Not Your Average Meal

“Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people." - Luke 14:12-14

To say that Jesus was the “atypical” dinner guest is an understatement of the first magnitude.  Recently, I was reading through Luke chapter fourteen in preparation for a lesson and was again reminded of how "social" Jesus was throughout his ministry. He was tagged a "glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34).  In the Gospel of Luke Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal or leaving a meal! 

The meal scene in Luke 14 is bizarre and awkward.  It begins with a spontaneous healing that offended most of the guests which in turn leads to Jesus telling the guests how to seat themselves at the next party (go low before you go high!) to instructing the host to invite a different crowd the next time he throws a party.  Talk about rude.  But Jesus' only interest was in expanding their minds about the kingdom - not winning the congeniality award!  

As a child I regarded the parables of Jesus as simple stories.  Light, innocent, informative stories that gave us insight into Jesus’ ministry.  The more I meditate on these brief stories, especially the one in Luke 14, the more I realize they are heavy, challenging and educational bombshells that show us what the kingdom of God should look like. 

Occasionally, we get into conversations with each other about the “”identifying marks of the church.”  Been in one of those recently?  The “marks”, as we call them, usually materialize into things like baptism, the assembly (how it’s done), certain doctrinal points, acapella singing and so on.  As best I can remember, I can’t recall a single conversation about our “marks” that eventually referred to the above text in Luke 14.   

In their book The Tangible Kingdom Hugh Halter and Matt Smay ask the following questions:  “Do people take us Christians seriously?  Do they respect us and our way of life?  Do the spiritually hungry look to the average evangelical church for help, or would they rather go buy a self-help book at Barnes & Noble?”

Later in the book they point out some stats from The Barna Group remarking that almost every statistical reference to the church indicates that we not only can’t draw people, but we can’t even keep the ones we have.  Between 2004 and 2007 they discovered the following statistics about the American population.

1. 1/3 of the adult population has not attended any type of church service or activity other than a special event such as a funeral or a wedding during the year.
2. One out of three adults is classified as “unchurched” meaning that they do not attend a church service of any kind.  When you project these statistics across the aggregate population, the numbers are staggering.  An estimated 73 million adults are presently unchurched.  When teens and children are added, the total swells to roughly 100 million Americans.
3. Roughly half of all churches in America did not add one new person through conversion growth last year.
4. In America it takes the combined effort of eighty-five Christians working over an entire year to produce one convert.

Walter and Smay conclude with this stirring comment:

“The inescapable conclusion is that we must throw out any notion that God is truly at the center of the church’s heart in North America.  The shift in society’s view of the church has resulted in the marginalization of the church and the secularization of society.  Christianity has lost its place at the center of American life.  Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who not longer occupy the center of society.  We must learn to build relational bridges that win a hearing.” 

 

A handful of counseling conversations and spontaneous chats with people in the streets over the past three weeks have again awakened me to some realities:

1.  Luke 14 needs to be “a mark”.

2.  The way we do church right now in most places isn’t calibrated to fit Luke 14 into the system in a way that will allow it to do much more than stir our minds much less our imaginations.

3.  It is imperative that we put the blessing of people with the good news of the gospel over our traditionalism.  I think the Head of the church is paying attention to what we do with this one…big time!

4.  We need to examine our hearts and take a hard look at our capability and willingness to interface with people in genuine ways outside of our conventional gatherings.  Jesus said, “Go…” but what does going “look like…today?” 

5.  Whatever stands between us and serious conversation about this “simple episode” in Luke 14 needs to be kicked to the curb while we can still kick. 

Henry Nouwen in Gracias writes:

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water and be known as someone who wants to live with them.  It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simply ministry of presence.  Still, it is not as simple as it seems.

My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets.  It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around and urgent cause and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress.

But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell our own and to let them know with words, handshakes and hugs that you do not simply like them – but truly love them.

O Lord teach us to do just that.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Stand or Kneel: Does it Matter?

Matthew 15:1-9
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8  “‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Jesus was for tradition.  We occasionally hear the apostle Paul comment about tradition.  Tradition is never a byword in scripture.  Tradition has always been a major component in giving shape to personal and corporate faith.  

But, Jesus did take issue with traditionalism.  In the spirit of Old Testament prophets like Amos, Jeremiah and Isaiah, Jesus shined the light on a traditionalism that was constructed out of the building blocks of skewed ideas and comfort zones of the flesh from which a sign hung that read:  the will of the Lord. 

Have you ever asked yourself how traditionalism goes-to-seed in a person?  We don’t study ourselves into it.  We observe it first and then bring texts alongside our perspective and practice.  In short, we practice our way into interpretation.  When a particular practice is based on healthy interpretation then faith is allowed to flourish offering a genuine and beautiful presentation of the gospel. The counterpart is unhealthy but wrapped in language and a passion that passes itself off as “the way of the Lord.”    

