My Response to a nation out of control...

Today I am sensing the need to respond to the events of this past week in regards to the SCOTUS decision regarding same sex marriage.  My initial response mirrors that of the Rev. Franklin Graham who wrote this week, "I pray God will spare America from His judgment, though, by our actions as a nation, we give Him less and less reason to do so."  Years ago, Franklin Graham's father wrote that "if God does not judge harshly the United States of America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."  Two prophetic voices that today fall on deaf ears.

In my own journey as an evangelical pastor, I have stood for a biblical position on both morality and human sexuality.  When the rule of God's Word was violated, I called it sin.  In response to those actions, I have lived in a world filled with physical threats both to myself and to my family.  I have found that quite interesting in that those threatening me claim to be a part of the LGBT community, and their normal outcry is for acceptance and love.  Where does the threat of violence fit into that?

Yesterday, the leadership of my denomination, the Church of the Nazarene, shared a statement that I feel reflects my heart in its response to the events of this week.  They wrote, "Our commitment to the orthodox biblical Christian faith remains the same. We continue to call Nazarenes around the world to a life of holiness, characterized by holy love and expressed through the most rigorous and consistent lifestyle of sexual purity. We further call our people to a generosity and graciousness of spirit that extends kindness to those who do not share our belief. We pray that God will help us be examples of His truth in a world that needs to see God’s love demonstrated in word and deed more than ever."  As I make that statement my own, I am left to share my heart with these words:

• I believe that each of us is seen as precious in the eyes of our Creator.  It is because of that indescribable love that God sent His Son Jesus to this world which ultimately sent Him to the Cross where He died for the sins of mankind.

• In the eyes of that loving God, "all have sinned and fall short of His glory" (Romans 3:23).

• To that end, each of us comes to God with the same sin stain on our hearts and our only hope of forgiveness and to enter into right relationship with Him is through an active repentance and turning away from sin - which makes the finished work of Christ on the Cross to forgive our sin a possible reality for each of us.

• Recognizing that in this world even the definition of sin has been questioned, I yield to the words of John Wesley who defined sin as "a willful transgression of a known law of God."  That statement ultimately takes me to the source of truth in my life, God's Word, the Bible where I find a catalog of sin for which man is eternally responsible.  Any hope of finding peace with God and forgiveness comes through a willful rejection of that catalog of sin, and through active repentance and a personal relationship with Christ, I can find not only forgiveness, but restoration of standing in relationship with God through Christ.

• To that end, I confess that the sin of homosexuality or the transgendered life is equal to the sin of any other form of sexual sin condemned in the Scriptures, and therefore must be met with an active repentance and a personal relationship with Christ in order to find forgiveness and peace with God, including the promise of heaven.

• I have used the term "active repentance" throughout these points to refer to an active and willful turning away from sin (in all of its forms) as the foundational first step to entering into a personal relationship with God through Christ.  Without that "turning away from" sin, there can be no forgiveness and relationship cannot be entered into with a God who is Holy.

• Having said that, I do not condemn the individual, caught in a web of sin, and do not say that they are beyond the grace of God.  But without a willful turning away from the sin that embraces their life, they cannot find forgiveness or enter into right relationship with God, not on the basis of what I think, but on the basis of what God's Word says.  Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2, "Shall we continue in sin that grace might increase?  May it never be!"  God's Word is clear!  The life of sin must come to an end before a life of righteousness can be achieved.  No matter what the sin is, whether homosexuality or lying, lesbianism or stealing, transgenderism or idolatry, adultery or prejudice...no matter the sin -- all must be turned away from and actively repented of to enter into a right relationship with God through Jesus

• If you hear what I am saying, I am not one who rejects the sinner (the individual), but rather I am one who rejects sin (the act).  Thus, regardless of the sin which any one of us is guilty of, all of us must repent and turn away from it if we want to live in right relationship with God.

