Let's Stay For Church

It’s one of those images burned into my mind from many years ago. I drove past the neighborhood church often as a teen-ager. Their sign identified the church on the front side, and on the back side it read, “Let’s stay for church.” The back side of the sign was clearly visible from the church’s parking lot, so this was a message to the membership about the value of corporate worship.

Their schedule reflected the typical evangelical Sunday morning schedule many yet follow: small group Bible study, or Sunday School, earlier in the morning, then “church,” or worship, following. Apparently church leadership felt in that day that members needed reminding that the day wasn’t complete if they short-circuited the two hours they could spend in God’s house.

Things really haven’t hanged much in 40 years! Some Christians yet find excuses for not supporting worship, be it for family get-togethers, trips or rest. But sometimes Christians neglect worship altogether. This was a burden for a pastor friend in another county. He lamented that church members took the entire morning away from church for family birthday dinners and the like. Clearly frustrated, he told me, “We don’t have night church, so they have all afternoon to party with their family!”

The Old Testament prophet Malachi was likewise frustrated when his people brought unworthy sacrifices to the Lord. He chided them, “If you offer the same to the governor, will he be pleased with you?” (Malachi 1:8). We might extrapolate this passage and ask, “Would your employer accept the same excuses you offer the Lord?”

Corporate worship is commanded in scripture. It’s valuable time for at least three reasons.

One, we gather to praise God. Worship is God-centered, not person-centered. The Bible says God dwells among his people when they praise and worship him (Psalm 22:3). We need God’s presence to encourage us in our broken world.

Two, we gather in fellowship with God’s people. An old preacher used to define fellowship as “two fellows on the same ship”! We don’t serve God alone, and it’s encouraging to be with other believers, to make friends, and to support and pray for one another.

Three, we gather to equip ourselves for ministry in our world.

One of the late Robert Schuller’s rationales for a glass church was his belief that churches shouldn’t “hide” behind stained glass, but always focus on the world outside their four walls—a world in need of God’s love. Certainly, stained glass has its place, but Schuller’s idea is a good one. Worship isn’t done until we’re inspired to take our faith home and to the marketplace.

It’s not a bad motto to remember every week: “Let’s stay for church.”

A Hill To Die On

I remarked to a church member lately that a certain matter wasn’t “a hill to die on.” We tried something new, but I told him if people didn’t like it, we’d go back to what we had. It occurred to me that I’ve mellowed in my senior years. There was a time I had several hills picked out for my last stand—just like Gen. Custer.

One was the weekly newsletter we had years ago. The church secretary thought that if she could hurry up, get it printed and mailed before the weekly deadline she earned God’s approval. I always instructed her to let me proof the copy before she went to press. One week I had a conference and was out for a day. True to form, she went to press the Tuesday I was away. When I returned I saw she’d had my Sunday scripture listed as Psalms 23 instead of Psalm 23. “Psalms” is the entire book, but individual chapters are a “psalm.” I had her re-do the newsletter before mailing.

Whereas she needed to know I was serious about proofing, in retrospect, I might have been the only person who noticed the incorrect reference had it been mailed as printed originally. I believe now this was a molehill rather than a hill to die on.

The trade-off for wisdom is that it comes with time after bad choices. We often joke about exchanging our aging bodies but keeping our mature brains, but, unfortunately, life doesn’t partner this way.

The scriptures extol the value of the elders—the aged of the faith community who imparted wisdom in decision-making. Elders received some of their wisdom from God, to be sure, but they also received it from a lifetime of choices, disappointments and regrets.

One Presbyterian elder told me about a session meeting they’d had with the pastor. The young minister grew incensed over some policy about which he was overruled, and my elder friend told him to calm down and hush.

“There’s no use in arguing,” he said. “It’s just a matter of calendars. We’ve been around much longer than you and have more wisdom!”

I’d never heard this phrase before, but it’s a good one. Calendars bring wrinkles to our faces and gray to our temples, but also wisdom to our minds. The church needs the wisdom of her seniors.

That’s not to say we don’t need the enthusiasm of the young. We certainly do. Paul instructed Timothy not to let any man despise his youth, but also not to rebuke an elder but afford him double honor (1 Timothy 4: 12, 5:1, 17). Mutual respect makes the church effective in the work of the Lord.

The Futility of Worry

I suppose I’d not realized that the second thing I do upon entering the car, after the seat belt of course, is turning on the sound system for radio or podcast. A few days ago I pressed the power switch, but the radio did nothing but stare at me with a black screen. I pressed the power switch a time or two to no avail. Then I dug out the owner’s manual to find which fuse controlled the sound system. Of course, the fuse wasn’t in the under-dash box that was easy to find, but in the engine box that was a bit harder to find.

I stopped at an auto parts store and asked them to test the fuse and discovered it was good. The attendant told me that the unit had a fuse behind the radio, and I’d probably have to pull the radio out of the dash in order to fix it.

My heart sank. I began to think in reality the radio was dead and I’ve have to shell out $150 or more for a new one, plus installation. However, I put the old fuse back in place and the radio came on as normal. I suppose the fuse had worked loose or been nudged in the last oil change. But I was happy the problem was solved so easily.

