Gossip Vs. Grace

He was a pastor and quite a raconteur who entertained audiences with good stories and humor. He was also known for his hand-written letters in the days before texting and email overtook pen and paper. I received a chatty letter or two after hosting him at an event in our church. But I remember one letter he sent that bothered me.

Another pastor was accused of a crime, but not charged by local authorities. He remained at his church for a while but eventually stepped aside. The letter-writing pastor sent me a photocopied letter addressed to “My Friend,” so obviously I was one of at least two or more who received it. He described details of the alleged crime and what he was hearing from people in that church. Though I understood the men were friends, the letter was more gossip than grace.

I thought about this lately when a pastor I know fell into some difficulty. My first reaction was curiosity. What happened? Then I heard the better angels of my nature declaring it wasn’t my concern, and that I should call to express love and offer help, which I did.

I know we often tread a fine line between concern and gossip in our congregations. I’ve been in many prayer meetings that delved into diagnoses—what the doctors said, and relationships—who was related to who. I remember one prayer meeting where I quickly lost leadership and stood there bewildered as the church member requesting prayer for another explained who the man’s cousins were naturally and through two marriages!

I suppose it would be helpful to have some kind of HIPAA law in the church so this kind of thing wouldn’t happen. We really don’t need to know all the details about sickness and sin to pray for someone. We believe God knows all the details already. He only wants us to bring our concerns to him and to be merciful to others.

I’ll always remember a better example while a student at Southern Seminary in Louisville. Dr. Henlee Barnett was teaching our Christian Ethics class one day about relating to God and country. He cited a radio preacher known for his strong pro-America stance who had criticized Dr. Barnette. Our professor read some news clippings to us about this from a file. A student raised his hand to announce he’d just picked up his copy of a national news magazine in the post office, and there was a story about this broadcaster being investigated for inappropriate relationships.

Without asking for more details, Dr. Barnette said, “Well, I forgive him. He has troubles enough now.”

Dr. Barnett showed us in this unique way what Christian grace really is.

Forgiving Others

I was in college and conducting a youth revival in an Anniston-area church. The protestant chaplain at Ft. McClellan was a member of the church, and he'd asked the pastor to conduct the Sunday morning base service in his absence. The pastor invited me to accompany him and to read scripture in the service. After I'd finished, a female officer whispered to me, "Pastor, you're supposed to lead us in the Lord's Prayer at this time." I panicked, not sure if I'd remember it! Fortunately after I began the congregants joined in and completed the prayer.

I'm ashamed of this now, but I wasn't taught the Lord's Prayer as a child. I don't remember our church using it. I remember memorizing the books of the Bible in VBS but I never had instruction on the Lord's Prayer.

The Lord's Prayer is a prayer for the community of faith. Plural pronouns, such as "we," "us" and "our," are used nine times. It's a prayer we can share. It's also true that liturgy--the word used to describe the elements of worship--literally means "the work of the people." Too often worship is a spectator sport in which we're content to let one or two do the work. In addition to singing together, the church can pray the Lord's Prayer together as worship participation.

The prayer is divided into three sections. The first is three petitions directed to God. The second section--the fourth petition--is a prayer for the things we need in life. The third section has to do with our spiritual lives.

It's striking that after the final "amen" Jesus added a footnote to the prayer. In Matthew 6: 14-15 he said, "Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you, but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you."

We learned a significant lesson in forgiveness a few summers ago. A 21-year-old named Dylan Roof entered the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston and sat through a portion of the church's prayer meeting. Then he stood and began firing his handgun, striking 10 people and killing nine. Investigations found that he, like Charles Manson before him, wanted to start a race war. But a matter of race became a matter of grace. Families of survivors began to speak publicly about their forgiveness for Roof. The headline in the New York Daily News was succinct: "We forgive you; hate won't win."

Very few of us find ourselves in this kind of unique situation, and it makes the grudges and animosities we hold seem so trivial by comparison.

What would happen if we took Jesus's prayer footnote seriously and began to forgive others?

On Regrets

A mentor when I was younger insisted Monday was a good day for pastors since the pressure of the upcoming Sunday hadn’t yet settled in. He was in the minority because many pastors joke about Mondays being “resignation day.” They feel badly about the day before and drag in on Monday with discouragement. Another pastor I knew did reverse psychology. He had staff meetings at 8 a.m. on Monday morning so his compatriots wouldn’t drag in!

I drug in a few Mondays ago distraught over my sermon the day before. It didn’t flow like I’d planned, so I took time to re-do it before filing notes away. Of course, I won’t get to reuse it in my present ministry station, since some people write these things in their Bibles, but I couldn’t bear to save it without reorganization.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught principles of rhetoric--the “Aristotelian proofs”--and we still use these to teach public speaking. One of his three key principles was “logos.” He meant that a speaker’s research, organization and word choice in large measure made one effective or not. A presentation needs to be easy to “track,” as millennials say.