• In that light, I can tell you that the forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin, and the establishment of a whole new way of life and living can be achieved.  I am one who testifies to deliverance from an addiction to alcohol and drugs.  I am one who testifies to a deliverance from anger and acts of violence against others.  I am one who has been forgiven of and delivered from lying, stealing, and cheating, all things I did to support my addictions and sinful habits.  I am one who knows peace with God, not because I have embraced a life of sin, but because through an active repentance of my sins I have embraced a relationship of righteousness and holiness made possible by a personal relationship with God through Christ.  I am one who knows that God can forgive, deliver, heal, and restore a sin-filled heart to one which embraces righteousness, truth, and the teachings of the Bible.  Am I perfect?  No.  But I am forgiven and in those times when challenged by sin and temptation, I am met with the ministry of the Holy Spirit who strengthens my resolve and enables me to embrace righteousness, peace, and holiness through my relationship with God.

• So today I embrace the words of Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that just because things are lawful does not mean that they are profitable.  Case in point: though SCOTUS made homosexuality lawful in the eyes of civil law, to embrace homosexuality as a lifestyle is not profitable if you want to live in relationship with the God who condemns sexual sin.

In conclusion, I am committed today to one thing - being gracious and accepting of the individual caught in sin, while being wholly committed to standing against ALL acts of sin.  I will love yet preach the need for repentance.  I will teach of God's ways, not man's ways.  I will uphold God's truth and reveal the sins of our world as standing in judgment, not by me, but by the One who alone can Judge, the Creator God who made us both male and female, and expected us to live in heterosexual relationships that honored Him, not in homosexual relationships which are dishonored by Him and called sin.  I will love yet hold fiercely to this truth -- God is committed to restoring all of us to right relationship with Him, but for that to happen, we must reject all sin and repenting of it, seek His grace and forgiveness, lest by continuing in our sin, we are judged eternally for it.

Marginal or Missional???

Recently I attended a seminar in Urbana, Illinois in the DCPI Track entitled Becoming at Mentor or BAM. In the midst of the three days we spent together, one of our speakers identified two characteristics of churches. One he called the "Marginal Church" and the other he called the "Missional Church."

A marginal church is the church that if it closed, the only ones who would notice it was gone would be the people who left.

A missional church is the church that if it were to close would create an uproar in the community and they (the community) would say "You can't go! You are too vital to us."

There is a lot of talk today about churches -- the ones who seem to be making a difference and the ones who don't. For me the words of this presenter redefined all the issues. If my church were to close today, what would the effect be? Are we marginal or missional?

My dream is to pastor a church that is so vital to its community that the community could not do without us. In time, that is who we will become. But for now we are on a journey that daily is challenging us to stretch further, work harder, and serve more to impact Salina for the sake of the Gospel. We exist to depopulate hell by populating heaven with radical followers of Jesus Christ. We are not about the business of just being "christian." We want to be followers of Jesus Christ who live to seek and do His will in all things. That is our passion. That is our purpose. And that is the trajectory of our church.

Change

Merriam-Webster online says that as a transitive verb (an action tied to a specific object), change means to make a shift from one to another.  As an intransitive verb (an action that is not tied to a specific object) it means to undergo transformation.  As a noun it means the act or process of changing.

In my life and in my church right now we are in a season of change.  Transitioning from a pastoral staff driven model of ministry to a lay-driven model of ministry that focuses clearly on the utilization of everyone's spiritual gifts and abilities.  This change is creating amazing opportunities for growth and excitement and at the same time for some a spirit of hurt, disequilibrium, and in some cases, anger and disillusionment.  The reality is that is what you always confront with change.