It occurred to me that many of the major problems I’ve dealt with in life are like this radio issue—imagined, not real. This is akin to the oft-told story about the senior adult who thought she was going blind before realizing she was still wearing her sleeping mask! Most of us are adept at anticipating trouble to the point we run half-way to meet it.

Worry is one of the primary maladies of our age. Doctors insist physical repercussions include ulcers, insomnia, indigestion, heartburn, headaches and irritability. Surely there’s a better way, especially since many of our fears are unrealized and our worrying useless.

Jesus’ counsel in the gospels is a word we need to hear. “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow will have enough troubles on its own. Your heavenly father knows what you need. Seek first the kingdom of God . . . and everything else will fall into proper order” (Matthew 6: 32-34).

The Apostle Paul had similar advice. He wrote, “Don’t be anxious about anything. Instead bring your earnest concerns to the Lord, and don’t forget to thank him” (Philippians 4:6).

Prayer and praise beat worry any day of the week. Most of us need to hear and heed the admonitions of scripture that we trust in the goodness of our God who loves us and does all things well.

The Difficulty of Doing God's Work

In his new book, “Faith,” former President Jimmy Carter includes Millard and Linda Fuller as examples of those whom he’s known and admired. The Fullers founded Habitat for Humanity, an organization that has built or renovated 2 ½ million homes in 70 nations. One of Millard Fuller’s greatest accomplishments was convincing the Carters to partner with Habitat, and the former first family has helped with Habitat builds for the past 35 years.

I was intrigued by a quote Carter included from a Habitat staffer: “Millard has the dreams, and then we inherit the nightmare of fulfilling his vision.”

I suppose every church deals with the “nightmare” of fulfilling vision. We’re committed as disciples of Christ, following him into pockets of need in our communities. But superintending ministries can be difficult for several reasons.

One reason is that ministries are staffed by fallible human beings. Leadership guru John Maxwell often says the joy of ministry is people, and the difficulty of ministry is people! That’s because we all possess two natures: vipers and violets as F.W. Boreham used to say. People can be wonderfully cooperative and generous, and people can be petty and obstructionist. But Christian leaders realize we must work with those we have and develop people into greater Christlikeness.

Another reason ministry is difficult is because of criticism. The old adage is that it doesn’t take much size to criticize, but criticism is part of every ministry I’ve ever known.

The late televangelist Oral Roberts was accosted by a critic who castigated him for a ministry.

“How do you do this work?” Roberts asked.

The man sheepishly admitted he didn’t do this work.

“Sir,” Roberts replied. “I like the way I’m doing this more than the way you’re not doing it!”

Another reason ministry is difficult is because of resource shortages. Churches aren’t to be savings accounts, piling up larges amounts of money for the proverbial “rainy day,” but rather checking accounts, receiving gifts from God’s people and investing these funds in worthwhile endeavors. Even though we know this, most churches still struggle with a lack of resources.

In our church we often say that we could spend ten times our current benevolence budget to help so many people in need around us. But we also have other ministries we’re committed to. Some studies suggest the average Christian gives just over two percent of their income to the church. We can only imagine the ministries we could do if more people moved to the biblical model of the tithe.

Ministry is hard, but we must do it. The Lord of the church insisted, “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

On Saying ‘I’m Sorry’

It was a strange encounter in an unlikely place.

I attended a national nominating convention in 2012 as an alternate delegate. Delegates sometimes exchange credentials with their alternates allowing us to be on the main floor of the convention rather than in the bleachers. The main floor is a fun place to be! Delegates and alternates meet counterparts in other states, and political and media personalities we see on television. It’s a great talk-fest.

I was wandering about on the main floor in my delegate’s stead when I came upon former Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. I greeted him and told him it had been our privilege to have him in Alabama a few years before as a convention speaker. In those days he was rumored to be interested in the White House. The governor said to me, “Mike, I let you people down in Alabama. I’m ashamed of what I did, and I need you to forgive me.”

Sanford disappeared for a few days after his Alabama trip, and later revealed he’d been in Argentina with his “soul mate.” Now, years later, his marriage was done and he’d narrowly escaped impeachment in South Carolina. I was struck by his desire to apologize, as though I had some power in his life. But I’ve never forgotten his humility that evening.

Sanford was elected to his old congressional seat the next year, but lost a primary this month, allegedly due to his criticism of the president.

President Clinton had a unique apology, too. He delivered his Map Room Speech on Aug. 17, 1998. Robert Shrum revealed in his book, “No Excuses,” that he was hired to write Clinton’s apology to the nation about the Lewinsky matter. However, the president’s advisers urged him not to “grovel,” especially since Saddam Hussein was threatening in Iraq. Accordingly many hands wrote the televised speech. We often compare the two speeches in public speaking class and most people find Shrum’s speech humbler and the delivered speech angrier. It’s interesting that Clinton was questioned about his apology to Lewinsky again in recent weeks, some 20 years later.

What makes an apology good or bad? I suppose it depends on the situation and the number of people involved. As a pastor I’ve gone to people privately to ask forgiveness for a slight, but I’ve also made apologies publicly when the offense involved a larger group. Apologies must be sincere and the apologizer must not claim any justification for bad behavior.