I thought about recalling our congregation for a sermon re-do. However, another Greek, Heraclitus, famously said “no man steps into the same river twice.” Life moves on and we’ll never have the same moment again. By the way, this is one of the primary motivations for making good use of every opportunity since opportunities are temporary.

I began to think about how many times I wish I might stage a personal intervention and re-do something.

I’ve said things I shouldn’t have said. Most often when I’ve given someone a piece of my mind, I regretted it later.

I had an office assistant once who dared ask if I really wanted to mail a letter of reprimand to a neighboring pastor who had insulted our church. I did mail it, but I should’ve listened to her superior wisdom and refused to get in the mud with him.

And I’ve done things I shouldn’t have done. As TV’s Jesse Stone said, “You know, you live long enough, you have regrets. And the ones that nag at you the most are the ones where you knew you had a choice. The ones where you knew you could have stopped yourself. The ones where you looked into the mirror and everything good inside you said, 'Don't do this.'"

 None of us can completely undo the wrong we’ve done in the past. But it’s possible to grow in wisdom and in relationships. We can humbly repent before God, and we can make peace with those we hurt along the way.

The Joy Of Stuff

I read the story in "The Christian Century" some time ago. The author and her husband held three teacups in their hands after the husband's mother downsized and moved to a smaller apartment. The couple talked about which items to keep or to discard in a home that was already full of things. The question they asked about each item was, "Does this item spark joy?"

The writer said she got this concept from Marie Kondo who's written extensively about de-cluttering one's life. Kondo says that if an item doesn't “spark joy” it should be sold or given to another person for whom it would bring pleasure. An interesting corollary to this philosophy is that Kondo even suggests we talk to the item we're about to discard, thank it for the joy it brought and wish it well in its new place!

I'm not sure our friends would consider us sane if they came to our home and found us talking to the drapery and the silverware, but the basic premise is a good one. We express thanks for the things that bring joy to our lives.

I read the Apostle Paul's words with new appreciation this week: "Let [us] place confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17).

The above-cited verse is addressed to "the rich." Though some might deny this descriptor, all of us are rich. By the grace of God we're Americans living in a land of plenty. The Global Village at Habitat for Humanity's International Headquarters in Americus, Ga. has actual housing from the third world--housing we wouldn't use for our dogs or lawnmowers in America. We are all blessed.

And scripture affirms the concept that God is a lavish giver of things. He's not a killjoy; he wants us to enjoy possessions. Accordingly, some find joy in coins or stamps, salt shakers or ceramic frogs, political items or books. These things spark joy. And part of our reason for worship is to thank God for the joy we find in things.

But scripture also affirms that we should handle things responsibly by remembering the needs of others around us. The Bible pointedly asserts that if we have goods and see a brother without goods and don't share, the love of God doesn’t live in our hearts (1 John 3:17).

Ultimately we'll stand before God to give account of our use of every opportunity and every possession. John the revelator said both "small and great" will stand before the Lord of the universe. The small is you and me. The great is the Kennedys, the Rockefellers, Bezos and Gates.

God will hold us accountable for how we handled things.

Call Your Mother

An ABC tribute to Gilda Radner some time ago reminded me of the number of people we’ve lost in the last few years who made us laugh: John Belushi, John Candy, Phil Hartman, Bob Hope, Grady Nutt, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Clower and others.

Humor has great value. Solomon said laughter is medicine for the soul (Proverbs 17:22), and sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to have a good laugh.

Lincoln, a man who suffered depression or "melancholia" as it was called in those days, talked about the value of humor in the stressful days of the Civil War.

“With the fearful strain that is on me," he said, "if I did not laugh, I would die.”

Lewis Grizzard was a great Southern humorist. But, occasionally, he stepped aside from humor and made some pretty astute observations about life. He did this, I believe, in one of his books entitled, “Call Your Mama—I Wish I Could Call Mine.”

Me too, Lewis.

I guess I thought my mother would live forever. She was a constant in the changes of my life.  But there came that terrible December in 1993 when our family had gathered for Christmas and she was so sick she couldn’t function. I thought maybe she'd worked too hard preparing the house and the meal, but she lay down on the couch and didn't have energy to get up. My wife and sister forcibly took her to the local hospital. An X-ray turned up something ominous, and the doctor thought she needed to go to a larger hospital for tests.

The Monday following Christmas the doctors at Birmingham’s St. Vincent’s Hospital confirmed the dread diagnosis: cancer. In seven weeks she was gone. 

Those were weeks of trial as my siblings and I scheduled time to be with her and take care of things. One of the most stressful rites of passage is caring for aging and dying parents. In addition to the shock of impending loss there's the demands of everyday tasks that must be done.

I read something recently about the trauma we experience when our mothers die. Mothers, the article stated, represent unconditional love, and we're often unprepared for a world in which no one else seems to fill that significant role.

God knew what he was doing when he invented the family and put mothers in them. She is the family's heart, civilizing us and teaching us to care. Mothers fill a niche no one else can. They love us and are proud of us no matter what.

May 12 is Mother’s Day. 

Be sure to call your mother. 

I wish I could call mine.