Change requires flexibility -- a fresh look at where you are, or at what you are doing, and then examining the possibilities of what could be.  Change never comes from the same influences.  Sometimes change is the result of conflict -- you have to change because things are no longer working.  Sometimes change is the result of opportunity -- responding to the possibilities or needs that are being presented.  Sometimes change happens out of necessity -- change or die.  Sometimes change happens by choice -- you seek something better.  Sometimes change is thrust upon you -- situations "change" the current circumstances you find yourself in.  Sometimes (as in our case) a fresh vision from the Lord leads you to strategically do something different.  Regardless of the motivation behind change, change is a normal and natural part of life.  Think of it in these terms: look at a picture of yourself from 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ago.  Now look in the mirror.  See anything different?  You've changed.  I've changed.  Maybe its your looks, your weight, your hair color, the texture of your skin.  Some of those changes have been intentional.  Some just happened.  Some were welcomed.  Some have caused great pain.  But nevertheless, you have responded and found your way through...change.  And that is the "struggle" I find myself confronting now.  Change.  For some it is exciting, for others disconcerting.  For some it is as natural as accepting what you see in the mirror.  For others it is hurtful and difficult and a source of contention.  But change is essential -- it is a part of what we call life.

As a pastor, I've largely done ministry one way for 28 years.  For the majority of that time, the style of ministry I worked with was good -- and God blessed it.  But somewhere along the way, old paradigms became less effective.  Needs changed.  Whereas when I started people were comfortable with a pastor who largely did the work of ministry, today people are wanting to be involved.  They long for connection, the ability to make a difference, to no longer be a spectator but rather to become a participant.  One wasn't bad and the other good -- it's just different, a reflection of change.  For me personally change is exciting but it's difficult and no matter how you approach it, people will always respond, well...like people.  Some will like the new.  Others will hate it.  But that's the way we always respond to change.

Awhile back I was diagnosed with a disease.  There is no cure for it.  While you can manage its symptoms with high priced medications, it will always be there, slowly eating away at my health.  It causes pain, discouragement, frustration, and CHANGE.  I can't do what I used to do.  I don't have the same energy.  Some days the pain is crippling.  Other days it is just this constant nagging that wears you down.  It requires CHANGE.  I have to change what I do and how I do it.  I've had to change the activities that I am now a part of, leaving behind some things that have defined my life.  It's not fun, nor is it easy.  I hear "NO" a lot.  Sometimes it comes from within.  Sometimes it is the voice spoken from someone around me.  Like it or not, where I find myself has caused me to have to shift from one way of doing things to another.  I have had to transform -- change -- to deal with my own situation and now learn a new way of doing life.  It hasn't been easy or fun, but its been necessary and I am learning that change is good -- really good.

I read an article today in Psychology Today online that just helped me think this whole thing through.  It was written by a psychiatrist who daily helps people navigate the waters of change.  In it, she shared five simple steps to help you find equilibrium.  She called them the 5 P's.  I found them helpful.

• Learn patience. Generally, things do not happen overnight. In fact, it may take some time before a desired and/or reasonable outcome is reached. Don't be impulsive or try to rush the results. Patience will help you arrive at the best possible place you need to be.
• Be persistent. It's easy to want to give up, especially when things are not going your way, or are even looking glum. Keep on chipping away at the issues; the outcome or solution you're seeking may be just around the bend.
• Be practical. Some changes require an immediate response to remedy a situation, but in most instances, there's simply no rush to the finish line. Go about your life in a way that focuses attention on maintaining balance. Stay present, firmly rooted, in the here and now. In other words, create a structure that provides stability and support while you're in the process of transitioning.
• Be positive. Expect "up and down". In fact, that's more the norm while you're going through change. A sense of optimism will help equalize the hills and valleys and will keep you focused and committed.
• Have a purpose. No matter how many major changes and transitions you go through during the course of your life, having an organizing guiding principle that is vital to you and gives meaning to your life is essential.*

That fifth principle is key for me.  I like what it says: have an organizing guiding principle.  There is only one way in my perception to deal with change -- and to survive.  That is to seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near, (Isaiah 55:6).  When He becomes my focus -- especially in times of change, I find a sense of direction, an understanding of a clear path -- and I begin to encounter what is His preferable future for me.  Usually it involves change.  But when God is the one leading you to and through change you can never go wrong.  That is, unless you let others (people or things) get in the way.

