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Fallen From Grace: The Face of the Boy Scouts of America

The bumper sticker on my car says, “I’m proud of my Eagle Scouts.” And I am proud of my sons. They are good young men who worked very hard, modeled the Scout Law of being trustworthy, loyal, friendly, reverent, etc., sacrificed free time and overcame significant obstacles to earn the requirements for Boy Scouts’ highest rank. Without bragging, they could have been the face of BSA.

I remember the day Jonathan came home from first grade with a flyer asking if he could join Cub Scouts. Someone had come to his school with a demonstration, and he was sold. Having experienced some of the Cub Scouting program as a child, I was easily sold as well.

Over the next fifteen years I ran the gamut with scouts. I was Jonathan’s Den Leader and eventually stepped into the Cub Master role (I oversaw all the Dens, leadership recruitment and training). When Matthew joined Scouts, Cile was his Den Leader. Both boys earned the Arrow of Light, Cub Scouts highest honor, and bridged over into Boy Scouts. I kept my involvement in their scouting lives by being an Assistant Scout Master. I led scouts to both Summer and Winter Camps, and took larger roles at those same camps, including leading boys to complete sections of Merit Badge requirements. Both Jonathan and Matthew attended BSA’s National Jamboree.

It was during my adult scouting career that BSA began facing turbulent waters. At first the rumors were just that, rumors. Like the Titanic captain, the leadership downplayed the cries and minimized the damage. All the while membership was half the size it boasted thirty years earlier and the outlook wasn’t promising.

Then it came out. It all came out, reminiscent of the Catholic Church. Boys and boys and boys accused BSA of creating an environment where they were abused. Twelve thousands boys have come forward and BSA has identified over 7000 predators with some accounts dating back to 1920 (ten years after Scouts began in America). In an attempt to compensate the victims, the national office of BSA, apart from the local chapters, has filed bankruptcy. Right now it’s kind of a “wait and see” holding pattern. What will Chapter 11 bankruptcy look like, especially with all the BSA holdings like famous artworks and campgrounds.

Maybe the fatal flaw of the BSA culture is our flaw too. We perceived a time of innocence, when it was really a time of naivety. We’ve been far too trusting of people and institutions with our children without due process. Even Paul tells Timothy to “vet” deacon candidates before installing them (1 Tim. 3:10) and to be slow about laying on of hands (1 Tim. 5:22). Society thought that since the BSA program had a good reputation, the leaders of the program were good as well. We were wrong, dead wrong. We failed to scrutinize the people and the system. What we found was that beneath the surface, the reputation and hype was something disgustingly ugly, shamefully sinful and utterly destructive. No one deserves a pass simply because of their position. And now more than 12,000 former scouts are paying a huge price, for they are the face of BSA (and that number will probably continue to grow). So the organization must be held accountable for turning a blind eye and covering up its messy corruption.

BSA has changed its culture. During my adult leadership era, they began enforcing background checks and implementing mandatory training to raise awareness of abuse for all participants. My favorite move was the two-deep leadership plan which prevents one adult from being alone with a child. They have a long way to go to earn back the trust they squandered, if they ever earn back that trust. For now BSA needs to feel the hurt and pain they’ve caused on so many lives.

For me, the bumper sticker still reflects how proud I am of my sons who are Eagle Scouts. They, with so many other young men, have modeled the Scout Law of being trustworthy, loyal, friendly, reverent, etc. beyond their days of wearing the uniform. Those young men should be the face of BSA. With hope and healing, maybe one day they will.

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

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Gilligan’s Island: to the Tune of Amazing Grace

On Sunday afternoon, Cile and I sat on the couch and absorbed the three hour tour of Gilligan’s Island. We were both tired. I was recovering from a twenty-four hour bug, but wasn’t sleepy. She slept. I stayed awake. I watched four of the six episodes and pretty much knew each storyline and joke before the cast members experienced them.

One has to suspend a lot of reality to embrace the show, but it’s worth it. How can one person like Gilligan make so many mistakes without being exiled? How come the professor can create so many inventions and never be able to get them rescued? For a three hour tour, how come the Howells packed so much luggage and money? What did Ginger need with an evening gown? How come their clothes were always clean? How good are the AM radio waves and how long do batteries last? How do you make banana cream pie without the necessary ingredients and an oven?

As I was watching the shows unfold before me, I realized two important aspects of humanity that were continually fleshed out in the show. 

First, Man at His Best. The seven castaways come together to survive, and even thrive on their island. Leadership is provided by the Skipper and Professor, though clearly they seek input from the other five castaways. You don’t usually see them making decisions from selfish motives, but always for the good of the group’s survival and rescue.

None of that is to say that they were an idyllic society. They struggled with situations and with each other. Conflict was a normal part of their lives as danger lurked and/or feelings got hurt. But the group could not survive without the individual, and the individual couldn’t survive without the group. So when conflict arose, reconciliation was always woven into the solution. Let’s face the facts, it was a TV show and conflict is a key component of keeping the viewer’s attention. And, the writers needed a reset button to film the next week’s episode, so the conflict was resolved by the end of the show. That said, the lesson taught was valuable: we need each other to survive.

Secondly, Man is Bad. In the realm of suspending belief, they found themselves on a deserted island not located on any map. Yet visitors upon visitors stumble upon the island, because it’s not found on a map? A famous hunter, an actor pretending to be “Tarzan,” a knock-off Beatles and Monkeys rock band, The Mosquitos, and multiple others appear on the show. The rise of hope is felt and they believe the new visitor will contact authorities to have the castaways rescued. But they never do. The visitors usually have a deep dark secret and are afraid it will be exposed and ruin their own lives. So selfishly, and in the spirit of self-preservation, they keep the castaways and island a secret. They move on with their life, while the castaways are “condemned” to their prison.

The Bible continues to paint mankind with both brushes, a little bit of good and quite a bit of bad. Paul quotes that Psalmist to reinforce the depravity of mankind, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). At our very best, we have mixed agendas and shades of evil. We may be giving, but too many times it comes with strings attached. No one stands before God in all purity, because we’re tainted in sin. On the other hand, the Bible speaks highly of good people like Cornelius who generously cares for the poor (Act. 10:2) or Tabitha who is described as “always doing good and helping the poor” (Act. 9:36). But even at our best, we still need a Savior to redeem us from our own sin.

So here we are a mixture of something good and something bad. Sometimes the good in us shines very bright and sometimes it doesn’t. Other times the bad in us overpowers the good and what we experience causes shame. Maybe the hope is found in accepting, embracing and owning God’s grace. After all, the theme song to Gilligan’s Island can be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace.

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

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Revsiting WWJD

The fad took over the late 90’s and still had legs into early 2000’s with its footprint still present today. Let’s be honest, it was kind of cool to walk into Walmart and see then name, Jesus, plastered everywhere (even if profiting off of Jesus’ name raises spiritual questions?). People were wearing t-shirts and bracelets, drinking from mugs with Jesus’ name on it, or his first initial. Two movies starring John Schneider and a hit song by Big Tent Revival sealed the legacy with the call letters, WWJD, all beginning its legacy in 1895.

Charles Sheldon was the author who wrote a book entitled, In His Steps. The fictional story takes place in the small community of Raymond whose world is turned upside down with a homeless man passing through their town. He had asked for help, but no one responded. Even Henry Maxwell, the minister for 1st Church of Raymond, dismissed his plea for help. Then on Sunday morning the man sat in church, and while telling his gripping story of homelessness he collapsed and passed away.

Henry Maxwell took the event personally. Driven back to Scripture, he landed in 1 Peter 2:21,

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Maxwell took that verse to exhort those willing to participate in an experiment. He challenged them to ask a simple question before making any decision, ‘What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD) in your place, then follow through at best you can. The rest of the story explores how a handful of devoted followers answered the question and the impact it had on their lives and in their community.

