Author: Jon Partlow

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The Gospel According to Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci is at the top of his game. He’s been the leading epidemiologist for the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Disease since 1984, having advised six US Presidents. In the past eight months he‘s become a household name, communicating simply and succinctly the information Americans need to navigate the dangers of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I might add that while his confidence is strong his humility is stronger. He’s the smartest guy in the room, but he never projects such arrogance. I’m not the only one who admires him as some polls show 71% of Americans trust Dr. Fauci.

But that doesn’t mean Dr. Fauci has been right every time he has stood before the microphone. He’s been wrong. He’s been wrong more than once. He told us in February that he doubted A-Symptomatic people could spread the disease. Later in that month he reassured the American people that he saw no need to make any major changes to our lifestyles. In March he told us not to wear masks. If Fauci was a baseball player, his batting average is promising.

How can someone who has been wrong so many times still have an approval rating of 71%? Two factors are at play. First, the COVID-19 virus is brand new, discovered at the end of 2019 (thus, the reason for the “19,” not that it’s the nineteenth strand of the coronavirus). The situation has been fluid since its outbreak in China and in the US in January. Assumptions made early on were abandoned when new and more reliable information emerged. He was wrong, not because he’s incompetent, but because he was on the learning curve. That leads to the other admirable quality about Fauci, his ability to pivot when he was wrong. As new data emerged, Fauci shifted his views and perspective to line up with the best information available. Thus, A-Symptomatic people do spread the disease. Major shifts to our lifestyle have been needed to lean into and flatten the curve. Masks are a necessary move, not to prevent you from getting the virus but to insure you don’t spread the virus. His credibility is high because he’s willing to admit when he was wrong in order to pursue what is right.

In that one strand, Fauci is modeling the Gospel. When confronted with our wrong, we change our stance to line up with the truth. The Gospel calls this change “repentance.”

When John the Baptist preached, he called his hearers to repentance (Mk. 1:4). After John was arrested, Jesus stepped onto the world’s stage. He echoed John’s message by calling people to repentance (Mk. 1:15). After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, Peter moved the story forward by calling people to repentance (Act. 2:38; 3:19). As Paul moved through the mission field, he continued to call people to repentance (Act. 17:30; 26:20). Changing one’s belief system, thought process and actions stand at the core of the Gospel Message. God expects to see change in us through repentance.

Herein lies the rub. We don’t want to change or shift our position or behavior no matter what the data and new information shows. Or even what the Bible says. It’s in our DNA. Studies are confirming that no matter what logical argument or statistical information that is revealed, we’ll reject it. We’re so entrenched in our world view and ideology, sometimes it feels like the Battle of Somme. No one will budge and everyone will suffer. Even worse, we double down on a bet we’re sure to lose, and lose big.

But God keeps calling us to repent, to change, to line our lives up with him. It’s the Gospel. And it’s the very thing that gives Dr. Anthony Fauci his credibility. He is willing to change.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)

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T.H.I.N.K. Jesus

Social Media has devolved into an environment where people feel free to share whatever is on their mind without running their words through a filter. Instead of a safe playground to interact with friends, social media has become dangerous and toxic. Not all the time, mind you. But a good portion of the time. Anger. Frustration. Hatred. Divisiveness. Slander. Shaming. All of which fuel the woke/called-out culture. Like the meme says, “I’m just as surprised as you are by what comes out of my mouth.”

To counter, someone created the T.H.I.N.K. paradigm to help provide a filter, not only for social media but for all our words. The T.H.I.N.K. acronym asks five questions based on the letters for think.

Is It True? The erosion/corrosion of truth in our society is well documented and I won’t use space to rehash that now. However, even with good source material to fact check information, we seem to be more concerned with our own agenda and not seeking truth.

Is It Helpful? It’s one thing to post ideas and concepts for consideration. But a very thin line is present to post for simply to stir things up. Like lighting a fire cracker just to watch everyone’s reactions, some post to watch Social Media explode. Instead of helping move the story forward, it becomes a show in and of itself.

Is It Inspiring? If what is posted does not help people, then it’s safe to say that it won’t inspire either. When our emotions overtake us, and when we’re driven by negative feelings, what we say or post will not inspire anyone. When posting to stir the pot or for combative purposes, then driving a wedge between others is the only inspiration, and it’s not very inspiring.

Is It Necessary? The fact that one may need to hit the pause button before posting or speaking may be a big clue to stop forward progress. Since experience tells us that we will not move the ideological needle, then it’s like a futile experience.

Is It Kind? Maybe the biggest question to ask hits at the kindness meter. Since too much social media is filled with anything but kindness, maybe we need to make sure otherwise. Let’s find new ways to encourage one another online.

The five questions that help shape or shift our paradigm only work so far as we’re willing to stop to ask the questions, then honestly answer them. Sounds complicated, especially since rules may offer a guide to holy behavior, but they’ll never transform people’s lives. Something more needs to happen.

Paul exhorts the Philippians to have the mind or attitude of Christ (2:5). While contextually, he’s talking about humility and unity, the broader principle is for his followers to think and act like Jesus. Beyond a simple or mimic WWJD formula, Jesus calls us to be him to the public. So when we speak or post on social media the message beyond the post is the redeeming work of Jesus in our lives. We don’t add to the toxicity of social media, we try to allow Jesus to redeem it. Cheerful. Supportive. Respectful. Harmonious. Complimentary. Honor. Silence. For Jesus himself once posted, “You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:16). It’s time to let it shine.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)

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Remembering Who the Real Enemy Is

Before Katniss Everdeen stepped back into the arena for the 75th Hunger Games, Haymitch Abernathy offered her one final word of advice. While in the arena, the games forced its “contestants” (called “tributes” in the book) to battle each other to the death – for the entertainment of the Capital along with a means to control its citizens in the districts. In order to survive, tributes build temporary alliances. Katniss needed an alliance because she had a target on her back. As the popular tribute, too many in the arena saw her as the threat. As the face of a movement to challenge the capital’s reign of terror, President Snow saw her as a threat. So before stepping into the arena, Haymitch reminded her, “Remember who the real enemy is.”