In these days of change -- where I am releasing a 28 year paradigm of ministry for a new one, and where I am now trying to lead others through that transition as I follow the Lord, I am encountering personally and professionally every conceivable emotion and response you could imagine.  But in this process, as I follow the Lord I am learning the power of being patient, persistent, practical, and positive, and I am learning how to keep my eyes in a whole new way on focusing on God's clear and intended purpose.  My prayer has become simple:  Lord, guide me, lead me, and help me to navigate this journey of change, bringing Your people with me and following You wherever You lead.  That's where I am, and for those of you who do life with me I am praying that will become where you are too.  Join me in seeking the Lord while He may be found; calling on Him while He is near.  He will bring us through and in the end, His plan will become our preferred, present experience and through our changes He will use us to build His kingdom.

____________________

* Taken from "In Flux: Embracing Transitions and Change" by Abigail Brenner, M.D., found at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-flux/201107/5-tips-help-you-respond-effectively-change.  Accessed November 5, 2014.

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Starting Off on the Right Foot!

Today marks the beginning of the 2014th year of coming of our Lord.  All across the world people will be making "resolutions" that focus on good intentions, new year's plans, and things they want to change.  People will focus on wanting to lose weight, get their financial house in order, be nicer, kinder, gentler, more positive.  You know the drill.  We've all made them, and unfortunately many of us have watched them all go by the wayside before the end of January.  I've long since quit making resolutions.  I like to make covenants.

Covenants to me are much more serious.  They invite accountability...and in my case that accountability comes from the Lord and from a small band of brothers who I share life with in a small group.  Both make certain that I stay on the narrow path.  Both make certain that I am sincere and honest.  Both ask tough questions and make me consider the consequences of disobedience.  Both are bent on my success at keeping the covenants I have made and living differently because of them.

I have learned over the past few years the value of living life this way.  It requires intentionality and a sense of being serious about everything -- even having fun.  It allows me to leave no stone unturned or issue unchallenged.  It keeps me honest before the Lord and in concert with a group of men whose lives have become very important to me.  And when I choose (and that is really important) to walk in step with what God is doing in my life and what my accountability group is asking and challenging me to do, life is filled with incredible joy and constant victory.

I don't know what your plans are for 2014.  Let me challenge you though to consider this: live honestly before the Lord and invite His leadership in your life.  Then pray that He will bring into your life a band of fellow travelers whose hearts are pure, whose intentions are holy, and whose desire is to join in a journey of being intentional followers of Christ.  Then enjoy the journey in a walk where God can lead (moving you here and there through the voice of His Spirit) and your accountability group can help you to maintain the covenants you have made to live for and walk in relationship with Jesus.

Happy New Year!

Just a vapor...

This afternoon I did the funeral for a precious baby girl who lived just 48 hours outside of her mommy's womb.  It was a difficult yet beautiful service as we celebrated the fact that little Lily Bug was in the arms of Jesus in a place where there was no pain, where the suffering that certainly would have been a part of her life because of her medical condition (trisomy 18) would never be experienced, and where she would be forever embraced by the Lord, free from the ugliness and sin that is so much a part of our world.  We looked to the Lord and in Him we found grace and strength, comfort and care as He embraced Lily's parents and family.  It was one of those services that I as a pastor struggle to perform, yet find such blessing in doing as I minister the grace the God.

In preparing for the service, I sat at my computer contemplating what James wrote in the fourth chapter and fourteenth verse of his epistle, Your life is but a vapor, here for a moment then vanishes away.  As I thought of those words, I remembered a phrase I've often considered -- You have but one life to live, so live it well.  What an incredible statement of challenge and import.

I live in what I tend to think of as a protected world.  While I am surrounded by the world and all of its ugliness, much of my life is lived within the insulation of the church -- separated from the ugliness of sin and the brokenness that affects so much of humanity.  But in that protected world, I often get glimpses of how painfully short real life can be.  The temptation is to live as if we have forever to make right choices and to choose Christ.  But the reality is this -- we have this moment -- and our next is not guaranteed or assured.  Our lives truly are but a vapor, here for a moment then vanishes away.

So how are you living the time that God has given you?  Have you put Jesus before everything so that your life is full and filled with His presence, peace, and grace?  Or are you struggling to find your way?  Lily Bug reminded me today that I have this moment -- and I challenge you to live it to its full in Christ with me!

