Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

Greetings All,

     Yesterday I received a book in the mail sent to me by a wise old friend. As one who loves to climb mountains, the title captured my attention when I opened the package: "Canoeing the Mountains," by Tod Bolsinger. Yet, the secondary title clued me into the fact that it probably was not what I initially thought - "Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory."

     As I read the first chapter I felt like the author had been a fly on the wall in many of my conversations in recent years!  He even mouthed some of the exact phrases I had used!  So, today, I let you in on an issue that has been weighing on me (and many others in ministry) for at least the past decade or longer - trying to minister in a post-Christian (often anti-Christian) culture.  This selection below is just to give you a taste of what he will address in the rest of his book -- offering hope for a breakthrough where many seem to have run into what FEELS like an impenetrable wall we were not trained or equipped to break through. Enjoy.

     "One night after a long day of meetings, an older pastor let out a heavy sigh. He was nearing retirement, and we were working together on a project that was supposed to reorganize our entire denomination in order to help our church better minister in a changing world. And that changing world weighed on him.  He remembered well how not that long ago life was different. He stirred his drink and said to me, 'You know, when I began my ministry in a church in Alabama, I never worried about church growth or worship attendance or evangelism. Back then, if a man didn't come to church on Sunday, his boss asked him about it at work on Monday.'

     Sociologists and theologians refer to this recently passed period as 'Christendom.' The seventeen-hundred-year-long era with Christianity at the privileged center of western cultural life. Christendom gave us 'blue laws' and the Ten Commandments in school [and prayer in schools]. It gave us 'under God' in the pledge of allegiance and exhortations to Bible reading in the national newspapers. (I have a copy of the Los Angeles Times from December 1963 that has stories on the Warren Commission (investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy), the nine-thousand-member Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and a list of daily Bible readings for the upcoming week.  Can you even imagine the Los Angeles Times exhorting people to read their Bibles today?) It was the day every "city father" laid out the town square with the courthouse, the library, and a First Church of _______ within the center of the city.  For most of us these days are long gone. (For some of us, that is good news indeed. Did you notice the reference to 'man' in my friends statement?)

     In our day (unlike then) cities are now considering using eminent domain laws to replace churches with tax-revenue generating big-box stores, Sundays are more about soccer and Starbucks than about Sabbath, Christian student groups are getting derecognized on university campuses, the fastest growing religious affiliation among young adults is 'none,' there is no moral consensus built on Christian tradition (even among Christians), and even a funeral in a conservative beach town is more likely to be a Hawaiian style 'paddle out' than a gathering in a sanctuary.  As we see all this we know that Christendom as a marker of society has passed.

     Over the last ten years I have had one church leader after another whisper to me the same frustrated confession: 'Seminary didn't prepare me for this. I don't know if I can do it. I just don't know...'  A number of pastors are ready to throw in the towel. Studies show that if given the chance to do something else, most pastors would jump at it. Reportedly, upwards of fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry EVERY MONTH  [Every year more than 4000 churches in the U.S. close their doors, almost double the number from 20 years ago.] 

     A couple years ago I learned that three of my pastor friends around the country had resigned  -- on the same day. There were no affairs, no scandals, and no one was renouncing the faith. But three good, experienced pastors turned in resignations and walked away. One left church ministry altogether.  The details are as different as the pastors themselves, but the common thread is that they finally got worn down by trying to bring change to a church that was stuck and didn't know what to do. Their churches were stuck and declining, stuck and clinging to the past, stuck and lurching to quick fixes, trying to find an easy answer for what were clearly bigger challenges. What all three churches had in common was that they were mostly blaming the pastor for how bad it felt to be stuck.

'If only you could preach better.' 

'If only you were more pastoral and caring.' 

'If only our worship was more dynamic.' 

'Please, pastor, do something!'  (That is what we pay you for, isn't it?)

     And to make matters worse, the pastors don't know what to do either. As a seminary vice-president I am now charged with confronting this reality head-on. Our graduates were not trained for this day. When I went to seminary, we were trained in the skills that were necessary for supporting faith in Christendom.  When churches functioned primarily as vendors of religious services for a Christian culture, the primary leadership toolbox was:  1. TEACHING (for providing Christian education).  2. LITURGICS (for leading Christian services).  3. PASTORAL CARE (for offering Christian counsel and support).  In this changing world we need to add a new set of leadership tools..." 