I noticed an example of this at a singing recently.  The chorus of a particular song says, “And I stand, I stand in awe of you.”  When we got to the “stand” part…you guessed it…we stood.  I have been in many congregational, group and retreat settings in which people traditionally stand when we get to that part of the song.  Do we stand “in awe” at that point or do we stand because the song says “I stand”?  That’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it?  But, something happened later that sets this in bold relief.  We sang a song that had the words, “I bend my knees in praise…” and “I raise my hands to you”.  The second song called for bodily expression – just like standing in the song a few minutes earlier – but...we sat still.  There was no “bending of knees” and no “raising of hands.”  Our comfort zone (familiarity zone, conditioning, practice) has allowed for – even encouraged – standing as THE appropriate expression.  Bending and raising are just as plain linguistically, but our social norms have conditioned us to put a premium on standing.   Why do we defer to one action and exclude the others?  Plainly, we are more comfortable with the one action than we are with the other two.  I suppose at stake here is what we are actually doing in song.  Are we singing out of nostalgia and a herd mentality or have we truly chosen to give physical expression to what is in our hearts?  Bending and raising can be dismissed as strange and perhaps “showy.”  Of greater concern here is how traditionalism has affected how we think about what we are “actually” doing when we are singing.  And…that’s just one example. 

Jesus’ words stand before us as much more than a blistering declaration against the aberrations within Judaism of his day.  They speak to us about how we reflect on and express faith today.  They summon us outside of ourselves.  They ask us to step outside of our congregational atmospheres and to breath a different kind of air.  They beckon us to take a long hard look at how we think about faith and what really matters.  Have the minors become majors and the majors minors in our way of thinking?  Do we passionately defend things that in our estimation are “of God” while missing the things that are truly “of God?”  Do we lean conveniently into socially engineered phrases like “comfort zone” and “that offends me” so we can maintain the wall between ourselves and critical thought?  I’ve done it on occasion.  Why?  My reasons are the same as anybody’s:  Fear of change, arrogance, ignorance masquerading as knowledge, trusting an environment instead of thinking…for myself…for a change.  Other things could be listed.  What’s on your list?

The aforementioned is a major baseline on which any group of Christians thinks, lives and serves.  Christians have always struggled with sorting this out.  The spiritual optimist in me says that if we can allow ourselves a more acute awareness of this baseline we increase our ability to think about faith and live with each other in a maturity that lives in the spirit of the message Jesus delivered in Matthew 15.  What is most important here is that we do our best to “think critically” about what we are doing, defending, and championing.  We might ask ourselves:  1.)  Who is the Lord? and, 2.) How does this honor Him?  To do otherwise, Jesus says, is to follow roads of thought and practice that lead to forms of worship that come short of what God intends for us as persons and as communities of faith.  

Father, give us eyes to see who we are and what we do the way you want us to see it.  May we be more interested in the heart of our faith than its trimmings.  Help us to glean from your word the shape of life that honors you in all that we do and say.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

We are What We Believe

This past weekend, my 13 year old son’s select baseball team played in a tournament in Dallas.  Upon arriving at the field for the first game, my son opened his door and was told by his father to be careful and watchful of the car next to ours. Tyler jumped out and reached to grab his bag when his door pushed open wider, tapping (literally tapping, no scratch) the door of the car...the $60,000 car.  The owner who was sitting in his $60,000 car flew out in an absolute rage screaming profanity in the face of our son, words that his virgin ears had never heard.  The man continued to yell, out of control, about his $60,000 car, despite the calm urging of my 6 ft. 4 husband to not speak that way in front of our child. The man was later rebuked by the baseball commissioner and his team’s coaches for his behavior.  I was so proud of my husband for controlling himself (which was incredibly difficult) and setting a Christian example for our son.  It made a huge impact on our son--not only respect for his father, but he will be much more attentive when getting out of our vehicle in a parking lot. One last bit of information, without any spitefulness (almost) …my son’s team won the tournament.

All kidding aside, have you noticed that God, at some point in our lives, puts us next to another person whose personal habits irritate us? I strongly believe He does this to develop Christ-like character in us, particularly patience, and to help us change for the good of other people.  I think the most spiritual person is the one who accepts irritating things with patience, bearing with the other person in love, and keeping the peace.

Did your parents ever remind you to remember who you are in regards to your behavior? What we believe matters. We are what we believe.  In Ephesians 4, Paul reminds us that the very highest calling a human being can have is living up to our inheritance in Christ.  Verses 1-6 list character traits that give us direction in this calling: humility and gentleness, patience – bearing with one another in love, and striving to keep unity.  We all know that unity can be very difficult at times and possible only by the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit which dwells in all believers.  It is this unity we immediately recognize when we meet a genuine Christian and it is by the gift of the Spirit that we can call on those traits when dealing with an irritating situation.

True belief in Christ can never be separate from Christ-like behavior.  What God requires is not easy and it is not natural, but the love of Christ gives us courage, strength, and traits to model.

Carla Henson
Tuscola, Texas

The Hunter Games

Do you have a competitive spirit? 

I was raised in a family that enjoyed spirited competition.  We were taught to do our best.  Go hard.  Leave it all on the court, or the field, or wherever the challenge was to be engaged but make sure you did it within the rules.  We didn’t win every time.  Not by a long shot.  When the challenge was over, life resumed.  Competition had its place.  And, I think that’s a good way to put it.  It had its “place.”  At the end of the day, people were still people.  There were other things that mattered in life more than first, second and third.  Medals and ribbons were nice.  They meant something, but not every thing. 