Pray For America

May 2 is the National Day of Prayer when we pause to thank God for our nation, seek forgiveness for our sins and ask his guidance in the future.

There were at least two major proclamations before the event was formalized. The Continental Congress called the colonies to pray in 1775, and President Lincoln asked the nation to pray in 1863. Our modern observance was created in 1952 under President Truman and amended under President Reagan in 1988 to fall on the first Thursday in May. Every president since 1952 has signed a National Day of Prayer proclamation.

Some Christians have expressed their unease when the government calls for prayer, but, in reality, Christians asked the government only to recognize this day, not to mandate it.

It’s true that religion and politics have a testy relationship. Jon Ward wrote “Camelot’s End,”  a book about the Kennedy challenge to the Carter reelection campaign in 1980. The book reminded me of the John and Robert Kennedy tragedies, how Sen. Ted Kennedy wrestled with the lingering questions from the Chappaquiddick episode of 1969 and how America reacted to the former governor of Georgia, a Baptist deacon, declaring he’d been “born again.” A majority of evangelical voters supported Gov. Carter in ’76 but turned to Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1980.

We had another uneasy time in the ’90s when President Clinton was embroiled in moral crisis. I told our church at the time that Christians condemn this conduct while we pray for our president. I recall a member of our church taking me to task for “mixing politics and religion”! I never could get him to understand we were speaking about different issues.

We all have political opinions, But whether one is Democrat or Republican, we’re exhorted to pray for “kings and all those in authority over us” (1 Timothy 2:2).

For what should we pray?

First, we pray for peace. The most demanding role of the president is commander-in-chief. The nuclear codes are always nearby in a briefcase euphemistically called “the football.” Armageddon can begin in half an hour. Perhaps this is the reason our presidents seem to age so markedly in office.

Chaos prevents the church from evangelizing and serving in an optimal manner. A society of peace is the best environment for the church to do her work.

Second, we pray for wisdom for those who lead. We ask that all our elected officials seek God’s leadership, turn from graft and serve the people who elected them.

And we pray wisdom for all citizens as we approach a significant election in 2020. We need God’s direction as we vote.

I hope everyone will schedule time this week to pray for America.

On Finishing In Second Place

I found former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s book at our local library recently and enjoyed reading about his life and service. I heard the governor speak in 2012 and know him to be a commanding figure in person. He didn’t hold back in his book, either!

Christie told about his rise from federal prosecutor to governor, flirting with national office and the two issues he dealt with in his final term that torpedoed his popularity: Bridgegate and Beachgate. In the former, he explained that the investigation drug on for two years but cleared him of all charges. And he described the latter as a news media publicity stunt. Christie and his family were photographed by helicopter on a state beach during a time of state government shut-down. Thus, the public accused him of privilege. Christie explained that the public beaches were open, though the state beaches weren’t, and that the beach he was on always had a one-mile perimeter protected by New Jersey security.

I guess I’d overlooked the drama in 2016 as the soon-to-be-nominee Donald Trump determined who his running-mate would be. It came down to two: Christie and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana. Christie said Trump offered him another government post, but Christie only had interest in the so-called “veep-stakes” or Attorney General. He walked away with neither since Trump had already offered the justice spot to Sen Jeff Sessions.

This story reminded me that life often comes down to two choices. Most of us have had the distinction of finishing in second place every now and again.

Sometimes we fall short in job interviews or promotions. I remember a department director in state government telling me this years ago, insisting that they had to hire a female. My being a stepping stone for female advancement didn’t make me feel any better! And we take little comfort in being number two in athletic competitions, even though our team may have defeated a dozen or more in the process of becoming number two--as with Alabama football or Auburn basketball this year.

As followers of Christ we know we’re always number two! We’re called to be God’s servants, and the servant’s desires are always subject to the master’s desires. We subjugate our goals to his, and this process is never-ending. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31).

And along the way we have to learn to pick ourselves up and press forward in those days when we fall short of some objective. King Solomon wrote, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16).

The God who created us rejoices in our success and sympathizes in our failure.

A Friday To Remember

The wind in my face was bitterly cold in downtown Dallas a few years ago since the winter weather was yet lingering. My continuing education classes had ended at the seminary in nearby Ft. Worth, so the afternoon was free for some sightseeing.

A chill came over me independent of the temperature when I walked onto Dealey Plaza and saw firsthand those sights emblazoned in my memory from childhood: Elm Street, the triple overpass and the sixth-floor window.

I thought back to that terrible Friday in November, 1963. Our class had just returned from lunch when Mr. Vines, our principal, made an announcement on the intercom.

“Boys and girls,” he said, “some of you may have heard already that our president’s been shot. Let’s try to finish out the day in school and I’ll let you know the latest news when I hear more.”

Nevertheless, the senseless death of President Kennedy so paralyzed us that I don’t remember our doing much work in school that Friday afternoon. I remember my family and me glued to the old black-and-white television throughout the weekend and during the president’s funeral the next week.

That Friday in November will live in the bad memory section of my brain forever.

This week the world remembers another bleak Friday on which Jesus of Nazareth was murdered.