     If you would like to know what those new and necessary tools are, you will need to purchase his book for yourself!  As a pastor who has lived long enough to see Christendom progressively and purposefully deconstructed, and replaced at almost every turn with secularized and post-Christian alternatives, it has been stretching.  I'm not one of the pastoral casualties he lists, but in all honesty there have been times I have come pretty close. In fact, given those statistics it may be time to start a "pastor support group" for those who feel they are on the verge of being one of those 1500 pastors every month who leave the ministry.

     I haven't had time to read far into his book, but I wanted to share the introductory chapter so people can know there is a voice of encouragement from someone who has his ear to the ground, and has himself been a pastor ministering in our post-Christian culture.   A culture where traditional styles of leadership and ministry (which garnered much fruit in the not-so-distant past) can actually be a hindrance and obstacle in the present. His word to pastors - "Start with conviction, stay calm, stay connected, and stay the course - even when navigating loss."

     Ministry has always required people to, "run the race with perseverance"  (Hebrews 12:1-2).  Yet today is one of those cultural seasons or times when like a runner in a marathon on a hot and humid day, people in ministry are encountering what in the Boston Marathon is called, "Heartbreak Hill" -- a long gradual incline at the 20 mile mark.  It's a "grueling test of endurance" as one writer puts it, which drives many to give up before the finish line.  A place where one must be mentally prepared, make adjustments, and persevere, or become a casualty.  If you happen to be at that place, maybe you might want to see what Bolsinger has to say.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

You Can't Take It With You

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" is at the same time interesting, intriguing and convicting. It is a critique on our culture, and upon us at the same time.  It is worth reading simply because it's true, and the truth of it should make us do some inner reflection. It may even cause us to make some healthy changes or do some cleaning out. Above all it should make us consider what's important, reevaluate our priorities, and consider how we could better use our resources in a world with much so much need.
     It comes from John Ortberg's book (written with a somewhat satirical flair) "When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box."   It is available in shortened form in, "You Can't Take It With You."  Enjoy.

Stuff, Stuff and More Stuff

     "We all have stuff. We see it, want it, buy it, display it, insure it, and compare it with other people's stuff.  We talk about whether or not they have too much stuff; we envy or pass judgment on other people's collections of stuff.  We collect our own little pile of stuff.  We imagine that if that pile got big enough, we would feel successful or secure. That's how you keep score in Monopoly, and that's how our culture generally keeps score as well. You get a large house, then you have to get stuff to put in it...

     There are now more than 30,000 self-storage facilities in the country offering over a billion square feet  for people to store their stuff. [That was in 2009 when the book was written. Today in 2019 it is estimated there are 52,000 and close to 2 billion square feet and growing!]  In the 1960's this industry did not exist. We now spend $12 billion a year [in 2018 it was $38 billion a year] just to pay someone to store our extra stuff!  It's larger than the music industry.  Psychologist Paul Pearsall comments on people finding it difficult to give their stuff away: "Many people can't bring themselves to get rid of any of their stuff. You may require a 'closet exorcist.'  A trusted friend can help prevent the 're-stuffing phenomena.'  Re-stuffing happens when, in the process of cleaning out closets and drawers, we are somehow stimulated to acquire new stuff..." 

     Some people have a gift for acquiring stuff. Not long ago I took my daughter to a place called Hearst Castle. William Randolph Hearst was a "stuffaholic."  He had 3,500-year-old Egyptian statues, medieval Flemish tapestries, and centuries-old hand-carved ceilings, and some of the greatest work of art of all time. Hearst built a house of 72,000 square feet to put his stuff in.  He acquired property for his house -- 265,000 acres. He originally owned 50 miles of California coastline.  He collected stuff for eighty-five years. Then you know what he did?  He died.  Now people go through Hearst's house by the thousands. They all say the same thing: "Wow, he sure had a lot of stuff."  People go through life, get stuff, and then they die -- leaving all their stuff behind.  What happens to it?  The kids argue over it. The kids -- who haven't died yet, who are really just pre-dead people -- go over to their parents house. They pick through their parents old stuff like vultures, deciding which stuff they want to take to their houses. They say to themselves, "Now this is my stuff."  Then they die and some new vultures come for it.

