Christmas: Time Of God's Open House

The prison warden circulated a note to inmates asking for suggestions on the kind of party they'd recommend for his 25th anniversary. The prisoners all had the same idea: open house!

Christmas is the season when many people have “open house” parties. But “open house” is misnamed, isn’t it? When you plan an open house, do you invite everyone? I rather doubt it. We must be exclusive, for there isn’t enough food, or space or time to invite everyone. Some folks by necessity get left out

This is the way much of life is. Travel on an airplane is exclusive: one must purchase a ticket, come to the airport at the appointed hour and pass through security. College enrollment is exclusive: one must score well on the ACT or GRE, be accepted and pay tuition. Marriage is exclusive: one must find a willing mate, take a blood test, buy a license and locate an officiate. 

And sadly, some organizations are exclusive. Only certain kinds of people are welcomed. We build walls separating us from others and erect signs reading “Members Only” or “No Trespassing.”   

However, on the first Christmas in Bethlehem, the Creator God sponsored a non-exclusive open house. The invitation went out to everybody. Note the message given the shepherds: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to ALL people” (Luke 2:10, emphasis added).

It's significant that these shepherds received an angelic invitation. They were unclean men, both physically and religiously. Their work precluded matters of social decorum and religious ritual. The Old Testament law made clear they wouldn’t be welcomed in the temple, and they probably weren’t welcomed at the inn, either. But they found welcome with a Nazarene family in a stable.

On the other side of the social spectrum were the wise men, whose path was following yonder star, as the carol proclaims. They were intelligent, revered and wealthy. They, too, found a warm welcome at Bethlehem’s stable--not because of their bank account, but because they honored Israel’s newborn king.

There were no walls, no barriers and no “members only” signs at the manger.

Later Jesus himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him, and he with me” (Matthew 11:28, Revelation 3:20).

To a world of exclusion where petty men build walls of restriction, the message of Christmas comes: salvation is available to all people. God is preparing the banquet table of salvation, and everyone who humbly accepts is welcomed.

What Will You Give For Christmas?

I remember how angry the man was. He came to our hotel one evening with a confirmation number. I pulled it up on the computer and discovered the reservation was for the following night. This particular night was a sell-out for us, so I knew we had no rooms. He fumed and fussed and cussed, and insisted, “But I have a confirmation number!” He demanded I call the manager. I explained to the manager what happened, and he told me to give the man one of the yet unclaimed but reserved rooms. He said when the last confirmed guest arrived, I should give them a complimentary room at the hotel next door.

I don’t think this angry guest ever “got it.” His reservation was actually worthless that night, and the manager told me to be sure to apologize to him for his mistake!

One of the great villains of Christmas, other than King Herod, is the innkeeper. We customarily say that he denied Jesus a clean room for his birth. But if there’s no room, there’s no room! This isn’t the innkeeper’s fault; it’s the architect’s fault!

A child chafed at playing the innkeeper in his church’s Christmas play. His only line was, “There is no room in the inn.” However, on the night of the production, with the spotlight in his face and Joseph and Mary standing in front of him, he said, “There is no room in the inn. But please come in for a cup of coffee!”

The innkeeper isn’t a villain. He showed compassion by offering the expectant mother what he had—a barn—so that Jesus wouldn’t be born outside. The barn smelled bad, as most barns do, but at least it offered shelter for the night.

The innkeeper is a good example for us because we all need to offer what we have to Christ.

As we grow older, most of us gain a new appreciation for “stuff.” We have so much of it--it seems to multiply in the dark! This is especially true for collectors. I’m in a collecting club and remember a friend who has since died telling me he slept in his easy chair because he had so many boxes of stuff he couldn’t get into his bedroom! The rest of us may not be that bad, but we often spend our lives collecting more and more things.

This Christmas is a good time to consider a searching question: “What will you give for Christmas?” Whether it’s things, or a bank account of $100 or $100,000, we all have something we can give to Christ for Christmas.

The innkeeper, contrary to popular lore, was a man with an unselfish heart.

A Somber Church Responsibility

She was in the youth group in a church I served while in college. I see her often now since she works at a business nearby. She told me she found her old diary and read an entry about traveling with me to a youth function. She was probably 13 and I was 19 or 20. I thought how things have changed. Today ministers are taught never to be alone with anyone, especially children. I asked her to place the diary under seal!

I suppose it’s true that the church has had several issues thrust upon us in recent years without an invitation. The most disturbing is the abuse of children. Years ago this issue wasn’t on the “front burner.” We know that the problem was there, but I can’t remember churches dealing with it, much less discussing it. Maybe we lived in blissful denial. However, a number of organizations have dealt with issues of abuse in recent years.

I heard about the Jeffrey Epstein series on Netflix and viewed it last summer. More recently I found attorney Bradley Edwards’ book, “Relentless Pursuit,” in our local library and read it. Edwards, a Florida attorney, pursued the prosecution of Epstein for many years. He befriended the Epstein victims and helped many get financial settlements. Edwards also worked with the state of New York to reopen the Florida case in which Epstein was convicted on lesser charges, basically put under house arrest and had his records sealed. Charges in this New York case brought about Epstein’s arrest in the summer of 2019 preceding his prison suicide one month later.