But apologies also need reinforcement. An apology without a life change is a hollow thing, indeed. As Jesus said to a woman he forgave, “Neither do I condemn you, but go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Joy and Sorrow and Old Friends

I met three old friends lately and had conflicting emotions.

First, I was happy. I’d not seen Joe and Jeanette in 40 years. They attended a church in western Birmingham in which the pastor had a severe heart attack. I’ve forgotten how the church contacted me, but I preached there a few Sundays in his absence. When the pastor’s recuperation period was extended, the church invited me to be their associate for a while. I was a Samford University sophomore accustomed to being in different churches each Sunday, so I only had about six sermons! Serving the church for six months and speaking three times each week was a great experience. The congregation was kind to their fledgling associate and I learned more about church ministry.

Jeanette joined the church at the time. Later she and Joe had a stillborn child. She reminded me of a visit I made to them and some kind things I said. I don’t remember much of this story but was glad to know I encouraged them. I was grateful to learn they’re active and happy in their church in north Alabama where they’ve retired.

But I was sad when I saw Luke. He was at a candidate forum and made a short speech on behalf of an office-seeker, who won on June 5, by the way. I intended to make a bee-line to him when we were done, but he quietly slipped out before the meeting concluded and I could talk with him.

Luke was staff minister at a church I served several years ago. The “long knives” were out to get him when I arrived. I was able to forestall this a bit, but I allowed their negativity to overtake me. I remember the sad evening when two committee chairs and I met with him and asked that he resign. Regrettably, I sat by silently and acquiesced.

I realize now that my job as staff administrator was to make him successful. I failed. I was so busy with the demands of a busy church that I didn’t encourage him to overcome the areas of ministry in which he fell short.

The Ministering to Ministers Foundation says that sometimes ministers need to leave, but they should always be treated fairly. I’m not sure Luke needed to go or was treated fairly. I regret the part I played. I wanted to share regret with him and wish him well in his new work.

I think we all view yesterday with conflicting emotions. We rejoice when God used us in his work, and we’re sad to know sometimes we messed up. But God’s grace and forgiveness, mercifully, gives us hope that we can do better tomorrow.

Boys And Girls, Elmer's Glue And God

Vacation Bible School--what childhood memories it evokes!

Many of the items hand-crafted in VBS, whether professionally-done or not, find their way to the refrigerator door, to dad's desktop or to that special box of treasures our mothers always kept.

My mother for many years displayed some of my childhood VBS handiwork: a framed print of a rooster trimmed in colored popcorn and kidney beans. I can’t remember now, but I suppose the biblical application had something to do with the familiar story of the cock crowing after Peter denied he was a follower of Jesus.

Back in those days we had two-week schools instead of today’s one-week or one-half week classes. Whenever I’ve suggested tongue-in-cheek to modern teacher-volunteers that we consider a second week, they only glare at me without saying a word.

Our denomination's church growth experts insist that Southern Baptists gain more new converts through Vacation Bible Schools than revivals. So this begs the question, "Why not have a second VBS every year rather than a revival?" I'm not sure, other than the rigors of finding workers and the intensity of VBS. And the summer revival seems to be ingrained into Protestant culture, though most often we find ourselves preaching conversion to faithful Christians who are already converted.

A special part of VBS for me as a pastor has always been the classroom visits when I'm invited to the various rooms to teach that day’s Bible story. It's interesting to hear the boys' and girls' versions of familiar stories.

In one church I was asked to teach Psalm 23 to the children. The theme was loneliness. I wanted to stress the fact that we’re never alone, for God is always with us.  

“Although David was in the wilderness alone with his flock,” I said, “he had a special friend who was with him at all times. Who was it?”

Denise, a freckle-faced bundle of sweetness replied, “He had the sheeps!”

We had a good laugh, for, of course, she was right.

The highlight of VBS is the decision time when boys and girls have opportunity to accept Christ as savior. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14, NIV).

Many of us bear on our souls the fingerprints of patient teachers who taught us in the summertime about God’s love, and in many cases, brought us to faith in Christ.

Vacation Bible School is, indeed, a meaningful tradition in the Christian church.

I hope it continues, if only for one week a year!

Using Technology Wisely

A new word has come to be: “phubbing.” It is similar to “snubbing,” or ignoring others, but means to ignore others while talking or texting on one’s phone! We’ve all observed this. One study found the average adult sends or receives about 40 messages daily by e-mail or text, and young adults, 18-24, send or receive about 110. Cellphones have revolutionized our world but bring some new challenges too.

I was at a funeral several months ago when a lady’s phone went off twice. I could somewhat understand one misfire, but two was inexcusable in a service designed to provide comfort for a grieving family.

A community college colleague told about two students in the back of her classroom constantly texting. The policy at this school is that phones must be put away during class, which she ignored for a while. But their texting became so disruptive she walked over to confront them. They sheepishly admitted they were texting one another—sitting next to each other—about their weekend plans. Here were students paying $3600 in tuition to learn and to prepare for jobs in the marketplace, but texting trivia was more important. They, or their parents, were wasting money.