 

I saw a story the other day about an early Easter egg hunt for preschool age kids in a small town in Colorado.  Because of the behavior of the parents, “future hunts” had to be canceled.  I believe they called it “aggressive parental involvement.”  When the hunt started, parents hopped the fence and motivated their children to hurry to as many eggs as possible.  They provided their children with a parental GPS for locating eggs!  Within a few minutes the hunt was over.  Many of the children found an egg or two.  Some didn’t get a single egg!  But some children achieved a full basket.  You can't help but wonder what "thought seedlings" are manifesting in an experience like this one.  Certainly, it is only "one" egg hunt and not near enough to argue for a full blown philosophy of life.  But, the expereince itself and the herd mentality that went along with it suggest there is something there that should get our attention.  Fast forward this reality show into the future.  I wonder what the middle school and high school years will look like if this “behavior” continues?  What happens when those same parents can’t cross over into the arena of live competition? What happens when their child doesn’t come in first, second or third?  What happens when they don’t make the team, win the position or get the accolade?   Will they have the tools of thought and heart that will be needed to help them sort through the emotional and psychological challenges that often come with such real life experiences?  Self-image, relational skills and a host of other things will hang in the balance, too.

Ambition and competition are good things I think.  Left to themselves they turn us into an unfeeling, obsessed with production, get-ahead-at all-cost culture.  We lose touch with what is noble and right in ourselves and life in general.  People can easily become tools we use for our own ends or obstacles that need to be conquered or removed.  And, as much as I wish I could say this applies to secular folk, I can’t.  Christians are in this arena as much as anybody.  Been to a soccer game lately…for little kids?  Watched any little league baseball?  Ever listened to somebody blow off steam about the politics that came to bear on a school competition for children that had more parents involved than children?  You know what I’m talking about. 

Paul reminded Christian slaves about the outlook they should possess as those who served in less than desirable circumstances.  In a truly “dog-eat-dog” world, Paul says:

Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. – Colossians 3:22-23 (The Message)

We need Christians in the mix of things.  We need to do our best in whatever and wherever we choose to be involved.  We need to instill this in our children.  I don’t think the gospel is anti-ambition.  However, it does tell us to temper ambition with noble principles that keep ambition “between the bar ditches” to borrow a Texas expression.  That kind of excellence is a rare thing indeed.  Our culture needs to see it.  They need to see us model it in our schools, in games of skill, from the sidelines, in the stands, on Face book and in the coffee shop.  It is another way to let people know what the Word says about excellence through our lives. We work (and play) heartily but, we do it for the Lord.  

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Incarnation means...?

To state the obvious, today is the day after Christmas. And...what do we do? The day after Easter is easy. Hurrah! Jesus is risen! We can celebrate the gift of salvation, the beauty of life’s victory over death, the relief of forgiveness of sin for as long as we want. But, Christmas. Jesus is born. Then what?

There are many trite things that can be said (and, to be fair, that have been said) about the “true meaning of Christmas” and “the reason for the season.” Those are all good things. But I think there’s a bit more to it than focusing on the nativity, giving and sharing with the less fortunate, and investing valuable time in friends and family, all in the name of the baby Jesus.

There are various feelings that come with the day after Christmas--relief, disappointment, anticipation, weariness, etc. That’s probably because we don’t really know what to do with a baby savior. We don’t know what to celebrate, what to be thankful for, beyond that which comes on Christmas Day, specifically. We know how to anticipate His coming in the days leading up to Christmas. We’re kind of at a loss after He gets here.

But think about it. It is a representation of the full meaning of the covenant that we have with the Lord as His people. Christmas is so hard to comprehend because everything about Christmas says that that which is impossible is, in fact, possible. Gods don’t become human. Gods don’t live like dirty, poor, reviled humans. Gods don’t die. And human bodies don’t rise from the dead. But God says “Yes!” to all of these impossibilities.

Jesus’ birth--this first appearance of God incarnate to man--is the beginning of the promise that we love, the promise that says God is with us “always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The name “Immanuel” means “God with us.” This goes beyond the few months between Christmas and Easter. It characterizes the way we walk in faith daily.

We are celebrating the fullness of our covenant and the character of our God as we celebrate Christmas, and this goes beyond Christmas Day. This is sacred time, when we are reminded that our God does not stand aloof and separate from us, but enters our lives, willingly and humbly.

So, maybe it is a little trite, but that’s just because it’s almost too simple to be true. God is with us. But that isn’t all. Just as Jesus was God incarnate, we are called to live lives of incarnational spirituality. We are called to live fully in this world and in the covenant that we have with the Father, just as Jesus did. This is the essence of what it means to be a “whole person.”

When we think of “incarnation,” we think of Jesus’ entrance into the world. It’s more than that. Incarnation involves connection and relationship. Jesus’ incarnation is a manifestation of who we are called to be as His disciples--people of connections and relationships, and of connections to God and to man.

Not only does Jesus’ birth remind us of what we are promised, it also reminds us of who we are called to be.

“But to all who did receive Him,
He gave them the right to be
   children of God
to those who believe in His name,
who were born,
not of blood,
or of the will of the flesh,
or of the will of man,
but of God.
The Word became flesh
and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory,
the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father
full of grace and truth . . . .
No one has ever seen God.
The One and Only Son --
the One who is at the Father’s side --
He has revealed Him.”
--John 1:12-14, 18

Amen.

