Just Expressing Myself

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” – Proverbs 18:21

Words matter.  They always have.  Take social media for instance.

A woman lamented, “We have never been so wounded and hurt by anything…ever."  

She and her family recently lived through a social media “beating.”  

To be fair, social media has some upsides.  But, the downsides are destructive to say the least. 

One of the things that is often overlooked in the angst about social media is the connection between ethics and speech.  To be short….there is one!

Our culture’s penchant for drama and our unwillingness to self-regulate has turned everything from twitter, to yik yak, to texting to facebook into a Darwinian jungle.  Only the fittest survive!  Unfortunately, the casualty rate is climbing especially among teenagers.  Adults are a close second.

What's happening?  In a nutshell, there is no recognition of boundaries.  Human dignity is being abandoned in a window of literally seconds in favor of "my freedom" to say whatever I want to say or text or tweet.  Don’t like it.  Don’t read it.  Is it that simple?  I don’t think so.

If you are mad, spray a page, a tweet or a text with rancorous speech.  Don’t worry.  You can re-tweet it later.  

Don’t like something down at church…vomit on facebook.  If you have screened your friends just right, there is a strong probability you will get some “likes.”  

But, there is a big difference - albeit a fine line - between “expressing a viewpoint” and attacking people and groups in the name of free speech.  

In fact, free speech can become a cover for hateful discourse and slander of every kind.  Speech and expressing yourself still matters on an ethical level.  Jesus said so.  So did Paul.  Ephesians 4:30 says that words can grieve the Holy Spirit regardless of the disclaimers and emoticons that enclose what is said.

Much more could be said.  But think about the following:

• You are free but not really.  1 Peter 2:16 says, "Act as free men but do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of Jesus Christ."  We are free in America to do a lot of things.  But, the Lordship of Christ should interpret how we exercise every kind of freedom the law gives us (1 Corinthians 6:12-14).  Paul says that we are free to serve Christ (Romans 6:12-14).  Our bodies, and that includes our fingers and mouths, belong to the Lord.  

• Think!  Think before you write, post, tweet, text, and speak. Proverbs 12:18 says, “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

• Haste makes waste!  If you are angry it’s better to get control of your emotions before you say something that is way off the mark!  James says the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1:20).  He says in verse 19, "Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."  

• Is this helpful?  Ask yourself, "How am I helping "good" (whatever it is) move forward in this conversation or with this person?  Hebrews 10:24 says we should "consider how to stir one another to love and good works."  In other words, "think on it...deliberate it."  How does this honor what the Spirit is trying to do in this moment?  If you have a taste for drama Hebrews 10:24 could be just what the doctor ordered!

“He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).  Imagine a week of social media governed by those words.  What a blessing! 

Father, may the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

"Lettuce" in Hebrews?

My first serious study of the Book of Hebrews was at the feet of Dr. Neil Lightfoot a professor at Abilene Christian University.  His lectures were always stimulating to say the least.  I looked forward to every class! 

I remember him adding a touch of humor to a lecture one day.  He asked, “Can anyone name the most popular vegetable in the book of Hebrews?”  We knew there was a catch.  He waited patiently and then, with a sheepish smile, said, “It’s lettuce.”  And, then he took us on a journey through several texts in the book that had two simple but very powerful words:  “let us”.  He said, “This vegetable is never served by itself.  It is always accompanied by other nourishing things.”  His point was well taken!  

As we started our exploration of the “let us” texts we discovered something new in each one.  More importantly, we discovered that  “let us” is always calling us to “do something”. 

Want some great meditation texts for the upcoming week?  Read through these powerful texts and let the Holy Spirit guide your heart.  Insights for faith and living are sprinkled across each one! 

4:1 – Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

4:11 – Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

4:14 – Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession

4:16 – Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

6:1 – Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.

10:21 – Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

10:23 – Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

10:24 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

12:28 – Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe

Father, thank you for these special reminders about how to live out our faith in the One who is the same today, yesterday, yes and forever.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Everybody’s Scratch’n but Where’s the Itch?

Someone remarked the other day, “Church right now reminds me of a dog on a front porch scratch’n every ten minutes.  The dog can’t do what dogs normally do because he has to stop and scratch all the time.  Scratch’n has become his purpose for existing.”  Did I hear a chuckle?  

A dog’s life is about more than fleas…I hope.  And, church life should be about more than the collective anxiety that envelopes us and dictates our every move.  But how easy it is to just settle for scratch’n and howling about all the things – usually in a general way – that plague us. 

Living in the traffic circle of endless lament about why "this or that" is not happening has become normative in too many situations.  Healthy diagnosis of “this and that” is often a critical but missing piece in our anxious conversations about where we are as a congregation and what we should do next. And, let it be said, "This isn't simple or easy for anybody."  Getting the conversation and the questions right on the front end is easier said than done.  Mix in some congregational history and personality differences, ratchet up the anxiety in any system and you have a recipe for compounding our ability to converse meaningfully and reasonably about most anything.  

