Just the right words.

Graduation lesson # 1

Delivering the baccalaureate message for The Citadel Class of '09 reminded me of the many graduations of life and the learning continuum each signifies. The seasons of life move us from stage to stage and through a regular progression of completions and starts. Nursery yields kindergarten then to primary school, elementary ed, middle school, high school, and on up the line. The same pattern marks vocational advancement too, apprentice to yeoman to tradesman to master, etc. etc. And, also parenting and spiritual maturity and golf score and just about any personal pursuit. It's the way of life, unless competitiveness was left out of your gene-pool or you're where you want to be in life. Forward progress, that's the deal.

So, in addition to completions, at every junction there is a beginning, a starting over. Graduate from high school and soon you're a college freshman, from college and you're the new employee without experience, from boot camp and you're a PFC on the bottom on the command ladder. Even a senior pastor is the new guy in the pulpit when he answers a new call. Every time I try something new I'm a knob all over again.

Today as we honor grads, and as we face the progressions and reversals of life, the ebb and flow, we should be reminded that God is the author of genuine upward mobility. The Psalmist wrote, "Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the judge, he puttesth one up, and setteth another down (Psalm 75:6-7, KJV).

Isn't that good to know? Wish I had learned it earlier---

What will go next?

All kidding aside, I'm wondering what will be the next to go? OK, the stand-up stars keep us rolling in the aisles telling jokes at our over-age expense. They're funny because they ever so subtly smack of truth. Still, with the memory thing slip-sliding off into oblivion we all face the task of trying to recall all of our faculties back when everything worked. It's hard to keep track without a check-list or some kind of body function inventory. So, being a byte or two short of a full meg makes it a little more difficult to assess the damage thus far.

Maybe I miss my shoulders most. You see, I noticed the creeping loss of my shoulders several years ago when trying to unpack from a week at the beach. Duffel bag on one shoulder, lap-top case on the other, hanging bags under my arms, Vera Bradley in my hands, the weight suddenly shifted to my fore-arms as the big stuff slid off of my shoulders. Since then, I've noticed that they are truly gone, these strong shoulders that used to try to hold so much. Nothing will stay up there anymore. Is this a metaphor of the seasons of life, transferring the strong-man-shoulder thing to the next generation?

Oh, yes, I miss my fingers too! Manipulating keys is really fun these days, and I usually drop them three or four times just getting in the house. Do they make a voice-activated entry system? Not to mention the tiny pills Harriet and I drop all over the house every morning. Poor Oliver scarfs them up the minute they hit the floor. At least he won't suffer from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or PMS. I pray he doesn't cut himself shaving. Our blood thinners wouldn't be good for a 17 lb. puppy.

When did every sentence end in "Huh?" Thankfully we don't have to talk all that much because two elements of the communication system are down right now. After thirty-six years we pretty much just grunt and nod, finish each others sentences, and actually read each others mind. That's good, because now we both mumble, and neither of us can hear. Say what? Why is the TV volume on 92?

Where is this going? Hurry and get there. You see, we have this treasure in earthen vessels and that's just the deal with pots of clay. Two things. Don't fight it, you can't win. And, set your affections on treasures in heaven, because they are all that will last. With your citizenship firmly fixed there, you'll be able to chuckle at life's little transitions, and realize that to lose something here is to get a little closer to unimaginable things there. 

Let's don't talk about teeth---

It's the Secular City, and it is now---

Liberal Harvard theologian Harvey Cox's predictions in the 1965 blockbuster The Secular City are perhaps happening right now. Cox envisioned the world of technopolis, the digitized city of the future, characterized by mobility, anonymity, and the entrenched skepticism of a totally secular world. He advocated a broad definition of the church beyond institutional boundaries and viewed the church as the only valid medium for changing culture, expressing the essentials of faith out there beyond the walls, engaging the urban world. How novel! Of course, his liberalism challenged the traditional approaches to evangelism and wondered if the church and therefore faith could exist in a secular culture. Superimposed over the text is a question: how do you talk of God is a secular world?

