Category Archives: Ramblings

Life, Personal, Ramblings

Morality and Godliness

What has happened to our world in the last 75 years?  I am overwhelmed by the crowds of individuals all concerned about how we should live.  If I may I think it is a concern for morality without a concern for godliness.  They seem to say life is having a social conscience; it is doing the right thing, it is doing what is good for the country.  Evil is bad and therefore let us condemn it whenever we see it. We hear of those who do things to “raise awareness” about some injustice or inequity.  This world seems more concerned with how others live and not the reasons why they live that way.  All good and intelligent people should be alarmed by these revelations and awareness of the bad in life, but awareness is not enough.

One of the most foolish things which I see,  is standing at the sideline denouncing evil.  That is the easiest thing to do.  As we become aware of the dark side of life, we have a sense of disgust.  We turn away and say to ourselves, “how terrible!”  But awareness does not help anybody.  It is not enough to denounce bad.  That is simple morality.  It is not enough for me not to be cruel to animals and condemn those to do.  That is simple morality.  It is not enough to see a hungry person on the street corner, and feel badly.

All good, thinking, decent people must be alarmed at what is happening in this country… But here is the great and inevitable question: Why is this happening, and what can be done about it? What has happened is a divorcement godliness.  You cannot have morality without a base of godliness.  Without godliness, morality is simply brass trumpets and sweet violins.  It is a sweet and strong music signifying nothing.

The business of the gospel is not simply to denounce; it is not simply to restrain. The business of the gospel is to deal with the situation in the only way in which it can be dealt with radically. There must be a foundation of godliness behind our morality.  And the only way to do that is a regeneration of our morality with godliness.  It is the regeneration of God in our lives.  It is the gospel of regeneration, this power of God unto salvation, that can deal even with this seemingly hopeless situation and insoluble problem. That is the whole story of the New Testament… This is the only hope for society. And let men do what they will, let them multiply their educational and moral and social organizations, they will not touch the problem. You can have your awareness organizations, your morality crusades, and your moral councils, and a thousand other things, and you will not touch the situation. The evil involved is in the heart of men, and it is only a message that can deal with the heart of men that is adequate to meet the problem is the Gospel.  The Good news.

The whole gospel of evangelism is opening eyes; not that they should be entertained, or made to laugh and weep; but to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and to knowledge… We are only Christians because the Spirit of God has opened our blind eyes, and has taken away the darkness.

Personal, Ramblings

A cry for community

This world is simply out of its mind.  We rail against the minutia of “mini-aggressions” but seem not to worry at all about the millions of humans on the path to eternal damnation.  There are those who would tear down the historical symbols of the past because they were defending something that was perceived in the now to be wrong and yet we praise those who do not honor our country and its flag by not standing at a football game. I think the world is just losing it.

At issue is that life is not about the past, or symbols, or seeming inequity, or healthcare for all, or the rich getting richer.  Life must be more than that.  It is not about a lack of caring.  We care about it all. Never-the-less, we just care too much about the wrong things.

Listen carefully.  You may hear the muffled cry in the cacophony and din of all the things that would silence the call.  It is almost a whimpering in the night.  There is a call.  But that call is not for justice.  That call is not for the accumulation of things.  That call is not political, or religious, or which side to take.  The little voice within you that is being ignored in all the turmoil and judgmental actions, is simply a call for someone to care.  Someone to take a moment and listen to you.  It is a call for human intimacy.

There must be more than just being right.  There must be more than believing like all your friends believe.  All these things, all these wants are really tied up in simply wanting to be part.  A part of something more than self.  It is a call to community.  There is an inner need to be a part.  There is something within that cries out in the darkness of turmoil.

If a society wanted to change into anarchy how would you do it? First fragment family life.  Take our families and break them up with divorce, create single parent homes, find so many things to do that you don’t have time to do anything together.

Second, cut your roots.  Move to a place where you work in one place and live in another.  And make that commute so long that you don’t have time for your basic family unit.  They are probably not at home anyway; you know soccer, hanging out with friends, church, education.

Third, find something that takes your complete attention and requires no interaction.  The slavery of the screen.  Televisions with over 500  channels, phones that you can instantly know what your BFF had for lunch, computers that simply suck up every extra moment of the day to view the latest YouTube video of a horse with pink athletic shoes and a pink ribbon holding his ears singing the latest mindless, and meaningless song.