Erin E. Daugherty
Abilene Christian University

A Secure Heart

There is probably nothing more exciting and heartwarming than to hear the story of family members who get to meet for the very first time.   I recently had such an experience myself while attending a conference on the west coast.

It was a glorious, tropical day, one of those picture-perfect days when you feel God’s presence in the beauty of nature and can hardly wait to get outside.  My friends and I had just arrived at the elevator when I noticed a young woman who was visibly shaken and trembling.   She slowly made her way to the elevator. With her back to us and her head bowed, rode quietly with us to the lobby.  She was first to get off the elevator and I was not really paying attention when one of my friends looked back and pointed her out to me.  I went to her and told her that I could tell she was upset and wondered if there was anything I could do to help.  I had no idea I was meeting a sister for the very first time.

As we sat and visited, it quickly became apparent that we had several things in common.   Early in our conversation I could tell that she was a believer so it did not take me long to ask what church she went to.  She identified herself with a Church of Christ in her community.  I then told her that I too had been a lifelong member of the Church of Christ.  She was astounded!  She said she knew there were many other churches of Christ in the world but was surprised that I was even familiar with the church.    

Through her tears she began to share her story.  She first told me that she was planning to take her life.  She had written a letter to her sister and had written several notes including one to the housekeeper who would find her in the room, apologizing for what she had done.   

She had traveled two hours the day before to meet a young man whom she had known since high school.  They had kept in touch by phone but she had not seen him in three years.  She traveled by train and had planned to meet him for dinner, visit and then return home.  She had not told anyone where she was going.  She knew her family and friends would not approve.  After dinner her friend had taken her to the hotel and they visited there for several hours.   She was devastated when he told her that he did not love her and would not be seeing her again.  She said in spite of the fact that their families would never approve of their relationship, due to cultural and religious differences, she loved him and told him that if she could not be with him, when he left she would take her life. She wanted more than anything for him to love her unconditionally as she loved him.  

My sweet sister was in the depths of depression!  She had left the room to make a phone call, to tell her sister goodbye.  She felt everyone would be better off if she just went away, evaporated from their lives.  She could see no reason to live.  Her father had left her mother when she was one year old.  She knew that he had sexually abused her sister who was ten when she was born. Her mother blamed her sister for breaking up their marriage.

She continued to tell of the difficulties she had faced throughout her twenty-three years.  Her heart was breaking as she shared that a year ago she had given birth to a baby girl.  She had given her up for adoption.  I pointed out to her that someday that little girl may want to know her biological mother.  Had she thought about how it would affect her when she learned that her mother had taken her own life?

I asked if there was anything she ever dreamed of doing.  She said she had always wanted to be a cosmetologist.  When I inquired as to why she had not followed this dream, she said everyone told her it was not possible.  I assured her that God loves her and that He has a plan and a purpose for her life.  I told her that by His grace and with His help, she could accomplish whatever she wanted in life.   

I was able to share about experiences in my life when I also needed help.  I told her about the death of my husband to whom I had been married for forty-eight years.  I shared with her a description of “true love”, a mutual love between a man and woman as God intended from the beginning of time, a love worth the wait.  

We went to my room to make some phone calls.  She called the friend who left her at the hotel to let him know she did not follow through with her plan.  When I had finished praying she asked if she could pray.  With a sincere and contrite heart she earnestly confessed her sins and thanked God for intervening and saving her life.  

She had me call her boss and her sister to let them know she was fine and would be going home on the afternoon train.  She called a friend from church who was   happy to hear from her.  She said she would arrange for someone to meet her at the train station and take her to a service they were having at church that evening.

She listened attentively as I encouraged her to share with members of her church family who could help her through this difficult time in her life.  I suggested she see a physician and told her she could get help and did not have to feel this way.  She shared contact information with me and I, with her.  I have emailed her and recently spoken with her on the phone.  She assured me that things are much better.  I look forward to staying in touch with my precious sister.  “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

My sister and I have so little and yet so very much in common.  We both have experienced broken hearts and I’m sure will continue at times to be faced with challenges beyond our wildest imaginations.  However, we do know how to secure our hearts.  Our loving Father whom we share has seen to that!

An age-old hymn, one I sang as a girl growing up, comes to mind, “How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?
   “How shall the young secure their hearts, and guard their lives from sin? Thy word the choicest rules imparts to keep the conscience clean, to keep the conscience clean, to keep the conscience clean.
   Tis, like the sun, a heav’nly light, that guides us all the day, and thro’ the dangers of the night, a lamp to lead our way, a lamp to lead our way, a lamp to lead our way.
   Thy word is everlasting truth; how pure is every page!  That holy book shall guide our youth, and well support our age, and well support our age, and well support our age.”  

Jan Alderfer

Stephenville, TX

In Peace and Truth

Have you ever found yourself thinking thoughts of judgment when you encounter someone who worships at a different place than you do or has different religious views than you? I know I am guilty of this from time to time.  Its subconscious, I don’t even realize it, but I sometimes consider myself better, in some way, because I worship at the ‘Church of Christ’.  Now, before any one gets their feathers ruffled by my statements, hear me out.