His death was senseless, too, for he’d done no wrong. In fact, bribed witnesses had to be brought in to lie about him at his trial. One of the thieves who died with him realized Jesus' innocence when he said, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23: 41).

British writer Richard Jefferies told of a little boy who gazed at a graphic painting of Calvary and exclaimed, “If God had’a been there, he wouldn’t have let them do it!”

But God was there! He wasn't removed from the event at Calvary. Paul insisted “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).

God was present at the cross, and he showed us that he loves us in spite of disobedience, that he offers forgiveness to all and that he wants to be our partner in building a life filled with hope.

God’s redemptive plan wasn’t completed on Friday. The Father was faithful to his son and raised him on the third day. Now God promises to welcome all his children on the other side of death.

In light of God’s ultimate plan we believers have renamed that awful Friday. 

We call it Good Friday. 

And so it is.

On Interpreting The Bible

A community continued to lose population and its small churches got smaller. Someone proposed the citizens have a town meeting and determine what options they had. One attendee suggested the declining churches merge to form one community church, and that it be called the Christian church.

A Baptist deacon rose to protest.

"I've been a Baptist for 60 years," he said, "and nobody's gonna' make a Christian out of me!"

A blogger recently insisted that denominations are wrong and a symbol of our failure to hear Jesus' prayer that we be one (John 17:21). Perhaps so, but I don't think we'll see any change in the denominational landscape in the foreseeable future. Denominations exist because we don't interpret the Bible in the same way.

But I'm convinced all of us should hold to three principles as we read the Bible.

First, we interpret the Bible literally. This was the contention of the late Dr. Clyde Francisco. He said we don't read the Bible because we don't understand it, but because it disturbs us.

For example, the Bible says, "love your neighbor as you love yourself," and "forgive one another as God through Christ has forgiven you" and "seek first God's kingdom and everything else will find its proper place." These commands are simple in language, but "pack a wallop" when we obey.

Second, we interpret the Bible symbolically. Often the Bible uses symbol to convey truth. In the gospels Jesus said that if the people on Palm Sunday were silenced, "the very stones would cry out" in praise to God. This is poetry. We know Jesus could've made stones sing if he wished, but this strains the point. He was using poetry to say that praise was in order that day.

And Jesus sometimes used hyperbole--the language of exaggeration that shocks the hearer. He said that one is to "hate father and mother" when following him. The Bible is clear that we're to honor our parents, but his point is that our love for God must be so great that all other loves pale in comparison.

And Jesus said if we have lust in our hearts we should pluck out our eye or cut off our hand. The Bible teaches our bodies are God's gifts and we treat them like a temple--a place where God dwells. And losing an eye or a hand wouldn't cure a heart problem anyway. This shocking language is a way to say that lust is destructive and must be battled.

Thirdly, we interpret the Bible seriously. Jesus told of our final exam in Matthew 25. One day we'll be tested on how well we read God's word and obeyed it.

On Giving Up Breadsticks

I got home a few weeks ago to face awful criticism. My wife said, “You reek of garlic!” It’s true I’d been to an Italian restaurant for lunch and had a breadstick or two, but the garlic in the bread was something I didn’t detect. As Robert Burns wrote, “Would some Power give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us.” Burns wrote his poem after he saw a louse on a lady’s bonnet at church and thought how horrified she’d be if she knew the parasite was crawling on her.

All in all, it’s much better to smell of garlic than to host a parasite.

Nevertheless, I had a decision to make—either enjoy my wife’s company or give up breadsticks. I really love breadsticks, but the choice wasn’t hard to make.

I told this story at church lately and we all had a good laugh. But I shared it in the context of a message on worthy goals. For a worthy family goal, I asked the women to tune out for a minute while I spoke to the men.

The Apostle Paul gave two straightforward words to men in the book of Ephesians. “Fathers, bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” he wrote in chapter six. It’s always been God’s intention that the man be spiritual priest of the household. It’s the man’s job to be sure children receive religious instruction. Of course, countless women have taken up the slack when men haven’t lived up to this ideal, but the ideal is real, nonetheless.

Many men in my age group look back with regret to the time our children were young. We were so busy with work responsibilities that we didn’t give enough time to our children who now are grown and away. We wished we’d done better. But we “seasoned citizens” also know our gracious God has given us another chance with grandchildren. We can tell them they’re special, love them and pray for them. We can be their parents’ best partners in raising their children.

Paul also instructed husbands to “love your wives as Christ loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25). This exhortation is in the context of the wife being in submission to the husband—a passage of some interpretive difficulty. But I can’t autocratically instruct my wife to submit if I ignore my part of the contract. To me is given he seemingly-impossible task of loving her just like Jesus loved his church. He loved his church enough to die for her.

Giving up breadsticks is probably one-one hundredth of one percent of my duty to love my wife as Christ loved his church. But it is that.