Indeed. Admittedly, Cox was not the first theologian to juggle that hot potato. Great minds have pondered the mysteries of faith for generations, and are still developing what I like to call lab-coat-religion, exercised in the sterile confines of the human intellect or in hypothetical rhetoric, concentric circles of confusion. Yet, today the boundaries of secularism have been stretched. The question remains: how can we speak of God in a secular world?

Check this out and chew on it for a minute. Evidently the case against the practice of Christianity is being extended to a broader definition of church rather than narrower. If this police action is upheld in court, which I highly doubt at this time, then gathering for Bible study at home constitutes church and will require all kind of parking permits, submission to fire ordinances, inspections, licenses,and no telling what else. Sign of the times? Yes, to say the least. Expected? Maybe. We're headed in that direction.

Before we start our usual chorus of whining about being thrown under the bus or finding devils under under rock, maybe we better get back to the question. How do we speak about God in a secular world? You see, our typical tactic is to stiff-arm the question with persecuted minority language, you know, Lions 666, Christians 0, or some other woe-is-me stuff, remnant theology and all. But, if this is the direction of our times, and the slide down the slippery slope in escalating, then how are we to stand for God as the cultures clash.

OK, in case you've forgotten, the outcome is already decided. You're on the winning team bubba, no matter the score at mid-game. So, what is our game plan for credibility and effective proclamation till then. How do we speak about God, I ask you, in a secular world?

With authenticity, that's how. Real lives changed by a real message about a real Lord. Try that on for size. Of course, that's always been the design, talking the talk and walking the walk, words validated by actions, humble servants with good news to eagerly share. But, at the same time, it's been the dis-connect of post-modernism, the hypocricy of strong words, critical spirits, and hard hearts.

The case in San Diego probably won't amount to much. Good fodder for the fourth estate, grist for the blog mills, yada, yada, yada. But, it begs the question: how will we speak of God in the secular city, like, I mean, now?

We're still in Kansas, and this is yo' mama's church

When we occasionally extract our heads from the sand we're tempted to exclaim with Dorothy Gale, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Yuk, yuk. Such clever wit and remarkable recall just goes to show just how far us church folk have landed outside the solar system of faith. Yes, indeed, change is defined by velocity these days, and more happens in the turning of our world than was even thought possible in 1939. Get out there on the mean-streets and the differences are stark, perhaps alarming. But, don't fall into a hole. The institutional church is still in Kansas, while the world is in a galaxy far away. To boot, remarkably, it is yo' mama's church, still. And, that's no compliment.

Out of curiosity more than anything, I thumbed through the annual of the Southern Baptist Convention, circa 1982, my first year in a full-time, post-seminary pastorate. The annual meeting was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 15,16, and 17, with 20,456 messengers registered. Of that number, 38% were under age forty, with the remaining 62% over. It is not exciting reading and therefore I didn't linger over the text too long. But, a short stroll through the proceedings sounded several alarms.

One, the convention has been shortened. Two, fewer people are attending, down to 11,641 registered messengers in 2006 (Greensboro) and 8,630 in 2007 (San Antonio). Three, the age dispersion is older. Not revelations mind you, simple, readily observable facts. Of course, convention leaders and church strategists crunch the numbers and ponder the trends. Everybody and his brother is weighing in about the sharp declines in registered messengers and the increase in average age. What gives?

Shoot, take another look at the proceedings. You could superimpose the order of business from 1982 right on top of the 2009 agenda and not miss a beat.  While the world is streaking off into another star system, us Southern Baptists are lost in a black hole. We're still in Kansas. There goes contemporary culture, zoomin' forward at the speed of thought, and here we are scratching our heads, asking, "which way did they go?", Baby Huey all over again. Wake up, Christ followers. It's not yo' mama's world, but it is yo' mama's church. And the disconnect just gets wider and weirder.