My choice to worship at a particular address does not make me better than any one else.  I have made a choice where to worship, who to worship with and the beliefs in which I hold true based on fundamental teachings in the bible.  I boldly defend the points which I believe and know to be important to my salvation.  Scripture tells us to be cautious of those preaching false teachings and we should be on guard.  But that doesn’t give me the right to consider myself greater than someone else because of our differing views.  This should be even more reason to be humble, compassionate and SHOW Christ through action and peace.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:11-22: "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Christ died for ALL of us. Not just me. Not just you.  Throughout Paul’s writing about the reconciliation of the Gentiles with God through the sacrifice of Christ, he talks of peace.  Christ destroyed the barriers of hostility between the Jews and Gentiles and made access to the Father for ALL.  I must refrain from passing judgment on others different than myself and make it a point in my discussions to make statements of truth in peace and love. 1 Timothy 6:20-21 says, "Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith."

We do have to be on guard for false teachings or distortions of the truth.  It is easy in the P-C society we live in to avoid asking questions about the details of someone else’s faith, afraid we may step on toes.  It is important to engage in conversation with those we encounter about the TRUTH, the only truth in God’s written word.  However, because of the reconciliation talked about in Ephesians, we must do it in peace and not in a hostile or arrogant manner.  Certainly, someone should question my authenticity if I am not peaceful and humble in my convicted discussions about the WORD. 

I encourage you to be firm in your spiritual discussions with others while maintaining peace and resisting hostility.  The only way others will come to know Christ in the way his Father intends, is by us sharing the truth of the scripture in a way that is loving and compassionate, just like our Father is with us.

Father, please forgive me for failing to show others peace and humility in my encounters with them.  Please help me to be humble yet firm in my convictions when sharing your word.  Thank you for sending your son as the reconciliation for all people.  Thank you for your forgiveness, love and grace.In Jesus name, amen.

Michelle Tittor
Grapevine, TX

A Faith They Can See

The world we live in has many modern conveniences.  One such convenience is the internet.  Today, information can be passed from sender to recipient in near “real-time”.  Articles can be written and “posted” for the entire world to read with just a click of a button.  Also, readers can respond to an article and “post it” at the bottom of the page immediately after reading the article.  In pre-internet times, article feedback occurred in the evening at the dinner table during the family meal, the next morning at the coffee shop, at work by the water cooler, or, if one was really moved, in a special section of the local newspaper called the “Opinion Section.”

While reading an article online the other day, I happen to glance down at a few of the comments posted by fellow Americans and one in particular got my attention.  The article pertained to a recent public protest over Corporate America with respect to home loan foreclosures.  The following statement is what caught my eye:
Why does it have to turn into a liberal/conservative thing.  Why can't we as humans have compassion for those who strugle or have life changing situations happen to their families?  Sometimes I get disgusted a this so called "Christian" nation that would rather ridicule those who struggle than find a solution to assist those who need it.  We are not the greatest country in the world.  The greatest country in the world would find a way to help their own people in times of need."
 

Hmmm... 

Now, apart and aside from the content of the article, the validity of the argument of those on either side of the issue, and the relativity of the issue with life in general, the words “…so called “Christian” nation…” raised some disturbing questions in my mind.  Questions like…what does a “Christian” nation look like?  What does a Christian look like?  Are Christian’s different from the rest of the world?  If you are not Christian, can you identify a Christian if you met one on the street?  If you are a Christian, can you identify a fellow “brother” or “sister” in Christ on the street?  Most disturbing of all….would someone recognize you/me as a follower of Christ?

As I reflected on this, I remembered a situation involving Jesus, a blind man, and the Pharisees.  Jesus healed the blind man who had been blind since birth.  His neighbors were so perplexed with the situation and the claim he made about Christ being the one who had healed him that they took him to the Pharisees to see if they could make sense of it.  The Pharisees were recognized as the religious folk during that time and if anyone could figure out who Jesus was it would be them.  But, when the Pharisees learned of this miracle and because it was performed on the Sabbath which broke an old law, they questioned the authenticity of Christ.  They couldn’t see/believe that Jesus was sent by God.  Finally, after twice questioning the blind man about where he believed Jesus had come from, he responds… “Now that is remarkable!  You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does his will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”  (John 9:30-33)

Why couldn’t the Pharisees see Jesus as the Messiah, sent by God?  They had knowledge of God and His intent to send a Messiah.  Better yet, how did the lowly blind man, often thought of as a sinner because of his condition, recognize Christ as being sent by God?

To answer the first question, the Pharisees were spiritually blinded by greed, envy, and selfishness.  They claimed to have “sight”, but their behavior proved otherwise.  More importantly, I think the blind man received his sight by EXPERIENCING Christ.

As followers of Christ, we are summoned into a relationship with our Heavenly Father and that is an incredible experience.  But, like Jesus, we, too, are “sent” to seek the lost.  The scriptures describe Christians as being “Salt, Leaven, and Light” and a “Sweet Aroma”.  Our interactions with others should be a meaningful experience that reflects the nature of Christ.  We should have a distinct flavor, demeanor, and attitude.  Are we to be discerning in worldly matters?  Absolutely!  But our discernment and actions must always be rooted in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  This is what sets us apart.  This should be how others identify us, know us, and speak of us. 

Rich and poor have this in common:  The Lord is the Maker of them all. (Proverbs 22:2)

  

Jesus said, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”  (John 3:20-21)

Father, help me to be visible in the crowd.  I want to shed light where there is darkness.

Give me strength and courage so I can help others see you.  In Christ, Amen.

