LORD, YOU DECEIVED ME! YET IT BURNS ON…

Shaping one to be fit, or well placed, in Christian ministry is a creative act of God. But sometimes we are broken in the process. In fact, we are often broken in the process.

Recently I was looking at Jeremiah 18 in preparation for a Bible study. You recall Jeremiah’s visit to the potter’s house and the example and instruction given him by God. The potter was shaping a vessel. It became marred in the potter’s hand. He broke it only to reshape it “as it pleased the potter to make it” (Jeremiah 18:4, NASB). This became a prophetic message for Jeremiah to proclaim to the men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem (18:11).

Fast forward one day. I went back to that passage and when I opened my Bible, my eyes fell on the bottom right side of my copy and Jeremiah 20:7 seemed to leap off the page. Here Jeremiah is saying, “O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.”

What happened between the message given at the potter’s house and Jeremiah seemingly ready to throw in the towel and accuse God of deception?

He gave out the message of the Lord. Rather than the people repenting, they rejected the message and plotted to harm him with their “tongue” (18:18). The gossip and rumor mills began to grind and Jeremiah was the grist. Again he prophesied. And this time the priest had him beaten and incarcerated.

Have you ever felt like Jeremiah must have felt? You hear a message from God through the text of Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit and you present it to the people. You can envision their accepting the message and responding appropriately. You have heard of others: Wesley who said, “I rode into town and I gave them Christ”; Spurgeon who preached to 6,000 as a 19-year-old; the great evangelistic crusades of Billy Graham and the mega-churches of today. You, too, are preaching God’s truth.

But something happens. No one repents. Instead, your motives are criticized and the tongues begin to wag. Oh, you are not physically beaten, but you are whipped in many ways. In my growing up years, I overheard adult conversations in which it would be said, “we must keep him humble”, referring to the pastor. I once heard Grady Wilson jokingly speak of his friendship with Billy Graham. Grady once told a story about Mr. Graham (he was one of the best at telling stories about their campaigns) and concluded, “if God will keep him anointed, I will keep him humbled.” What was in friendship and humor to them has often become a reality with which pastors must navigate.

How do you respond? Jeremiah wanted to quit and put God out of his mind. Then Jeremiah experienced what I believe is true of every God-called preacher. He experienced a “holy oughtness”  that was undeniable. It was as if the message of God was a burning fire in his heart. He HAD to speak it out!

Jeremiah is one of my heroes. He never had a convert and someone was always after him. He was among the “others” of Hebrews 11:36-38. Yet he remained faithful to God. The book of Jeremiah and Lamentations are more than a record of God’s dealing with Judah. They are Jeremiah’s journal.

Most of us fare much better in ministry than Jeremiah. We see some fruit of our labor and most people are really kind and respectful. Yet there are days when frustration mounts and rides us like the Jackasses we sometimes are. And we accuse God. The evidence of our humanity is all around us.

The next time you are tempted to quit, let me encourage you to step back. Listen to your heart. If the message burns within you. know that God has called you and as Jeremiah discovered, He will sustain you.

Fulfill your calling – with a burning heart!

HE OPENED A DOOR

We stood side by side – 5 feet apart. Teens sat at our feet. The building was packed and the doors open with standing room only. I was the pastor and the other the guest evangelist. He had spoken daily in the local high school and our time was filled with his speaking in the high school classes or myself counseling with people. Jesus was the topic of the week. That week was blessed of God with many coming to Christ. Lives were changed.

It began like any other local church revival meeting. We prayed. We prepared. He was on staff at a suburban church and was driving back and forth. Sunday morning was typical. Sunday night a little better than expected. He had asked to get into the high school. The local officials said “no”.

But that Sunday evening one local teacher said, “You are welcome to come speak to my classes.” On Monday morning we showed up. We called him an Evangelist in those days. I see via the web they are now “Communicators”. Whatever. He began his school talk. I don’t recall all he said, but for those students on that day, they were captured. This resulted in other teachers, at the insistence of the students, inviting the guest to speak in their classes. Even the principal relented and invited him to a called chapel on Wednesday. It was an incredible week with some very significant spiritual victories and people coming to Christ. I became friends with a couple of pastors from other denominations. God was good.

The Evangelist was an incredibly gifted “Communicator”. Sadly his gifting took him farther than his integrity could sustain him.

The school teacher? I had lunch with him a few days ago. He loves Jesus. His family loves Jesus. He is no longer a school teacher. He is retired from an oil company and is pastoring a small church in Texas. He has served in the local church in some capacity since those days and has been a bi-vocational pastor.

It is interesting. The Evangelist a much better speaker than myself or my friend. And yet, it was my friend who was the human instrument who opened the door for God to bless that week…”I would rather be a doorman in the house of the Lord than…”. My friend has never pastored a large church. And yet, he has been mightily used of God in the lives of countless numbers of people. He is trusted. He is a friend of mine and of all who know him. His integrity is without question. He desires no credit and if he reads this he will be embarrassed.

He took several phone calls while we were eating. What was that all about? Doesn’t he know that is impolite? Yes, he knows. But, I told you he cares. Someone called him. They couldn’t find a senior adult in the congregation. There was pause and cause for concern. His wife, at the request of a family member, went looking for her. She was located just prior to the pastor’s wife dialing 911. Yes, he knows. But he cares.

Pastors, most of us will never speak on the Evangelism Conference and even fewer will preach a revival meeting in which the auditorium is so full the pastor and evangelist have to stand the entire service. But maybe we can open doors. We can be faithful and we can be men of integrity.

Today I spoke with a waitress at lunch. She told me a bit of her story. She was not raised in a Christian home and didn’t go to church until a teen-ager. You hear so many who say, “my parents forced church down my throat until I could make my own decision and I left”. Her story was, “my parents never took me to church and I didn’t go until I was old enough to make my own decision.”

But she had dropped out. Why? She saw those who “partied on Saturday night and acted ‘holier-than-thou’ on Sunday morning. She was not looking for the great “Communicator”. She was looking for an authentic congregation. My friend and I were able to suggest some good options for her.

I serve as an interim pastor. The former pastor left a little over a year ago. To this day I consistently hear these descriptions of his tenure among them: “Brother __ was a very Godly man” and “Brother __ was a man of integrity.”

You may not have the technical support, the crowd, or have people ordering your cd’s. But you are making an eternal impact upon people’s lives, and sometimes all you are doing is opening a door. The example of David is encouraging: “He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands” (Ps. 78:72, HCSB).

Be encouraged! You never know when God will walk through the door you open!

HAVE YOU TAKEN SOME TIME OFF THIS SUMMER?

“I don’t take a day off. The devil doesn’t take time off.” This was one pastor’s philosophy. Both he and his wife have entered their reward. And yes, he did retire and between retirement and death had numerous very serious health issues. The story came from a staff member.

It sounds “spiritual”, doesn’t it? And this was a very Godly man who served the Lord faithfully in terms of his works.

My cute reply to the staff member was, “Well, I am following Jesus, not the devil.” And so was this pastor, although the quip lends itself to some friendly kidding.

Jesus did take time off. He withdrew from the crowds and the disciples to find time alone with the Father. Vance Havner had a sermon on rest. He took the passage where, in the KJV, Jesus said, “Come ye apart…”. Havner said, “If you don’t “come apart” you will come apart!

Recently our family took a family vacation. This was difficult to accomplish because there are 14 of us and it is difficult to coordinate married children’s schedules and finances. We planned this for six months and last week pulled it off! It was incredible and such fun.

One must realize that for the pastor, physical fatigue is seldom an issue. However, spiritual and emotional fatigue precede burnout. The Sunday prior to our leaving I asked the congregation I serve to not call me unless an emergency. They honored that and for the time of vacation I did not talk “business” nor did I take my laptop. I dis-engaged from the routine. I packed my clothes in a backpack and took a hardback Bible to just read. No study.