A Wolf In The Sheep Pen

Leah is a businesswoman in a nearby community, and I see her occasionally. I knew her when she was in what we used to call “junior high.” I was a college student when I got a call to speak at her church one Sunday. I learned their pastor has suffered a major heart attack and wasn’t expected back at the church for a while. My speaking assignment turned into a six-month commitment, and it was a wonderful experience for me. At the time I had about three or four sermons, so speaking to the same group three times each week was a challenge, but also a time of personal growth.

I remember the community Thanksgiving service scheduled that fall when some of our church members lobbied for me to be the preacher. I smiled sweetly, but inwardly groaned at the thought of another sermon that week! Fortunately, they asked the Methodist pastor to speak at the service.

Leah told me lately she found her old diary and one entry was funny. She wrote, “I got to ride with Mike in his car tonight!” Though I couldn’t remember the specifics, we both had a laugh. But afterward I reflected on how much things have changed since those early years. Today most of our churches have specific policies forbidding ministers to be alone with anybody, much less impressionable children. And these days we have cameras in place in schools and churches so there’s a record of interactions between adults and children.

A Texas newspaper lately did a major expose on child sexual abuse in my denomination. I don’t know the precipitating cause, but the report was quite shocking. An Alabama newspaper did a summary of the series and mentioned local pastors and other ministers who had faced accusations. Double-shock.

I cannot fathom why any adult would wish to harm an innocent child in this way. This malady has to be a deeply ingrained sickness. I attended a denominational training event last year and heard a national presenter say he couldn’t explain the psychology of this aberration, though he could explain the predators’ methodology. And he told us plainly the safeguards we needed to have in place.

I’ve lived long enough to see several major changes in church life. Some are good, like how we “dress down” today in order to make newcomers feel more comfortable, and how we don’t rely as much on “the language of Zion” in favor of more identifiable speech.

But some changes don’t make us proud, such as child protection policies. But in obedience to the one who blessed the children, we do all we can to make church a safe and welcoming place for boys and girls.

What About Autographing The Bible?

The recent tornado in Lee County, Alabama, was devastating with 23 lives lost—several in a single family. How sad that things changed for these residents in such a short time.

U.S. presidents are expected to make appearances following disasters in order to boost morale. We remember President Obama touring Tuscaloosa with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in 2011. Likewise, President and Mrs. Trump visited the Auburn area to survey damage and offer encouragement.

The president received criticism for autographing a few Bibles on his visit. He didn’t choose to but was requested to do so by attendees at Providence Baptist Church. According to the AP a young person thrust a Bible into the president’s hands and asked him to sign, and others followed suit. The same story reported a few religious leaders outraged that someone other than the author would sign and claiming the president was “courting” his evangelical base in this way.

Theologians call the original biblical manuscripts “the autographs”—the documents written and  “signed” by Peter, Paul, Moses and others. Evangelicals usually don’t believe it’s disrespecting the original writers to sign Bibles; rather we see it as a way to encourage one another.

One of my boyhood heroes was the Chaplain of Bourbon Street, Bob Harrington. He was a dynamic Christian preacher who was recognized for his ministry in the French Quarter while a student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I loved to hear Harrington preach, and probably knew his testimony from memory. He often signed Bibles, as he did for me, with the inscription, “Gratefully saved.” 

I have a Bible signed by the prince of Southern Baptist preachers, W.A. Criswell. Criswell served First Baptist Dallas, Texas for 40 years. He loved young preachers and often took a moment to sign a word of encouragement in our Bibles.

The Bible I most often use in the pulpit was given by a friend in 1980, and his dedication signature is in the foreword.

My ordination Bible is also signed by my pastor at the time.

The Carter Political Items Collectors group I’m a member of has an annual convention in Plains, Ga. We often have Jimmy Carter-signed items in our auctions, including Bibles and other Bible study materials. The auction benefits the Maranatha Baptist Church where the Carters attend.

Another church I served gave a music minister a Bible when he went away to school. He passed it around and asked us to sign our names by our favorite scripture passage as a memento.

The president himself owns a Bible inscribed by Billy Graham.

I think we shouldn’t criticize Bible signing, unless perhaps at a political event. Mr. Trump simply gave his time to encourage hurting people.

Open The Door

The British artist, Holman Hunt, produced a painting in 1853 that hangs today in the chapel at Oxford University. It’s called “Jesus the Light of the World,” and portrays Jesus knocking on a door with no visible latch while holding a lantern in his other hand. Hunt based his painting on the word of Christ in Revelation 3: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me” (v. 20).

“I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be by Divine command, and not simply as a good subject,” Hunt said. “The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore be opened only from the inside, representing the obstinately shut mind.”

The painting has been updated by many artists over the years, while keeping the main idea of Mr. Hunt that Jesus calls out and knocks desiring entrance into our lives.I can imagine that this verse, and this image, have been used by most of us evangelical preachers  when we implore men and women to open the door of their hearts and allow Jesus to do his work of regeneration. Whether we call it “being saved,” “obeying the gospel” or being “born again,” the idea remains the same. Jesus, a gentleman, will not storm his way into our lives. He comes by personal invitation where he’s welcomed.