     People come and go. Nations go to war over stuff, families are split apart because of stuff.  Husbands and wives argue about stuff more than any other single issue. Prisons are full of street thugs and CEO's who committed crimes to acquire stuff.  [Some people will even kill others for their stuff.]  Why?  It's only stuff.  Houses and hotels are the crowning jewels in Monopoly. But the moment the game ends they go back in the box. So it is with all our stuff.  Christ said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:20).... 

     So Jesus says it is wise to store up treasure in what's eternal -- God and people.  To an adult, it's ironic when a two-year-old says, "Mine."  Adults know that two-year-olds don't earn any of their stuff.  It is all provided for them.  It is a gift from someone much larger and wiser than they.  They don't even generally take very good care of it.  Nevertheless, two-year-olds get extremely attached to their stuff.  If someone tries to take something, that item suddenly becomes their favorite stuff.  Two-year-olds can be so deluded, can't they?" 

     As Christians we need to pause every so often and consider where our values and priorities come from.  Do they come from Christ, or do we get them from our culture?  And if (or when) they are in conflict with each other, which takes precedence in dictating our actions and habits?  Do we heed the voice of culture over Christ, or the voice of Christ over culture?   Which do you personally follow and obey? 

     It is worth considering what Jesus would have to say about the thousands upon thousands of storage facilities in our country, and the billions upon billions of dollars spent just to store the excess stuff we don't use or have room for in our houses.  What might he say about that $38 billion spent each year simply storing excess stuff (an average of $88.00 per month per unit)?  Actually, Jesus already spoke quite clearly on that subject in Matthew 6:20.  So, we don't need to ask his opinion, we already know what that is.  So what we do need to ask him is what we should do about all our stuff in light of what he says. How should we respond?  Do we really need all the stuff we have?  How could the money spent storing it be better spent on "storing up treasures in heaven"? How could it be better used in the service of God's kingdom or relieving the plight of people who have so little?  In light of the Jesus we know from Scripture, it is at least worth asking.

     And I know that by now someone is probably thinking, "Don't get legalistic on us, Pastor Jeff."   I find that's a common response whenever what we believe or practice appears to be in conflict with what Jesus taught.  We pull out the"legalistic" card to try and shut down such questions or suggestions. Yet, isn't the goal of our lives to follow the teachings of Jesus more closely.  The Jesus who often turns the values of the world upside down.  And in this case, the Jesus who, if He did have stuff, had very little, since Scripture tells us he had no house (or storage unit) to store it in (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58).

     It is true that Scripture does not forbid us from owning things, and there is the ever-present need for housing and shelter and some of the things that make life in it functional. But it is at least worth asking, "At what point we violate Jesus' clear instruction not to 'store up for ourselves treasures on earth'"?

     Is it time to take a trip to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop? 

     Is there someone in real need who could use something we simply have stuffed away in our closet, attic, cellar, garage or storage unit?

     How can we turn an unused "earthly treasure" into a "treasure in heaven"?  Can we break free from it's hold on us and get rid of some stuff without re-stuffing? 

     

     I don't know about you, but I do know I need to unstuff some of my stuff without re-stuffing -- and bless someone else in the process.  And not just once, but as an ongoing habit, lest that stuff comes to have too much of a hold on me, and dictate my attitudes and choices more than the words of the One I have come to call my Lord.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?

Greetings All!

When people discover I am a pastor it often leads to questions they have about God or the church. This was the case the other day when at the YMCA an older gentleman asked me: "Why is Easter so late this year?"  As I always try to find the answer when asked, I collected the following data to share with him.  Yet its not the first time I've been asked that question. So I offer this to you in case you wondered or have been asked the same.  Why does the celebration of Easter vary so much?  The answer lies below!  Enjoy!

Why Does the Day to Celebrate Easter Vary So Much from Year to Year?

     This year most Christians in the Western hemisphere will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 21, which is much later than last year’s April 1, or 2008’s Easter, which fell on March 23. This may make it “seem” like Easter is late this year, but according to the lunar calendar, it's right on time!  Easter Sunday is known as a "movable feast" because unlike Christmas (which always falls on Dec. 25), the celebration of Easter within the church does not adhere to a single date.  Rather, it always falls within a certain time period – on a specific Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This is because – NOTE:  Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on, or after, the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox (spring equinox).