Edwards’ book explained in greater detail how Epstein groomed young, and most often troubled, women. One of the survivors called it “sexual slavery.” It’s hard to imagine why a prominent and successful man would prey on young girls, and why he thought the rules didn’t apply to him.

Edwards wrote how he and Epstein had a number of private meetings, and at the last one, shook hands as friends. Though Edwards didn’t stop working on prosecution, the reader sees a surprising human dimension in the relationship.

Churches work hard to be welcoming and affirming, but today churches must be vigilant. There are enduring consequences for abusers. Those who have harmed children, paid their debt to society and repented before God can worship, with restrictions. They cannot be near children and they cannot be alone in church buildings.

Surely one of the most difficult things churches must do today is express love to offenders, offer forgiveness, befriend them and foster a human connection.

We have to be constantly watchful so that church is the happiest and safest place on earth for boys and girls.

The Road They Travel

I purchased the first season DVD compilation of “The Wild, Wild West” from the mark-down shelf lately. I guess the current generation doesn’t generate much demand for a 50-year-old TV series. It’s been fun to see some of these episodes again, and it brought back pleasant memories.

Thursday night was unique for me in high school. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E” aired at 9 and “The Wild, Wild West” at 10 in Birmingham. I negotiated with my parents about staying up those nights for TV viewing. This was in the “olden days” before VCRs or DVRs, so there wasn’t another option. Since high school band was at 7 a.m., I usually sat in a daze in algebra class on Friday

This 40th anniversary set, released in 2006, has introductory comments by series star Robert Conrad. The clerk at check-out mentioned to me Conrad died earlier this year, and I’m unsure how this escaped me. One of Conrad’s introductions was the first program featuring the evil Dr. Miguelito Loveless, and he said the character was in ten episodes in the four-year run. And Dr. Loveless’s bodyguard, Voltaire, was in three of those episodes. The seven-foot-two-inch tall Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel, later gained more fame as “Jaws”—the man with steel teeth who bedeviled 007 Roger Moore in two films. (I read the mouthpiece was so painful, Kiel could only wear it for 30 seconds at a time during filming.)

Kiel found faith that helped him conquer alcoholism, and later in life traveled to various places to share his Christian testimony. I once joked with our congregation about how revival would break out when a seven-foot-two-inch tall man with steel teeth stood in the pulpit and yelled, “Repent”!

Christian TV shows used to feature celebrities like this in interviews. I remember hearing a telephone interview when Jim and Tammy Bakker talked with Manson family member Susan Atkins. Ms. Atkins found Christ in prison while serving a life sentence. She requested immersion baptism, and authorities gave permission to bring in a cattle-dipping tank for this.

We take special note of those with dramatic conversion stories. The Apostle Paul could raise a crowd in the marketplace when he talked about seeing a great light and hearing the voice of God on the Damascus Road. But one of his closest companions was young Timothy who quietly came to faith through the gentle witness of mother and grandmother.

The late Ken Chafin remarked that for every Paul, there are 1,000 Timothys. I think he’s right. We rejoice when the notorious find Christ, but we also celebrate faith that’s regularly taught in our homes.

We’re happy when anyone comes to faith, no matter the road they travel.

My Life As A Presbyterian

When I moved to Marion, Alabama to begin work at Judson College, one of the more interesting events was an invitation to preach at the Marion Presbyterian Church. Sam Colburn, an elder in the church, talked with me at a new faculty reception and asked if I’d be willing to help. I reminded him I was Baptist, and he said, “We’re all God’s children.”

Though Baptists call the office “interim pastor,” Presbyterians call it “stated supply.” And it was a happy experience for me over the next three and one-half years.

I must admit the more formal worship style was different. The pastor was expected to pray five or six different prayers, such as a “prayer of adoration,” a “prayer of confession” and a “prayer of pardon.” And the Apostles’ Creed was new to me, though it’s a wonderful summary of Christian doctrine.

Working with elders was new, too. In recent years numbers of Baptist churches have instituted eldership, but at the time, this wasn’t common. The Marion elders had a long history with the first-Tuesday-night-meeting. I was encouraged by their love for the people and commitment to ministry.

I remember getting into a little difficulty quite innocently. A Judson student wanted to get involved with the church, so I asked her to read scripture one Sunday. Afterwards I learned that women don’t do this in the PCA church. One of the elders said that since I asked her, she was “under my authority” and we were probably OK. Another time I asked attendees to “turn and shake hands with your neighbor” as good Baptists do. Only afterwards did I learn this wasn’t the Presbyterian way. Despite my learning curve, the congregants couldn’t have been more encouraging.

The church did bring in a “real Presbyterian” for communion and baptism since I wasn’t licensed in the PCA. The men who came to help us were great people.

After my time at Marion Presbyterian I was fortunate to be “unemployed” only one Sunday, then a local Baptist church took me on as a rehab project for the next 12 years!

I think God was preparing me for a new family experience. Our Baptist daughter married a  Presbyterian who now serves as a deacon in his church. Our three grandsons have been baptized as Presbyterians, and the eldest was confirmed two years ago. It was a beautiful worship time when he took communion for the first time, flanked by his two grandfathers, the other a Presbyterian elder from Chattanooga.