Sheldon should be commended for posing the question and encouraging Christ’s disciples to follow him wholeheartedly. Certainly, simply asking WWJD is far better than never contemplating what it means to follow Jesus. But Sheldon’s premise is flawed for at least three reasons.

First, yes, Jesus lived a human life, but never in our shoes, thus making it difficult to determine how to answer so many questions. He never married. He never bought a car. He never went to college or even trade school. He never dealt with the fast food industry. He never had to vote for a politician. He never grew old. So when we ask the question, WWJD, we have to deal with guiding principles like love, forgiveness, compassion, serving and self-sacrifice to inform our decisions. The simple WWJD question ignores the deeper significance of actual discipleship.

Secondly, Sheldon interpreted much of the WWJD through the lenses of the Social Gospel. The Social Gospel addressed social issues of the day like poverty, alcohol, child labor, justice and race relations. Such issues needed and still need addressing as the church should never remain silent in such matters. But the movement was flawed, at least in part because it was rooted in the optimistic hope of the turn of the twentieth century: man wasn’t that bad and God wasn’t that mad (I borrowed that definition). Ultimately, the Social Gospel tried transforming society without transforming lives and it all unraveled when WWI broke out. Man really was that bad, and God must have been that mad.

Finally, Sheldon ignored much of the context of 1 Peter 2. How do you live in a society where you belong to a greater Master and are citizens of a greater Kingdom? What do you do when the government stands against you (2:13-17), your spouse is an unbeliever (3:1-7) and your master is mean spirited (2:18-25)?

Peter calls his readers to look at Jesus who refused to retaliate but absorbed the insults because he trusted God. And without a fad or self-martyr complex, that’s how you follow Jesus in his steps. That is Peter’s understanding of WWJD. In faith we live above board. When attacked, we never retaliate and never threaten. We trust God that his justice will prevail, even if it means we follow Jesus to the cross. And I believe such discipleship is far greater than a market scheme to wear a t-shirt.

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

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HOPE: Inside An Herodian Jail Cell

Alone … Despair … Uncertainty … Doubt … Second Guessing … Fear …
Worry … Anxiety … Abandonment … Forsaken.

When you’re left to your own thoughts, you can easily fall into a dark hole by over analyzing everything. As John the Baptist sat in Herod’s prison these are some of the words that came to my mind that may describe the prophet.

I always saw John as bold and courageous. With his Elijah-like ruggedness, he prepared the way for Christ by calling people to repentance. When soldiers came for baptism he challenged them to act with integrity. When the religious leaders showed up to hear him preach, he called them out for their hypocrisy. And even behind bars, when given a hearing before Herod, he confronted the immoral relationship with his brother’s wife.

But maybe living in a dungeon kinda gets to you.

So when his own disciples brought him news of what Jesus was doing, the doubt surfaced. Was Jesus the One they were waiting for? Was his preaching to prepare the way for Jesus on task? So he sent two of his disciples to inquire of the Lord (Lk. 7:18-19). And the response John received was far from a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Jesus forced John to connect the dots.

First, Jesus returns to the Jubilee theme of Luke 4:18-19 by reminding John’s disciples what they’ve witnessed: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cured, deaf hear, dead are raised and good news is preached to the poor (Lk. 7:22). If the proof is in the pudding, then sit back and look at what Jesus has done. Beyond the miraculous nature of Jesus’ ministry lies a more important message. Jesus is pointing John back to Isaiah to remind him how he’s fulfilling Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy (see Is. 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 42:18; 43:8; 61:1-2).

Secondly, Jesus utters a blessing (i.e. a beatitude?) for John’s disciples, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Lk. 7:23). I’ve struggled to understand why Jesus saw himself as a possible stumbling block to faith. Sure, I heed the warning. My actions and my words can (and sadly have) drive someone away from Christ. I get that. But how does Jesus own such words?