     Scripture puts Jesus’ death following the Jewish Passover, celebrated on a full moon in Spring. So, early Christians decided to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection according to that Jewish calendar tradition. In an effort to standardize this, in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, the Western Church compiled information about lunar cycles into an ecclesiastical full moon table and made March 21 the standard date of the vernal equinox.

     One of the more noteworthy contradictions of this dating will be Easter in the year 2038. Astronomically, Easter should fall on March 28 that year, but because the equinox falls on Saturday, March 20 in that year, and the full moon occurs the next day, Easter will be observed on April 25 – its latest possible date given the lunar cycle's length of about a month. So, while Easter may feel "late" this year, the 2038 celebration will take place even later.

     Same Easter, Different Day

     At the Council in Nicaea (called for the purpose of seeking to create greater unity in a Church encompassing many peoples and cultures), the council thought they had finalized a universal date for Easter. However, what they didn't count on was a later split in the church which occurred in 1054. The “Great Schism” of 1054 became the dividing point for the church.

     The Roman Empire had already divided itself into the Eastern (Byzantine) and Western (Roman) Empires, and even though the church tried to maintain a semblance of universal unity, it soon divided as well. Not only did the Eastern and Western halves form their own separate empires, they also chose their own spiritual heads for each church (Pope Leo the IX for the Western church, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius for the Eastern or Orthodox church). They split over doctrinal an “head of the church” issues, but when it came to Easter, both still believed Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring equinox.

     Yet in 1582 (528 years later) the Catholic Church switched over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.  The Julian Calendar proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. took the place of the old Roman calendar on 1 January 45 BC, by royal edict. This was the predominant calendar of the Roman world and most of Europe until it was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar put forth in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

     The Julian calendar has two types of years: "normal" years of 365 days and “leap” years of 366 days. There is a simple cycle of three "normal" years followed by a “leap” year, and this pattern repeats forever without exception. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long. Consequently, the Julian year drifts over time with respect to the solar year which is 365.24217 days. The Julian calendar did not compensate for this difference and as a result, even with “leap” years, the calendar year gains about three days every four centuries. This discrepancy was largely corrected by the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.

     The Orthodox Church still holds to the original Nicaean Council's formula for Easter, but by using a different calendar system, the vernal equinox (which now falls on March 21 under the Gregorian calendar), is on April 3 under the Julian calendar.  Therefore, the Eastern Orthodox Easter this year is April 28. The two churches celebrate the same Easter holiday, but on two different days. Whereas the “Catholic” Easter falls anywhere between March 22 and April 25, the “Orthodox” Easter now falls anywhere between April 4 and May 8.

     In rare instances the dates align and Easter is celebrated simultaneously. For example, both the Orthodox and Catholic Easter fell on the same day in 2010, 2011, 2014 and in 2017. However, with the way the two calendars work, they will not fall on the same day again until 2034.

     I know some people will not care about such things, but some will.       For those who did, today was your day!  Yet, regardless of the day Easter is celebrated on, the more important fact is what we celebrate -- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!  For as the apostle Paul tells us, it was Jesus' resurrection that "declared" (proved) Him to be the Son of God.  As Romans 1:1-4 states: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God -- the Gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God through his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

     Though the disciples confessed Jesus to be the "Son of God" right up until He went to the cross, when He died from the suffering inflicted by crucifixion, it left them all disillusioned, questioning everything, and hiding in fear and despair from the authorities. That is, until they saw, encountered and touched His resurrected body! Then all doubt was erased! For through that miracle He was, "declared with power (God put a divine exclamation point on it!) to be the Son of God... Jesus Christ our Lord."  So, regardless of the day we celebrate it (I prefer it later in the Spring!) it is that event we look forward to, honor, and rejoice in in our hearts. To Him be glory in the Church, now and forever more. Amen.

Living in the Hope of Jesus' Resurrection, Pastor Jeff

The Intrusive Word, Preaching to the Unbaptized

Greetings All,

I like stories. I do.  Not fiction, but stories that are true.  And I hope you like them as well, since this week's"thought"  is a story.  A true story.  One that is a little humorous, a little sad, and a little challenging as well. It comes to you from William Willimon and is taken from the preface of his book, "The Intrusive Word, Preaching to the Unbaptized."  Enjoy.