Let’s find a cause which gives us something to be against. Let us not be for anything just be against something else.  Become a Republicrat so I can condemn the Librsocialsts.  Let us not try to get anything done, just block everyone else.

It is no wonder that in the High Priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 that the reoccurring petition is for relationship, for one being touching another.

Life, Ramblings

Needed Change

Sometimes we just don’t like what is happening around us.  Politics seems more and more accusatory and petty. While gas prices seem stable the price of watermelon is up. Our cars are being made more comfortable yet the streets we drive them on are full of pot holes and ruts. I am trying to reduce my weight, but lately the digital scale will not change.  We want worship in the church to be a glorious and splendiferous experience but it doesn’t quite reach the edge of heaven on earth.

So, what are we looking for?  Do our cultural standards dictate our perception of how we should then live?  In Mark 8:27 there is a question posed by Jesus.  “Who do the people say I am?”

In response, they reported back what the crowd was saying.  They wanted to provide the cultural answer.  There was no condemnation, they didn’t want to offend their Rabbi. “A prophet, Eliljah, John the Baptizer.”

“But Jesus then asked, “And you— what are you saying about me? Who am I?”

Tough question for anyone.  Primarily because the response shapes everything else you do, everything else you believe, and everything else you are.  There is little excuse for snap decisions.  There is great importance in your response.  The answer you give will change how you react to the external. The world will be seen differently, politics become less important, our day to day existence becomes more in focus.  No snap decisions, no snap answers allowed here.

Everything becomes God’s business not our own.  And despite all our travail, we can’t change God.  You can’t change God’s will.  You can’t change God’s plan.  But you can change God’s methodology by working in and through you, instead of around you. You can change you.

Life, Ramblings, Sermon Illustration

Before a man can do things, there must be things he will not do.

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Everything attempted is always at the expense of something else.  All effort requires sacrifice of something.  If you would lose weight, you must give up eating a whole banana cream pie.  Life is about trading one thing for another.  It is in the comparison that we have trouble.  What one thing is worth compared to the other.  Is the newest phone worth giving up part of my vast wealth?  Is wearing shorts to church worth the strange looks I would receive?

On the other hand, there are things we would just like to eliminate.  These things have no worth at all but we hold on to them because it would be painful to let go.  The last time I went to the local dump, I was amazed by the sheer magnitude of things be thrown away.  Some of it was simply disgusting due to its odoriferous aroma. I saw furniture, bricks, toys, and books.  All were unceremoniously cast off.  If I had the gumption I could fill a large truck with my own cast offs.  So why do we hold on to things?  Things that have no worth.  Things that just take up space.

I think it must do with disgust.  We must reach a place where the worth of simplicity outweighs the pile of junk.  If we are willing to put up with the stench around us, there is no motivation to do something.  Before a man can do things, there must be things he will not do. (MENCIUS)  The problem arises when we think time will make a difference.  I don’t need to do it right now, I well might need this extra computer cable someday.

Our society is like that.  Always expecting things to change in time.  The next election will take care of Washington.  The next technological breakthrough will solve all my communication issues.  The next scientific breakthrough will solve all environmental issues.  The next pay raise will put us over the edge to financial security. If I just wait long enough it will all work out.

But it is just a big lie.  Time does not change anything.  Time often makes things worse. We must rid ourselves of the rubbish in our lives and go on to the great simplicity.

Let go and let God.

Comments?

Church, Ministry, Ramblings

The CHURCH as a business?

I have seen and lived two worlds: the world of church and the world of business.  The disturbing point is when a church starts to act like a business.  This hybrid diminishes the Godly center for the external edge.  Pastors start to act like Chief Executive Officers marketing Jesus as a product. The Bible uses many colorful words to describe the church. It’s a family, a body, a fellowship, a holy people, a flock, and more.  However, it is never described as a business.

It’s not that there are no business aspects to leading a local church or denomination. Much like a family is better off when we manage our money and time more effectively, most pastors would serve Jesus, their church and their families better if we used good business principles to manage our time, energy and resources more efficiently, too.  But using wise business principles is not the same as running a church as though it was a business.