John Oxenham’s hymn lyrics ring true: “In Christ there is no East or West / In Him no South or North / But one great fellowship of love / Throughout the whole wide earth.” 

Forgive And Forget

I was in utter terror. I couldn’t find it, and she was insistent. I vaguely remembered putting it in a box, but I couldn’t remember where I put the box. It was one of those “I’m-going-to-remind-you-that-you-messed-up-every-day-for-the-rest-of-your-life” moments.

It all started when my wife had knee replacement several weeks ago. It was a good time while she wasn’t driving to get some work done on her car. That’s when they told me they’d be working on the side panels and I should take everything out. So far, so good. But then she drove for the first time in five weeks and couldn’t find the handicapped placard. And for several hours I lived in terror until I remembered where the box was with the placard inside.

As a buddy of mine often says to his wife, “OK. I messed up one time. Are you gonna’ hold this against me for the rest of my life?”

Well, all in good fun. I think now the incident is forgotten. All I can claim is that the past month has been crazy with surgery, working remotely, care-giving and COVID.

Christians are prone to casually claim “we forgive and forget.” I agree with a number of Bible teachers I’ve heard who say this is impossible. We’ll never forget the nasty things people have done to us, or the thoughtless mistakes they made that hurt them and others, perhaps us. Forgetfulness is a mental issue, not a spiritual issue.

Biblical forgiveness occurs when we treat someone as though they’d not messed up. We choose not to remind them, to shame them or to live out a spirit of revenge.

We all do this with our children, I believe. Our children mess up, but we know they grow from mistakes. We lead them gently toward maturity. Maybe we should treat everybody this way and be less antagonistic.

But the amazing thing about God is that he both forgives and forgets. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Does this verse mean that God limits his omniscience--he who knows everything, even the number of hairs on our head, determines that he will forget some things? Or is it a poetic way to explain that he is the God of the second chance who doesn’t constantly remind us that we messed up?

I’m not sure, but I do know we serve a wonderful God, who like an earthy parent, but in a greater way, says to his wayward children, “This doesn’t define you. You can learn and grow and be better. I believe in you.”

God’s mercy should inspire us to seek it, and to live it.

On Book-Burning

Keith and I were classmates at the seminary in Louisville, and he moved on to serve as pastor in Tennessee. One day he sent me a newspaper clipping about an event in his town. His church youth group experienced a revival and committed themselves to living new lives of dedication. They decided to have a bonfire. Teens brought their music CDs with explicit lyrics and their shirts and caps with inappropriate logos and threw them into the fire.

The event was so unique that the local newspaper did a story.

Keith didn’t tell me, but I wondered if this event was inspired by a similar thing in the book of Acts.

Luke records that the apostle Paul spent more than two years in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19). After a series of miraculous events, the fear of the Lord fell upon the people. Apparently, many of the new converts still maintained a collection of sorcery books from their former lives as unbelievers, but they determined to confess their wrong and to sponsor a public book-burning. Luke records that the value of the books they brought out was substantial, so it was no small commitment the disciples made.

Such commitment reminds me of the familiar chorus, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.”

The Ephesus event was on my mind a number of years ago when the family of former President Jimmy Carter was in the news. Carter’s late sister, Ruth, an evangelist, found herself on an airplane seated next to one of the nation’s leading pornographers. Many of us find ourselves praying earnestly on airplanes, but this man announced he’d prayed and found faith through the witness of Ms. Stapleton on the flight. Later he said he would convert his vile magazine into a Christian publication.

I’m not sure what happened to his announced intentions since I never saw his magazine for sale in Christian bookstores.

I told our church at the time that a public bonfire fueled by his magazines would be a great way to demonstrate the validity of his faith. As in Ephesus, this would be a costly sacrifice since he was reported to have made $30 million from sales in 1977.  

The publisher later renounced his personal conversion, and the conversion of his magazine never happened.

The Ephesian incident teaches the demands of Christian faith. Conversion too often is seen as a simple confession of sin unrelated to daily lifestyle. Though we sometimes label some of our churches “holiness” churches, all churches and all Christians are called to be holy. The Bible declares, “Follow . . . holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Failure Is Never Final

Youth culture calls it an “epic fail.”

Some believe that’s what happened in first-century Athens. The early church missionary-leader, Paul, failed miserably.

In obedience to the vision God gave in Troy, Paul left the Roman province of Asia, crossed the Aegean Sea into Greece and created a gospel beachhead in Europe. Traveling in Macedonia, the northern state in Greece, he founded churches in Philippi, Berea and Thessalonica. Then he determined to travel south to the state of Achaia.

His first stop was the intellectual capital of the Mediterranean world—Athens. Here Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had taught philosophy and wisdom. In this new and secular place Paul was invited to city center to address the learned men, and decided to try a different tact in his preaching. The apostle normally took a text from what we call the Old Testament and explained how the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus, the Christ. On this day, he quoted two Greek poets in his message (though the dozen or so verses Luke used to describe this message were certainly only a summary of what Paul must’ve said).

The impression is that the learned Athenians laughed him off the stage when he proclaimed the resurrection.

Greek philosophy differed from the Christian gospel in this regard.

Luke recorded that though his time in Athens was short, Paul spent the next 18 months in fruitful ministry in Corinth. The sense is he left Athens with his head hanging low thinking he’d failed to persuade the intellectuals.

