Leaning Forward

Try a little kindness

A world that's gone down and dirty could use a little kindness. Perhaps the absence of courtesy and the simple virtues of decency are the marks of a world without much Christian influence. To be sure, when the light recedes there is only darkness. So, the prevailing ethos, even in our own supposedly civilized nation, is basically rude and crude. So, comprende this! Most of the people you encounter throughout this day can use a work of encouragement or an act of kindness to brighten their day. Why don't each of us be the medium of such favor? 

A cup of water in Jesus' name can take on many forms. You cannot calculate the value of a nod or smile, a door held open, letting someone go ahead of you in the check-out line, or giving up a choice parking space. Offer someone a very simple kindness and watch them stand taller or move with greater confidence.

The other day I had a strange encounter with an elderly African-American man. We went cart cart in the crowded aisle of Wally World. When I moved out of the way, I said, "Excuse me, Sir." He puffed up and said, "Why did you call me sir? Is it because I'm black?" I said. "No sir, it's because my momma taught me to show respect to my elders." He smile, said, "Thank you for that", and moved own. Of course, I'm no spring chicken, but he was older than me, was dressed in working man's clothes, and looked very tired. His bristle softened instantly. Maybe he carried that moment home after a hard day.

There's a story about a lady who was arrested by the Highway Patrol officer for her mean-spirited road antics. She wove in and out of traffic, made gestures at the other drivers, hogged the turn lanes, cut drivers off at the merge, and generally showed herself in the car. When they got to the station, she asked, "Why did you arrest me?" He said, "The car you're driving has a 'Jesus is Lord' bumper sticker. When i saw the way you were acting I assumed it was stolen." Ouch!!!

Sad to say, it's an uncivilized world. People no longer say "thank you", don't honor others, seem allergic to the biblical virtue, and usually think mostly of themselves. The authentic Christian witness brings light into that darkness and the mind of Christ into that world.

Today, try a litte kindness.

Read a good book lately?

Not long ago I was talking to a colleague about ministry. We were hashing over the ins and outs of our calling, whining a little, I suppose, and discussing the changes we've seen in the pastoral side of church life over the last thirty years. One of his comments veered us off on another course, as if two severely ADHD preachers needed much to divert our attention. He said something like, "Lately, I feel like I'm missing the mark with the congregation. I don't know if I'm connecting any longer." I assured him most in our age cohort come unplugged at times, just another season of life.

His church is suburban North Carolina, close to a large city, a congregation of younger upwardly mobile types. So, we explored the disconect thing a bit, you know, old friends sipping java and catching up. In the process, I asked him if he'd read a good book lately. HIs answer surprised me. "Of course," he said. "I read the Bible every day." Well, that didn't answer my question exactly. I asked had he read a good book lately, not THE GOOD BOOK LATELY, if you don't mind quibbling with the words. So, this conversation drifted into ministry habits and my insistence that his feeling of disconnection with the congregation may actually be the result of not keeping up with what's going on in the world.

My friend only reads the Bible. Now, I love the Bible and spend a god bit of time every single day reading Scripture devotionally, translating passages for preaching and teaching, and preparing for messages. It is a central part of every day, being Biblically prepared. But, there's reading in the day than Bible study, a means of keeping up with what is happening everyday in the world. In the twists and turns of our talk he also revealed he didn't read the newspaper, magazines, periodicals, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comedy, biography, or cereal box labels. More? The only television he watches is TV-Land.

OK, Harriet and I are book people. We like to call ourselves bibliophiles because it sound smart or wise. Maybe book worms or book nuts. Some people call us nerds. But, we like to read. We both usually have several books going, read the Post and Courier cover to cover, and consume a few news magazines and periodicals every month. So, this doesn't make us special or anything and our transcripts reveal that we're really aliens in academia. But, reading does help us know what is going on in the world around us. Most of it is stuff we don't like and wouldn't recommend, the world and all. Still, it may be good to know it's out there. Reading may actually fun-damental.