     

     "In my last congregation, we decided that we needed to grow. We voted to launch a program of evangelism... You know what that means. It's the, "We had better go out and get new members of we'll die" syndrome..  Our church had begun a two-decade decline in membership, so we figured that a little church-growth strategy was in order.  We studied a program from our denomination telling us how to get new members. Among other things, the church-growth program advocated a system of door-to-door visitation. So we organized ourselves into groups of two and, on an appointed Sunday afternoon, we set out to visit, and invite people to our church.

     The teams went out, armed with packets of pamphlets describing our congregation, our denomination, and fliers portraying me, the smiling, accessible pastor, inviting people to our church. Each team was given a map with their assigned street. Helen and Gladys were given a map. They were clearly told to go down Summit Drive and to TURN RIGHT. That's what they were told. I heard the team leader tell them, "You go down Summit Drive and turn right. Do you hear me, Helen? That's down Summit Drive and turn right."  But Helen and Gladys, both approaching eighty, after lifetimes of teaching elementary school, were better at giving directions than receiving them. Thy turned left, venturing down into the housing projects to the west of Summit Drive...  [They] proceeded to evangelize the wrong neighborhood, and thereby ran the risk of evangelizing the wrong people.

     Late that afternoon, each team returned to the church to make their reports. Helen and Gladys had only one interested person to report -- a woman named Verleen. Nobody on their spurious route was interested in visiting our church, nobody but Verleen. She lived with her two children in a three-room-apartment in the projects, we were told. Although she had never been to a church in her life, Verleen wanted to visit ours. This is what you get, I said to myself, when you don't follow directions. This is what you get when you won't do what the pastor tells you to do. You get a woman from the projects named Verleen.

The next Sunday, Helen and Gladys proudly presented Verleen at the 11:00 service, along with her two feral-looking children.  Verleen liked the service so much she said that she wanted to attend the Women's Thursday Morning Bible Study.  On Thursday, Verleen appeared, proudly clutching her new Bible, a gift from Helen, the first Bible Verleen had ever seen, much less owned. I was leading the study on the prescribed reading for the coming Sunday, Luke 4, the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. "Have any of you ever been faced with temptation and, with Jesus' help, resisted?" I asked the group after presenting my material. "Have any of you refused some temptation because of your Christian commitment?"  One of the women told about how, just the week before, there  was some confusion in the supermarket checkout line, and before she knew it, she was standing in the parking lot with a loaf of bread she hadn't paid for.  "At first I thought, 'why should I pay for it? They have enough money here as it is.' But then I thought, 'No, you are a Christian.' So I went back in the store and paid them for that loaf of bread."  I made some approving comment.

     It was then that Verleen spoke up. "A couple years ago, I was into cocaine really big. You know what that's like!  You know how that stuff makes you crazy.  Well, anyway, my boyfriend, not the one I got now, the one who was the daddy of my first child, that one, well, we knocked over a gas station one night.  Got two hundred dollars out of it.  It was as simple as taking candy from a baby.  Well, my boyfriend, he says to me, "Let's knock off that Seven-eleven store down on the corner.'  And something in me, it says, 'No, I held up that gas station with you, but I ain't going to hold up no convenience store.'  He beat the hell out of me, but I still said, 'No.'  It felt great to say 'No,' cause that's the only time in my life I ever said 'No' to anything. Made me feel like I was somebody."  Through the stunned silence I managed to mutter, "Well, er, uh, that's resisting temptation. That's sort of what this text is about. And now it's time for our closing prayer."  After I stumbled out of the church parlor and was standing out in the parking lot helping Helen into her Plymouth, she said to me, "You know, I can't wait to get home and get on the phone and invite people to come next Thursday!  Your Bible studies used to be dull. I think I can get a good crowd for this!"...

     Verleen taught me that evangelism is not about getting new members for the church...  Evangelism is not about helping more nice, buttoned-down, middle-class folk like me to find deeper meaning in our lives. Evangelism is a gracious, unmanageable, messy by-product of the intrusions of God into the lives of people.  Verleen was not the only one who intruded into our nice, bourgeois club called Northside United Methodist Church.  She had been brought there, I believe, by Another. Time and again in our life together as a church, just when we get everything all figured out, the pews bolted down, and everyone blissfully adjusted to the status quo, God has intruded, inserting some topsy-turvy-turned life like Verleen, just to remind the baptized that God is large, unimaginable, and full of surprises...  I contend that, through evangelism - through repeated confrontations with the intrusive grace of God - the church can be born again. By letting God use us in God's never-ending pursuit of the unbaptized, the baptized can rediscover what it means for us to be the church. That unlikely gathering of those who are called to sign, signal, and witness to the graciousness of God in a world dying for lack of salvation."