At least this is what I’ve heard from some; namely, Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica and Corinth were great crusades, and Athens was but a whimper.

However, Luke declared there were at least four converts in Athens: Dionysius, Damaris and “others” (Acts 17:34). How can one claim the mission was a failure if disciples were brought to faith? And even if there were only four, these four were significant.

Mack told me years ago about assisting in the baptism of his son. When he helped his son from the water, the pastor remarked to another deacon that “this is number 12 this year!” Mack told me with tears in his eyes, “I didn’t care what number he was. He was my son.”

A later Christian leader named Eusebius recorded a tradition that Dionysius served as pastor of the Athenian church. Thus, we learn two important facts: a church was begun in Athens, and one of Paul’s converts assumed leadership. Hardly a mark of failure.

We’re prone to grow discouraged and label something a failure, forgetting God specializes in the salvage business. As the contemporary chorus puts it, “he works in ways we cannot see, he will make a way for me.”

Patriotism Is More Than A Feeling

The apostle Paul exhorted Christians in Romans 13 to obey the government as God's "deacon," or servant, who punishes evil and upholds the good. In other words, government maintains civil order. This is important since an orderly society not only grants safety to its citizens, but also ensures the church works without hindrance.

However, the late scholar, Dr. Frank Stagg, used to contrast Romans 13 with Revelation 13. In the latter we read of a beast claiming obedience belonging only to God--a government that didn’t uphold good nor punish wrong. Christians refused to follow the beast and they suffered the consequences. Christian history is replete with examples of faithful saints who practiced civil disobedience and paid dearly for their fidelity to their faith.

With this notable exception, the Bible is clear that followers of Christ must obey their government. When we add the second admonition about paying taxes (Rom. 13: 6-7), and the word in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 about praying for those in authority, we have a trilogy of responsibilities.

Patriotism swells our hearts, but patriotism is more than a feeling!  Following are some of the things we can do to demonstrate patriotism.

(1) Pray. The late U.S. Senate chaplain, Richard Halverson, noted that failing to pray for our political leaders is one of the greatest sins of the modern church. The admonition in 1 Timothy doesn’t say only to pray for those with whom we agree. Surely Paul didn’t agree with Caesar Nero who arrested him, but he prayed for Nero. We should do no less.

We must also pray for our military. Christians during every war in American history have prayed the same things: protection for our troops and for a swift peace. And we pray for law enforcement, too, as they maintain civil order.

(2) Vote. Sadly, a “heavy turnout” in America is usually defined as half the eligible voters. We used to point to the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election as an example of the importance of every vote since one vote per precinct would’ve changed the outcome of that election. Now we have a timelier example. A few hundred votes in Florida in 2000 swung the presidential election.

(3) Volunteer. Political parties welcome volunteers to make donations and to do telephone polling, literature distribution and other tasks. We must be careful, however, not to let these activities overflow into our churches, nor should any church endorse candidates. We can and should speak to issues of moral consequence as our Alabama churches have on gambling and in the quest to remove racist language from our state constitution.

 Patriotism is more than a feeling. The people of God have a solemn civic obligation to fulfill.

 God bless America.

Should A Christian Celebrate Halloween?

Bob Harrington, the late "Chaplain of Bourbon Street," preached one night in Mississippi and advertised his sermon title in the local newspaper: "Three Places Where There's No Problem With Racism." This was in the civil rights era and our nation was fixated on the issue.

Hundreds came that night to hear Harrington. He touched on his announced theme only in the first paragraph of his sermon: "The three places where there's no problem with racism are heaven, hell and in the heart of a Christian." Then Harrington preached a gun barrel-straight gospel message.

"Should A Christian Celebrate Halloween?" is, likewise, poised to draw a crowd, but there’s no easy answer.

Some say Halloween is the "devil's night" and refuse to participate or let their children participate. Others say it's a harmless night of fun and see no problem with it.

I remember a boyhood Sunday School teacher who used to rail against race car driving.

"It's just like the Roman coliseum," he often told us. "People go there to see drivers crash and die!"

Unfair and harsh, to be sure, for us impressionable children, and he never explained his animosity. Many people claim racing as their sports hobby. We even have a block of American conservatives called "NASCAR voters." And at Talladega and other racetracks, Christians serve as chaplains and give away bottles of water to thirsty attendees.

There was a local pastor when I was in high school who came back from a Bible conference with new enthusiasm, telling his congregation that he'd thrown his TV out the back door. If they really loved Jesus, he said, they’d do the same thing. A few weeks later they threw him out the door!

TV is still here. There are vile things on it, of course, but there are also Christian programs sponsored by great churches and Christian networks, too.

If we couldn’t stop racing or TV if we wanted to, we probably aren't going to stop Halloween. So, how can we respond effectively?

Some churches have used the so-called "Judgment House" drama that seeks to communicate the truth about death and eternity. Other churches provide on-site festivals or distribute gospel summaries or worship invitations that homeowners can give away with their Halloween treats. I've known some Christians who've designed attractive Halloween gift packages and included a simple "God loves you" note. For some boys and girls, this might be the only time they read such a positive message.

Rather than turning lights off or scowling at eager boys and girls that we don't celebrate Halloween, why not give a little treat--the equivalent of a cup of cold water in Jesus' name (Matthew 10:42)--and simply say, "God bless you"?

