and his character.

President Bush was an Episcopalian, except for a brief time in Midland, Texas, when he and Mrs. Bush attended the Presbyterian church.  In her autobiography, Mrs. Bush spoke about their shared faith: they were reluctant to use their Christian faith as a political tool.   She acknowledged they prayed together and had a deep spiritual connection.  Both attended church regularly. 

The Bush family had deep connections with Billy Graham.  On the night the air campaign against Iraq began, the Bushes invited the famous evangelist to spend the night in the White House.  That night, they needed a pastor.

No one, of course, can know if a person is truly saved.  Jesus told us we will know people’s faith by their fruit, but from a distance, even wax fruit looks edible.  But by his own words, George Bush professed faith in Christ.  Spiritual fruits of joy, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control showed in his life.

Because of his profession of faith and the evidence of fruit in his life, I believe George Bush went to heaven upon his death.  What happened next?

I saw a touching cartoon that depicted the President flying in on his WWII TBM Avenger, sharing joyous hugs with his wife and his daughter Robin (who passed away when she was three from leukemia), standing before a wrought iron heavenly gate.  President George W. Bush, in a glowing tribute to his father, broke down when he spoke about his Dad being reunited with Robin and Barbara.  It is a lovely picture.

But it is inaccurate.

When a believer dies, he is immediately brought into the presence of God.  Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  There is no standing before pearly gates, with St. Peter pouring over the pages of a book, trying to figure out if you belong in heaven or hell.  You will stand before God. 

We are not given many details about these first moments in heaven.  Revelation 7 gives a glimpse, like looking through a keyhole.  There will be many people there, robed in white.  They are waving palm branches, just like the crowd did on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem.  They are shouting in loud voices, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  This multitude understands we do not get to heaven by being good; we arrive there because of grace.  Our God, who sits on the throne, does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

John, who saw the vision of Revelation, tells us these are the people who have been made clean by the blood of Lamb.  They will never again be hungry.  They will never again thirst.  The Lamb (Jesus) will be their shepherd.  They will be led to springs of living water.  God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Whatever else we might dream about heaven, this much is clear.  Jesus is the main event.  The focus is on him.  In heaven we will see the extent of his mercy and the depth of his grace.  You will realize how much God must love you to allow you to be part of this scene.  The parts of your soul that have not yet been healed from your own sins will be healed in those first moments.  For the first time, you will be exactly who God created you to be.  You will be healed, from top to bottom.

Will you recognize others in the crowd?  Probably so.  We will gain a new body (the details are a little tedious) that will be immortal, incorruptible.  At the very least it means no more aging, no more sickness, no more addictions, no more imperfection in our looks (I wonder what my perfect self will look like?).  But the essence of who we are, who Jesus redeemed us to be, will remain intact.

Will we have a break time to catch up with loved ones?  The Bible doesn’t say.  I like to think so.  I would like to have time to talk to my Dad.  I’d like to hug my mother.  I have some friends – Robert, Ray, James, and Steve – I would like to catch up with.  I’d like to find a couple of my professors and thank them.  But again, the Bible doesn’t really spell this out.

The main point of heaven is to be with Jesus.  Dallas Willard wisely observed that time on earth was to prepare for heaven.  If we did not want to be with Jesus on earth, we will be pretty miserable in heaven.

When President Bush came into the presence of Jesus Friday night, he was not greeted by his daughter or his wife.  He was greeted by Jesus.  It was the voice of Jesus that called his name.  It was then the former President knew for the first time the fullness of God’s mercy, his love, and his grace.  He was given a white robe.  His voice joined the multitude: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 

Whether you are president or just a plan person, what matters in heaven is Jesus.  Do you know him, or do you just know about him?

Divided We Fall…

The election results are in and they reveal what we already knew – we are a divided people.  This is no surprise.  In the first Presidential cabinet, there was division.  Jefferson and Hamilton vied for power and control; Lincoln’s cabinet was named “a team of rivals” by one historian.  If you think the politics of today is vicious, review the smear campaign against Franklin Roosevelt in the 1936 election.

There is something in our nature that causes us to pick sides and make the other the “enemy.”  It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve picked the side of the serpent against the side of God.  Their sin quickly compounded; Adam threw Eve under the bus, blaming her for all his troubles.  “If only she had voted differently, God, I wouldn’t have failed.”  Among other things, Adam was the first political operative.