There are many things and/or attitudes that are simply wrong.

  1. A business is always about customers and sales. In too many churches, we tell our “guests” to sit back, relax and enjoy the service”, to be consumers of the heavenly juice that will be provided on que and in four-four time.  We provide the best coffee, the perfect temperature, the songs are on key, the sermon never exceeds the allotted time, and the pews are always padded.  There is little to challenge or, (heaven forbid) make our customers uncomfortable by talking about repentance and sin. While there’s a lot of finger-pointing at the rise of a consumer culture in new, seeker-friendly churches, the customer model happens in churches of all types. Big and small, old-school and new-school, high and low liturgy, denominational and nondenominational. Church members are not supposed to be passive customers. We’re supposed to be active participants in the ministry of the church.
  2. A business has a leadership hierarchy. Either the Pastor is the Chief Executive Officer with all its responsibilities and authority, or the Church Board wields this big stick. If the he pastor is seen and acts like he is the owner or manager, the membership feels restrained in doing anything without the CEO’s permission. When the pastor acts like they own the church, church members will either push back, give in, or leave.
    Conversely, if it is the board that is the ultimate business owner it is just as problematic. That form of church governing isn’t wrong (the church I pastor requires congregational approval for big decisions), but when it’s abused – as any good thing can be – the church members become more like passive investors demanding a return for their money. Board membership becomes more important than actual servanthood, pastors are afraid to take a potentially unpopular stand, and actual ministry grinds to a halt under the heavy hand of procedures and pettiness.
    Either extreme business model there is no expectation or encouragement to think outside of the stated and codified business statement. The result? Burnt out pastors and shallow members.
  3. A business is accountable only to shareholders. In every church, there is a special group of default members.  Those in this group could well be classified as shareholders.  They have been in the church since it began, they have paid their dues, they have served in every capacity possible, they have their own pew, and are the first to disapprove of any behavior that is not what they perceive to be within the norm.  They seem to hold sway over all.  Their displeasure is felt both in the offering plate and gossip. “Why does the (fill in the blank) do it my way?”
  4. Perhaps the biggest problem with these three skewed visions of the church is how we treat (or ignore) Jesus. If anyone in the church is acting like a boss, they’re crowding out the place where Jesus should be Lord. And when church members act like customers, they’re missing out on the extraordinary joy of serving Jesus.  Prayer is more important than process.  Servanthood in more important that bi-laws.  Faith is more important than fidelity to fragile feelings.

Businesses have employees and customers. The church has family members. Businesses have bosses. The church has a Lord. A head. A savior. And a king.

Comments?

Life, Ramblings

FOMO

We can easily become overwhelmed by a world that is most concerned about image.  A new term for it is FOMO.  Fear of missing out.  With this social malady comes the distraction of constant demand for more.  There is a craving of putting on a good front: a projection of a successful self.  More entertainment, more screens, more experiences, more of everything is touted as the solution to FOMO.  This solution is worse than the illness.  The external view point by definition is on the outside.  It does nothing for the inside.  The group of people that are hardest to minister to are those who seem to have their act together.  On the outside they seem to have it all but they live in poverty of the inner life.

But scratch the surface and you realized there is still pain.  FOMO can never be satisfied primarily because it is all external.  FOMO comes from inside and our culture is one of externals.  There is little in our world that offers much to build the cry of the inner life.

The continuance, strength, peace, depth and wisdom that flows from God is the only answer.  It is the inside that is crying out.  It is the inside that needs.  It is the inside that requires something.  And that something is an inner depth of God in us.

What do you think?  Leave a comment.

Church, Life, Psycolog, Ramblings

Church Attendance Pt2

There are segments of our Western culture that are flourishing.  Technology seems to ingrained into every part of what we call life today.  The world seems to be saying it can provide you everything you need.  “I can provide all things at a click of a mouse or a tap on the screen.”  It is a beautiful place that we have made.  You don’t have to go to the Grand Canyon to feel the awe, you can get virtual glasses and the latest program.  You can buy all that is needed to lead a full and exciting life.  If you are lonely just log on to Facebook,  if you are hungry call up UBER to deliver a gourmet meal in less than an hour.  A world of products are just a click away.  Special industries have popped up to provide vacations, amazing experiences, and gastronomic delights.  Entertainment can provide an endless supply of music, music, live sports and the latest shoot-em-up gaming experience.  There seems to be a constant hum in the air.  But it is so much driven by individualism.