Why Do We Swear?

My generation remembers the Watergate era and the White House taping system. President Nixon wasn’t the first president to tape in the Oval Office; President Johnson did before him. But Nixon’s tapes were the first to be subpoenaed by Congress. They were thought to be significant in the ongoing investigation of the DNC burglary.

President Nixon resisted releasing the tapes at first. He offered transcripts in their place with sensitive national security information stricken, he said. Numerous words were removed from the tapes in transcription, and not all of them were of national security concern. “Expletive deleted” moved into our vocabulary as the transcripts omitted the president’s swear words. We discovered that our president cursed like a sailor. (In fact, he was a sailor, having served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.)

I suppose a president swearing isn’t as shocking today as it was then. Our culture has grown a bit courser, and our entertainment venues often feature loads of swear words.

Why do people swear?

The website psychcentral.com explored research by Timothy Jay that offered some insight into this matter. Jay called them “taboo words,” and compared them to how we use the horn in our cars--we use the horn to express various emotions, including frustration and anger.

I remained at the intersection for two seconds after the light turned green last week and the driver behind me sounded her horn. What was she saying? I can only imagine that it wasn’t very nice!

On the positive side, Jay said cursing can be cathartic, helping release pent-up frustration and can be a “useful substitute for physical violence.” I suppose most of us would prefer being cursed rather than getting a bloody nose.

Interestingly, Jay wrote “we . . . learn that we may be able to say a swear word in one social context, but not another.”

A man in our church told me recently that he used terrible language before he became a Christian, but he never cursed in the presence of women. This underscores Jay’s assertion that we exercise some control in our choice of words.

So why don’t we make better choices?

The Message Bible has a strikingly clear rendering of Ephesians 4: 29-30. “Watch the way you talk,” the apostle Paul wrote. “Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart.”

Paul agreed that we have a choice to make in our words.

As followers of Christ we ought to choose words of grace rather than words of degradation and insult. One lady insisted she “tasted” every word before she spoke them. So should we all.

Protesting And Peace

I asked a nurse if she ever grew accustomed to the gorgeous view of Birmingham from St. Vincent’s Hospital South Tower. She said no. I stood there for several minutes taking in the sights and remembering events of my boyhood. I grew up in the city but left after college and never moved back.

My dad was a steelworker. I remember driving over the Ensley viaduct at all hours of the day and night and seeing the blast furnaces light up the sky. And I remember the smokey haze that enveloped the Western part of town, not visible now from the hospital windows. Birmingham isn’t known much for steel anymore.

The steel company had a slogan in those days: “We’re involved.” They posted a banner proclaiming this on the I-59 overpass nearest Birmingham Southern College. One morning as I drove to Samford I passed under the banner. Someone had added graffiti the night before, so it read, “We’re involved in polluting your environment.”

One of many acts of protest in the 70s. Young people protested pollution. They talked about chemical dumping and water supply. Karen Silkwood became an icon to our generation when she publicized unsafe practices in nuclear facilities. (She was later portrayed by Meryl Streep in a 1983 film.)

The major protests I remember had to do with Vietnam. Young people took to the streets to scream at Presidents Johnson and Nixon about their roles as Commanders-in-Chief. Regrettably,  numbers of our Vietnam veterans were disrespected.

I thought of all this while looking at the skyline and remembering. And I thought our country must’ve survived these turbulent years. Maybe like the flag Johnny Cash used to sing about, battered but proud.

A commentator said one of the lasting images from a recent political convention was a young lady of 18, strumming a guitar and telling the nation why we were in peril if we didn’t listen to her.

“And she had green hair,” he said, with a smile.

I don’t remember green hair in the 70s, though I do remember the spirit of protest.

Our nation is strong in part because we’ve had the Constitutional framework of the First Amendment granting rights we didn’t believe we had as British colonists. The First Amendment allows Americans to dissent, but prescribes we dissent in peace: “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The Apostle Paul lived in a time of social unrest. Christians began to be targeted as enemies of the republic. He counseled that we live in peace with everyone, insofar as possible (Romans 12:18). As Dr. King envisioned, all men should sit together at the table of brotherhood.

Leaving The Hurt Behind

Alabama writer Rick Bragg told about speaking to a group of Southerners, mentioning to them that the South was wrong on the Civil War and on civil rights. One man rose from his seat and noisily left the lecture, his displeasure obvious. Bragg remarked that the 60s had been so long ago, he was surprised the man was still angry.

“Oh, no,” one of the man’s friends replied. “He’s still mad about the war.”

The Apostle Paul found himself amongst two angry women in Philippi. Their names were Euodia and Syntyche.

After founding the church in obedience to his call to Macedonia, the northernmost state in Greece, Paul wrote a letter to encourage the congregation. Philippians has been called “the joy letter” since his preeminent talking point was joy. This is even more striking when we realize Philippians is one of the four prison letters. It’s not often we find joy in jail. Nevertheless in encouraging the church, the writer felt compelled to identify these two women who weren’t getting along, insisting their discord was affecting the entire congregation.