     Willimon dedicated his book to Verleen.  His experience struck me because I have also experienced the blessing of God bringing along very real, transparent, 'don't-yet-know-church-words-or-culture' people like Verleen.  A non-churched addict who had contracted aids through sharing needles, and was initially dating a prostitute. A man I had the privilege of baptizing him before he passed.

     Another was a young lady, who after much prodding by a friend, finally came to our church in Honduras in an expensive car she had borrowed from a friend.  She parked on the steep hill in front of the church, and during the service the emergency brake let loose. One of the greeters interrupted the service to ask if anyone owned a grey Mercedes, because it had just rolled down the hill into a brick wall. At that, the lady jumped up from her seat, and in front of everyone (in a very loud voice) blurted out: "Oh ___!"  And, despite the initially stunned faces, the church elders were so happy she had joined with us, they paid for the repairs.

     Another time, a gentleman who struggled with alcohol (and had previously gotten into a fight with his wife in our front yard!) called us to come down to his house because he'd "found Jesus."  When we arrived at his house, he was watching a VHS (some of you remember what those are) of a Bill Gaither Concert.  And at one point in the concert, he was so moved by joy (I can't remember the song), that he leaped up where he was standing, and jumped so high, that his head hit the glass globe of a hanging light and shattered it all over him and the floor!  And that doesn't even include the young new-to-church ex-nightclub dancer, who offered a prayer request during the service with such descriptive language that some of the older folk almost turned pale from shock!

     You see, sometimes Christians can forget that Jesus' band of disciples were not all moral, straight-laced, upstanding, well-educated, middle-class, "grew-up-in-church-every-week" type people.  Some came from the other side of the tracks.  Some shocked those who were the self-appointed guardians of the religious status-quo.  It's supposed to be that way. In fact, if the Verleen's of the world are not attracted to our churches, or feeling welcomed there, we are doing something wrong. For as we see in the gospels, sinners (the really bad ones like Zealots, prostitutes and tax collectors) were attracted to Jesus, felt loved by Jesus, did not feel judged by Jesus, and wanted to be around Jesus. It's something that should be true of us as well if we are Christians (or as the word means, "little Christ's"). Dare we pray for more gracious intrusions from people like Verleen?

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

The Mind, the Spirit, and Power

Greetings All,

     This "thought" comes to you from the humble, devout, and godly British minister, statesman and scholar, John R. W. Stott, PhD.  I had the privilege of hearing him speak in person three times before he passed away in 2011. He was so well-respected at home and abroad that in 2005 Time Magazine listed him (at 86 years old) as "one of the 100 most influential people on the planet."  I have many of his books sitting on my shelves and can say without reservation that anything written by him is worth the read (I count his commentary on the New Testament book of Acts as among the best available).
     This excerpt is taken from the book, "Faith and Culture - The Guide to a Culture Shaped by Faith." by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington.  Enjoy.

The Mind, the Spirit, and Power

     "I believe that anti-intellectualism and fullness of the Holy Spirit are mutually incompatible. And I dare say it because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.  Jesus our Lord himself referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, and therefore, it is only logical to say that wherever the Holy Spirit has given his freedom, truth is bound to matter.  So I have argued, and argue still, that a proper and conscientious use of our minds is an inevitable part and parcel our Christian life.

     FIRST, a proper use of our minds glorifies our Creator. We believe that God is a rational Being who has made us in his own image and likeness, as rational men and women. And has given us a rational revelation of himself. 

     SECOND, a proper use of our mind enriches our Christian discipleship. There is no aspect of our discipleship which can be developed without the use of our mind. Whatever part of discipleship your are reflecting on -- worship, faith, guidance -- the mind has an indispensable part to play.