It is about my experience, my location, my food, my dog, my witticism, and my life.  Happiness and stimulation without commitment.  It may not be George Orwell’s new world, but the outcome is the same.  Dull automatons marching to the glare of a screen plastered to your face.

This new found freedom is at the expense of something else.  One writer called it the vanishing of institutions.  If we can be ourselves, if we can life our lives in constant self gratification and self forfillment, what do we need with institutions?  What do we need with the Church?

The Church is our beliefs and ethics in the flesh. The Church is a bringing down from heaven the life of God to become a operating on earth.  There is a shared set of beliefs that the whole agrees and defines itself.  The Church exists to pass along our beliefs.  The Church exists as a place to turn our beliefs into action, in real behaviors, to educate.  It is more than a broadcast message hoping some would friend it.  It is not about information it is about values.

Values, including love, forgiveness, self sacrifice, the greater good, hope, acceptance and service, must be passed on.  And the passing from one generation to the next is one of the reasons the Church exists and will continue to exist.  When the Church stops passing on values and changes to a broadcast mode of information, then it fails.  Broadcasting of information without values becomes part of the hum and will die with all pet rock and the VCR.

Yes I go to Church.  It is an act of faithfulness to a value system.  Oh I love the old hymns and a well crafted sermon is a delight to my ears. Never-the-less, when you get down to it, it is more about legacy, it is more about passing something along.  It is about endurance of life.  It is about community.  It is about being a part of something that is more than elections across a screen.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment.

Church, Personal, Ramblings

Church Attendance

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When I went to my denominations educational institution were I was required to attend chapel.  I went to school at night so each evening between classes all the prospective preachers would hike down the little hill to First Church.  It was conveniently on the same campus.  It was not an option.  If you did not go it would be noted in your permanent record.  With enough checks you were put on probation and ultimately you would not be allowed to graduate.

The thought of my outward religiosity as some criteria for my spirituality troubles me.  And this concept has plagued me as I finally graduated and became a Pastor.  At every service I would take mental notes as to who was there and who was absent without leave.  Thank God I have overcome this terrible judgmental attitude in my life.

I don’t think God keeps a gradebook and checks every time you or I miss a church service.  The problem is that sometimes the establishment, sometimes called the church, does not quite look at it that way. Church attendance is seen as a mandatory thing.  “You can’t have good and Godly Christians staying away from the gracious open doors of the church.”  Though Christianity purports to operate under the auspices of grace, love and freedom, there seems to be a hint of Torah-caliber parameters to be upheld.

“We can’t have our congregation out during the summer for vacation.”

“The building will fall down and the lights not glow if we let our board members take some family time off.”

Here the institution called the church seems to have taken something so beautiful, so wonderful, so life giving, so filled with awe (Worship) and found a way to grade and monitor people’s performance.

So how exactly do you go to Church? “Because you just have to.”  Some churches even have little cards that every person or family in a pew has to fill in every service just to keep count.

There are two directions of inspection going on.  There is first an assessment of my spirituality. I see the sly glances by the pious attempting to determine if I am holding my head at the right angle, placing the proper envelope in the plate as it goes by, and I standing when I am told to. And if I am not there filling my spot there is a negative assessment of my commitment and spirituality.  If you miss a couple of meetings, you become bombarded with email and notes asking if you are alright.  Secondly this inspection process can well become reciprocal. Church is also where I could well assess the spirituality of my fellow adherents. This is the part I am most concerned with.  I cannot control or change the assessments of others of me.  But I cannot allow myself to fall into the same behavior.

It does not matter if I am the only one in the pew. It does not matter if Harry Holiness is in his place either.  Worship is what I do and it is not for anyone else.  If I am right with God, if I am in the spirit that God would have me in, then it really doesn’t matter whether I am in my pew or on vacation.  Mandatory church like mandatory chapel was in college is a stupid.  God isn’t keeping score.  God does not have a grade book to keep my attendance.  I am saved by grace and not by what I do.

Now don’t get me wrong here.  Worship with a body of like believers is a wonderful thing.  It can pick you up when you don’t feel like it.  It is a place where we can be with people who know more about you than some family members.  But I am not going to Church just to please others.  I am not going to church to meet some grading criteria.

There is no way to guilt me into it; I have given up guilt with the new life in Christ.

What do you think?  Leave a comment.

Life, Personal, Ramblings

War and peace

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I have owned at least twenty lawn mowers in my war on grass.  I had a push mower that never seemed to cut well because it was not sharp and I really did not know how to sharpen one.  I had a mower left in the garage of a house I bought in Colorado that refused to start unless I sprayed the carburetor with very flammable spray from a pressurized can.  There was one mower that would only run on denatured alcohol.  Some of my war tools had pull starters, some had electric starters.  One was self-propelled.  I have permanently loaned two of my latest weapons of grass destruction to my son.  I had one that smoked so badly that the EPA could well classify it as a gross polluter.

Each one, to a machine, was designed to cut the overgrowth of grass down to a perfect two and one-half inches.  Very few buy a mower just for its aesthetic value My goal with each and all of these spinning contraptions was to create the perfect lawn. You have seen those lawns.  Not a blade of grass out of place.  The uniformity of the turf could well be described as a carpet of luxury.  Never-the-less, the next day, no matter how good the mower was and no matter how contentiously the lawn was edged, there would be little blades out of place.  Perfection lost.

The typical keeper of the lawn has a number of choices: Let it grow until the city comes by and leaves you a nice compliance note, stop watering and let it all die all in the name of water conservation, or hire someone to do it for you.  Since I have loaned my last mower to someone that needed it more than I, the local landscaper comes by every two weeks and cuts my lawn.  No more fighting the battle of the lawn.  It still looks a little ragged by the second week but I have learned that there is a peace in letting someone else take responsibility for my lawn.  I can simply give up and give it to someone else.

There is a parable in this missive.  Sometimes, if not all the time, we need to just give up and let God do what he does best.  God doing the lawn work of my life.  If a little blade seems to be out of place, then my responsibility is to let God show to me how to take care of it.  His response may well be to instruct me to do something about the errant grass, His response may well to let him handle it, or He may provide a new tool to do the work.  But I have given my personal life to God. But the most important and most gratifying of giving my life to God (including my lawn) is that He gives peace.

Peace is a gift from God.  We do not make peace with God.  We receive peace as a boon when we come to a penitent trust in Him.  He is my peace.

Church, Ramblings, Theology

Facebook as a creator of sickness

I sit here in my little place of authorship.  I have a TV on my right giving me the news of the day.  I have three computer screens in front of me.  One has my home security cameras going to make sure I know what the weather is like just outside of my walls.  The main monitor is 34 inches and is high definition; I justify it because my eyes are not as good as they used to be.  My third monitor has my email split with my instant messenger.  I guess someone looking in would think I was pretty well saturated with technology. I am often distracted by another app running behind the current task of writing by a new post on Facebook.

I have to ask the question:  What does all this technology and social media affect my life?  Further, what affect does this plethora of technology have upon the way that you and I have of the church?

Facebook is mostly positive.  Lots of pictures of dogs and food.  Once and a while there is a reaction to news or something really affecting one of my Facebook “Friends”.  I have a link on my main screen that takes me to the church I attend. The church has certainly leveraged this technology to advance the cause of Christ.  This blog is my way of making my voice heard in the din of voices in the internet.  I don’t know if anyone is reading this stuff, but it is enough to know I am out there.  The technology is not the illness.

The issue is the direct affect this glut of information upon the church.  I have concerns and so should you.

I just reviewed a book on the social media and how it is affecting the morals and behaviors of its adherents. MIT professor Sherry Trukle wrote to point to the dangers and advantages of social media. Here are a few thoughts I have to agree with professor Trukle as I look at today’s “Facebook culture.”  The sickness names are just a simple way to characterize the issues and are not from Trukle’s work.