However, the sobering original word in Revelation is directed to the church of Laodicea. How striking to think of Jesus outside his church, knocking and wanting to come in. What an indictment that worship might not include the Lord of the church!

Worship has nothing to do with noise, although some well-intentioned pastors see themselves as cheerleaders. “Let all the world keep silence” is in the Bible, too (Habakkuk 2:20). Nor does meaningful worship necessarily mandate movement. A popular cartoon a dozen years ago portrayed an usher asking two newcomers, “Clapping, or non-clapping?” I suppose for many of our congregations this issue has been settled, but now some churches encourage “liturgical movement,” or dancing while singing hymns. While this is a matter for individual congregations to decide, the old adage is true: “It’s not how high we jump, but how straight we walk when we hit the ground”!

Inviting Jesus into our churches is actually surrender to his will in all things. We must never close the door on the Lord of the church by doing what we think best. He’s the head of the body, his church, and we must always seek his will and his honor in what we do (Ephesians 5:23).

On God's Will

Someone took me to task for what I thought was a harmless quip. In a tongue-in-cheek article about how we Baptists “steal” pastors from one another, I remarked that though it’s a flawed system, God seems to help us through it most of the time.

“God helps us all the time!” someone responded.

Yes, I understand, but I know also that we frequently sidestep the will of God and mess things up.

A good example of this was a church in one of the Carolinas. A friend found the story and sent me the two newspaper copies years ago. A noted pastor from Texas announced with great fanfare it was God’s will for him to move from his flourishing church to a new ministry on the East coast. He said he had no doubts God was leading him to a new and even more flourishing ministry. In less than two weeks he announced it was God’s will that he return to his former church. The story didn’t explain any precipitating causes, nor what negotiations occurred with the former church that would bring about his return.

My friend who sent me this story, a great mentor, was exhorting me to exercise caution in labeling everything God’s will. In this case it’s alledged God changed his mind!

I know a similar story firsthand since I knew the pastor quite well. He announced his move to Louisville to attend the same Baptist seminary I attended believing it was God’s will. He remained one week before convincing his former church to take him back as their pastor!

The prophet Jeremiah spoke God’s displeasure with false prophets who say “he says” when the Lord didn’t speak (Jeremiah 23: 31). We need to seek his will, to be sure, but it’s often best to say we believe a matter to be the Lord’s will if we’re still working our way through it. And it’s helpful to ask for the insights of others as we test our thoughts (1 Corinthians 14: 32).

Some Christians believe in the reform doctrine that everything that happens to us is due to the active and deliberate plan of God. Whereas I respect their belief, I’m of the Arminian mindset, believing God gives us freedom to choose, and often we make some really bad choices. We see people all the time using tobacco, spurning their marriage vows, texting and driving and being reckless in other ways on the road. When these people hurt themselves or others, I really don’t believe it is God’s will. It’s his will that we exercise better judgment. God helps us if we let him.

Fortunately, he’s a merciful God who can mend the bad choices we make.

What About Money?

He was a long-time church member and a “seasoned citizen” as Rush Limbaugh would say. He came to see me when I’d been at his church for only a short time.

“We have some wealthy members here, and other pastors have cultivated their friendships because we need their money,” he explained. “I  hope you’ll do the same.”

I smiled sweetly, but in my heart of hearts I thought, “I hope I never base friendship on someone’s check book balance!

One of those wealthy members did become a good friend. He invited me to tell him privately about special needs he might help with, and I did. He had a heart for children and sent scores of young people to summer camp. No one every  knew about this except me and him. Later I had the sad duty of conducting his funeral and tried to say some kind words about him.

I’ve had other church friends with no money. One called lately to announce there wasn’t a “crumb of food” in his house. We were able to handle this privately and discreetly.

Money is important in the church. Most everything we do requires it and we have to have it.

My tact has been different from some of my fellow pastors. One of them forthrightly told me, “I preach on money all the time. If people get their hearts right about money everything else will work out.”

I tend to believe money is a by-product of spiritual growth; that is, if we get our hearts right, then honoring God with our money won’t be an issue. I preached a sermon on money last December after realizing I’d not mentioned money in months.

Churches have different opinions on reporting, too. A current practice is to include all salaries in one budget line item. The stated reason is not to embarrass anyone by publicizing their salary, and also to use money to deal privately with work performance.

My mentor was the late Dotson Nelson of Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham. When his finance team moved to lump salaries into one-line item, he refused to let his salary be included.

“I’m the editor of the Sunday bulletin,” he said. “If you don’t publish my salary, then I’ll print it every Sunday!”

His reasoning was that the pastor’s salary is the first thing people look at in the annual budget and he wanted to be transparent. Our church follows this practice and my salary is known to all.

Money can be an issue of controversy in our churches. I think we must encourage people to grow financially, as well as spiritually, to the glory of God. And churches need to be accountable in spending, too.

On Stealing Pastors

We Baptists have a unique system for hiring pastors, unlike our Methodist friends who have a bishop to superintend the process. The current nomenclature is “pastor search committee,” though we used to call them “pulpit committees.”