Seems to me that the call for re-organization of our institutional behemoth in the Axioms of a Great Commission Resurgence is more than a critical eye on the denominational structure. Rather, it seems that a simple evaluation of how we do things may be in order, a methodological revision that casts us in a more contemporary light. I mean, no wonder younger heads are looking elsewhere for partnership and fellowship and mission. It's hard to stay out there when the bus you are riding is back there somewhere. Of a truth, you've got to get the right people on the bus. But, even more, you've got to get on the right bus.

So, heading to Louisville? The office pool is wondering how many gray haired Southern Baptists will show. I know of at least two---Frank and I, sitting in the peanut gallery ticking off the order of business bullets from the 1982 template, holding up our ballots to express our concerns, wondering why in the daylights we're still operating back there, protests to innovation, holdouts to high def digital communication. While the Who Wants to be a Millionaire contestant is polling the audience via computer networking, we're holding up our punch cards. Fugedaboudit!

Jesus said, "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions" (Mark 7:9).

Ruh roh! Reckon he was talking about us?

Megalogomania

Years ago a sweet lady interrupted my comfortable life by announcing a simple truth: God loves you and has a purpose for your life! Contemporary wordsmiths would call that my defining moment, the seismic eruption that catapulted us to another plane, a totally new life direction. Of course, this simple pronouncement became the launch phrase of Evangelism Explosion and Continuing Witness Training presentations. Before it was copy-righted and packaged, it was a clearly stated introduction to a very precisely articulated gospel presentation. The simplicity of it struck me then, and still provides a strong measure of amazement as I daily realize how profound the simple truths of the gospel really are.

In a world of easy-believism and lowered standards, we church types have erected theological fences around the good news to insure people are making genuine decisions. Fearing loss of orthodoxy and over-simplification of essentials, the doctrine police have super-imposed theological language and precepts over the simple gospel mandated by Scripture. Recently an unbeliever confessed that he wouldn't publicly confess Christ or submit to the ordinance of believer's baptism because he didn''t understand the provisions of the BF & M 2000 that I had given him to study. It was another defining moment, a shocking reminder that you don't have to have a degree in systematic theology to grasp the essentials of walking with Christ.

Someone once said the only thing standing between a lost world and Christ is the church. OK, that may be an over-simplification to us theologues, a violation of several doctrinal positions. There is more than a grain of truth here, however. You see, regardless of your theological school, we all know that Jesus did entrust the gospel to the church in what we call the great commission. He expects his church to speak this message boldly, and often. Without a doubt, the church can err in this mandate in at least two ways: (1) the church can just not do it, or, (2) the church can edit the message so that the central truth of the gospel is obscured. Adding to or subtracting from the truth is not good, a no-no.

When the Holy Spirit of the Triune God speaks to an unbeliever, he draws that undeserving sinner to Christ, our Savior and Lord. How this happens is still a mystery, in spite of our scripting and all of our theological positioning. Suddenly, a new creation happens. But, as miraculous as it is, that new creature still doesn't understand the fine points of doctrine. He doesn't need an extensive library or church vocabulary to come to Christ, an annotated confession, footnoted articles of faith, or a list of spiritual qualifications. Confessing faith in Christ is not grilling before an ordination committee or defending a thesis on soteriology. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21). Too simple for you? Tough.

Too many of us suffer from megalogomania---my word, by the way, meaning, we're maniacs for too many words. Our times plead for simplicity and we've become the masters of complexity. The gospel that is so clearly stated in Scripture is lost in our word play.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ dies for our sins according to Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve (1 Corinthians 15:1). 

That's it megalogomaniacs. Get a life!

The Submerging Church

In spite of all the cool spin about emerging or convergent churches, and the missional renaissance that characterizes post-modern faith, it's time for us Southern Baptists to get real about our identity.  You  see, a majority of our congregations are actually part of the submerging church, the church operating under the radar screen, the church below the surface, the church being drowned in the wake of a spiritual wave that we refuse to ride. Of course, if we had been commissioned  to lead a covert under-cover mission impossible, being submerged might actually be a good thing. As it is, it is just another symptom of the disconnect that continues to make fulfillment of our mission so difficult. It is hard to engage a culture when you are submerged under it. Go figure!

Submergent congregations operate in dive mode most of the time! In fact, running silent and running deep are SOP for this church, all of the internal gauges and machinery being calibrated to navigate the currents without a ripple. As a result, the submerged church is basically invisible---making no waves, leaving no wake, underneath all the surface traffic. What is more, they are usually safe havens, sealed against seepage, every hatch battened tight, pressurized against the crush of their surroundings, and, yes, alarmed against too much depth.

Sadly, we run the risk of becoming a submerged denomination as well. All too often the ruling junta of SBC leadership would just as soon submerge us below the cultural surface to avoid some of the rough waters ahead. There was a time when Southern Baptists understood the times and knew what we should do in the face of them. Today, there are a few eloquent denominational spokesmen who grasp the plausibility of confessional integrity and cultural engagement on the surface, out in the open, and not submerged underneath the world we have been commissioned to change. Many, however, fear the world and seek to avoid it, totally submerged. Sad.

OK, Southern Baptists, Biblical controversy is settled. Conflicting doctrinal positions are being stated, debated, and accommodated, if you're looking for three points. I'll come up with a poem later. Still, our divide today is methodological. Today, we're in the word game part---converging, emerging, or submerging church. I don't know about you, but I'll go ahead and mark submerging off the list. I just can't be a part of a church or denomination that wants to operate below the surface.

Jesus said, "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world..." (John 17:11).

Memorial Day

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philipppians 1:3

War is a horrible reality of life. In warfare, many individuals offer the ultimate sacrifice for their cause, convictions, or core values, their country. Memorial Day is the time Americans remember their war dead.

Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Please take a moment today to remember and while you're at it, thank God for those willing to serve and to die.

Speaking of food

OK, if Saturday is custom crafted for junk food, then Sunday is surely the day for soul food. And, I don't necessarily mean fried pork chops, mac and cheese, black eyed peas, and corn bread, as pictured over there on the left. Although I distinctly remember my mother putting on a spread every Sunday after church. It was prime time soul food eating at our house every Sunday---meat loaf, pork chops, pot roast, collards, green beans, rice and gravy, and oh yes, biscuits, home-made right out of the oven. No wonder I always struggled with my weight---it was mom's fault. Poor children in China (India, Bangladesh, Borneo, Belgian Congo, etc.) were starving and we were highly encouraged to eat every morsel. A culinary delight: soul food every Sunday. Oh, yes, leftovers Sunday night to boot.

That was then, and this is now. Since we entered the pastorate our usual Sunday meal has been simplicity on a platter, one of the three new food groups, microwave, frozen, or take out. We've never gone out much on Sundays because I haven't found a meal out anywhere worth standing in line for an hour to enjoy. Now, with Tootsie breathing down our necks all the time it's usually Atkins or Southbeach bar, cold cuts (low carb), or salad.

Even more than that, our soul food, that which nourishes beyond the moment, is what happens at church Sunday morning and evening. An old preaching professor told us once that if we were doing our job as a preacher, the congregation would leave church every Sunday morning thanking God for the spiritual meal they had just been served more than what they were going to have for Sunday lunch. That's pretty profound. Anyway, that's where lasting nourishment happens for me---the fellowship, worship, Bible study, witness, personal growth, prayer, and all the rest that happens when we are together every Sunday morning. Ummm! That's good.

My prayer today is that you have been fed some spiritual food, that you will taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), that you will desire the solid food that brings spiritual maturity (Hebrews 5:14), and that you will partake of Christ, the bread of life, and therefore, will never hunger (John 6:35).