Todd Adams

Dublin, Texas

Jesus, The Reconciler

When I grew up on a cotton farm in New Home, Lynn County, Texas, my brother who was four years older than me (named Larry) sometimes terrorized me.  My nickname was ‘crybaby’. Often, we hoed together in the cotton field.  Most of the time, everything went well.  But, occasionally, when we had a major disagreement, we settled it with dirt clods or the big cotton boles if they were ripe enough.  I HAD A MAJOR PROBLEM.  Larry could throw a lot harder. And, if all else failed in the ‘chunking’ fights, he was big enough and strong enough to beat the tar out of me.

I did not know what the word ‘reconciliation’ meant at the time.  But, I was happy for reconciliation when it happened with Larry.  Reconciliation means ‘the restoration of friendship, the removal of enmity, and the establishment of peace.’  All three aspects of reconciliation were a wonderful thing for a little brother.

When Paul describes the work of Jesus in the gospel, ‘reconciliation’ is one of the greatest blessings that we receive.  Colossians 1:20-22 tells us that Jesus ‘makes peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’  We were alienated from God and enemies of God because of our sin.  CAN YOU IMAGINE A ‘WORST POSSIBLE’ ENEMY TO HAVE THAN GOD??  I thought Larry was a formidable enemy as a child because of his size and strength.  But, imagine the God of the universe as my enemy.  

The good news, according to Romans 5:6-11, is that God INITIATES reconciliation.  Paul says that when we were powerless and sinners and enemies of God, God provided Jesus to die for us.  God took the initiative, not us.  

Our ‘reconciliation to God’ is the heart of the gospel message.  And there is something else.  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation by God (II Corinthians 5:17-21).  God expects us to be ‘reconcilers’.  As Christians who have been reconciled to God, we have an obligation to be reconciled to our enemies.  That was the purpose of Jesus’ reconciliation for the Jews and the Gentiles.  And, it is His purpose for us.  He expects us to be at peace with one another. 

Prayer:  Father, help me to appreciate what Jesus accomplished for me—establishing peace between me and You.  Help me to take seriously my task of reconciliation as I live in my home and in my community and in my church.

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas                      

That Beautiful Body

Gamers were recently able to decode a puzzle that has had scientists stumped for years. According to a Fox news article (see link below), online video gamers took three weeks to decipher the structure of a retrovirus protein that scientists have been unable to interpret for over a decade.

One of the big implications of this breakthrough is understanding the way the HIV virus replicates. With this new code cracked, scientists can create drugs to more accurately target the virus. (See the full article in the link below.).

Imagine the thousands of people who will be able to be treated, simply because scientists looked up from their microscopes and thought, “You know... I think someone else may be able to do this better than me.” They can’t be faulted for taking so long to realize. Haven’t you ever been so hyper-focused on a problem or situation that it never occurred to you to look at it a different way, or to seek help? I certainly have. My view is that turning to video gamers was a genius leap of creativity. 

I’m imagining the body of Christ working together so well, each member using his or her own genius not only to serve the Lord, but also to look around and see which other members can do what we cannot. Yes, the Lord is strong where we are weak, but God also calls us into community that can do things together.

The Lord saw the potential for people speaking the same language, focused on the same goal, as he looked on those building the tower at Babel: “The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6).

God has given each of us different and beautiful gifts. If you hear a call on your heart, but aren’t sure how to accomplish it, look up from your microscope. Maybe someone in your community can do it in a fraction of the time and energy it would take you. That is the beauty of the body of Christ.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27)

--
Sarah Stirman

"Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised."  Genesis 21:1
http://www.sarahstirman.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/SarahSt

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/19/us-gamers-crack-puzzle-in-aids-research-that-stumped-scientists-for-years/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/19/us-gamers-crack-puzzle-in-aids-research-that-stumped-scientists-for-years/

The universe, disturbed in our favor.
John 3:16-18

In the words of that Prufrockian anthem,
"Do I dare disturb the universe?"
Or am I allowing the universe to disturb me?
The sneaky lacerations of a world
so persistent in its hatred
decorate my back as I bend willingly.

My brethren, my people do willingly
sing--with me--a world-tainted anthem,
its chorus declaring hatred.
If we don't, if we, instead, disturb the universe,
we anger the world.
We turn the blame on me.

We turn the blame on "I," and "we," and "me"
when we live willingly
in the world, not of the world,
choosing to sing Prufrock's holy anthem
while the universe
listens with jealous hatred.

The air is permeated by the scent of hatred.
The smell fills me
with fear of my powerlessness in this universe.
Faced with such power, I do not willingly
sing our song, Death's anthem.
I am not ready to go at the hands of this world.

And our timid singing is drowned out by the world
and its hatred,
screaming its anthem
to the beat of its whip cracking over me,
destroying life so willingly,
holding its claim to the universe.

Do we dare disturb the universe?
"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son," willingly.
That Son did not give into hatred.
Sometimes I do, but He has not condemned me.
He disturbed it first, and that is our anthem.

Father, thank you for writing our anthem, saving us, saving me, by composing a tune that broke sin and resisted hatred.
Thank you for disturbing the universe for us, loving this world by making the ultimate sacrifice so willingly.

Amen.