As you serve in your time and place, perhaps the following can be of service to you.  I stumbled across it a few days ago.  Perhaps it will be helpful toward our efforts to come to terms with the reality a lot of Christians and churches are living in at the moment.  Meditate on it and share your thoughts here or with someone else.

Hopefully, it will help us find the the right conversational roads and contribute something to rediscovering the adventure that is the good news of Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of church life.  Peace.  –Randy Daugherty

12 Reasons Why Churches Don’t Address Decline

By Chuck Lawless

I have never met a church leader who said to me, “I really want my church to die. I’m not that concerned that we haven’t grown in years.” At the same time, though, most churches in North America are plateaued or in decline. Many of those churches have been in that state for years, if not decades—sometimes under the same leadership.

Why do churches wait so long to address decline? Here are twelve reasons I’ve seen in my church consulting work.

Nobody is counting the numbers. I realize numbers are only one means to evaluate growth, but they are an important means. If no one is keeping a record of growth and attendance patterns, few leaders recognize the first signs of decline. No one is monitoring health, and disease sets in.

Leaders in “growing” churches don’t always recognize decline. This situation especially occurs when a church is experiencing additions, but the back door is even more wide open. The congregation sees people join often, but they fail to see the greater numbers of people leaving. The decline may be slow, but it’s still real.

Members live in their own relational bubble. That is, most members have only few persons with whom they build strong relationships. As long as their friends are still present, they don’t get too concerned about others leaving.

Leaders have given up on growth. Maybe the community is changing. Perhaps the young people have already left. It might be the leaders are just tired after unsuccessfully striving for growth for years. The need for rest trumps the call to reach others.

Members love their pastor. Sure, they realize the church is declining – but their pastor has been good to them. Their lives are marked by his care and concern. No one would ever want to hurt him. Consequently, they remain loyal to him even as the church dies around him.

The leaders don’t know what steps to take. They know how to parse verbs and formulate theological positions, but they do not know how to redirect an organization. They are captains who don’t know how to steer the ship into the right channels. Efforts end in failure, and failures become discouragement.

The church still has a sufficient number to survive. The larger the church was in its heyday, the more likely this situation occurs. The church that averaged 300 five years ago may still appear to be comfortably full at 200 now. The crowds are large enough to ignore the decline, at least for now.

Leaders over-spiritualize the situation. If you’ve read my posts before, you know how much I care about prayer – but “we’re just praying right now” can be a copout for leaders who fail to strategize. “God’s just reducing us to His remnant” may be true, or it may also be theological jargon to avoid taking responsibility for poor leadership.

The church has money in the bank. As long as the bills are being paid, lower attendance numbers don’t matter as much. If the church has a strong reserve account, that’s even better.

The congregation equates activity with life. Programs continue. Somebody gathers in the church building most nights of the week. The weekly bulletin is filled with events. The website carries current announcements. If all of these activities are going on, surely the church cannot be in decline.

Ministries are siloed in the church. Individual ministries may be doing well. Some small groups really enjoy their fellowship and teaching. The choir or praise team is prepared every Sunday. Members cocoon themselves in a few successful ministries, and few people see the overall church decline.

Even Christian leaders are filled with pride. That’s a primary reason leaders won’t seek guidance when the churches they lead are declining. “Surely,” the leader thinks, “I can come up with the solution. After all, I’m called. I’m trained.” And, ultimately, he may find himself alone because of his unwillingness to pursue help from others.

What other reasons would you add to this list?

Real Heroes

I was reading a story recently about someone who was deemed a hero because of something he had done.  Talk shows and the media snatched up the story.  It was front page news.  A few days later we learned that the story wasn’t the story and the real story was “elsewhere.”  It was disappointing.  It again reminded us of how quickly the media likes to report things for pure scintillation.  I couldn’t help but think about the hundreds of other stories that happen on a daily basis that are inspiring to say the least but never get a headline because they don’t come package with celebrity of some kind.  Do we know what a hero is…really?

A recent poll of 9-12 year old boys and girls in metropolitan Indianapolis revealed that ordinary people don’t rank high on their list of heroes.  The top spots belonged to sports figures, business moguls and celebrities of different stripes. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."  Not exactly what our culture puts forth as the definition of a hero is it?

Who we choose as heroes tells as much about us as it does about the heroes we choose.

When the writer of the letter we know as “Hebrews” selected people to inspire his readers toward courageous faith, he chose ordinary people who responded to the call of God in their everyday moments.

Hebrews chapter eleven is one story after another of people living “by faith.”  No cameras.  No microphones.  No newspaper coverage.  No talk show circuit to ride.  Just people living in their moments according to what God asked of them.  Did they struggle?  Yes.  And that is a big piece of the story.  They weren’t special people.  They were people living out their lives to the beat of God’s drum…by faith!