Phubbing has even invaded our churches.

Finding something to do other than paying attention in church isn’t new. An old satire magazine published an article called, “101 Fun Things to Do During A Dull Sermon.” The one I remember is counting the number of choir members who wear glasses! The point is we can all play mind games and tune out what’s happening around us. Again, nothing new here.

But now we have a new venue. We can use our phones in church and transport ourselves into another world, not necessarily a spiritual one.

Many find having access to 30 Bible translations on their phones a handy thing and bring phones to church these days rather than their Bibles. At a recent presentation in our church three speakers brought iPads to the pulpit with their notes, with me being the only one with a typed page of notes.

Nevertheless, electronic devices present new challenges to the church.

One, there is the temptation to play instead of pray. Like the students texting in class, we squander valuable opportunity to commune with God and study the scripture.

And, two, there is influence. A colleague at the Christian college I taught in determined she would begin bringing her Bible to weekly chapel rather than her cellphone so students wouldn’t think she was texting or Internet surfing during worship. She was concerned about her influence, as every believer must be.

Technology can be “baptized” and used in our churches but must be used wisely.

On Remembering

It's one of Jesus's most enigmatic statements: "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32).

Mrs. Lot is a minor character in the Old Testament. We don't know her name. Nor do we know what was in her heart. Some say she was thoughtlessly disobedient when God said "don't look back" at the burning Sodom, while others believed she looked back with regret at the destruction of a city whose paganism she'd grown to appreciate.

Nevertheless, it's healthy most of the time for us to remember many things.

We're in a season of remembering. Memorial Day was established after the Civil War as a time to honor the war dead. Now we use it to remember a larger number. And we'll remember the 74th anniversary of D-Day on June 6 and the brave troops who secured a beachhead in Europe. My Uncle Raymond was a glider pilot ferrying troops on D-Day when the glider casualty rate was 90 percent.

The red stripe in the American flag represents the blood of heroes whose gallantry secured the freedoms we enjoy.

We should also remember with gratitude the host of men and women who shaped our lives and whose fingerprints are yet on our souls. Those raised in church recall Bible teachers, youth workers, deacons and pastors who took time to show us the way to God.

And we think of school teachers who taught us to love learning and shared with us wisdom from their lives.

A man recalled the positive influence of a middle-school teacher after many years and decided to write her a letter. She responded: "Your letter came on a cold, dreary day and cheered me as nothing else in so long. In fact, yours is the only letter of gratitude I ever received in over 40 years of teaching."

We should remember our loved ones who've passed on. The stories of their lives "fill in the blanks" and help us know who we are. We remember their good and seek to follow, and we remember their bad and seek wisdom.

As Christians we believe we live for Christ, and at death, we are "with Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Heaven is many things, but it's also a time of reunion.

We also remember the sacrifice of Jesus. He gave us an ordinance whose purpose is to remember his broken body and shed blood. His death is the central doctrine in the New Testament and the foundation of all we do as his church.

Remembering the sacrifice of Jesus is a lesson in humility, for there's nothing we've done to deserve or earn our salvation. As the old hymn states, "In my hand no price I bring, simply to thy cross I cling."

An Alert Reader

Comedian Dave Barry often thanks the “Alert Reader” (sic) who finds errors in his material. We had an Alert Reader lately when someone found an error in the Sunday bulletin. It was fairly significant, and as editor, I should’ve caught it. I corrected it before the congregation and joked we often print errors as a test to see how closely the people read! Well, all in good humor since the Alert Reader was being helpful.

I respected this Alert Reader more than one I had a few years ago who sent an anonymous letter. She (at least her handwriting looked feminine) took me to task on “ensure” vs. “insure.” I’d written about Gettysburg “insuring” the end of the Confederacy, and this was wrong. It “ensured” the end of the Confederacy. “To insure” is to purchase a product to protect your assets, and nothing more. But I do wish she’d felt comfortable to tell me this personally or by phone.

The apostle Paul exhorted young Timothy to revere the scripture and use it for “instruction and correction” (2 Timothy 3: 16). Bible instructors need the wisdom of God to determine when to correct others with the Bible.

I can remember going to the pulpit a time or two with anger, lashing out at the congregation because one or two members were unruly. I came to quickly regret this. If the pulpit is used in this way it becomes “coward’s castle” as Charles Spurgeon once said. In my better moments I try to remember Ephesians 4:15: “speaking the truth in love.”

But other than this, I’ve never felt I as a pastor should correct everything I hear I believe is wrong. The exception is a moral issue; then a pastor must stand for truth and suffer whatever fallout may come.

But many things in the church aren’t as weighty as moral issues; for example, the interpretation of some passages. Eschatology is the theology including the return of Christ, and there are at least four major theories about his return. We need to make allowance for sincere interpreters.

Across the street from our church is a Methodist congregation who baptize differently than we do. Their student minister called a few years ago to ask about borrowing our baptistery since he had some youth wanting to be immersed. I had good fun inviting him to bring the whole church over for baptism! But we make allowances for different modes of baptism.

We need the wisdom of God to know what needs correcting with scripture, and things that should be overlooked as simple interpretive differences between sincere brothers and sisters in Christ. Augustine wrote: "in essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity."

Call Your Mother

An ABC tribute to Gilda Radner some time ago reminded me of the number of people we’ve lost in the last few years who made us laugh: John Belushi, John Candy, Phil Hartman, Bob Hope, Grady Nutt, Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, Jerry Clower and others.

Humor has great value. Solomon said laughter is medicine for the soul (Proverbs 17:22), and sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to have a good laugh.

Lincoln, a man who suffered depression or "melancholia" as it was called in those days, talked about the value of humor in the stressful days of the Civil War.

“With the fearful strain that is on me," he said, "if I did not laugh, I would die.”

Lewis Grizzard was a great Southern humorist. But, occasionally, he stepped aside from humor and made some pretty astute observations about life. He did this, I believe, in one of his books entitled, “Call Your Mama—I Wish I Could Call Mine.”

Me too, Lewis.

I guess I thought my mother would live forever. She was a constant in the changes of my life.  But there came that terrible December in 1993 when our family had gathered for Christmas and she was so sick she couldn’t function. I thought maybe she'd worked too hard preparing the house and the meal, but she lay down on the couch and didn't have energy to get up. My wife and sister forcibly took her to the local hospital. An X-ray turned up something ominous, and the doctor thought she needed to go to a larger hospital for tests.

The Monday following Christmas the doctors at Birmingham’s St. Vincent’s Hospital confirmed the dread diagnosis: cancer. In seven weeks she was gone. 

Those were weeks of trial as my siblings and I scheduled time to be with her and take care of things. One of the most stressful rites of passage is caring for aging and dying parents. In addition to the shock of impending loss there's the demands of everyday tasks that must be done.

I read something recently about the trauma we experience when our mothers die.  Mothers, the article stated, represent unconditional love, and we're often unprepared for a world in which no one else seems to fill that significant role.

God knew what he was doing when he invented the family and put mothers in them. She is the family's heart, civilizing us and teaching us to care. Mothers fill a niche no one else can. They love us and are proud of us no matter what.

May 13 is Mother’s Day. 

Be sure to call your mother. 

I wish I could call mine.

God Wants To Use You In His Work

A traveling salesman was known for his good sales, but also for his poor grammar. He filled his orders with misspellings and his speech was peppered with dialect. Still he was top salesman. The manager took opportunity to send a note to the sales staff: “There ain’t been enough emphasis in this here company on sellin’. Sellin’s a heap more important than spellin’. George done good. Ya’ll go out and do like he done.”

We have another “George” in the New Testament, namely Simon Peter.

Those who read the original language have puzzled over the poor grammar in 2 Peter, but the excellent grammar in 1 Peter. The answer seems to be that Peter had a coach in writing his first letter. The apostle said in 1 Peter 5:12 that he wrote “with the help of Silas.” Silas was the man who took the affirming letter from the mother church in Jerusalem to the new Gentile church in Antioch (Acts 15:22), and who became Paul’s partner on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:40). We primarily remember him as the missionary who sang praises with Paul at midnight in the Philippian jail. But in this case, he was what scholars call an “amanuensis,” or secretary. He helped Peter craft his message in an acceptable fashion.

But no amanuensis is mentioned in the second letter, so we believe Peter wrote on his own. In Acts he’s called “unlearned.” Of course he was. He was a laborer who had no opportunity for education. But God used him to give us significant truths in this letter he wrote as he faced death in a Roman prison.

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly how God gave scripture, but theologians have proposed several theories about this. One theory is called the “plenary verbal” theory. It states that God dictated words and every single word of scripture is from the Lord. Another theory is called the “dynamic” theory. It states God gave thoughts to the writers who used their unique personalities to give us truth.

I’ve always found this second theory a better option, and 2 Peter is an example. If we believed God dictated every word, we’d need to extrapolate and say God used bad grammar in 2 Peter! This, of course, is ridiculous. Instead God took a wonderfully committed though uneducated man, Peter, and revealed his word to him and through him to us.

I believe this principle offers hope to us all. God made everyone unique. He doesn’t eradicate our personalities when we become Christians, unless they’re destructive. Instead he celebrates and enhances our uniqueness. He fills us with his Spirit despite our flaws and promises to use us in his kingdom work.

Respecting The Worship Traditions Of Others

I met a gentleman last year who said he attended another church in our town.

“We don’t worship like you do,” he said.

I smiled sweetly but had a couple of thoughts. One is that unless he attended our church--and I’ve never seen him there--he really doesn’t know how we worship. And two, his tone seemed to indicate superiority. This kind of attitude is unworthy.

I thought about this lately as we completed the holiest season of the church year--the weeks leading to Easter. Different churches marked these days in different ways.

One lady came to a support group at our church and mentioned ending her Lenten celebration after giving up chocolate and alcohol.

“I survived, and I feel better,” she said with a laugh.

This discipline was meaningful for her.

We Baptists normally don’t emphasize Lent, nor Ash Wednesday. A story is told about a parish school in Louisiana in which most children were Catholic. The teacher went around the room asking each child what they intended to give up for Lent. Television and candy were named a lot. But one young man had a unique response.

“We’re Baptists,” he said. “We don’t give up nuthin’ for nobody!”

That’s not to say that liturgical worship is bad. Many Christians find spiritual strength in observing holy days and time-tested Christian traditions.

It’s also true that there are varying worship traditions within individual churches.

One saintly senior used to complain to me about the minutes preceding morning worship.

“Preacher,” she said, “they’re like magpies in here. Like magpies!”

I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a magpie, but I got her point. She was of the tradition that believed one enters the sanctuary quietly and prayerfully preparing for worship. But I gingerly told her that another tradition is fellowship, and greeting one another before worship wasn’t a bad thing.

A worship leader told me lately his conviction that announcements in public worship weren’t worshipful. And I understand we shouldn’t just read the Sunday bulletin to people without expecting them to read for themselves. But, I responded, announcements about spiritual activities or ministries church members can be involved in isn’t a bad thing. It’s a practical way to express what we often say; namely, we worship inside the four walls, but we go outside the four walls to serve our communities in the name of Christ.

Many churches try to have blended worship with something for everyone. This is a noble effort requiring the cooperation of all. But if we can’t meet the needs of everyone, and some choose other places to worship, we must have the good graces to respect worship traditions other than our own.

Samaritans Among Us

It’s one of those King James Bible phrases that has always intrigued me. John’s gospel said of Jesus, “He must needs go through Samaria” (John 4: 4). Actually, he didn’t have to go through Samaria in his journey north. The typical Jew would veer east or west in order not to pass through Samaria. Samaritans were seen as ethnically impure and spiritually impure since they worshiped idols along with the God of Israel, and Jews despised them.

Jesus didn’t have to pass trough Samaria, but he chose to. He needed to teach a lesson about the worth of every person in God’s kingdom.

In Samaria he met a woman who came to draw water at a well. She was alone, because even her own people had little to do with her. Dr. Frank Stagg used to call her a “three-time loser” since she was a woman, a Samaritan and immoral. She was surprised that Jesus would talk with her and even more surprised when he promised water she might drink and never thirst again.

The Jewish church must likewise have been surprised when Jesus told them not only to take the gospel to Jerusalem and Judea, but also to Samaria. The Christian gospel is stronger than human prejudice.

Prejudice is hard to understand, but it’s universal. I remember a news report years ago about a comedy program in Germany featuring one described as the “West German Archie Bunker.” The character hated East Germans. As an American I cannot understand why there was animosity in that day between these groups, as Germans probably would puzzle over our prejudices. Samaritans are everywhere.

I was a sophomore or junior in high school when our pastor preached a revival in Bibb County. He invited several of us teen-agers to go with him each night. I mentioned to the host pastor that a friend had started a youth organization that could come and conduct a rally with speaker and music if the church was interested. We had a young man in the group who was a fireball preacher and several musicians. The rest of us would go door-to-door and invite people to the event.

I remember several of us meeting with church leaders to talk about this. One of the men said, “There is an area in our community where we wouldn’t want you to go and invite people. You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

Joe exhibited some unusual candor when he said, “Everybody’s welcomed to hear the gospel.”

The meeting was soon over, and the event never happened.

What we discovered that day was there are yet Samaritans among us. We still need to hear the words of Jesus, and to follow him.

The Elusive Easter Spirit

There are normally two “spirits” floating around in our churches: the Christmas spirit and the Easter spirit! Christmas covers the world with love. We’re kind to almost everyone and give gifts to people we sometimes don’t appreciate as we should at other times, such as the mail carrier and the sanitation workers. And even those who don’t support their churches too well are drawn to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day worship.

The same is true for Easter, at least for the Christian community. It’s the high point of the liturgical year. Easter worship doesn’t have to be elaborate since worshipers are excited and joyful. Would that we had this same attitude year-round!

The early church had the Easter spirit. The church was made up of former Jewish worshipers accustomed to biblical teachings about the Sabbath. But Christians moved their worship day to Sunday to commemorate the resurrection. Eight times the church is described as worshiping in the book of Acts, and each time was on the first day of the week rather than the seventh. Every worship day was a reminder of the resurrection.

I think we can continue with the Easter spirit if we commit to several things.

First, we make the resurrection of Jesus the foundation of our lives and teaching. If he weren’t raised, our teaching and preaching would be like teaching Shakespeare. We study Shakespeare for the intricate plots he wove and his masterful character development. But we don’t study Shakespeare in order to change lives. We don’t commit to following Shakespeare like we commit to following Jesus. We believe our living Savior summons us to follow him in a life of holiness, and we walk in partnership with him.

Second, we share the same mission given the first believers. The task given them seemed impossible. They were to saturate their world with the gospel message. This was in a day without modern transportation or modern communication. But the first disciples took this task seriously and we profit today because they were faithful to take the redemption message to the world.

Third, we must be committed to serving Christ, even in days of difficulty. None of us have faced the trials the church faced in the first century. Emperor Nero instigated the first widespread persecution of the church, blaming peaceful and gentle Christians for burning Rome. Christians were arrested, imprisoned and many thrown into the Colosseum to face gladiators or wild beasts.

Their dedication to the Lord puts mine to shame. But we must commit to the Lordship of Christ in every area of our lives in order to live out the true spirit of Easter. We must be faithful until the day of our resurrection.

What Hath God Wrought?

It was a new day in 1858 when America and Great Britain celebrated the first trans-Atlantic cable message from Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan. The 99-word message took 17 hours and 40 minutes to travel under the sea. The message was transmitted on Aug. 16 and delivered on Aug. 17.

Contrast this with a modern couple who posted photos of their newborn daughter on the Internet within minutes of her birth for their American family to view. Nothing unusual about this, except the new father and mother were in Japan!

A few years ago I got a church ministry assistant in another city on the phone. I sent a photo attachment to her via computer and talked with her as she identified the people in the picture to me.  Such was impossible a few years ago when we relied on mail service that might take days to accomplish. I talked about this in class the next day and the college students simply rolled their eyes!

Young people take instantaneous communication for granted, but I still sometimes marvel at what we have now. We've come a long way since Samuel F. B. Morse's simple telegraph message in 1844: "What hath God wrought?"

Not only is communication far swifter today, but there's more of it. The latest figures available state nearly seven billion cell phones are in use. I still find it hard to fathom that grammar school children have cell phones in their backpacks, but it's a new day. I've chided college students for bringing phones to class fearing they might potentially interrupt, but many students don't wear wrist watches anymore. Their cell phones are their watches.

By the way, I understand the most common question when talking on a cell phone is "Where are you?" Former NPR on-air personality Garrison Keillor was correct when he called them modern-day “locator devices"!

We have a lot to say today and we can say it very quickly.

During this Easter season we focus on a very significant message delivered by an angel at the empty tomb: "He is not here. He is risen" (Matthew 28: 6). 

Angels in the Bible have two purposes: to praise God and to deliver messages. Come to think of it, Christians have the same calling. We praise God corporately in public worship and privately in personal devotion. And we're charged to complete the four Easter imperatives in our lives: come, see, go and tell (vs. 6-7).

We've found forgiveness and new life in Christ. Now it's God's plan that we take the message to others. And God is good to have given us modern technology the church can "baptize" and use to communicate to our world.

A Friday To Remember

The wind in my face was bitterly cold in downtown Dallas a few years ago. My continuing education classes had ended at the seminary in nearby Ft. Worth, so the afternoon was free for some sightseeing.

A chill came over me independent of the temperature when I walked onto Dealey Plaza and saw firsthand those sights emblazoned in my memory: Elm Street, the triple overpass and the sixth floor window.

I thought back to that terrible Friday in November, 1963. Our class had just returned from lunch when Mr. Vines, our principal, made an announcement on the intercom.

“Boys and girls,” he said, “some of you may’ve heard already that our president’s been shot. Let’s try to finish out the day in school and I’ll let you know the latest news when I hear more.”

Nevertheless, the senseless death of President Kennedy so paralyzed us that I don’t remember our doing much work in school that Friday afternoon. I remember being glued to the television throughout the weekend and during the funeral on Monday.

That Friday in November will live in the bad memory section of my brain forever.

This week the world remembers another bleak Friday on which Jesus of Nazareth was murdered.

His death was senseless, too, for he’d done no wrong. In fact, bribed witnesses had to be brought in to lie about him at his trial. One of the thieves who died with him realized Jesus' innocence: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23: 41).

British writer Richard Jefferies told of a little boy who gazed at a graphic painting of Calvary and exclaimed, “If God had been there, he wouldn’t have let them do it!”

But God was there! He wasn't removed from the event at Calvary. Paul insisted “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).

God was present at the cross, and he showed us that he loves us in spite of disobedience, that he offers forgiveness to all and that he wants to be our partner in building a life filled with hope.

God’s redemptive plan wasn’t completed on Friday. The Father was faithful to his son and raised him on the third day. Now God promises to welcome all his children on the other side of death.

In light of God’s ultimate plan we believers have renamed that awful Friday. 

We call it Good Friday. 

And so it is.

Wise Counsel From Prison

He was young when he became interested in the work of John the Baptist, and through him met Jesus. But now he was an old man facing the wrath of Rome. The city burned in July 64, and the corrupt Emperor Nero found a scapegoat in the Christians. The followers of Jesus were a peaceful people who went about doing good but were easy to falsely accuse. 

All Peter had to do was deny Christ and go free. But he remained faithful.

We think Peter might have written his first letter during his time of incarceration. He took a moment to exhort younger pastors who would carry on the work in his absence (1 Peter 5: 1-4).

“Work willingly, and not of compulsion,” he wrote. This means that the call of God thrust upon a pastor is a joyful burden. Pastors serve because they see value in the work of helping others, not because they feel pressure from anyone or any source. The adage is true, “Do what you love, and you won’t work a day in your life.”

Secondly, Peter said the pastor mustn’t work for wealth, or as the King James Version states, avoid “filthy lucre.” I’ve known very few pastors who tried to grow rich. Most have the burden of school debts and the burden of self-employment taxes according to IRS guidelines! I’m probably typical of many, and I completed my degree work at age 31 and purchased my first house at age 35.