To read the poem by T.S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," go to http://www.bartleby.com/198/1.html or listen to Eliot himself recite it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhiCMAG658M.
--
Erin Daugherty
Assistant Director, Nelson Hall
Passport/Welcome Week Student Director, FYP

The Gospel That Encompasses Everyone

Have you ever felt excluded?  When I was about 12, one of my uncles told me, ‘If you ever do anything like that again, you will never be welcome at my house again.’  I had been playing baseball in their back yard with my younger cousin.  When he slid into home base and I tagged him out, he had started crying.  I thought he was crying because I called him out at home.  My uncle thought I was ignoring an injury that he suffered.  The sternness and intensity of my uncle was devastating to me.  The thought of being ‘excommunicated’ from my little cousin’s home was heart breaking for a 12 year old.

Galatians was written by Paul to clarify the impact of the gospel.  Because some were perverting the gospel by requiring circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses, Gentiles were in danger of being excluded from the kingdom of God.  Paul will not allow this to happen.  In Galatians 2, he uses two examples to make his point.  On one occasion  in Jerusalem, there were those who wanted Titus to be circumcised.  Paul would not ‘give in to these false brothers for a moment’.  Paul knew that this requirement for Titus was a perversion of the gospel.

On another occasion in Antioch, Peter separated himself from some of his Gentile brothers.  He refused to eat with them because he was afraid of ‘losing face’ with a circumcision group from Judea.  Paul rebuked Peter face to face for his hypocrisy.  By Peter’s actions, he was ‘excluding’ these Gentile brothers from fellowship.

The message of Galatians is that ‘the gospel encompasses everyone.’  Peter knew this.  At the home of Cornelius, Peter said , “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.  I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”

We preach a gospel that encompasses everyone.  In your personal life and in our churches, how barrier-free are we?  Do we erect barriers to the kingdom of God or do we eliminate barriers?  The gospel is intended to be a message of inclusiveness, not exclusiveness.  How well is this message being lived by you today?

Prayer:  Lord, help me to understand the message of the gospel.  Help me to welcome into your kingdom Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, male and female.  Help me recognize as my brothers and sisters anyone who accepts your Son Jesus as Lord of their lives.

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas

With Eyes Wide-Open

Josh Bell is one of most renowned violinists in the world.  Several months ago he dressed up in street clothes and played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes in a busy Metro station in Washington D. C.  During that time only 6 people stopped to listen to him play.  No one knew that he is one of the top musicians in the world.  Or, that he played the six pieces on a violin valued at over 3.5 million dollars.  Or, that two days earlier he played to a sold out Boston crowd where seats averaged $100.  They just didn’t notice.  But, they caught the train on time! 

I wonder if we think about our life together in Christian community after a similar fashion?  Someone remarked the other day, “I think a lot of believers have reached critical mass in how they think about their faith – how they see themselves and those who are in journey with them.  We have developed a line of sight and a range of hearing that has reduced our vision of who we are in Christ down to something very predictable and ordinary. And, our lives look like it.” 

I want to encourage you to so something right now:  Read Ephesians 2:14-3:11.

The truth?  There is a fair amount of distance between how we typically think about the church and the vision of the church Paul describes in the book of Ephesians. 

Living with focus, zeal and courage is essentially a matter of “seeing” the church in the right perspective.  Can church become a drag?  Yes.  Is it hard sometimes.  Yes.  We’ve all had moments when we wanted to run for the hills.  We listen to the news, see brokenness in the streets and wonder if anything we do matters.  Pretty soon we just focus on “catching whatever trains are in our daily routines” and we miss the bigger picture of what is right in front of us. 

I need to be reminded that God is working through the church to demonstrate what reconciliation looks like and what a community of “rescued, healed, and Christ-formed people looks like as the Holy Spirit is able to do His work in our lives.  I need to be reminded that our word of faith and lives of faith matter because God is working through us to advance His purposes in our faithful moments.    

This past Sunday I preached a message from the Ephesians text I referred to above.  At the conclusion of the message I asked everybody to recite the following words with me. 

Today I am a participant in God’s magnificent work in Christ.

As such my life is a witness

…to the truth and sovereignty of the gospel,

…to powers both visible and invisible,

…and to every human being I meet.

Consequently, I will honor the believing community

by giving them my love, respect and service to the best of my ability.

This is my privilege and my calling.

Just imagine what our lives, families, leaderships, congregations might look like if we would intentionally reflect on these words EVERYDAY and make a concerted effort to embody the message they convey?  How would it transform how we see life in general? What would happen in our conversations?  What attitudes would prevail in meetings?  How would it change our congregations?  It’s truly fantastic because it puts “us” in the right perspective.  We would actually meet each day with our eyes “wide-open” to the truth that God is working His purposes THROUGH US.  Hallelujah!



Father, thank you for these words from the book of Ephesians.  We want to live awake in the Spirit and alert to what you are doing in the world through the gospel and through your people.  May we be carriers of this kind of faith everywhere we go.  Because of Jesus who has made all things possible….Amen 

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas 

Heart of a Servant

When I think of the people that have made a life of serving other people, I think of people that had a true desire to put other people and their wishes ahead of their own.  They didn’t do it because they had been told that they ought to, or because it is the right thing to do, or because they might feel guilty if they didn’t.  They did it because they have a true servant heart like Jesus described in Mark 10:43-45.  That is the legacy left by a Christian servant named Nick Green.