God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food---

Saturday is made for junk food

It's attitude check time, again. So, here it is: I hate low carb food. OK, so let's do the positive attitude thing: I positively hate low carb food. But, sixty six lbs later, I can testify to the wisdom of following the South Beach/Dr. Atkins regimen. Not only that, all the health numbers are in excellent ranges as a result of the weight loss and more nutritional eating plan---BP, cholesterol, A1C---all just right. Maybe I'll live to be 150---if I don't have a Saturday morning relapse. You see, Saturday's are custom made for good old fashioned junk food. Every Saturday is the forty-days in the wilderness thing for dieters. No wonder the first letter in "diet" are "die"!

I mean, how am I supposed to enjoy cartoons this morning without King Dons, Captain Crunch, or Fruit Loops, a couple of cinnamon rolls on the side, Yoo Hoo to wash it down. Get real! Mid-morning energy snack of chocolate chip cookies and Nehi grape, moon-pie and RC cola. Ummm. Ummm. Lunch? PB & J sandwiches with chips and chocolate covered devils food cookies. Afternoon snack? Dr. Pepper and a bag of Oreos. Supper? Pizza or burgers, Nutter Butter cookies. Ice cream watching TV at night. What a life! I'd weigh four hundred pounds. But, I'd be happy.

Back to reality. It''ll be low carbs, high protein, diet cola, Atkins bars, and all their healthy kin. Boo. Because Saturdays are made for junk food. No way around it. 

Of course, weeping lasts for the night time, and joy comes in the morning. That brings us to the solid spiritual food of Sundays. Now, that's another story, if we live that long. If not, then please just bury me in marshmellow creme or rice krispie treats and plan my service for junk food Saturday.

Chocolate chip banana nut pancakes with maple syrup. Ummm! Ummm. In my dreams.

Confidence is not psycho-babble

You have to be careful when you talk about personal attributes like confidence. The thin ice here is simply an over-reaction to the psycho-babble over there on the self-improvement aisle.  Of course, confidence and all its related word groups are easy terms---rooted com (an intensive modifier), and fide (trust), or all the Latin and French derivatives. In all of its' definitions there is a hint of trusting relationship, life on the basis of a deep reliance on something.

Lean in any extreme and you violate the meaning of confidence. Arrogance and hubris attend those with a higher view of themselves and their abilities, while timidity and doubt cloud those who are less certain. Somewhere in between is a finely tuned self-assurance that is grounded not in personal value or strength, but in something outside oneself, deeper, more lasting, totally reliable. People of faith know this confidence. They understand it exists in a personal dependence on Christ, the promise of his presence, and his faithfulness in all things. They are able to navigate the treacherous currents of life and stretch the narrow boundaries of personal ability through a confidence built not on personal achievement or strength, but on the merit of Christ and his generous provision.

Pop culture is intoxicated with ego issues. Of course, the sense of false self-esteem distributed by our educational and government systems is nothing but water soluble feel-good lotion that rubs off in the night. As a result, many of us are timid and tentative, fearful of missteps, overly deliberative, abnormally analytical. Confidence propels us forward, provides an assurance that keeps us on point. Today, it is among the personal attributes governed by a secular world.

Sunday I am preaching about the change in Simon Peter after the ascension of Jesus. The disciples had been mystified by the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion, the resurrection, the appearances, and then, the ascension. Peter was notably absent from many of these events, appearing only in the narrative of John at the reunion and restoration on the beach at Galilee. After Christ ascended, Peter is a different man. There is confidence, you know, Biblical confidence. What happened? Something special. You'll have to hang out with us this Sunday to find out, or check our podcast or video at www.YourNorthwood.com.

The point here is simple. Don't turn your nose up at the idea of being confident. It's a solid Biblical concept, grounded in a trust relationship with Christ.

Such confidence as this is our through Christ before God.
2 Corinthians 3:4

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12

...being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

We live by faith and not by sight. We are confident...
2 Corinthians 5:7-8

Amen. And, that's not psycho-babble either.