It’s not like Euodia and Syntyche were evil women. They probably co-directed the woman’s missionary society and sang together in the church choir. But we remember them today because they were angry enough with one another to merit a “shout out” from the church’s founder. Since the letters of Paul were read aloud to the congregation, and then became circular letters shared with other churches, it’s interesting that the pettiness of these women became known to their church and other churches in the area, and to us 2000 years later.

We don’t know the nature of their disagreement. Paul didn’t mention the cause and may not have known it. Perhaps Euodia and Syntyche themselves had forgotten what they fought about.

I’ve heard a number of stories over the years from people who were angry with someone in their church. And often the explanations seem so inconsequential. One lady told me another family was displeased when her son won an award in high school rather than their son. This alleged slight occurred 20 years before. I’m not sure how she knew this, or why it mattered after so long. But it’s amazing how trivial some of the things are that separate us from one another.

In the same letter, Paul wrote, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that you may be blameless and harmless . . . in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2: 14-15).

Our light is brighter when we learn to leave the hurt behind and live together in harmony as sons and daughters of God.

In Christ There Is No East Or West

It was a unique experience when Simon came to see me. “I’m Jewish, and I want to attend your church,” he said. “Is this alright?”

Simon explained that he’d married a Roman Catholic and they decided to compromise and come to Baptist worship.

 I’m not making this up, nor can I explain it! But, of course, I assured Simon he’d be welcomed any time the door was open. And he and his wife became faithful attenders.

I thought of this lately when reading again about the Jew and Gentile issue in the first century. These groups didn’t get along very well, and animosity and misunderstanding continued after the church was established. Some Jewish believers thought Gentiles (non-Jews) should convert to Judaism before coming to Christ. And some Jewish believers thought the Old Testament dietary laws, among others, should be brought into the church. The apostle Paul taught that we’re made right before God through faith, not through the law, and there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. All are “one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:11, 28).

It took the early church a little time before they “got it.”

It occurred to me that this issue isn’t an issue today. I don’t know of any Jew/Gentile controversy in our mostly Gentile churches.

My generation faced another issue: black and white.

He was a teacher in a local school. He told his students that he, an African-American man, wouldn’t be allowed to attend some of the churches in the city. The students disbelieved, so he decided to show them. The next Sunday he attempted to enter a church, but the ushers turned him away. The following Sunday he returned with a CNN camera crew! The church made headlines throughout the nation.

The pastor was my friend. I called to offer my support and see if I could help in any way. He’d long been a proponent of his church having an open door. He loved his people. He wanted the church to deal with the crisis appropriately and to move forward. With his prayerful leadership the church did so, and the issue became a non-issue. And I think the racial issue remains a non-issue for churches I know. We believe God is no respecter of persons and we must offer friendship to people from all ethnicities and nationalities. The church decries racism.

It occurred to me that my generation experienced a “fiery test” just like the early church did.

Now we move on to other challenges, such as regathering and ministering in days after COVID.

I’m grateful we serve a savior who recognizes that our minds and hearts sometimes fall short of truth, and who patiently leads us through every crisis.

What Is Heaven Like?

A mother wished to comfort her daughter when Fluffy, the family cat, died.

“Honey,” she said somberly. “Fluffy’s in heaven.”

“What’s God gonna’ do with a dead cat?” her daughter asked.

A common question we ask is “what is heaven like?” And many ideas have been proposed.

I heard a new idea once at a funeral. The officiating pastor noted the deceased’s love for the outdoors and insisted, “He’s now hunting and fishing in heaven.”

I remembered the joke Baptist music ministers used to tell about “I stand on Jordan’s stormy banks and cast”—stopping the lyrics at this point--as a way to acknowledge the importance of fishing. But this is only a joke.

And hunting? Isaiah said, “the wolf will lie down with the lamb,” so it’s hard to imagine animals being hunted in the new world (Isaiah 11:6). A gentle animal being shot would be like the recent death of Cecil, the lion, in Zimbabwe. I think the minister was simply using a metaphor about fulfillment.

Others insist all we’ll do is sing in heaven. Mark Twain once remarked that most people don’t like to sing, but insist they’ll sing for 1,000 years in heaven!

Of course the Bible teaches we’ll worship in heaven. We’ll praise the God who invited us there and thank him for his gift of eternal life. But worship isn’t all we’ll do in heaven, just as it’s not all we do on earth.

Part of our confusion about heaven, I think, is due to our misunderstanding about work. Some insist work is part of humanity’s curse due to sin, but a proper reading of Genesis reveals God assigned Adam work to do before he sinned. Work has always been God’s plan. He instructs us to seek and perform meaningful work in order to provide for our families, to invest in his kingdom and to help others.

We also bring honor to God by being good employees.

Scripture teaches one day we’ll “beat our swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.” Whereas this prophecy primarily foretells a world without war, it’s noteworthy that plowshares and pruning hooks are agricultural tools.

I’m not sure what kind of work we’ll do in heaven, but the Bible certainly doesn’t tell us we’ll be sitting in easy chairs and clicking our remotes for eternity.

I believe heaven will be filled with surprises. The Apostle Paul said, “eye has never seen, nor has ear heard, what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

D. L. Moody observed, “God rightly tells us little about heaven. If we understood the glory of it, we‘d long for it so much we’d shirk our responsibilities on earth.”

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

It’s a book much in the news today, and I just plowed through it. I wouldn’t call it pleasure reading since it’s filled with the intricacies of international diplomacy and the unpronounceable names of prime ministers and kings. The author recounts disagreements with the president he served, including when the administration considered a retaliatory air strike after losing a drone. He wanted it, but the president decided no since there would be “150 body bags” on enemy territory and perhaps many of them innocent civilians. The toll was simply too much, and the plan was scrapped.

I’m certainly no military strategist, but I don’t think it’s always true we lose strategic advantage by showing respect for life.

My generation remembers the weekly “kill reports” from Vietnam. Nightly news anchors told the number of Americans killed and the number of enemy killed. Psychologists say we became jaded by these reports. The first few times we heard them we were struck with sadness. But human life became cheap.

We’ve heard chilling words from American cities in turmoil in recent weeks—people so enraged all they can think about is hurting innocent people and destroying their businesses. Human life is cheap.

And a friend involved in ministering to women ensnared in human trafficking stunned me with accounts of children kidnapped and abused, and all of this in the Bible Belt. Women become nothing more than toys for evil men. Human life is cheap.

It’s sad to see those who disrespect others through physical or verbal abuse, and those who disrespect themselves through addiction. Human life is cheap.

In contrast, Jesus talked about the value of every person. He said our heavenly father knows every sparrow that falls and knows about us because we’re worth more than sparrows. He said God understands the intimate details of our lives, even the number of hairs on our head. And Jesus further pronounced the human soul worth more than anything the world offers. If we lose our soul, we’ve given our lives to nothing at all worthwhile (Luke 10: 30-31, 39).

A fable tells about jealous rats scheming to destroy a beautiful songbird. They offered to bring the bird worms so he wouldn’t have to scavenge them himself.

“And it will only cost you one feather for one worm,” they said.

At the end of the day, the bird was so stuffed with worms he couldn’t sing, and so short of feathers he couldn’t fly away. The evil rats destroyed him.

How sad that people can trade their song for worms, too.

The Creator wants to fill our lives with his love so that we can love and serve others. Anything less is worth very little, indeed.

Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus

One of our greatest fears is “glossophobia,” the fear of public speaking. One high-schooler explained his fear in a unique way.

“I think in my head that people in the audience focus on me and shoot negative gamma rays into my brain,” he wrote. “This is why I get nervous and mess up. It’s not my fault.”

I can’t vouch for the scientific reliability of his claim, but the fear is nonetheless real. Most of us experience it. The major reason we dread public speaking is the fear of what others think. That is, we think they think we’re not speaking clearly, not making sense or we’re dressed inappropriately. Thus our brains flood with negative thoughts. Others exercise power over us whether they intend or not.  

Most colleges require a public speaking course for two reasons. Most of us will do presentations throughout life and should have some familiarity with research and organization. Also we gain confidence in a supportive environment.

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul urged us to make a speech that could bring fearful consequences.

Paul planned to visit Rome and wrote the letter to the Romans as an introduction to his theology. In chapter 10 he insisted two things necessary for salvation: believing in our hearts in the risen Christ and declaring his lordship.

The foundation of our faith is the Easter event. Jesus’s resurrection validates his claims and the power of God. We yet talk about “heart-felt” belief. This belief leads to commitment when we acknowledge his lordship. Modern translations alter the familiar King James Version words a bit in Romans 10:9, and this rendering is closer to what Paul taught. Saving faith also means we declare with our lips, “Jesus is Lord.”

The unifying affirmations in the Roman Empire were “Caesar is lord” and “We have no king but Caesar.” Sometimes the Roman caesars claimed to be gods. Historians write about the cult of emperor worship. But followers of Jesus made a new commitment—not “Caesar is Lord,” but “Christ is Lord.”

We believe those in the assemblies who wished to follow Jesus stood and spoke this declaration. Then they were brought to baptism and instructed in discipleship.

Roman citizens knew their lordship transfer could bring dire consequences since Christianity came to be viewed as a threat to the Empire. Followers of Christ were arrested, and many were martyred because of their new allegiance.

Our commitment to his lordship may bring sobering consequences, too. Christians are called to a new standard of belief and practice that may go against the grain of public opinion. But there’s no other option. The old adage is “Christ will be lord of all, or he won’t be lord at all.”

Being Out-Of-Step

It was an embarrassing halftime show when the entire Minor High School Marching Tiger Band was out-of-step. It was especially embarrassing for us in the percussion section since a major part of our job was keeping everybody in step.

Our band director decided we’d play the theme from “Mission Impossible.” The music wasn’t especially difficult, as I recall, other than the rhythm. Most marching bands play 4/4 (common) time since it’s easy to remember left-right-left-right. But “Mission Impossible” is 5/4 time so it was like we had something different in our head: left-right-left-right-right.

I’m not sure why our director didn’t pull the song and substitute something else. Perhaps he hoped it would come together on Friday. Alas, it didn’t.

This wasn’t the only time in my life I’ve been out-of-step.

But being “out-of-step” can be a good thing or a bad thing.

For example, it can be a bad thing on the job. Employers rightly expect employees to work together harmoniously. Even if they have personality differences or conflicting work habits, employees are mandated to find middle ground for the good of the company. Furthermore, employees must be willing to promote the product. An employee can’t afford to tell others not to buy the car they make, or not to eat at the restaurant in which they cook or serve.