I’m grateful I was elected a youth rep as a high schooler on our church’s pulpit committee and had some acquaintance with the process from the layman’s side.

Of course, the process has evolved since those days. Our denomination claims the average church seeking a pastor will get at least 60 resumes in the first month. I’m not sure what this means, though it could mean there’s a lot of restlessness among pastors.

A story circulates about a pastor sanctimoniously declaring he’s praying and seeking God’s will about the invitation to move to another church, while his wife is at home packing!

The Baptist system means we send our elected committee to hear, meet and interview a prospective pastor whom we “steal” away from his present church. Then that church elects a committee to go to another church and do the same. Equilibrium is never reached!

I suppose the most interesting experience I had was several years ago when a committee showed up unannounced one morning and invited my wife and me to talk with them after worship. We met through lunch and weren’t offered lunch. I remember only one of their questions. They asked whether she or I had ever been divorced, which was the unpardonable sin amongst pastors, at least in that day.

At the conclusion of the interview the chair announced they’d go home and decide if I was “God’s man.” If I was, he’d call me that week. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t hear from them again and the church would save the cost of a long-distance call. A telephone call in that day was probably 30 cents, so I got an idea of how his church squeezed a nickel. And in this case, they saved their money.

But I do remember other search teams composed of wonderful, God-fearing people who took their task seriously, prayed earnestly and treated me respectfully, as it should be done.

One of these people called me recently to chat. I told him I’d heard about his 90th birthday, and he told me that was a year ago! He assured me of his love and prayers and his wish to drop by sometime and visit our church. It would be a privilege, for knowing him was a great privilege in my life.

The bumblebee, according to the laws of physics, shouldn’t be able to fly, but he does. And our Baptist system doesn’t seem feasible, but God helps us along most of the time.

The Ministry of Letter-Writing

A friend alerted me to author David McCullough’s visit to Montgomery a few years ago, and I was happy to attend the Air University Foundation luncheon with him. McCullough was invited to talk about his recently-published book on the Wright brothers. I’d not know that the Wrights visited Montgomery and established a flying school there when aviation was young.

McCullough won Pulitzers for “Truman” and “John Adams.”

I told Mr. McCullough in the book-signing line that I learned to love John Adams through his book. It’s on my top ten list of all time.

“Oh, what’s not to like about John Adams?” he replied with a smile.

Well, many people didn’t like John Adams. He was our first president not to be reelected, and in such a huff that he went home to Boston the night before his successor’s inauguration. Of course, being president between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would set one up for failure!

McCullough’s book is based largely on letters John and Abigail Adams wrote to each other and kept. These letters reveal wonderful history. I ponder what history this generation is leaving since letter-writing seems to be a thing of the past. Modern students often need to be reminded that formal papers must be written with good grammar and proper capitalization, unlike hastily-sent emails or texts. And many have long forgotten the art of the “bread and butter” note sent to people who’ve done kind things for us.

Christians have been encouraged for some 2000 years through letters written by people of faith. The apostle Paul wrote 13 we have, and at least one we don’t have (Colossians 4:16), addressing specific churches or individuals. Paul may not have known his letters would be part of Holy Scripture or he might not have called the Cretans “lazy gluttons”! (Titus 1:12-13). Eight letters are called general letters because they were written by five men to the church at large.

God chose human authors to write letters to inspire and instruct his church.

A retired physician told me about receiving an unexpected check through the mail. He decided to divide the money as gifts to his five children and, he said, this was a good prompt to write letters to each expressing his love and hopes for them.

Other parents can emulate him. Perhaps we don’t have “mailbox money” to share, but we can share our hearts. And grandparents can also use letters to encourage our grandchildren. And there are plenty of people we know who would benefit from a written word of blessing. I’m convinced many letters will likely be preserved and inspire others long after we, as Hamlet said, “shuffle off this mortal coil.”

Satan's Storeroom

Charles Chandler introduced me to Metropolis, Illinois—the hometown of Superman.

Charles founded the Ministering to Ministers Foundation in the early 90s to offer renewed hope to ministers under stress, including involuntary termination. The number of ministers who face job loss is astounding. I talked with a student pastor lately who was told the church was “moving in a different direction” and he was no longer needed. The pastor put this in a letter and handed it to him just after Christmas, which to me sounded very cowardly. Ministers are often in the same category with football coaches. Growing churches ensure job security, but notable losses bring murmurings.

MTM sponsors Wellness Retreats across the nation for broken ministers. I was able to assist in several of these over the years and was happy to do so.

Charles mentioned that he once portrayed Superman in Metropolis. The city fathers planned a big Superman celebration and privately enlisted him, the Baptist pastor, to be the man of steel.

I persuaded my wife I needed to attend the American Political Items Collectors biennial convention in Springfield, Ill. last summer. After crossing the Ohio River, I saw Metropolis signs, and determined to stop by en route home. Metropolis has a large Superman statue in the square and a museum with every Superman product ever produced.