  1. Facebook Attention Deficit Disorder (FADD)

I read a great deal.  Real books on real paper is my medium.  Sure I use the internet to get a different opinion on a subject, but for the most part, the books I have in my small library are the prime sources for both inspiration and new thoughts.  But the pervasive invasion of Facebook and like sources has become the only place where some find information.  Short texts, tweets, likes, and smiley faces have become the medium of today.  How do we expect a person from the FADD (Facebook Attention Deficit Disorder) to come to church and listen to a preacher for forty minutes?  Do we insist each part of the service to be accentuated by a slick video presentation.  Do we expect the message to be broken up by a joke or a funny antidote? I believe the only medicine for the church member suffering from FADD is to teach them on how important big thoughts can be.  To teach them that the message is more than a bunch of tweets and thumbs up, but the very prophecy of God.

  1. Facebook Authority Syndrome (FAS)

Our church small groups have changed by the mindset that everyone’s opinion is as worthy as everyone else’s.  There is no hierarchy of authority.  Social media has broken down the barriers of the authority of source.  If I say on my Facebook page that my opinion is just as good as the local minister, there are few that would contradict me.  Not because it is true but because I have freedom of speech and in the egalitarian world of social media there is no consequences to being wrong.  Everyone has a voice.  We all have a platform to speak our mind, to say our piece. After any article or news story, anyone can offer an opinion. And certainly much of this is good.  But it leads to the view that if all have an authority to speak, then no one can be an authority.  We have come to a place where no one person’s opinion should be valued or weighted more than any other’s. Needless to say, this presents problems for the church and pastors to have real God-given authority in the lives of its people.

  1. Facebook Artificiality Ailment (FAA)

In a book by a MIT professor Sherry Trukle, she states “On social-networking sites such as Facebook, we think we will be presenting ourselves, but our profile ends up as somebody else—often the fantasy of who we want to be.”  What she was saying was even though social media users may feel more connected, they become even more artificial. We post only what you want others to know about you.  The good stuff. Sometimes this good stuff is not entirely true but slanted to make the poster feel better. Consequently, those with FAD (Facebook Artificiality Disease) become more and more distant.  “I posted, therefore I am social.”

The church was founded upon and demands that we engage with each other.  And this engagement has to be truthful, loving and forgiving.  We have to engage with people as they really are.  It is only in honesty that we can face our sin and grow together with Jesus.

  1. Social Media Phantom Malady (SMPM)

I remember when the nickle postcard went up to ten cents.  It was a method of communication that was limited to just a few lines of script.  It was open for all to see. Sure this medium lasted quite a while but has morphed into a marketing tool and little else. Today, I find people readily admitting they would rather leave a voicemail or send an e-mail than talk face-to-face.  Social media has reduced human contact to a point which is limited to a couple of lines in a tweet.  Modern technology, can create an almost non-physical, quasi-phantom existence SMPM.

If I read the church web page and watch my favorite preacher on YouTube it is enough. But the church was born in a face to face encounter.  A hand shake or a polite hug is more gratifying that a million lines of tweets.

  1. Negative Accountability and Commitment Condition. (NACC)

Probably the most attractive features of the use of social media communications is that it does not require much of a commitment and little or no accountability.  We control to the last letter of our posts, the duration, degree of the radical, and level of our contact.  There is little commitment to the those we are spewing to.  There is a mindset that “everybody” wants to know my meal plan.  It is a low-commitment and low-accountability form of interaction.

But the Christian life and real Christian relationships don’t work this way. We do have obligations to one another to be real.  Oh there are times we would rather not have those obligations. There are times we would rather not have accountability.  But the Christian Church is one of commitments and obligations.  In the church there is something called a covenant. The Christian church has a corporate aspect that stands directly against the individualistic and self-determined relational patterns of our modern technological age.

The Bitter Pill

So is the answer is to unplug and shut it all down?  Should we all move away from it all and get back to our old time religion roots? Not at all.  Do we abandon technology, move to the countryside, and adopt an Amish-like existence? I am not here to condemn methodologies but to point out the symptoms. Symptoms of a sickness that could well be infecting your life.

Yes, we may well need a sabbatical from this all purveying contagion of illness.  But in reality we can’t get away from it all.  My bitter pill is to be honest with your posts.  Have accountability.  Don’t let the ease of communication become the only communication.  Realize there are authorities in life.  People are not all the same: love them, keep them in your prayers and go to church and shake a hand.

Tell me what you think.