     THIRD, a proper use of the mind strengthens our witness in the world. I am convinced that one of the major reasons people reject the gospel in the West today is not because they perceive it to be false, but because they perceive it to be trivial.  They think it is inadequate for the complexities and challenges of the world today.  We know, of course, that in evangelism, in conversion, and in regeneration (or the new birth), the Holy Spirit has an indispensable part to play. Only the Spirit can lead a sinner to Christ. But when he leads us to Christ, he does not do it in spite of the evidence, but because of the evidence, when he opens our minds to attend to it.

     To sum up, anti-intellectualism insults God, impoverishes us, and weakens our testimony in the world. A proper use of the mind glorifies God, enriches us, and strengthens our witness in the world."

     It is interesting to me (though I do not have the full manuscript of what he shared in this address presented to The London Institute of Contemporary Christianity in 2001) that Stott does not even allude to the primary biblical imperatives that call us to use all the powers of our God-given intellect in our worship and service to Him and others -- the Two Greatest Commandments.  As commands which most all Christian people have memorized at one time or another, it would seem that anti-intellectualism would be forever banished from the Church of God.  For in those commands we are told (as part of our love and adoration of Him) to use every part of every human faculty given to us in loving Him and our neighbor.  All our will and emotions and all the powers of our intellect, strength, energy or actions are to be used in sacred service to the one who gave them to us for the sake of His glory.

     It is beyond dispute that we are to, "love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, with all our MIND (emphasis mine), and with all our strength," (Mark 12:30).  Or as Jesus affirms and summarizes it two verses later, "You are right in saying.that... To love Him with all your heart, with all your UNDERSTANDING (emphasis again is mine) and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

     Therefore, it is an unbiblical and unsustainable assertion to suggest that one should avoid using their mind, reason or intellect in the defense and furtherance of the faith (as long as the mind is used in the service of God and not to oppose the purposes of God). Gordon Fee, my professor of N.T. at Gordon-Conwell was raised in a Pentecostal environment where it was not unusual to hear people exalt the place of the heart and soul, but put down the place of the mind. He said that growing up he would hear people in that environment say, "I'd rather be a heart on fire than a mind on ice."  But as he studied the Scriptures, and the place it gives to the mind, he realized that such an assertion resulted from an anti-intellectual, false and unbiblical dichotomy.  He came to see that what the Bible actually encourages is, "not only a heart on fire for the Lord, but a mind that is also on fire for the Lord."  The one does not negate the other. They actually compliment each other.

     Simple faith in the Lord Jesus is a gift.  But so also is a mind that uses all it's intellectual powers to love and serve God, as we see in such people as Blaise Pascal, Jonathan Edwards, C. S. Lewis, Ravi Zacharias, Deithrich Bonhoeffer, John Piper, Nancy Pearcy, Lee Stobel, Dallas Willard, Tim Keller, Os Guiness, and slews of other brilliant, God-loving and devout defenders of the faith. Such people have been blessings beyond description in being used of God to lead unbelievers to Christ, and encouraging believers to go deeper and deeper in the faith.

     He died. He rose. He is coming again.  Pastor Jeff

The Gospel of Self-Esteem

Greetings All!

     This week's "thought" comes to you from Prof. Archibald Hart, PhD.  He is professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary.  Hart is the the author 24 books, including: "Thrilled to Death: How the Endless Pursuit of Pleasure is Leaving Us Numb."

     This particular thought deals with the American obsession with self-esteem and offers us some balanced and helpful insights. Many of the things he points out will not come as a surprise to you, since both experience and common sense would affirm the statements and findings he cites. As with many widely embraced cultural trends, they can tend to go to unwise and even counter-intuitive excesses and extremes before people realize the claims of their wonder-working power were grossly exaggerated.

     This article comes from "Faith and Culture," a book that offers a collection of articles on hundreds of topics relating faith to culture.  It is by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington. If you are looking for a book with short and interesting articles across a span of topics, this is a book you may consider purchasing. This particular article is entitled: "The Gospel of Self-Esteem."

The Gospel of Self-Esteem

     "Is high self-esteem all its cracked up to be?  If you suffer from low self-esteem are you doomed to failure?  What new picture of self-esteem is emerging from the science of psychology, and how does it agree with God's Word on the subject?  In the upheaval of the late 60's and early 70's, the concept of self-esteem took off. "If only we can help people to feel better about themselves, we will solve many social problems and mental illnesses" became the driving force that sent teachers, parents, and even the states of California and New York in the 1980's scurrying to set up commissions and task forces on self-esteem. It became a national preoccupation that has now ended as a hopeless quest.  Research now conclusively shows that such efforts do little to improve social problems, academic performance, success in the workplace, or even to enhance our happiness.