There was a standing joke at the seminary I attended. One couple lamented that they again had pork and beans for dinner the night before.

“What! You mean you had pork with your beans?” another couple exclaimed!

There have been celebrated cases of some who handled money irresponsibly in their quest for wealth, but, fortunately, these are few.

Finally, Peter advised the younger pastors to lead by example, not by fiat. A pastor must exercise authority as he administers the church, but his leadership must be empowering and respectful. In an emergency, he can say, “Do this now!” But in the customary work of ministry he must say, “I believe this is the best way. Let’s do it together.” And his life must reflect the principles he preaches on Sunday. It must be “do as I do,” not, “do as I say.”

Of course, no pastors are sinless, and they need to readily admit it when they mess up, repenting before the Lord and confessing to the people. Part of leading by example is being open to our mistakes and turning from them when we learn better.

Peter’s words from prison yet encompass sage advice for pastors as they shepherd the Lord’s flock.

Suffering For The Right Reason

I was completing my junior year at Minor High School when Ms. Lamb pulled me aside one day and said A.B. Baggott and I were named to Boys State that summer. I wasn’t sure what this was, but she explained it was a week-long civics lesson including a trip to the state capital for meetings with elected leaders. And so it happened that I was assigned to City Nine with 40-50 other high-schoolers.

Part of Boys State was the military regime of morning calisthenics and marching to meals and classes. Some of the City Nine boys decided to invent marching cadences with profanity and sexual references. After a few days I went to talk with our counselor. I told him I’d just made a recommitment of faith and was trying to be a better Christian, and these cadences weren’t honoring to God nor to the purpose of Boys State.  He agreed, and suggested we have nightly devotions the final three nights. He asked me to lead the devotions. I quickly assented, though later remembering I was away from home without devotional aids in hand!

I heard some grumbling in the showers the next morning after the plan was announced. But each city awarded a Best Citizen Award at the end of the week, and City Nine gave me its award.

I’ve told this story to youth groups over the years not to praise myself, but to illustrate that often when we take a stand, we face affirmation rather than derision.

I really can’t say I ever suffered for my faith. Boys State was the closest I ever came, and even that fell short of suffering. But Simon Peter knew suffering first hand. He was pastor of the Christian church in Rome. He preached a gospel of peace and did good works but was arrested with the false charge of plotting to burn the city. He wrote to fellow believers in Rome and told them suffering is part of following Christ, and we must do so with joy, seeking to bring honor to God. But he also exhorted his spiritual family not to suffer as law-breakers. Christians are to be law-abiding citizens in all respects (1 Peter 4: 12-19).

It’s always disconcerting to hear Christians hide behind their testimony when they’re caught with their hands in the cookie jar. One robbery suspect did this in Mobile last year when on the “perp walk” at the Mobile Police Department he told reporters, “I love Jesus to death!”

We’ve also seen this kind of thing more recently and more seriously with sexual abuse accusations.

When Christians mess up, we must acknowledge our wrong and repent, not hide behind the façade of hypocritical faith.

Thank God For Billy Graham

I respect churches who allow young preachers to hold forth in their earliest days of ministry. I was 17 when I preached the first time. I told the church all I knew, and a lot I wasn’t sure of, in my 11-minute sermon!

I was a Samford student when a church in the Birmingham area contacted me about filling their pulpit. It became an eight-month commitment as their interim pastor. I remember a senior adult in the church named Charlie. He was retired and went to Bible conferences all over the area, and everybody knew him.

The Billy Graham organization planned a crusade at Legion Field in 1972. Charlie was involved. He told me to come “backstage” one night and he’d introduce me to Billy Graham. I thought, “Right!”, but I met Charlie backstage one night and he introduced me to Billy Graham. I was so taken by the man’s presence I think the only words I thought of to say were, “God bless you, sir.” He shook my hand and he was gone.

I’ve jokingly told folks over the years that I’ve had a blessed ministry since I once shook hands with Billy Graham, “and the glory of God spilled out all over me”!

The world lost a great man recently when Graham made his heavenly homegoing.

He’s one of very few non-politicians who lay in state at the U.S. Capitol, and whose funeral was attended by the president and vice president of the United States.

A hobby club friend posted on social media last week his opinion that Graham’s ministry was tainted because he didn’t speak out strongly for civil rights. Au contraire, I responded to him. I remembered the ’72 event, and the Graham organization’s insistence that the crusade be fully integrated. This brought a measure of blow-back from racists in our town, I’m sorry to say. But Graham was a pioneer in bringing all people together and to Christ.

I’m sure Graham could’ve been more outspoken for civil rights or world peace or whatever else, but he was single-minded in his quest to present Christ to as many as possible throughout the world.

The Apostle Paul was also single-minded. He’s been criticized for tolerating slavery in the Roman Empire. It’s been estimated that one-third of the Empire were slaves. But if Paul had taken a stand, the Empire would’ve crushed him like a bug. He chose, rather, to plant churches to do the work of Christ. Paul planted a seed, however, when he told Philemon to treat his runaway slave not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.

Thank God for Billy Graham and his single-minded quest to preach grace to a needy world.