In the arena disorienting the tributes is part of the Games itself. The game-makers ensure unexpected dangers keep the competition interesting. While only one will survive the games, formed alliances are not just essential for survival but clearly brings trust issues with it. Then there is the danger of simply surviving the elements; they are called The Hunger Games for a reason. All of that begs for her to remember who the real enemy is.

We’re living in our own arena. No, it’s not a battle to the death for the last man standing. But it is a battle. Sometimes we are the players and other times we’re being played. So we always need reminded as to be who the enemy really is.

In Paul’s famous military metaphor (Eph. 6:10-18) he takes his readers through the Armor of God images. Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and sword/Sprit of the word of God. While we’re less aware, the original audience were well aware of the imagery Paul uses. The focus is not on modeling the belt, breastplate, fitted feet, shield, helmet and sword, as we have often done. The focus is on the character of the “soldier” who models truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and Spirit/word of God. Too often we have allowed the soldier image to drive the message instead of the character qualities that define the soldier, which ends us distorting who the real enemy is.  

The posture of the soldier is never in the offensive position, but the defensive position. The soldier does not look for a fight, any more than a shepherd looks to fight the wolf or the bear. But if the battle comes to him, he is more than able to defend himself by standing his ground (mentioned three times). Note that the shield’s role is to extinguish the flaming arrows, to protect oneself from attack, and that Paul never authorizes “weaponizing” the sword. In fact, the only offensive posture mentioned in the passage is to pray, and Paul tells us to pray five times in verses 18-20. Because understanding the position helps clarify who the enemy is.

You are not my enemy, and I am not yours. As Paul clearly states, the struggle is not in the physical sense, though it may take form in the physical sense. The struggle is real and its source is the devil (v. 11; 1 Pet. 5:8). He implements his schemes through rulers, people in power, and evil spiritual forces that are at work (v. 12). Structures and systems assembled by the society, including the State, with the purpose to dominate, destroy and dehumanize people is the means for the devil to achieve his evil schemes. That’s why we are called to peacefully stand against evil systematically woven throughout our society. Since we’re not enemies, but allies, and as we are called to take our stand, we remember who the real enemy is.

During the games, Katniss became disoriented. Other tributes carried out an attack on her and her alliances. While under attack, her own allies looked to be turning on each other. Chaos was controlling the moment. In the confusion, Katniss drew her bow. Ready to defend herself, Finnick Odair entered her sights. He raised his hands, pleading, to stop her from killing him. She paused, trying to assess the situation properly. He called out using Haymitch’s own words, “Katniss! Remember who the real enemy is!” Sometimes, when we’re ready to turn on each other, we need that same reminder.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)

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Beyond the Four Walls

Jesus’ last words recorded in Matthew are referred to as The Great Commission (28:18-20). His statement is rooted in the imperative command to “Make Disciples,” followed by three participles stated with imperative force, “Going,” “Baptizing,” and “Teaching.” While it’s unfortunate our English translations fail to communicate Matthew’s intent, the essence of the Great Commission is still felt. The followers of Christ were far from restricting themselves to four walls.

In the days following Pentecost the disciple regularly met in two locations: temple courts and in each other’s homes (Act. 2:46). As an offshoot of the Jewish faith, these disciples saw the value of a large place like the temple grounds for gatherings, teaching and sharing. Many people naturally gravitated to the temple, so contact with them was possible in order to share the good news Jesus offered. But they also met in homes, where the setting limited the gathering so intimacy and friendship could deepen. Because of these two places, the early disciples understood that faith was beyond four walls.

When the disciple began facing threats and persecution (Act. 8:1,3), many left the region taking the gospel with them. By the time Paul began establishing churches in gentile communities, the standard meeting places became the home (e.g. Rom. 16:5a; Philemon 2). That does not mean Paul never met outside the home. He went to the Synagogues (Act. 13:5, 14; 18:4), places of prayer (Act. 16:13) and to the marketplace (Act. 17:19; 19:9-10). Even still, the home seemed to be the cornerstone for the church as they were never caged within four walls.

The cornerstone of American churches has been the building. On the frontier, the first construction built was often the church, and it was usually situated in the center of the new town. To gain legitimacy, the religious groups needed a physical presence in a community. Carried over from the Latin was a misunderstanding of the word for church. In essence, the Greek word for church always referred to people while in the Latin associated itself to structure. The correlation between “church” and a building has been so strong that the structure became the source for faith and in many cases more important than the people who worship within the four walls.

For the past few months Churches in America have been sailing through uncharted waters. Social distancing have shut down our buildings, and only recently have they opened up again. Even still, most churches who have opened are implementing forms of social distancing (i.e., shorter services, seating is spaced, no trays are passed, etc.). Online teaching services continue and seem to be filling a void in people’s spiritual lives. Without seeing members at “services,” intentional contact has been on the rise. We text and call people just to “check-in.” We’re following up on neighbors and friends to make sure all is well. We’re finding that the church is far from the limitations of four walls.

What the future holds is always uncertain, though clearly God holds us in his hands. But that day will come when everything is set back to “normal” – and that day will come. Our Sunday morning services will be at full swing with Bible classes and potlucks. Groups will safely be using the facility throughout the week again. The fears of the COVID-19 virus will be a distant memory. Let’s remember, more than ever, how the life of the church is beyond four walls.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)