Groucho Marx said television was a truly educational invention. He added that every time the television came on he'd go into the other room and read a good book. I'll second that. Like everything, there's a downside to the reading thing when we over-indulge, you know, like ignore the children while you chase down the escapades of the latest romance novel. There's plenty of trash out there too, and we must not ladle printed garbage into our heads either. But, reading (1) keeps us informed, (2) instructs us about life, history, faith, inspiring people, et.al., (3) shifts our minds off of nagging troubles or constant stress, (4) provides moments of relaxation, and (5) puts ut to sleep every night.

Solomon wrote, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Ecc.12:11). I told my pal, if for no other reason you should read for the weariness part.

 

Taking care of business---

With all the negative rhetoric and press about legislative stalemates and stalled government, it's good to know that our legislators remain on point taking care of business. Yesterday, The State newspaper announced that Senator Jake Knotts' bill to make collard greens the official state vegetable has passed. Glory! At long last the speculation and rumor mills about how we would be represented in the produce aisle can be laid to rest. I was afraid it was going to be eggplant or kumquat (excuse the grammar, I'm not sure about plurals here). Though my vote would have been for fried-green tomatoes, I can join our senators for a mess of collards any time. It is a glorious day to be a Carolinian!

There's a mace, a sword, a seal, a motto, a pledge, and plenty of other official images symbolic of our state. What is more, there are festivals to celebrate these unique Carolina distinctives---the chitterlings strut over in Salley, a kudzu shindig, oyster days, and a PBR reunion at the good old boy hangout in just about every rural community around the state. We've got state and county fairs, bike weeks, bathing suit contests, seed spitting events, hog calling, pumpkin tosses, high brow Spoleto stuff, and several grits events, including rassling. In SC you can attend the blessing of the fleet, the animals, the strawberry patch, the tobacco barn, and the blessing out of a good many drivers on the interstate.

So, our state bird is the mosquito, the beverage is milk, and the dance is none other than the shag. Yes, there is a carolina wolf spider on the list somewhere, and I think kudzu may be the official vine of the secondary highway system. Perhaps now is a good time to launch a grass-roots movement to get them to approve an official state meal, you know, the entree and other sides to complement the collard green official vegetable. Maybe it could be a new tea party sort of thing because you know iced tea is going to be the official main meal drink. Let's see, how would that work, the official state meal? How about some ham hocks, mac and cheese, pintos, slaw, and corn bread, banana pudding, and coffee. After dinner there'd be a chaw of Red Man on the porch to calm the juices. Mmmm! Grandpa Jones would be proud.

Let's give an official state name to this kind of legislation. While the world is going to you know where in a hand basket maybe there's some comic relief to the talk about official veggies, a laugh to humor the legislators through the quagmire of depressing official business. Good old boy Jake Knott has been the source of more than few odd diversions during his time in Columbia. So, let me suggest an official name for this kind of stuff: how about corn pone? Well, that's the nice version. Some of the other good old boys would use some gutter language. But, for the sake of my readers let keep it nice and clean. Corn pone! 

Foghorn Leghorn would be proud.  

Questions from the Dr.'s office

A while back I started noticing some blood in my urine. So, like all good men I put off going to the doctor until Harriet insisted. After a series of examinations, tests, Ultrasounds, more than a few pokes and prods, innumerable questions, and a change in physicans, the new guy sat me down to tell me I had stage four transitional cell carcinoma in my bladder. Now, some time later I've reflected on the life lessons learned in the doctor's office and made a comparison of them to some of the situations we are facing as Baptists. if they don't resonate with you, go to the next day and maybe some of this drivel will stoke your furnace. I've titled these thoughts, five questions from the doctor's office.

Questions 1: What is wrong with me. OK, without too much gore, I noticed blood in my urine. So, after watching this thing for a few weeks I went to my family doctor and asked this common question. He dd a complete work-up, CBC, Ultra-sound, Cardio-gram, a whole series of tests. Later he called to tell me I had hematuria. I Googled "hematuria" and discovered I had blood in my urine. Well, duh? I already knew that. It's why I went to the doctor in the first place.

Lesson: symptoms are not what is wrong. They are indicators that something is wrong. Today, all of our statistics are declining. We must ask what is wrong with us if we are to progress further.