If you want to see people pick sides, go to a small Baptist church business meeting.  People will pick sides in the name of Jesus faster than you can quote John 3:16.  My Aunt Ouida and Mrs. Eva had known each other all their lives, but nearly got in a wrestling match in one church business meeting over the color of the carpet in the new church.   Both of them, I am sure, were certain they were right.

I’ve had married couples sit on my office couch and demonize the person they vowed to cherish till death they do part.  They were on opposite sides and were ready to force their children, family, and friends to declare loyalty to one side or another. 

There is an old wisdom I’ve applied in these situations.  When a couple comes to talk to me, and they are divided, I’ll ask what attracted them to each other.  Often, their mood softens.  They go back to happy memories.  They discover the love that began their relationship is still there, buried underneath piled up hurts, pains, and burdens.

I’ve consulted with churches who are stuck because they are divided.   After I listen to their angst about their divisions, I ask them what they agree on.  This often leads to the scratching of heads.  When we dig in, however, they have a cause they agree on.  Once they remember why they are a church, the solution to the problem gets clearer.

What I’ve learned is pretty simple:  If you focus on what divides you, you will stay divided.  If you focus on what unites you, it’s easier to deal with what divides you.

Once, John, one of Jesus’s followers, told him he found someone casting out demons in his name.  John and the other disciples told the man to stop, because he wasn’t part of their group.  Jesus gave one of his wisest teachings in response:  “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”  Jesus was saying, “If this guy is using my name to do good, he’s on our side.  He may not know all of what it means; but he’s not the enemy.”

I wish we could sit down as a nation and have a conversation about what unites us, not what divides us.  We’d have to turn off CNN and Fox News.  I think we would discover that Democrats and Republicans both love their country.  I think we might discover that Northerners and Southerners both want good for their children.  I think we might find out that East Coast and West Coast folks both want to enjoy their freedoms.  There really is more that unites us than divides us.

Maybe it is up to Jesus followers to show how this happens.  Maybe if we show how we love each other as Jesus loves us, people will say, “You know, I’m not sure about Jesus and I’m not sure about church, but I would like to learn to be united like those folks are.”

One thing I know for certain: staying divided gets us nowhere.

Dear Lottery Winner

Dear Lottery Winner,

By now you realize that you’ve won the $1.6 billion Powerball Lottery.  So far, you’ve kept your identity secret which is probably a good idea.  Once you are known, relatives you didn’t even know you had will come out of the woodwork.  People will hit you up for small loans (just $100,000 or so) with no intention of paying you back.  Attorneys, Accountants, and Advisors will want to help you, for a small fee of course.

No doubt some preachers will try to give you advice.  They will mention tithing, I’m sure.  Since it is estimated that you will get some $900 million after taxes, a $90 million tithe could change many lives – including the preachers.

I’m sure when you bought the ticket, you played the fantasy game “What would I do if won?”  I didn’t buy a ticket and I still fantasized about what I would do with $900 million.  My plan was something like paying off my church’s debt, paying back all the money they had spent on my salary, giving my brothers and sisters a good sum for financial security, paying off my house, and buying a little something for myself – like all the ranch land that used to belong to my grandfather.

For me, all those decisions are just a fantasy, but for you, its reality.  And that’s why I’m writing you.  Jesus taught us something so profound, yet so simple about treasure.  It applies whether you believe in Jesus or not.  Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

You are facing decisions on an unimaginable scale that the rest of us face every day: What do I treasure?  Will you allow money to change how you feel about your spouse?  Will money change how you interact with your kids?  Does it have to? 

Sure, your new wealth will mean financial security.  Who wouldn’t want to live without debt and financial stress?  But this is where things get tricky.  Studies show people who win the lottery often wind up deep in debt.  They are more likely to divorce.  Fights break out among their children concerning wealth and possessions.  Winning the lottery is stressful.

I have no idea about your faith orientation, but you bought the ticket in one of the most churched areas of the country.  Maybe you understand that you are a soul, an eternal being. Money, however, is finite.  Whether you have billions or thousands, money can run out, even if you start with $900 million.  Your money may run out, but your soul lives forever.  Money can help your quality of life, but it does not determine the quality of your forever self, your soul. 

When Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” I think he was saying, “The loyalty of your heart is shown by what you value.”  When Jesus speaks of your heart, he’s talking about your will, your decisions.  The decisions you make now that you are wealthy will show what you really value. 

Our culture values “more.” We assume more is better.  If you value your house, more house will make you happier.  If you value your boat, a bigger boat will make you happier.  If you value friends, more friends will be better (and believe me, plenty of people will want to be your friend).