Living in the Bullseye

Every once in a while I run across a verse or verses that jump off the pages of Scripture and hit me square between the eyes.  The ensuing period of reflection is amazing and God always uses these times in the "bullseye" to speak to my heart, provide correction where necessary, and let me know I need to trust Him more.  Such was the case this morning when in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase The Message I encountered Matthew 11:28-30.  Listen to how Peterson paraphrases these words from Jesus...

Are you tired? Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to Me.  Get away with Me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with Me and work with Me -- watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.  Keep company with Me and you'' learn to live freely and lightly.

Ever been there?  Are you living there now?  I am...tired, worn out, even burned out on the religion that surrounds me that is so much less than what God intended for a relationship with Him through His Son to be.  I am learning more and more each day about the importance of balance and living as Peterson paraphrases in the unforced rhythms of grace, that place where you lean on and trust in God more than your own abilities and resources.  In that process I am learning a few other things...

I am learning that some things can just be slid to the side, or even left undone completely.  

I am learning that the telephone is for my convenience and is not supposed to be my master.  There are times I don't have to answer just because it rings, and every text doesn't need my immediate attention.  There are some calls I will always answer -- from my wife, my children, my mom or my sisters -- or my inlaws -- or my secretary (she only calls when its really important).  But not every call gets my immediate attention.  There are times when it rings the caller has to leave a message, and if they don't I deem the call not very important, and certainly not worth returning.  And if they do leave a message, I will get back to them -- when it is convenient because that what phones and answering machines are supposed to be all about -- convenience.

I am learning that some emails just don't even need to be opened -- like forwards or advertisements or  things from people I've never heard of and don't know.  I know that email is a great way to communicate, but like a text on my phone, it is not preferred to verbal communication -- and if what people really need to share is really that important, they will call and if I answer, share it with me, and if not, leave a message for me to respond to at my convenience.  

And then there is that whole thing of social media.  I don't do Facebook very much.  I keep up with a few of my loved ones posts, and occasionally I even post something myself -- or on someone's page.  But I'm not all excited when someone messages me, or shares their latest pic or chronicles their night out with friends.  Its just not that important to me, and usually they share stuff that ought not be shared...at least if they don't want some corporate head hunter to find out about them and disqualify them for a job because of the friends they keep or the things they say they do and all that kind of stuff.

But then there is Twitter.  I actually like this one -- saying things profoundly yet simply in as few a words as possible.  Now the emphasis is on profound.  I don't care if you have a hole in your sock or you're hungry or whatever.  But when you share a link to an article that is worth reading, or a verse that provokes response from my heart, or an insight that causes deep thought -- that is why I like Twitter.  And I use it too...although not as perfectly as I wish I could.  And when someone whom I follow begins to use it as a tabloid for the inane...I cut them off -- it is a really refreshing feeling.

And all that is to say nothing of why I don't like watching live tv (I prefer to dvr shows -- then fast forward through the waste of time commercials...you can watch an hour show in just over 35 minutes), or junk mail - I throw it all away without ever looking at it (no wonder the landfills are full), and I always hang up on sales calls and surveys (even though I know that can be rude).

So why this rambling -- because I am learning that I am responsible for my fatigue, and my feeling worn out, and my experiencing burnout, and if I don't do something to crowd the craziness of my world out, it will continue to push and shove its way in and leave me feeling like I've lost me.  I have entered into a period of recovery...of taking Peterson's paraphrase of these verses seriously -- of learning the unforced rhythms of grace that I can reconnect with the Lord daily and in that, find the me He created me to be too.  It is amazing what a simple no, or unanswered call, or ignored text message, or not checking your Facebook, or looking at every piece of junk mail and the like can do.  It is amazing what happens when you put the important ahead of the cacophony of the urgent.  It is unbelievable how rested, and renewed, and reborn you can begin to feel...just by taking time to bask in the unforced rhythms of grace. 

You ought to try it...maybe like me, you'd begin to enjoy life again too.  I promise...it's worth the risk.