Most interesting to me was the large barrel of Kryptonite fragments for sale in the museum store. For some reason I bought two or three pieces as mementos. As everyone knows, Kryptonite is the only substance that weakens Superman, so it’s unusual to find it for sale in his hometown!

I’m convinced Satan stocks Kryptonite in his storeroom. Some Christians are vulnerable to the pursuit of money. Some are vulnerable to illicit relationships with the opposite sex. Some have hair-trigger tempers or unguarded speech and leave relationships in disarray. And I’ve known some believers to fall victim to addictions, losing their self-respect and sometimes their careers and families.

God has given us at least two things to help us battle the temptations of life. One is his Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to give his followers the spirit of God after he departed, and the church celebrates this gift on Pentecost. The Apostle Paul declared the Christian’s body is the temple of the spirit who leads us to holy living (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20).

God also gives us his church. A major responsibility in our spiritual family is alerting one another when we fall into questionable practices. Confrontation isn’t usually pleasant, but it’s a godly task when used to restore the fallen. As the military says, “watch my six,” or help me see my blind spots. Christians need this, too.

Falling Out Of Love

Though Alcatraz Island was originally a lighthouse for San Francisco Harbor, it’s better known as the most feared penal colony in American history. Inmates called it “The Rock,” and it was a foreboding place even for my wife and me to visit as tourists several years ago.

The Apostle John was sent to the Alcatraz of his day. Patmos Island was a penal colony for the worst of Rome’s offenders. His crime? Being the apostle of love and preaching a gospel of peace.

Tradition says John as an aged man was pastor of the Ephesian church and constantly walked among the people exhorting them to love one another. He was the St. Valentine of the New Testament.

Like St. Paul before him and John Bunyan after him, John wrote words from prison that yet impact the world. The book of Revelation gave hope to believers suffering under Emperor Domitian, and reminds modern believers that though evil exists, it won’t endure.

John began Revelation with seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey. He addressed the first letter to his former church at Ephesus. He commended them for their ministry, tenacity and commitment to the truth, but he also criticized the church for having “left your first love.” John didn’t explain whether this meant the church had lost their love for God or for one another. Either is sad.

If he meant the former, how strange it sounds that a ministering congregation would serve God for any reason other than our love for him! Jesus warned in Matthew 6 that religious people could give money, pray and fast in order to earn the praise of others, and in so doing, forfeit the praise of God. We must be careful we don’t serve God in order to get praise and commendation from others. As the old hymn says, “winning the smile of God brings its delight.”

But could John have challenged the church because they fell out of love with one another? Sadly, this often happens in the body of Christ. Many have allowed a thoughtless word or deed to separate them from brothers and sisters in the faith and affect their relationship with the church.

Bill was once a parishioner. He stopped me in the parking lot of his business to say he knew he wasn’t the Christian he should be because he hated a man in our church.

“God won’t bless me until I deal with this, will he?” Bill asked.

This was what teen-agers call a “no-brainer.” As John wrote in an earlier letter: “How can you say you love God, whom you can’t see, if you hate your bother whom you know?” (1 John 4:20).

Leadership Lessons From The Gipper

Every young pastor has mentors, and I had some very good ones when I was younger. But, in retrospect, I also had a few who weren’t so good. Several leading pastors in our denomination taught that the pastor is God’s vice-regent. It’s the pastor who communes with God and learns what the church must do, they counseled, and then it’s the church’s task to humbly follow the pastor’s directives.

I became a pastor at age 21 while a college student. I arrived at my first church, albeit a part-time position, with enthusiasm, believing everyone would follow my leadership. I soon discovered though they were a sweet bunch of folks and very encouraging, I wasn’t the leader of the church—Ed was. Whatever Ed suggested was “gospel” and the congregation agreed. I regret to admit that I began to see Ed as my adversary since he was the leader and I wasn’t.

My second church was out-of-state while a student in Kentucky, and, again, I wasn’t the leader—Rachel was. And in my first church after graduating from theological school I discovered Joe was the leader, not me.

It began to dawn on me I’d found a pattern!

Leadership consultant John Maxwell later helped me understand this with his Claude story. Claude was the leader in Maxwell’s first church, and Maxwell learned to consult with Claude and try to sell ideas to him. Then Claude would take the ideas to the people and, of course, they agreed and committed to the plan. Maxwell coined the term “influencer,” and he  believes every church has at least one influencer who has earned respect through wisdom and faithfulness. Sensible pastors partner with the influencers, he says, rather than fight them.

I wish I’d heard the “Claude” story earlier; I think it would’ve saved me some grief. I should’ve tried harder to be better friends with Ed and Rachel and Joe and partnered with them to advance the cause of Christ. I probably could’ve done so in most cases.

President Reagan kept a sign on his Oval Office desk. It read: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” Reagan is right. What difference does it matter who the leader is if the work goes forward?

I didn’t get to make amends with Ed and Rachel since they passed on years ago. I did talk with Joe and apologized for being young and foolish. He was gracious.

It’s important for us to grow in relationship skills with brothers and sisters in the faith since working with others is a major part of what we do as the church.