I once knew a music minister who said he wouldn’t attend Sunday evening worship if he’d not been expected to because of his position. We had a serious talk about loyalty, as well as his role in worship planning.

Sometimes “out-of-step” is a good thing. Employees can offer critiques that bring about needed change. They lobby for improvements in product or management. Of course, this assumes company management is willing to listen to employees. I’ve known a few organizations where suggestions for improvement were considered insubordination by prideful or insecure owners and management. But usually the old-fashioned “suggestion box” can bring some good ideas.

Christians are labeled “out-of-step” in scripture. The Living Bible renders Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.”

This kind of “newness,” involving holy living, helping the poor and seeking peace, was seen as a threat to the Roman Empire. Rome demanded the highest loyalty from her citizens. “Caesar is Lord” was the unifying creed. Nero ordered the first wide-spread persecution of the followers of Jesus. We believe Peter and Paul were both martyred under Nero, along with others. These deaths were for the crime of being out-of-step with the emperor.

God yet commands Christians to listen to him and be in step with his purposes.

On Musing

Years ago churches recorded their pastors’ sermons on reel-to-reel tape, then later on cassettes. These often gathered dust, but many of us feared one day they’d be replayed, and we’d be embarrassed by yesteryear’s foolishness!

One of the reasons for this is how my denomination commissions preachers. A young man comes forward to share with the church the call of God, and the pastor says, “Fine. Preach for us next Sunday.” In my case, I was a junior in high school and didn’t know much about life. But I began to get busy preaching here and there and by age 19, was associate pastor of a local church. I thought I knew a lot, but actually I knew less than I thought I did.

I came across a new word for “inaccuracies” lately, thanks to Dr. Deborah Birx, the woman Rush Limbaugh calls “the Scarf Queen.” When asked about the president’s sometimes inaccurate statements regarding COVID-19, she said his statements were often “musings,” and he shouldn’t be held to a rigid standard for sharing his unfiltered thoughts.

All of us pastors have “mused” before. Even the Apostle Paul did.

In 1 Corinthians 7:6 Paul shared his desire for Christians to remain unmarried, as he was, so as not to hinder their devotion in serving the Lord. We believe Paul’s judgment was conditioned by his belief in the imminent return of Christ. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4 about “we who are alive at his coming” (v. 15). Since he believed the Lord was returning soon, he counseled men and women to refrain from marriage. He said, “I say this not by commandment but by permission,” or “by concession” as other translations render. He underscored this was not a command from God, but rather his opinion.

This makes me feel better since I’ve often offered opinions in areas without clear biblical guidance. I think many of us do.

I took a light-hearted poll recently in our congregation about raising teens. I asked the parents who told their teens, “clean your room or you don’t eat,” to raise their hands, and then the group who said, “if you’re going to live in filth, at least keep your door shut,” to raise their hands. We all had a laugh, but I think it illustrated that good people often disagree in some areas in which there’s no clear biblical instruction.

I look back with gratitude to the faithful Christians over the years who trusted me with their pulpits, despite some occasional musings that may not have been artfully spoken. I’m still grateful for those who give me this opportunity every week. I hope I’ve learned from Paul to distinguish between God’s word and mine.

What A Fellowship, What A Joy Divine

“Back-to-school” was always a sad time for me as a child. The “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” was a time to sleep late, to visit with cousins and to read. But, alas, September neared. In those days we reconvened after Labor Day. Then my mom came into my room every morning singing, “School days, school days, good ‘ol golden rule days.” How I hated that song!

But the routine resumed, and most of us boys and girls enjoyed learning new things and making new friends in the new term.

This year our children face unique challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced delays in many school systems, alterations in others and in some cases both. Many children will be shepherded online by their teachers—an innovation we never would’ve imagined in my days of public school.

Many of our churches have gone online, too. I talked with a proud mother recently who now watches two broadcasts on Sunday mornings. One is from the church of her pastor-son in North Carolina and the other is from the church of her music minister-son in Colorado.

Denominational leaders are suggesting churches consider “both/and” when the COVID days are finally past; that is, we continue to broadcast while we gather in person. One Sunday School conference leader said he plans to continue his Zoom broadcast on his laptop while he teaches in his regular classroom. This may be the “new norm” in churches.

One of our members jokingly told about how she enjoyed the “at home” experience.

“I can sit on the couch and watch church and eat potato chips,” she said.

At least she’s “watching church”!

But she did highlight an issue with home church—engagement. It’s easy to be distracted at home.

Another issue is fellowship. The New Testament word is “koinonia,” and it speaks of the relationship believers have with one another. We gather as brothers and sisters in the Lord to study, to worship, to pray and to strategize for ministry in our world. This task is more difficult in the broadcast world. The internet tends to isolate us from one another, and perhaps draws us away from our shared mission.

In the days when televangelism was new, one TV preacher used to call himself “your TV pastor.” The late J.D. Gray, pastor of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, countered, “Pshaw! No man can pastor a church by remote control!”

It remains to be seen how the current way of limited gatherings and livestreaming will impact us in the future. But we must never lose sight of the importance of relationships.

The family of God gathers in the name of Christ to worship and serve him in partnership.