Queston 2: What are we going to do?  So, he referred me to a urologist. He's the one who told me I had stage four transitional cell carcinoma. I asked him, what we we going to do? he then explained a new procedure---ortho-topic neo-bladder replacement. Long and short, he proposed to remove my bladder and replace it with 20 cm of my lower intestine, re-shaped to form a bladder. This was a new and radical protocol for bladder cancer. He had never done one alone since his residency.

Lesson: Sometimes what is wrong can only be treated by something totally revolutionary.

Question 3: Is this going to hurt? OK, I'm a total coward. I always asked the pain question. Nurses have a language system all their own. They always said "no" when I asked them. After the most excruciating pain of my life, I would say, "you said this wouldn't hurt?" They always gave the same answer, "Well, it didn't hurt me!".

Lesson: Restored health cannot be accomplished without pain.

Question 4: You're going to put that where? Once again, I'm not trying to be graphic or gross. But, there is a certain intimidation about a doctors office. Instruments hang from machines an you always wonder what they're going to do with them. It may seem impossible at times. But, they make it work and do what they have to do to address the medical condition.

Lesson: Nothing is impossible to God.

Question 5: How do I get what you have? Surgery for my cancer was eight-and-one-half hours. Prior to surgery the anesthesiologists took my blood pressure every half-hour. Eventually they came in to speak with Harriet and me. He said he was afraid to put me under. my blood pressure was too low for someone facing extensive surgery. he feared that I had taken a sedative. When asked to explain my low blood-pressure, I said, "I have the peace that passes al understanding." Many months later, one of those doctors asked me "How do I get what you have?"

Lesson: God can do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we ask of imagine.

That was six years ago. I have been cancer free since. Don't tell me what God cannot do.

Grandma's economics

Grandma taught us the apple pie method of economics. She told us the pie represents the total of our resources. At the time she meant it was the amount of cash we had in our pockets. We could slice that pie up any way we decided. If there was to be no division of the pie, we got the whole thing. If we planned on more than one place to spend our resources, each of them would get a piece of the pie. She told us some expenditures are more significant than others. In that case, we could allot more to them than to the rest of our list. Of course, the resulting pieces would be smaller. If we wanted to include more pieces in our pie distribution, some of the recipients may get just a taste.

She wouldn't have received a Nobel Prize for the pie illustration, but it made sense to us grandchildren. And, she used this advanced monetary theory to run a small mom and pop grocery store for many years. Even more, she fed an army of children and grandchildren many Sundays using the pie chart to insure every body got a taste. Maybe the simple old pie system is instructive for us today as we deal with declining revenues and a growing number of people and issues wanting a piece of the pie.

It's not Keynesian economics. As the family grew and more and more people wanted a piece of the pie, only two things could happen. (1) Grandma could bake a bigger pie, or (2) everyone could take a smaller slice. So, in typical grandma fashion she went to the cobbler system and made the pie much larger. We all still got a healthy piece of the pie because she went to a larger pan and presented us with a huge pie so we could all indulge our tastes as much as we needed, or wanted. 

Church leadership strategists advise that the pie will not grow larger over the next few years. Well, this bothers the daylights out of me because I serve an IMMEASURABLY MORE God and believe in the windows of heaven, laps overflowing, and the joys of hilarious giving. Still, their predictions may verify a further slowing of contributions to fund mission. This being true, the slices will by necessity grow smaller. Well, that is, unless we decide not to give slices to everyone who asks. 

What I'm hearing around South Carolina is a desire for 50% of the pie given to support mission beyond the local church be dedicated to international or North American missions beyond South Carolina, and that 50% of this funding remain in our state for distribution between our convention offices and our seven institutions. Forget the mathematics for the moment, and just imagine the pie. If half the pie is designated out of the state and half the pie remains in the state, then once again, only two scenarios fit: the pie pieces will become smaller, or some people at the table may not be included in the servings.

Of course this is an over-simplification. I don't mean to minimize the importance of anyone at the table or to indicate that everyone seated there isn't significant to the mission. Yet, it is apparent, if the pie isn't going to get larger, then the pieces will be increasingly smaller. Or, the number of chairs at the table wil be reduced to those that are absolutely critical to the mission.

This is where we are! If the pie can't get larger, then we'll need to settle for less until we reach that mission critical point where the mission is jeopardized by the small tastes being distributed.

Thanks grandma, for a visual lesson!

When we lose our way

People lose their way all the time. The human moral compass is certainly faulty, easily drawn by the magnetic bearings of a sinful nature. So, even the most disciplined traveler can wonder off point if they take their eyes off of the truth compass for even a moment. 

Organizations can lose their way too. Strong businesses can turn south, giant corporations can pursue a destructive path, and even well intentioned churches can forget where they're supposed to be going and venture off course. Once again, though lamentable, it happens every single day.  

How does this happen, when, regardless of our structure, we lose our way? People, organizations, and institutions---public and private, profit and non-profit, manufacturing and service oriented, civic groups, governments, families, synagogues, universities, and churches---lose their way every day because at some point in their journey they follow the wrong direction finder. Then, they take wrong turns, move off in a direction not consistent with their mission or dream and end up on some divergent path far from the direction they originally intended.

Our denomination seems to have lost it's way. At one time making disciples of all nations was the main motivation of our unique partneship. Among the mission organizations ours was an amazing, even improbable epoch, so many small and different churches, state conventions, and local associations cooperating to change the world. Suddenly, cooperation is passe, making disciples of the nations is not on the A-list of objectives, and we've veered off on a tangent course far from our original destination. This is true at the Southern Baptist Convention level, and in state conventions as well. Some churches, and many spiritual leaders, are seriously questioning the new itinerary. Many Baptists aren't sure they want to go there.

The occasion for the crisis may be the economic downturn of the past couple of years, though it isn't likely the cause.  Local congregations certainly had to examine some ministry commitments when offering totals declined. Most people had some belt-tightening too, finding ways to stretch the budget to cover growing costs of just about everything. Even more, many people had to review their commitments and in the process, discovered the mission drift so evident in their churches and denominations. The cuts were, then, not so much of necessity as of priority. What we had traditionally supported just didn't fit the template anymore. 

Of course, then the real issue is tradition. In the passing of time, tradition has eclipsed mission priority as the ruling decision rationale. So, we've lost our way because what we have traditionaly done is more important to us than what we are mandated to do. It is a costly misdirection, one that local churches and a great many church leaders will not permit to continue. We are at the cross roads and must decide if we will continue in this new-defined path, or if we will correct the course, and seek our mandate.

Then, there is the compass. Course corrections must be calibrated with a compass setting. In our case the compass can only be the Holy Bible, the Word of God. It is the only unchanging standard upon which the course may be reliably set. Our leaders, in the next few months, will have to decide if the Bible will be the compass that is used to determine our future course. If anything else is to establish the course---tradition, hierarchy, expedience---then the journey will be short-circuited. 

And, we will have lost our way.

 

The moment of recognition

Reading the Gospel accounts of the resurrection two thousand years later can be problematic. We are confronted with the dilemma of reading the statements of the writers without our own biases of what we know to have happened. So, when we read the parenthetical statement at John 20:9, (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead), we're more than a little perplexed. It seems they would have known by this time what Jesus had predicted.

Some people have jumped to the conclusion that their lack of understanding is equated with basic unbelief. Certainly John's Gospel was written to foster belief (see John 20:31). The backdrop of the Gospel is the Jewish refusal to believe, even though Jesus substantiated his role by the miraculous signs, his authoritative word, fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy, and more. Seeing and believing are big issues in John.

One thing is sure, the empty tomb itself was not evidence of a miraculous resurrection except to the Beloved Disciple. Only John went into the empty tomb and connected the dots that the empty tomb meant the fulfillment of Christ's promise to rise from the dead. Peter and Mary Magdalene didn't make that connection. She assumed that someone had taken the body of Jesus (see John 20:13-15). Slowing down, this lack of understanding can be attributed more to their being absorbed by the events and busy-ness of them to truly reflect on their meaning.

That's not the end, however. Something happened and Mary knew. Peter also knew (see 1 Cor. 15:5). What is it? Hey, you'll have to come to Northwood Baptist Church today or catch the Podcast later this week to find the answer. Or, of course, read John 20 again.

But, the answer is sweet. The minute this happened Mary understood. 

Happy Resurrection Day! Glory to God!

Waiting

The app logo @ left is the contemporary answer to our impatience. It's the amazing new Finger Drums app that I've downloaded on my iPhone. Touch this icon and soon you're rolling your digits over the snares, tom-toms, and symbols of your very own drum set. You can now pass the time by making your family and friends crazy. Just maybe it's better than drumming your fingers on the counter-top or the steering wheel. Maybe.

We don't wait well. I'm one of the usual suspects in this regard, I must confess. Most of the time I'm drumming my fingers and tapping my feet as the MAC boots up or as the iPhone searches the internet. Let's don't talk about an elevator or the microwave. We're the only culture to yell "hurry up" at the microwave. So, the Finger Drums are perhaps a metaphor of the times. We're a bunch of impatient people.

There's some mystery about the Saturday of Holy Week. Scripture is basically silent about the time between Christ's burial and resurrection. On the church calendar it is Sabbatum Sanctum, Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, the final day of Holy Week. Liturgical churches drape the altar in black or either strip the altar of any decoration. Any liturgy is usually simple, the sacraments being administered only to the dying. In some traditions there are matins to commemorate the rite of the Harrowing of Hell. Many orthodox congregations refer to this Saturday as Joyous Saturday, their tradition being that Christ delivered the souls that had been kept in hades to paradise on that day.

The Roman Catholic tradition involves the Easter Vigil, when congregants gather after sundown on this Saturday to await the celebration of the resurrection. This worship includes readings from the Old and New Testament, baptism, the eucharist, the lighting and sharing of the Paschal Candle, the placement of flowers, a homily by the priest, and the first singing of joyful hymns since the beginning of the Lenten period. This is how they pass the day of waiting till the celebration of the resurrection.

The Saturday of Holy Week is usually just another day for many Protestants. This is regrettable. Part of it is our need to be active and busy, an almost fear of waiting or doing nothing. So, our regular daily pursuits take up the calendar bullets. We cannot be bored.

So, we could just drum our fingers all day, or mope around the house in mourning. Or we could start the day by reading Scripture and then sharing the joys of the season with the people we love.

Tomorrow is Easter. Rejoice and be glad!

Arresting, part two

Peter is the disciple we all love. Many of us embrace Simon Peter because he is so real, the big talk, the impulsive nature, the one with the short-fuse, our soul-mate to be sure. Among the twelve, he was first---the first on every list of disciples, the first one to speak, the one Jesus most often turned to with instructions or wishes, and yes, even with rebukes. It's easy to love him because we see ourselves so much in him.

There is little doubt Jesus felt a special affection for Peter. At times Jesus extended much grace and kindness to his first draft choice. At other times he was brutally honest with Peter. Jesus was shaping him as a spiritual leader,  sometimes with gentle hands on the potter's wheel, other times on the anvil, hammering him with truth. Sure, we all know the Book of Acts and Peter's role as the most significant human leader in the early church. All of these reasons make his denial of Christ so surprising to us. Sure, we see the treachery in Judas, the son of perdition. But, Peter seems to be cut from different stuff.

Jesus predicted Peter's denial. Often I've wondered about  the close relationship Jesus and Peter shared, and how the knowledge of what would eventually happen is seen so clearly in Jesus' handling of him. Jesus always knew. And, I can imagine the knowing look he gave Peter when Simon would make his boasts or declare his fidelity and courage. On many occasions I've imagined Jesus' eyes as he spoke to Simon, corrected him, rebuked him, or lovingly re-directed him. His eyes must have expressed a twinkle at time, maybe annoyance, sometimes deep hurt. 

That's the arresting image of Luke 22:61a. After the denial, "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered...". What passionate emotions and thoughts must this eye contact have communicated to Simon. Was it disappointment, I told-you-so, hurt, or the knowing look of being a part of something that had been unfolding since the foundations of the earth. Or, maybe the knowing look of the Lord who knew Peter was still a long way from being the solid rock of faith Jesus had called and renamed. Whatever, "And he went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62). 

All of these meanings bubble up in my personal take on this arresting verse, depending on the status of my personal walk with Christ. In some instances his eyes flash a knowing disappointment in my personal decisions and actions, the penetrating look of the Lord who expected more. On some occasions, they are the eyes that tell me I was living up to his expectations, but his expectations of me, a mere bumbler aren't all that high in the first place. Mostly, this sentence arrests me because of its blunt declaration that I'm not the spiritual leader I thought, that my arrogance and pride keep me from seeing the real person he sees when he looks my way.

It is an especially arresting verse this week because the weight of atonement hangs heavy on us. Even more, it stops me in my tracks because it says something about each of us, especially spiritual leaders. Peter would become the most influential man in the early church. Yet, he wasn't there yet. There were lessons of character that he was yet to learn. In one pericope, Jesus had spoken to Simon's development, saying, "Where I am going you cannot follow now..." (John 13:36b). When their eyes met, Jesus was telling Simon that he still had some growing to do.

These are momentous times for the Christian church. The eyes of Jesus stop us, arrest us. Are we ready to take up the mantel of leadership and be so under submission to him that we can be what he wants us to be? It's the question that arrests me just now.

 

Arresting, part one

Reading through the Gospel narratives of the passion of Christ, several verses always stop me in my tracks. They are arresting, pun intended. What is more, these texts are particular to one of the Gospels, not all four, and are usually descriptive phrases that add factual poignancy to the events being depicted in the scene. They are almost parenthetical. But, they are still profound, and touch me deeply. 

Like Matthew 26:56b. During the Garden commotion, Jesus addressed the crowd. It was composed of his disciples, a group of followers, the women who traveled with them, and of course, his accusers among the Jewish hierarchy, and a detachment soldiers. They brought clubs and swords, torches and lanterns, and were essentially a mob. At the conclusion of his discourse to them (Mat. 26:52-56a), Matthew wrote this: "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." This is one of the most arresting phrases in the Gospel record of Crist's arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  

What stops me is the contrast between this little descriptive sentence and all of the other boastful words they offered when Jesus told them what was happening. Reclined at the table, just moments before the drama of his arrest, they had asked, "Surely not I, Lord?" (Matthew 26: 22). Peter had declared, shooting from the hip in his usually manner, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will" (Matthew 26:33), and "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you" (Matthew 26:35). Oh yes, don't forget one of the other little summary insertions, "And all the other disciples said the same" (Matthew 26:35b). 

Then, matter of factly, without fanfare, Matthew wrote, "Then they all deserted him and fled." In the NIV, Matthew's narrative is linked by the word translated "then", used thirteen times in Matthew 26 alone to indicate the events were following a pre-determined path, the fulfilment of prophecy and Christ's eventual death. This small sentence marks the shallowness of the disciples words, the flimsy nature of their intentions, the gross over-statement of their courage. It is so arresting because it is so true. It is a central element of our flip-flop, wavering nature. 

Fast forward to Peter's first epistle. For some reason most of us resonate with Simon Peter and think of him we we read the denial portions of Christ's passion. They all deserted him and fled but we typically think of Simon Peter, first among the Apostles, and the most verbal of Christ's followers. It was this Peter who wrote these very famous words, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have" (1 Peter 3:15).

We tend to focus on the apologia part of that verse, being able to defend our faith. The key to it, however, is the first part, the part about setting Christ apart as Lord. Christ's Lordship enables us to live beyond our good intentions and arrogant ways. Being totally submitted to him, that is, giving him control over all things is the essential element that moves us from empty words to faithful, obedient living. 

Christ's arrest in the garden is powerful, inspiring, convicting. My arrest in this text challenegs me to live authentically and know that he is the master, I am the slave, and he can give me the courage and the confidence to stand with with him in the challenging tests of life.

Hope you are arrested today too.