Hebrews 11:35-38 says:

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

We need people like that in our lives.  We need their stories of faith.  Why?  Because they show us what is possible.  They remind us how to live in our moments “by faith.”  They teach us how to struggle, fall, get up and keep going.  Crawling sometimes.  Running at other times. 

Who do you have in your life now or from your past who speaks to you about walking with God? 

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”  (Hebrews 13:7)

Father, thank you for people who show us how to live as disciples of Jesus.  May our lives be markers for someone in days to come.  Thank you for Jesus who is our greatest marker.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Bounty Hunting

“…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself…and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:19

The Old West, so legend has it, was dotted with ‘bounty hunters’. These motley characters, while not lawmen in an official sense, made their living by tracking down fugitives for the price on their heads. The victims were brought either to justice or an untimely end.

Recently, while my mind was rambling, I wondered, “What if a bounty for the gospel was placed on the head of every lost sinner? How would Christians react to their desperate plight then? As it now stands, most of us have not turned the world upside down, nor caused much of a tremor in a quest for lost souls.

But let’s put a bounty on their heads! Let’s offer $10 for every visitor brought to Bible class, $25 for evry bible study we have with people and, $100 for every baptism.   "But the whole thing’s wrong!" You protest. "How could we serve the Lord out of such a self-serving motive? Besides, how many of these baptisms would express real ‘conversion’? Why, such a practice would be reprehensible! And think of the corruption it would breed! How could you even suggest such a thing?”

Okay, I'm sorry.  Let's not put a bounty on souls.  Let's just seek and save them because we love them and the Lord, and because our soul is worth more than the whole world.

"That's better" you say.  Why, I never heard of such a preposterous idea in my entire life.  Now, be off and let me get back to my leisure."

And, suddenly it's Sunday morning and pious voices are lifted to God in praise.

I want to be a soul winner for Jesus every day; He’s done so much for me…”

Larry Fluitt
San Angelo, Texas

A Fire in My Bones

Have you ever had a job that ‘you hated’?  While I was at ACC, I sold Bibles for the Southwestern Company for five summers.  My first summer, I was in Lafayette, Indiana and I HATED MY JOB.  Some mornings, I cried as I drove to my first door-knocking assignment.

          

Jeremiah sometimes hated his job as God’s spokesman.  Jeremiah has been called ‘the weeping prophet’.  Some of his words from Lamentations help us understand this designation.

Lamentations 2:11 My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

Lamentations 3:19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and  the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

Lamentations 3:48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.  49 My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief.

           

The reason Jeremiah ‘wept’ was his task from God was burdensome.  Listen to these words from Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 15:10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!  I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.                                                                                                                                                   

Jeremiah 20:14 Cursed be the day I was born!  May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!” 16 May that man be like the towns the Lord overthrew without pity.  May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow    and to end my days in shame?

           

Jeremiah wept and he expressed his frustration because God gave him a burdensome task.  His own people cursed him and persecuted him.  So, why didn’t Jeremiah quit?  If it was so hard, why didn’t he say ‘I resign, that’s it!’  His own answer is found in Jeremiah 20:9, If I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.  

There was an inner necessity, a drivenness, a compulsion in Jeremiah.  He must do what God called him to do.

Do you have that kind of compulsion for serving Christ?  Is there an inner necessity,  a drivenness within you that causes you to be faithful in serving Jesus?

Prayer:  God, help us to be strong like Jeremiah.  Help us to stand for you when it is hard.  Help us be faithful when the going gets tough.  Through Jesus we pray. 

Terry Brown

Abilene, Texas

The Power of a Word

 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”  Proverbs 25:11

Oh, the power of a word! How scarcely do we comprehend the might of the spoken message: to set ablaze a heart with zeal, or reduce a reputation to ashes…to bolster the spirits of the weak or destroy the will of the strong...to commend or condemn…to praise or put down…to encourage or inhibit...to heal or wound…to reconcile or alienate…to inspire or inflame! Such is the power of the tongue. 

 It may be that among the sins of the tongue, ranking right along with abuse in the sight of God, is neglect. Perhaps it is as much what we fail to say that we ought as what we say that we ought not that displeases the Lord. A word uttered at the appropriate time can be of surpassing value in providing comfort, inspiration or determination. We may sin against others when we withhold from them the legitimate praise that would strengthen their hearts and hands for the challenges and crises of the day. 

Someone has written the following verses that fit the thought perfectly.

If you hear a kind word spoken

Of some worthy soul you know,

It may fill his heart with sunshine

If you’d only tell him so.

If a deed, however humble,

Helps you on your way to do,

Seek the one whose hand has helped you,

Seek him out and tell him so.

If your heart is touched and tendered

Toward a sinner lost and low

It might help him to do better

If you’d only tell him so.

Larry Fluitt

San Angelo, Texas