I want to encourage you think in a different direction.  Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.”  You will find more joy, more hope, more love if you make it your goal to bless people with your wealth.

This will require great courage.  Most people who live pay-check to pay-check don’t discover and live by this great truth.  Having no idea about your previous generosity level, I can only imagine the challenge to learn generosity when you begin with so much.

My free advice, which is really Jesus’ advice, is to value your soul more than your fortune.  Don’t make a single decision about your new wealth without praying first.  Don’t hoard it.  Jesus told a story about a man who had bumper harvest and tried to hoard his crop by building bigger barns.  He died before his financial plan ever really got started.  You will only have control of your new fortune as long as you live; you will exist much longer.  Do you value now more than forever?  That will determine what you do with your treasure.

In the same chapter of Matthew where Jesus talked about heart and treasure, he said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you.”  Put God first; he’ll take care of you no matter what happens to the money.

Living in peace with God has an eternal return on investment. What will a person give in exchange for their soul?  Nothing, nothing is worth your soul.

With prayers for wisdom, courage, and strength,

Clay Smith

Paige Patterson: What Goes Around, Comes Around

Paige Patterson, the President of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was forcibly retired from his position last night.  Patterson has come under fire for counsel he gave a woman in 2000 – that she should stay in her marriage to her abusive husband and pray for him; and for comments in 2014 that a teenage girl was “built.”  An allegation surfaced yesterday that while President at Southeastern Theological Seminary, he told a student who had been raped to forgive her rapist, while failing to report the rape to police.

If you did not live through the Southern Baptist Conservative Resurgence of the 1980’s and 1990’s, you may not understand the strong emotions evoked by Paige Patterson.  Patterson was the leader of the Conservative movement, which gained political control of the Southern Baptist Convention.  The goal of the movement was to change the direction of theological education in Southern Baptist Seminaries.  If you were in favor of the Conservative Resurgence, Patterson tends to be your hero.  If you were in the moderate camp, Patterson was the enemy.

During the years of the controversy, I was in seminary at ground-zero of the battle: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, KY.  Southern was long thought to be filled with liberals who denied the Bible.  Several friends counseled me against attending Southern, telling me it would wreck my faith.

The Conservatives in the Southern Baptist wars had an effective tactic: they would examine a professor’s writings, teaching, and speeches, then lift material to “prove” that a professor was liberal.  This was done at times with integrity; at other times, it was done indiscriminately, ripping material out of context.  Two or three sentences would be splashed on the pages of Conservative publications to prove the professor was “liberal.”  Often, no effort was given to balancing the offending material with the larger body of the professor’s work.  “Fair and balanced” treatment got in the way of the goal to purge the SBC of liberals.

At this point I should explain academics.  Academics have their own sub-dialect.  They are writing to an academic audience and must respond to academic concerns.  How do I know this?  God called me to complete a Ph.D. degree, even though I am not by nature an academic.  My six years in the academic pressure-cooker taught me you must read closely and deeply to find the true point of view of an academic, especially in the world of Biblical commentary and theology.  What surprised many of my friends was I emerged from twelve years at Southern with a stronger commitment to scripture than when I entered.   I was trained to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Were there professors who were liberal?  Yes.  Were mainstream professors falsely accused of being liberal?  Yes.  Were tertiary issues placed as primary issues in making judgments about professors and their employment?  Yes.  Like all revolutions, the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC hurt many innocent people.  Damage was done to the body of Christ.  It can be argued that the damage to the innocent was necessary to drive out the poison.  Only God can accurate judge whether harming the innocent was worth the cure.

What does all of this have to do with Paige Patterson?  Patterson supporters are saying you cannot judge a man based two or three incidents in his past.  Patterson detractors are rejoicing that Patterson is finally being held accountable.  It is ironic to me, however, that Patterson is being forced out by people using the same set of tactics he and his troops employed in the SBC Conservative Resurgence. 

I am not a Patterson fan, but I do not wish him harm.  My Lord Jesus told me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they be liberal or conservative, fundamentalist or moderate, whether I agree with them or not.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not judge, lest you be judged.  For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”  Patterson’s downfall reminds me judgment is frightening exercise for the followers of Jesus.  I need to always remember God is the judge.  If I am called by God to stand for truth, I must make sure I do so with grace and fairness. Before I accuse, I must know a person’s whole story and compare it to my own.  Then I must ask the pivotal question: “Am I willing to have this judgment that I am about to hand out put on my life?”

Are You Facing a Community Lid?

When your church or organization stops growing, there’s a reason.  If the church or business wasn’t growing before you came, there’s a reason.  If the organization hasn’t grown in the last 10 (or 20 or 30) years, there’s reason.

What’s the reason? What’s the lid?

It could be community.  If your community is losing population, it’s hard to grow.  You may be doing good to stay even.  Check your demographic data by zip code at US Census By Zip Code.

How do you grow a church or an organization in a stagnant or declining community?  Be willing to reach people no one is reaching.  Most churches in a declining community want to reach an ever shrinking piece of the demographical pie.  They want to reach financially secure people who are eager to become perpetuators of the church’s culture and legacy.

In a declining small town adjacent to us, three “First” type churches remain.  Each is trying to reach people who are like them: Middle class, white, Republican, people who are eager to help the churches perpetuate 1955. 

When I ride through that town, I see African Americans, mixed race couples, Democrats, twice divorced couples who now live together without marriage.  Most of these folks are living paycheck to paycheck, driving trucks, serving as practical nurses, or working at a local plant.  The kids are yours, mine, and ours, and “who knows?”  They do not live in the slowly decaying mansions on Main Street.  They live in low sloped ranch homes on the fringe of town or on five acres in a double wide out in the country.

This is the group that doesn’t go to church anywhere.

How do you reach this group that no one else is reaching?

What do they need?   In church world, the obvious answer is they need Jesus.  But before they meet Jesus, they will most likely need to feel like church is a safe place.  That means the preaching has to change.  They need a gift that shows them you really care – like an offer to take care of their kids for a night – for free.  They need not to be shamed.  They need someone to explain a next step of faith to them over a biscuit at Hardees.  They need someone to call when their kid gets busted for possession or turns up pregnant at 14. 

The same principles apply to your organization or business.  In the skeptical world we live in now, people ask, “Why should I trust you?”  Have you given them a reason?  They ask, “What’s in it for me?”  What do you bring to them that no one else can?

To reach these folks, churches, businesses, and organizations will have to streamline.  Obsolete ways will have to be thrown overboard.  You will need to try, fail, learn, and try again.

You can grow God’s body wherever there are people who need Jesus.  You simply have to be willing to do what no one else is doing to reach them

When Do You Talk About Tragic Events at Church?

When I opened up Facebook Sunday morning, every pastor I know was posting about the events in Charlottesville, Virginia.  As the day progressed, I heard of pastors redoing sermons, speaking directly to their congregations.  So did I.

How do you know when to talk about tragic events at church?  After all, every week brings a new tragedy.  If we address them all, we run the risk of “tragic event fatigue.”  Which events really merit addressing? 

These five questions may be useful:

1. Is everyone talking about this?  Tragedies in Pakistan are horrible, but they may not impact many in your community.  On the other hand, if you serve a church in the South, race is a cultural legacy you have to face.   A violent incident in a nearby state that involved race had to be addressed, or I would have looked clueless.
2. Is a gospel issue involved?  The national press tends to lump the alt-right movement in with the Evangelical political movement.  Churches like the one I serve are seen as evangelical.  So I need to help our people understand what it means to follow Jesus- and what it doesn’t mean.  In this case, Jesus does not condone racism.
3. Is God opening a door through this event for me to challenge people?  In the case of Charlottesville, I saw a chance to ask people to: 1. Pray corporately for our nation; 2. Learn again the hard work of praying for our enemies.  I invited people to pray for the driver of the car that crashed into the crowd, James Alex Fields; 3. Remember our church is agent for change in our community.  We bring change when we love one another; and, 4. Show sensitivity to others from different racial backgrounds in our church.
4. If a person far from God is present in worship, is he or she expecting someone to address or acknowledge what has happened?  If the answer to this “yes,” you have to address it.  You may not need to change your sermon.   You might deal with it in a prayer.  You might change up one point in the message.  You might modify your response opportunity.
5. Is this celebrity news?  If the answer is “yes,” be careful.  I remember the Sunday after Princess Diana died.  Everyone was talking about it.  There wasn’t really a gospel issue (except whether or not she was a child of God, but that’s not for me to say).  I couldn’t really see any discipleship challenge to put before people, however.  Would a lost person want me to address it?  Doubtful.  They probably didn’t come to church to catch the latest news about the Princess (although I know some church members who missed church that morning to watch the news).  The bottom line:  I didn’t address it.  Celebrity news should not control the Sunday agenda.  If I served in England, however, my response would have been different.

There are more good questions, but these five are a start.  Remember the most important thing is to pray for God’s guidance.  If you don’t feel a peace about addressing it, don’t.