Cell phones and computers are wonderful tools. We choose to be slaves to them. Mine has “off” buttons, and the cell phone has voice mail. I haven’t missed anything because I am not available 24-7. One commented on the person who is always available and said, “Those who are always available are sometimes not worth much when you get them.”

I am prone to take on too much. Are you? I want to be in this for the long haul and finish well. What can we do as men of God and pastors to accomplish that goal?

1. Take your day off each week. Dis-engage from your “vocation” and spend time with God, do something for yourself, and spend time with family.

2. Take all of your vacation. One colleague tells me, “I need two weeks to relax. The first week I dis-engage and the second I relax.”

3. Do something different on your vacation. Your budget may dictate what you can do, but be creative and find things in your area that are inexpensive but get you out of your comfort zone.

4. Plan for your time off so as to eliminate the tyranny of the urgent while taking a day off or vacation – get away from the cell and laptop!

5. Set the example and insist your staff take their time off. Create a culture of working hard, smart, and effective, but also dis-engaging when it is appropriate. They will have a much better attitude and they will know of your care for them. It is a pastoral issue.

6. Be proactive. Look at your year ahead. Your emotionally “down” times will follow a mountain-top experience or a time of high stress. When you know those times are coming, plan for some time of dis-engagement following.

7. There are several retreat centers the Minister/Church Relations Dept. of the SBTC can recommend for you. These are designed as pastor retreat centers to help prevent or overcome burnout. Perhaps the SBTC can help your church leadership see the need to put some monies in the budget to enable this type of retreat every three or five  years.

Summer 2010 is almost ended. Most of you could have written this post. But if there are some left who have not taken some time off, do yourself and your church a favor. Relax and dis-engage for a brief time before the fall rush!

COOKING WITH OIL…again!!

PC out, Mac is in. My laptop died. Absolutely dead. I tried to resurrect it. Nope. Still dead. It had been dying for some time. You know, death never comes at a good time, even when expected. As a part-timer, I am required to furnish my own equipment. So, I went shopping and when dollar for dollar and other variables (such as a lack of spam and viruses on Mac at this time) were considered, I chose Mac.

Only one problem – huge adjustment and learning curve. You know what? No problem. I want to die the day I stop learning. I do not long for the good old days. The learning curve is steep at times and I have been very frustrated learning some of the differences. But that is OK. I am liking Mac world.

Actually, that brings up another problem. How do we communicate to churches that the good old days were maybe not that good overall and it is no longer Mayberry? I love Andy Griffith. But have you ever counted the number of people in that little church? Most I’ve ever counted was 24. They must have been powerful tithers to support a pastor full-time. Oh, I forgot. It wasn’t a Baptist church, so maybe the denomination supported Rev. Tucker.

Do you really want a church whose most influential member is a single sheriff who double-dates with his hormone driven deputy in the marked police cruiser and parks at Myers Lake to make out with one of the single elementary school teachers? Or whoever he is dating at the time? The unspoken example of this reminds me that the hidden sins of the “good old days” were maybe not so much greater than the open sins of today. I know, I know – that may be somewhat of a stretch, but think about it in terms of example.

Do we really have to go back to the old spiritual awakenings of hundreds of years ago to find an example? Very few talk about the Jesus Movement of the late ’60′s and early ’70′s. However, two of the continuing products of that small awakening are Calvary Chapels and Praise music (Maranatha label began with a $1,000 loan from Chuck Smith and studios were in Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa). Out that movement came evangelist/pastors such as Greg Laurie and Rick Warren. Casual dress on Sunday a.m. was another aspect. It isn’t necessarily a spiritual one, but then neither are suits.

Seminaries grew as result of young men and women “turned on to Jesus” who realized a need for further training. Others who were not part of the “hippie revival” in California but whose lives were affected by what God was doing in and with a younger generation.

I recall those early ’70′s. Vietnam was raging. I was barely 21 and a police officer. We were instructed to take the drunks to a federally funded “detox” center. I remember taking one to that center and was told, “He is too drunk to be here. Take him to jail.” I did. But on my ‘beat’ was a house church type thing that was operated by folk saved out of the drunk and rock music background. I got to know them. They said, “bring them (the drunks) here.” I did and saw young people in their early twenties and late teens who believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ cover any sin and change any person.

We are in an obvious time of change. It isn’t Mayberry. The issue is not style. The issue is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and whether or not we really believe the Gospel is sufficient to cover any sin and change any person. That is part of the “times of refreshing” for which I pray.

The point is this. Change is not always bad. Maintaining the status quo is.

NOT ALL WANDERERS ARE LOST

This got a good read on my personal blog, so I am sharing it with you with minor edits.

A few years ago I thought I was going to a certain church to be their interim. I had met with the committee and all seemed well. Until. They got an email from someone who really ripped me. Bad. Someone on the committee let me read it. It hurt deep. My life and ministry had been summarized as the failure of a dabbler and wanderer who could never find oneself. Did I say it hurt? Oh yeah. I said that. And since this email had been sent to one on the committee, they “moved on”.

I shared that experience with a friend of mine. He told me of a t-shirt his wife had given him. When my wife and I were on vacation last year, we spent a couple days on Hilton Head. In one of the shops was a stack of the t-shirts with a sketch of a pair of sandals and the caption “Not all who wander are lost”. Loved it. Bought it.

Watching the bios of Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash reminded me of that. The recent passing of blogger Michael Spencer reminded me of that. He blogged under the title Internet Monk. He was a wanderer who challenged the lifeless dribble of much of the current N. American religious world.

It is said by some of Music City that is the kind of place that if it cannot own you, it will destroy you. I have seen churches and denominations that fit that same description.

I was asked recently by a seminary professor, “What percent of congregations do believe are having problems?” I ventured an 80%. That may be low. But my experience as an evangelist was that roughly one of five congregations in which I spoke seemed to have spiritual vitality.

Is there a place in today’s religious world for the wanderer? Is there a place for the person who will not be controlled by humans? I submit there must be. This is not to be confused with proper submission to proper authority. You know what I mean.

Wanderers are pilgrims. We have no permanent zip code here. Our citizenship is heaven. We are utilitarian for some – once used for their purposes, then there is no further use for us. However, “Jesus Is Lord” should not only be the testimony of our lips but also the experience of our lives. He warned what would happen to those who followed him in truth: they, too, would be persecuted, misunderstood, discredited and dismissed.

This is the time for aggressiveness in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word. Much is at stake. Program driven entities will not be life-giving; they will be life-draining.

Many of us wonder as we wander. And yet, we are not lost. Caleb and Joshua wandered with the children of Israel in the Wilderness. But they were not lost. They heard God; they believed God; and they brought back a report of faith. They knew their God and they knew that through Him they could and would do mighty things. They were not in a hurry. They submitted to God in all areas of life. And they both entered the promised land and the promised rest while most of their peers died in the wilderness.

Do not allow yourself to morph into a “settler” mentality in your church. Never lose the pilgrim motif. Not all who wander are lost.

CAN YOU ‘GOOGLE’ THIS?

I have a good pastor friend who related a story about the 7-year-old son of one his work-out friends. It seems dad and mom are taking their parenting role seriously and trying to teach their young son in the ways of the Lord. Of course, every child has questions that Dr. W. A. Criswell would refer to as being in “the imponderables of God”.

The question: “Dad, why did God make Kiwi green?” Inquiring 7 year olds want to know. The dad thought, and came up with this gem. “Son, I don’t know, but someday when you get to heaven, you can ask God.”

The 7-year-old thought for a moment and said, “Nah, I think I’ll go google it”! Out of the mouth of babes….

So that got me thinking. Can everything be googled? Certainly the words and concepts can. But what about the action?

Can you google faith? Or is it lived out in our messy world and our messy attempts to serve God?

Can you google prayer? Or must we cry out to God with understanding even when we do not understand?

Can you google parenting? I was searching in an old file cabinet in the garage and ran across a file my wife had labeled, “Letters From Dad”. These came from my days as an itinerant evangelist. I peeked. In them were two that brought tears. One to my son and another to one of my daughters. They were for sure filled with love and encouragement. But one phrase stood out in both: “When I get home we will…”.

Those are days past and thank God for his grace and mercy. Our relationship as a family is very strong and for that I praise God. My relationship with our children is strong. But I missed some things that are precious and those days will not return.

The Lord may indeed restore years the locusts have eaten, but he will not restore the childhood of anyone’s children and give a “do-over” at parenting. You can’t “google” that! You have to live those days as they come.

Really, can you google any relationship? No. Not even Facebook, Twitter, nor email is a substitute for a warm hug, a firm handshake, a smile, a kind word, or a pat on the back.

God made us personal beings. The human need for relationship is hard-wired in each of us.

The family is at the core of this. I believe in the Church. It is the Body of Christ. But when God created the world, he took five days to create a place that would sustain and perpetuate life. Then he created the first male and female and put them in that place that would sustain and perpetuate life. They were to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28).

The Church does not exist to become an entity in and of itself. The Church exists to extend the mission of God and the most basic mission of God is the “church” in your home (Psalm 78:1-8; Ephesians 5:22-6:4).

And you can’t google that! And as messy as it can sometimes be, it has to be lived out in daily life and daily surrender to Jesus.

LORD, GET ME OUTTA HERE!

Have you ever prayed that after a long and difficult Sunday or deacon’s meeting? I think most have. We long for a situation we think describes the New Testament Church. Of course, we see that as the ideal NT church and not the really messy ones described in the NT. Was the NT church all that different from many we see today?

The first church (Acts 5) contained a wealthy family whose spirituality was so hypocritical God judged them with death. The Galatian church was legalistic regarding the very essence of faith, the Gospel. The Ephesians continually had issues with governance, leadership (read Paul’s instructions to Timothy), a lack of unity, and worst of all, they left their first love. The Colossian church was filled with the wisdom of this world. The Church at Rome needed a strong foundation. Shall we really discuss the issues at Corinth? And then there are those others in Revelation 2-3.

It seems only two, Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) and Philadelphia (Rev.3:7-13), were complimented by the Lord. I find it interesting that Smyrna was a persecuted and suffering church. Philadelphia kept the Word of God in obedience and persevered through a time of  persecution.

So really, is it any different? Maybe, then again maybe not. There are great churches and great places of service that are life-giving in many ways. Then there are those that are life-draining. It was true then, it is true today.

Most of us abhor slavery. Our own nation experiences today the effects of having enslaved a race of people. It is tragic beyond description. And wrong.

Yet Paul’s favorite term for himself in his relationship to Jesus was “bond slave”. He saw himself indentured to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we respond when we want to pray, “Lord get me outta here!”?

I recently had conversation with someone who conveyed a story of their church during a very, very difficult period of time. As I recall there was a guest worship leader and sometime during the music portion of the worship service the leader began to softly sing “Tell It To Jesus”. Spontaneously people got up out of their seats and came to the altar to pray. The Spirit of God seemed to hover over that congregation. Today, they have rebounded from those days and it is a thriving congregation once more.

We (myself and colleagues at the SBTC) visit with many pastors. Some are rejoicing in great victories. Others are navigating difficult issues. Two admonitions stick in my mind, both from great men of God.

The first is a statement I heard from Jerry Vines during a SWBTS chapel several years ago. He said, “If you are in this (meaning “ministry”) for any other reason than Jesus, you are going to die a bitter old man.”

The second was in a message by Charles Stanley at the SBC Pastor’s Conference years ago. He said, “Have you ever considered that your green grass is somebody else’s brown grass”?

We must remember who we are in Christ, and whose we are. And yes, tell it to Jesus.

WHEN THEY DON’T LOVE BACK

The call came tonight. The pastor on the other end said, “Brother, so and so is having trouble.” He continued to name several pastors who were having difficulty in their church.

Most pastors I know genuinely love the congregation to which God has assigned them. These are men who take their shepherding responsibility seriously and are not unlike a parent. Often they say what needs to be said and they do what needs to be done even though the congregation may want to hear what they want and see the pastor do what they want.

It is not in arrogance that the pastor must obey a higher authority. I pity the minister who actually wants the people to dislike him. I pity the man who does not care what they think. That kind of loss of sensitivity dulls one’s ears to a great source of the leadership of God – the voice of the people of God. God does lead through others.

But at this writing I am thinking of the pastor who in his own humanity is not perfect, but in his own heart loves unconditionally only to have it dished back, unaccepted and misunderstood. Have you been there? What does one do when they don’t love back? This could true of a parent or a spouse as well as a pastor.

First, keep loving. The Rich Young Ruler did not hear what he wanted to hear. He heard what he needed to hear. This young man came to Jesus. He wanted eternal life. In the midst of the conversation when he pushed back on the words of Jesus, Matthew inserts the emotion of Jesus when he says, “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him…” (Matthew 10:21). Jesus knew his love for this man would not be returned. Yet he loved him anyway. It is tough to do when the pain is so intense. But it is the model of Jesus that carries all the way to the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Second, reflect upon your leadership style and word choices. We must honestly ask ourselves if there is cause.  My Homiletics professor taught about “en-coding” and “de-coding”. I know – old terms. But useful. “En-coding” is what we say and all that goes with that – words, inflection, gestures, etc. “De-coding” is what the person in the pew, or the person on the other end of the conversation hears. Sometimes they do not hear what we intended.

Recently I made a statement in a small group. Since that time, three people have asked, “What did you mean when you said…?” Two of the three did not remember all that I said, but it troubled them. Thank God these asked and I was able to explain. But often they do not ask. They repeat what they think they heard and it is sometimes far from what as intended. Choose your words carefully.

Third, lean hard. Ask God for strength and perseverance. We need strength to bear the pain and perseverance to trust the heart of God and pray through to a place of victory. For me, this is the most difficult. I am one who is sometimes plagued with the nagging “why” question. When life knocks us around a bit, trust is sometimes difficult.

Unfortunately, when an all-powerful Sovereign God allows pain and rejection to come, we sometimes have difficulty trusting his heart. It is amazing that the real life stories of despair doesn’t make it in many of today’s sermons. People like Charles H. Spurgeon and Amy Carmichael suffered greatly in their service for King Jesus.

Amy Carmichael was a missionary heroin whose writings are read today. She traveled to South India as an evangelist and ministered among the hurting children for over 50 years. Yet her life was filled with self hate, fear of failure, loneliness, and other negative emotions. Yet she learned to overcome. In speaking of perhaps the purpose of her sufferings she said, “The call to enter for the second time into any painful experience is a sign of our Lord’s confidence.”

Charles H. Spurgeon battled severe bouts of depression. He once wrote, “The strong are not alway vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.” Elizabeth Skoglund says that

“Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the man who suffered from terrific depression, feared financial disaster, suffered from loneliness, and spent weeks ill in bed, speaks to our present-day needs more deeply than most of our contemporaries.”

Simon Peter, himself often afflicted with emotional outbursts learned from the Psalmist. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee” (Psalm 55:22). Simon Peter wrote, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). The Psalms often provide solace when we have experienced great grief.

Fourth, Remember. I’ve often wondered if the father of the Prodigal Son rehearsed past events. Did he ask himself what he did wrong? We know the young son treated his father with extreme disrespect. In demanding his inheritance early, it was as if he was saying, “Father, I wish you were dead.” All of the love and care extended dissolved into a selfish act that was the first of many by the young man on the way to the bottom.

There are two sons in the story. The young man hits the road, the elder brother hits the field to work. He was able to keep his bitterness in check until he saw the lavish love extended to the younger by the father when the younger returned home. In words said to both sons, it is obvious the father is not only remembering who these sons are, but also whose. They belong to the Father. We need to remember that. We, too, belong to the Father.

And many who do not return the love extended also belong to the Father. Perhaps the elder brother fits in that category. The story ends with the words of the Father. We do not know his response, which leads me to conclude that the response of those who reject and hurt us is not what is most important. What is most important is that we remember both who we are and whose we are.

Sometimes they don’t love back. Sometimes it is a congregation. Other times it may be a child or a spouse. It is wonderful when they do, but sometimes they do not. Somewhere in the pain, there is God. I’m reminded of the old gospel song: God Walks The Dark Hills. In the dark places of life, God walks with us to guide us.

SHORT TERM WINS, LONG TERM LOSS

There is an expression, “win the battle, lose the war”, used to describe those who lose sight of the big picture and get short-term wins but the reality becomes a long-term loss. My question is, are we there?

My trek over the past years has brought me very close to the inside of several arenas. I have participated in and even spoken or facilitated group discussion at national and global conferences of Evangelicals (including Baptists) on evangelism and prayer. I know most of the early leaders in the Conservative Resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention and have seen some of the Moderate Baptist movement.

Some of these Evangelicals seem to want everyone to come together for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. But there are certain leaders that always have the “next big thing” and seem to pop in at just the right time to offer them. I left these kinds of gatherings because I felt used in the negative sense. These were para-church organizations needing money, data base, and volunteers to extend their ministries. Discretion keeps me from calling organizational names.

The Moderate Baptists of whom I am speaking have gone so far in a religious version of political correctness and tolerance that participation in worship events with various religions is practiced. One only has to roll back the calendar a few months to an interfaith (not inter-denominational, but inter-faith) meeting in a city in Texas that was held in a local Baptist church facility.

So what of us? How do we who have taken our stand for inerrancy as a descriptive of Scripture fare in all this? Are we known more for legalism and backward thinking or lovingly sharing the Gospel of Christ? I and most others who are conservative in theology would look at the Conservative Resurgence as necessary in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention. I will not re-visit all the reasons nor will I affirm everything and every word spoken through-out those years. Movements often produce what the military calls “collateral damage”. Some of us have been there, done that, but didn’t get the t-shirt.

I want to affirm that I am deeply committed to a conservative theological path and to the inerrancy of Scripture. I am a complementarian, and was before I knew that was the word to describe my beliefs. But what has happened in our neck of the woods over the past years?

The Barna Group gave results of a year-end survey here based upon thousands of interviews during the year. They summarized their findings around four themes. You can read their commentary and explanation, but the major points of that survey were the four themes copied below.

Theme 1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.

Theme 2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.

Theme 3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S.

Theme 4: Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or through a church – is not common at this time and it is not likely to become common in the near future.

It is a cop-out for us to say these do not reflect some of the values of the people in our pews. I would agree these likely do not show the belief of the average Baptist church member who involved in the life of the church. However, what of the community in which you serve? And do we really know that “average” church member? Are we a shrinking minority in a sea of population seeking hope and moving toward some form of Universalism?

A pastor friend of mine (SBTC) told me a story of when he first arrived as the new pastor. One of the fine upstanding deacons in the church was taking him on a tour of the city. They were on one side of the town square when the deacon pointed out a man on the other side. He said to the pastor, “That is ______. He’s one of the finest Christian men in this town. Funny thing though. He’s never made a profession of faith.” Is there a dis-connect there somewhere?

I sat in on a Senior Adult Sunday School opening exercise a few years ago and heard the Dept. Director say “I believe that God looks at all of us and sees what we do. If we just do the best we can, I believe God will accept that.”

Perhaps we need to refresh our passion and church ministries to show an intentional focus on sharing the Gospel. Romans 1:16-17 reminds us “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (NKJV)

One resource offered you is the annual SBTC Evangelism Conference February 15-17 at the Arlington, TX Convention Center. You may access information and schedule here. I urge you to attend and bring several influential leaders from your church.

Pray daily for the Great Commission Resurgence task force of the Southern Baptist Convention and for NAMB’s  GPS emphasis. I hope you will take part in it. And, wherever you find yourself in the landscape of North American Christians, return to your first love (Rev. 2:1-7) and use all of your influence in home, church, community, and workplace to speak and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is not too late to encourage your congregation to join you in reading the Bible through in 2010. There are some very good web sites that give various plans. You can access the best ones I know here, here, and here. I am using the Chronological reading from Back to the Bible as listed on the ESV site. I looked at some other sites and could not find Bible reading plans.

May God grant you your best year in 2010.

Camelot, Camels, and Center

My first date with my wife was to see the movie Camelot. We sat in the balcony holding hands as Arthur and Guinevere romanced and sought to build the round table. Unfortunately Lancelot captured Guinevere’s affections and she and Lancelot betrayed Arthur. Mordred, the illegitimate son of Arthur exposed the affair with the intent of destroying Arthur and taking his throne. The end scene in the movie was on a battlefield on which Lancelot and Arthur would lead their Knights to fight to the death. Guinevere came out of the fog to reveal she had taken refuge in a convent. She wept out a movie version of repentance to Arthur, who forgave her.

Of course, the movie is fiction and most scholars regard the story as fiction as well. Arthurian scholar Norris J. Lacy commented that “Camelot, located no where in particular, can be anywhere”.

That has certainly been true in American politics with the Kennedy administration. It is often referred to as “Camelot”.

My question is this. Is that also true of some past history in denominational and church life? And if so, was it ever as good as some remember? I hear people talk about the “old days”. In my own mind I have mostly been an outsider. But I have listened. And I have come to believe that much of what some talk about is Lacy’s definition of “Camelot” – located no where in particular, can be anywhere.”

Which leads to the question, ‘Is this why some insist upon swallowing camels’? Jesus refers to some in his day as “blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel” (Matthew 23:24). What was the problem in Matthew 23? Seven woes are pronounced upon those who preach but do not practice (23:3).

You see, Camelot exists only in the imagination. No doubt there have been good times and bad times in history, but we do not live in history. We are informed and somewhat shaped by it, but we live in the present and prepare for the future. The Scriptures speak of David as serving the purpose of God in his own generation, then dying (Acts 13:36).

And I remind you – Camelot did not end well and camels are very difficult to swallow!

May I offer a suggestion in the form of a question for 2010? Whether it be the local church in which we serve, the denomination, or the Great Commission Resurgence – can we find our center in Christ?

I have never doubted the inerrancy of Scripture. I learned that at my father’s knee as a child. My parents could not give theological reasons nor did they use the term “inerrancy”. But they did understand and teach that the Bible was God’s word and there was no error in Scripture. We have what God wants us to have. So, the sufficiency of Scripture was learned as a child. But as an adult I have also learned the superiority of Scripture.

If ministry methods, traditions of men, and social mores not taught in Scripture become equivalent to Scripture in our processing of discipleship and community, then are we perhaps swallowing a camel in search of a non-existent Camelot?

The revival we seek will only come when the Christ of the Bible is at the center. We can be described by boundaries we create, but we cannot be defined by them. A follower of Christ can only be defined by radical commitment to Him and the extension of His Kingdom.

The Christian life is one that requires an empowerment not from ourselves. We can only be empowered from Christ the center, not the boundaries. Thus, to live life together from the center is to live centered in Christ and focused on Christ.

Jesus taught us that the only thing attractive to humanity is the uplifted Christ (John 12:32). In the cross-resurrection event is both judgment upon sin and grace for the sinner. It is Christ the center that enables life for the sinner.

Historically, one generation does not pass down their vision to another. God is fully capable of calling, gifting, and giving vision to each generation. The question becomes “How may we flow together in a multi-generational world and church to the glory of God without segmentation that dismisses those not like us?”

I offer that we all submit to Christ as the center and one generation resources the next – not just in terms of money, but in terms of all we have. We resource with people, money, creativity, respect, honor of others, etc.

In other words, recognize that Christ dwells in the hearts by faith of all who have been born again. He has gifted each one. Now in your congregation and sphere of influence, how can that gifting be utilized for the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom? What resources do you and your congregation bring to the table?

We might begin by with taking the camel off the menu and understanding that Camelot is fiction. Christ alone is reality (Col. 2:8-17).

May 2010 be a year for you in which you and your congregation see the abundant blessings of God and His favor.