     The bottom line is that while everyone intuitively recognizes the reality of "self-esteem," there is no evidence that by boosting these self-feelings one can accomplish more in life.  Research psychologists have now clearly demonstrated that self-esteem is the CONSEQUENCE of accomplishing something significant in life, not the CAUSE of accomplishments or failures.  In his 1994 presidential address to the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman, a significant leader in the new "positive psychology" movement, denounced several "sacred cows" of psychotherapy, one being that in order to reduce mental illness we should try to increase the self-esteem of our children.  He stated: "undeniably, depressed people have low self-esteem. But bolstering self-esteem without changing hopelessness... accomplishes nothing."  He received a standing ovation!  His research shows that teens from the ghettos have the highest self-esteem ratings of any group, not the lowest!  The problem is that their self-esteem is "unwarranted."  As we teach and counsel others, we must caution one another to identify and address the myths that have penetrated the whole concept of self-esteem. Sermons abound on how one is to "love oneself," but we need to carefully interpret Matthew 19:19. We must be mindful that our participation in newly emerging worship styles is radically God-centered and not unduly influenced by the self-esteem movements emphasis on my needs and my feelings.

     Perhaps we need to pay more attention to the wisdom that Paul expresses in Romans 12:3 which tells us all we need to know about the self-esteem problem even though its focus is not on low self-esteem, but rather on an inflated and distorted sense of self.

"For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."  Romans 12:3

     Paul outlines the essential ingredients for building a Christian understanding of what I call "authentic self-esteem," an understanding and acceptance of yourself for who you really are. There is nothing wrong with being imperfect. Sometimes feeling bad acts as a stimulus to do better or try something different.  It can prompt confession, change, and courage.  One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a parent is to always protect your children from pain or failure. By cushioning them from feeling bad, the self-esteem movement has made it harder for us to feel good. It has encouraged cheap success. From the words of Paul I deduce that the essence of a healthy self-attitude must be based, first, on an honest and truthful self-understanding and image ("Think... with sober [honest] judgment); then, second, on a willingness to accept that you are who you are, created in God's image ("in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you"). All other self-feelings lead to self-hate. Your attitude to yourself (which is what self-esteem is really all about) must be based plainly and simply on thinking about yourself with complete honesty. You must own your flaws and your strengths.  It must never be dishonest (Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought"), not exaggerated or distorted.

     Many psychologists have pointed out that the struggle often is with an "internal filter system" we develop early in life that tends to deny our successes and hoards the memories of failures. Self-honesty requires one to be diligent in challenging these denials. After all, in God's kingdom there is always forgiveness and restoration.  No matter how inadequate you may feel about yourself, or how insignificant your life may appear to be on the outside, you should always remember that the grace of God covers every shortcoming.  You will always be precious to him, however you feel about yourself.  One can never go beyond the reach of his grace and forgiveness. Here lies the key to how you should feel about yourself: Your self needs to become more and more transparent to itself as you become less and less self-conscious. This is authentic self-esteem. You need to know who you are, how you have been redeemed, and how precious you are to God -- NOT because you are wonderful, but because he has made you his child."

     As I mentioned, experience and common sense would lead us to many of the same conclusions.  I once had a foster daughter who did not do well in school.  All of a sudden, in one marking period, she went from failing to straight A's. She came home ecstatic!  But we wondered how it had happened, since she hadn't studied any harder nor done any more work then she ever had?  It did boost her feelings about herself for a short three or four weeks, but she soon began to realize she got an "A" pretty much no matter what she did, and was allowed to re-take tests as many times as she needed to get it. She even came to feel somewhat betrayed and foolish and resent their manipulative attempt to play with her mind and "boost her self-esteem" by giving her grades she did nothing to deserve. In essence, it back-fired, since like most kids she knew it was all a game.  She knew, and we knew, that despite what studies at that time were saying, there is no evidence that by boosting these self-feelings one can accomplish more in life...  self-esteem is the CONSEQUENCE of accomplishing something significant in life, not the CAUSE of accomplishments or failures."

     Just some wise, insightful, and much needed food for thought, Pastor Jeff