I want to share a portion of his story that I was privileged to witness for 20 years.  This person would be embarrassed if he were still living, and he knew that I was going to write about him and all the times that I saw him or heard of his desire to serve others for his short life of 55 years.  I am not talking about serving others when it was convenient for him and his family, but actually putting the needs of other people ahead of his own, and doing it without any reservation or need of acknowledgement from anyone. 

People in the community where Nick lived told me about how he went to an older couple’s house for years and put a man to bed because the man’s wife was not physically able to do it.  I also heard about  how he adopted a young Hispanic boy named Ronnie, who was taken away from his parents and who became a good friend of  his own son.  Nick did it because he wanted that young man to have the same chances in life that his own son had.  This young man, after he was adopted by Nick, wanted to take Nick’s last name because of the influence Nick had been in his life.  I know at his father’s funeral, which Ronnie helped with, it was conveyed to Ronnie of how proud the people were in the town where he grew up, and the good Christian husband and father he had become.  He simply responded that “I had a great role model.”  Nick was always available to be a servant to any cause in his family, church family, or the community that he lived in.

He became ill with cancer in March of 1997,  went through chemotherapy, 3 bone marrow transplants, but he never allowed this illness to keep him from serving others.  His house with all his earthly belongings burned up when his family lost their home in December 2007.  His father died in the summer of 2008 from cancer, and his mother was killed in a tragic accident in April, 2009.  Every time I called to check on him and I asked him how he was doing, he would always respond by saying how blessed he was.  During his illness of 14 years, he never wanted to talk about his own struggles.  Instead he always swung the conversation toward other people and the challenges they were facing even though they were not as life threatening as his.  Every time I had the opportunity to be in his presence, he was always looking for opportunities to edify and encourage those around him though he physically did not feel like it.  I visited with him in September of 2010 and he conveyed to me that the one regret he had in his life was that he wished he could have done more for people that were in need. 

When he prayed, he asked for healing, but he asked that God’s will would be done and not his.  He asked me if I would lead congregational singing at his funeral.  He said he would not let me do it unless I led upbeat, encouraging songs of celebration.  He said, “That is how it will be for those who hear ‘Well done good and faithful Servant.’”  I feel confident that he will have the opportunity to hear those very words. 

I am sure that my heavenly father allows opportunities in my life to be a servant.  I need to ask myself daily, “Do I allow myself to be an instrument for the kingdom and be a servant, or do I step away from those opportunities? 

After having the privilege to be around Nick the last 20 years,  I wonder what kind of servant heart that I exemplify for those around me, and for those that look to me for an example.

Father, thank-you for loving us and for putting servants like your son in our lives to be an example.  Forgive us when we fail in those opportunities.  Forgive us of our pride and instill in us the desire to serve rather than to be served.  In Jesus Christ our Savior and the greatest servant of all we pray, Amen.   

Rusty Rose

Stephenville, Texas          

What a Magnificent View

There is something about standing in the middle of a majestic nature setting that has always moved me.  Whether it was sitting high atop one of the Rocky Mountains and looking from Colorado into Texas and New Mexico, or looking across the vastness of an ocean or simply sitting horseback in the Texas panhandle and looking across the springtime beauty of Texas Cap Rock, every experience has in some way refreshed and redefined my perspective of life.  They remind me that it’s good for the mind and heart to rise above domestic duties, paying bills, making decisions and the routine life moments that can become a grind and see them in the context of the magnificent. 

What’s true on a nature level is true on a spiritual level, too.  We need to see the magnificence of our life in the Spirit to appreciate the many pieces of our spiritual lives in the proper way.  Why?  We sometimes get lost in the minute-by-minute, the details, the minutia of ministry and church life because our memory of the larger spiritual picture grows dim.

I think that’s at least one thing Paul had in mind when he wrote Ephesians.  Ephesians is a spiritual mountain chain.  It is like looking across an ocean in the Spirit.  It’s conceptually vast.  It’s views are breathtaking.  The spiritual vista Paul sets before his readers (and us, too) is nothing short of majestic.  He wants us to see the whole stage of human experience and, more especially, the creation of the church in the larger context of God’s workings in the gospel.  We need that perspective because we can get lost in our lesser stories and their struggles at the expense of God’s larger story. 

Ephesians 2:19-22 is holy ground:

¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

We need these words.  I think they remind us of something very important.  In the midst of routine tasks, countless meetings, conversations about ministry, and sorting through the occasional skirmishes that we believers can get into over this and that, there is a bigger view of our life together that we need to see.  Everyday we have the privilege of serving on an enormous stage.  We aren’t people who simply go to church.  We are more than a building and a pictorial directory.  We belong to God.  We are His household erected on a magnificent foundation that is coming together stone by stone as the Spirit works in our lives.  We are the greatest architectural project the world has ever known. 

The great thing about majestic views is that long after you walk off the mountain, or drive away from the ocean or put the horse in the stall, you can still remember the colors, the sounds, the impressions and the emotion of the vast beauty that sat for a brief moment before your eyes.  In fact, you can still see it from your office chair, or sitting at a red light, or while mowing the backyard.  More importantly and, “one stone to another”, I think the majesty Paul speaks about in Ephesians can do the same for us.  So, grab your binoculars and share them with somebody this week.  Your relationships and congregation will be blessed

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas