Bob Dylan wrote a song recorded by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963 called Blowing in the Wind. Written as a song of awakening to social injustice and the inhumanity of war, the song includes one line that recently impacted my thinking - "How many times can man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see".
Today, the Christian community is turning its head - but the Christian community is you - and me - and others who are prone to say "what can I do" or "it's just too big too change". Is that right? - or maybe, just maybe, could change actually be begun by a man who chose not to turn his head but to speak truth into our society.
Mary Ann Glendon, Professor of Law at Harvard Unversity and former Ambassador to the Vatican was invited to speak at Notre Dame commencement and to receive a very distinguished award. She accepted the speaking invitation only to find later that President Obama would also be speaking and that she was to be used to "balance the event". Her being used in this way - as a pawn to balance a man whose views she, and supposedly the Catholic Church, despise - was unacceptable to her. She declined both the honor she was to receive and the commencement speaking engagement. She elected to not turn her head.
Recently Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, declared her oposition to same-sex marriage on the pageant stage in response to a later-admitted loaded question from homosexual activist Perez Hilton, a pageant judge. She was first runner up but lost - not surprisingly - as a result of her answer.
She later said that when she gave the answer she knew it would cost her the crown. Following the pageant, Hilton bashed Prejean for her answer. Prejean has been attacked viciously for having the courage to speak her values yet her courage may inspire a nation and a generation of young people because she chose to lose the Miss USA crown rather than be silent about her deepest moral values. She elected to not turn her head.
There are other examples of men and women who chose not to turn their heads. The question to you and to me is are we brave enough, tired enough, concerned enough and Christian enough to stand and speak.
Or will it be said of us "How many times can Mike or Bill or Jennifer or April just turn their heads and pretend that they just don't see?" Our society is on the eve of moral destruction - are you focused to speak truth into that society? Or will you just turn your head?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Try Something New
Have you ever tried something, performed horribly at it, and then immediately resolved never to do it again? I have. Numerous times, I'm ashamed to admit. Like the time I tried disc golf a few years ago; I was so bad at it that, after throwing several discs (not Frisbees, I was repeatedly and angrily informed!) into the nearby lake, I decided to hang it up for good.
Well, sometimes we’re like that when it comes to serving in the church. If we try to serve in a ministry (say, children’s ministry, choir, or small group leadership) and things don’t go immediately well, we quickly conclude, “That’s obviously not my gift.”
But could it be that our spiritual gifts may change according to the needs in the church?
In his new book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies says: “The Bible does not tell us that all spiritual gifts are given at the time of conversion or that, once given, they are given permanently. As we grow in our knowledge and love of the Lord, we should continue to seek ways of serving him. We may be surprised to find that our gifting changes along with the needs of the local church. We may find that God wishes us to emphasize different gifts now from those we emphasized in the past. So keep searching for his gifting in his life."
When I read the quote above, I have to admit it offered a perspective that I had never considered: our spiritual gifting may change? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was consistent with the biblical witness. The growth (spiritual and numerical) of the church is a chief concern of the New Testament writers and, more importantly, Christ himself. And the growth the church happens as each member discovers and exercises his or her spiritual gifts. And since spiritual gifts are given for the benefit of other believers, as others' needs ebb and flow throughout the life of a church, so may one's gifting.
Maybe you volunteered for a ministry in the past that didn’t go so well. And you’ve taken a hiatus from service since then. Could God be calling you to try something new? (Think about it while I search for my Frisbees; I hear that Burns Park has a beautiful disc golf course!)
Well, sometimes we’re like that when it comes to serving in the church. If we try to serve in a ministry (say, children’s ministry, choir, or small group leadership) and things don’t go immediately well, we quickly conclude, “That’s obviously not my gift.”
But could it be that our spiritual gifts may change according to the needs in the church?
In his new book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies says: “The Bible does not tell us that all spiritual gifts are given at the time of conversion or that, once given, they are given permanently. As we grow in our knowledge and love of the Lord, we should continue to seek ways of serving him. We may be surprised to find that our gifting changes along with the needs of the local church. We may find that God wishes us to emphasize different gifts now from those we emphasized in the past. So keep searching for his gifting in his life."
When I read the quote above, I have to admit it offered a perspective that I had never considered: our spiritual gifting may change? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was consistent with the biblical witness. The growth (spiritual and numerical) of the church is a chief concern of the New Testament writers and, more importantly, Christ himself. And the growth the church happens as each member discovers and exercises his or her spiritual gifts. And since spiritual gifts are given for the benefit of other believers, as others' needs ebb and flow throughout the life of a church, so may one's gifting.
Maybe you volunteered for a ministry in the past that didn’t go so well. And you’ve taken a hiatus from service since then. Could God be calling you to try something new? (Think about it while I search for my Frisbees; I hear that Burns Park has a beautiful disc golf course!)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Did I put childish things away too soon?
With our annual Children’s Easter event now complete, I found it rather refreshing that older kids were willing to attend in rather large numbers. The 9 year-old through sixth grade group seemed to have a great time and was willing to sacrifice some pride for fun. I was amused to hear their stories of success and failure trying to obtain the gold, silver, or coveted Mooie the cow egg.
While growing numbers are not necessarily a sign of success, we certainly have seen an increase in attendance the past two years. I must admit though, with only eight kids listed in the 5-8 year-old group at ten minutes to our start, I was a bit worried. I wasn’t concerned about the number as much as the fact that each of these eight kids would be able to collect over 175 eggs each!
Having a passion for history and especially Christian history, I realize the rabbit and the egg are from pagan origins. Honestly, I use to struggle a little with the whole egg hunt ritual, but I think it’s important to become all things to all men as Paul said in First Corinthians 9:19-23. I will gladly welcome anyone outside of the faith to a fun traditional event in order to present Christ and the gospel.
Getting back to the reason for writing this…was there a reason? Oh yes, doing something uncomfortable or perhaps out of character for the Gospel of Christ. Although it can be difficult, I think the sacrifice of a little pride is well worth it. As parents we want to lead and raise our children toward adult maturity by slowly steering them away from immature acts.
I am definitely not the one to ask about putting away childish things…I’m the biggest kid I know. I think events like this though, are a great opportunity to reflect on their significance and to have fun as a family with our children. It’s wonderful to see how an occasion like this can bring a community and church family closer together. It was even more exciting to see my fellow Christian brothers and sisters humble themselves in a child-like fashion.
While growing numbers are not necessarily a sign of success, we certainly have seen an increase in attendance the past two years. I must admit though, with only eight kids listed in the 5-8 year-old group at ten minutes to our start, I was a bit worried. I wasn’t concerned about the number as much as the fact that each of these eight kids would be able to collect over 175 eggs each!
Having a passion for history and especially Christian history, I realize the rabbit and the egg are from pagan origins. Honestly, I use to struggle a little with the whole egg hunt ritual, but I think it’s important to become all things to all men as Paul said in First Corinthians 9:19-23. I will gladly welcome anyone outside of the faith to a fun traditional event in order to present Christ and the gospel.
Getting back to the reason for writing this…was there a reason? Oh yes, doing something uncomfortable or perhaps out of character for the Gospel of Christ. Although it can be difficult, I think the sacrifice of a little pride is well worth it. As parents we want to lead and raise our children toward adult maturity by slowly steering them away from immature acts.
I am definitely not the one to ask about putting away childish things…I’m the biggest kid I know. I think events like this though, are a great opportunity to reflect on their significance and to have fun as a family with our children. It’s wonderful to see how an occasion like this can bring a community and church family closer together. It was even more exciting to see my fellow Christian brothers and sisters humble themselves in a child-like fashion.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Springtime, Easter, & New Ministry at Cornerstone
As much as I love the fall and winter (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the football and basketball seasons), every spring in Arkansas is an absolute stunning display by a God who makes all things new.
Alicia and I have restored a couple of pieces of furniture in the not too distant years. We've even tackled some home renovation projects as well. As pleased as we were with the outcomes of these efforts, no professional and not even a layman would confuse our finished work with a new piece or a new house.
I can work to repair, replace, reconstitute, reconfigure, renovate, & rearrange. But I cannot renew. Humanly speaking, something can only be new once.
Not so with God.
With God, the old, worn out, used up, undesirable, and lifeless are not just made to appear better...they are made to be new.
new day
new seasons
new mercy's
new mind
new Spirit
new Life
Even death is no obstacle for a God who can make all things new. Consider Easter...
The answer to your question "can God... fix this problem? restore this marriage? patch this relationship? refurbish my_______?" is... sure He can. But his M.O. would say that He won't mess with fixing, restoring, patching, or refurbishing.
He prefers to just simply do what we can't: make it new.
**************************************************************************
Speaking of NEW....
CBF has a college age ministry! So far it looks like a weekly HomeTeam under the leadership of Eddie and Kelli Airheart and a just-returned-from spring break trip. How is it's startup going? As with all things God...better than we could have asked or imagined!
A ministry to young men and women at this critical phase of life has been a need here for a long time and it's awesome to see God at work in a big way in this new ministry effort.
Alicia and I have restored a couple of pieces of furniture in the not too distant years. We've even tackled some home renovation projects as well. As pleased as we were with the outcomes of these efforts, no professional and not even a layman would confuse our finished work with a new piece or a new house.
I can work to repair, replace, reconstitute, reconfigure, renovate, & rearrange. But I cannot renew. Humanly speaking, something can only be new once.
Not so with God.
With God, the old, worn out, used up, undesirable, and lifeless are not just made to appear better...they are made to be new.
new day
new seasons
new mercy's
new mind
new Spirit
new Life
Even death is no obstacle for a God who can make all things new. Consider Easter...
The answer to your question "can God... fix this problem? restore this marriage? patch this relationship? refurbish my_______?" is... sure He can. But his M.O. would say that He won't mess with fixing, restoring, patching, or refurbishing.
He prefers to just simply do what we can't: make it new.
**************************************************************************
Speaking of NEW....
CBF has a college age ministry! So far it looks like a weekly HomeTeam under the leadership of Eddie and Kelli Airheart and a just-returned-from spring break trip. How is it's startup going? As with all things God...better than we could have asked or imagined!
A ministry to young men and women at this critical phase of life has been a need here for a long time and it's awesome to see God at work in a big way in this new ministry effort.
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