To say Jesus’ ministry was controversial is an understatement; it certainly held a scandalous layer to it. Simeon had predicted the fall of many in association with Jesus’ presence (Lk. 2:34). Throughout his ministry, Jesus offended the established to the point they were willing to execute him. Families divided will found themselves pitted against each other as some were whole heartedly willing to follow Jesus and others rejected him (Lk. 12:51-53). And even now, John’s imprisonment was a sign of Jesus’s coming.

So the blessing that Jesus pronounces (v. 23) is clearly owned by Jesus. He knew the controversy surrounding himself and feared losing people on the “drop-out track.” Thus, John can find strength and security in knowing Jesus is exactly who he thought he was before the doubt set in. His suffering in prison continues the preparatory role for Christ as one who must suffer himself (see v. 27).

And what about us? Following Jesus can still carry a divisive layer to discipleship. Sometimes Christ is lightening rod in relationships. We can be shunned, rejected and abandoned by friends and family because of our loyalty to Jesus. In our walk with him we can face loneliness and feel we walk alone. But like John, it’s in the solitude of our faith we find hope.

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

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BEFORE THE FALL: Walking Humbly with Your God

When the serpent tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, he attacked a vulnerable area: pride. First, he cast doubt on God’s promised provisions (Gen. 3:1). Then he deceptively undermined God’s authority by casting suspect on sin’s fallout (Gen. 3:4). Finally, he fueled their arrogance by questioning God’s motive for keeping them away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:5). In their new found inflated ego, they wanted a “piece of the pie” or a “piece of the action.” God was holding out on them, they believed. Since the fruit looked like it was ripe and juicy to the taste buds (Gen. 3:6), they ate it, dealing with the consequences later.

They say “pride comes before the fall” (see Prov. 16:18), and the ominous overtones to such a statement carries cataclysmic ramifications with the Genesis 3 narrative overlaying Proverbs 16.

Pride. As the world moved into the 20th Century, the uptake was positive and filled with optimistic hope. The world felt like it was sailing on a sea of blue skies and gentle breezes. Humanity was maturing, evolving and advancing. The Industrial Revolution created wealth while fast-tracking international trade. Science based engineering was producing better sanitation and living conditions while long plaguing diseases were about to meet their end through vaccinations. Air conditions, radio waves, steam engine turbines, gas-motored and manned airplanes were sweeping the country. Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity while Thomas Edison unveiled talking motion pictures. Wars, regulated only to the history books, were no longer susceptible to dawn out affairs and were now far more sanitized. Yes, man was on top of the world and nothing was going to stop him now.

Fall. The very nature of man’s existence was challenged when a massive, four year-drawn-out war engulfed the world. Machines, intended to shorten the war, only exasperated it. Picturesque terrain was burned and destroyed. Trenches were dug, ripe for diseases to spread. And spread they did. Men were sickened by lice, rats and its feces. Kidneys were inflamed and feet swelled; amputations were far too common. The soldiers could not escape the cold and damp winter days leading to multiple infectious diseases. Twenty million deaths with nearly 21 million casualties suffered during the war. Those who survived lost more than their limbs, they lost their humanity. No, they lost their soul. Modern technology, the glory of mankind, became the very element that dehumanized and destroyed humanity.

Scripture reminds us that humility is the path to walk. Both James and Peter quote the verse from Proverbs 3:34, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jam. 4:6; 1 Pet.5:5). Peter is the one who adds for us to clothe ourselves in humility and to humble ourselves before God for he will be the one who lifts us up (1 Pet. 5:6). Micah tells us to embrace mercy and justice while walking humbly with God (Mic. 6:8b). Some of Jesus’ teachings were prefaced with a rebuke to those who were prideful of their own self-righteousness (e.g., Lk. 18:9).

Since pride and humility are abstract concepts, the need to describe them in concrete terms is a difficult process. They are also polar opposites, so that sometimes the best way to experience them is to see them in contrast.

Pride forces people to serve themselves while humility willingly serves others. When Jesus addressed leadership concerns among the Twelve, he described the power-down model where the guy at the top tells those below him what to do. Then he turns the table and admonishes them to invert the pyramid by using their position to serve others (see Mk.10:42-45). A humble person hears the voice of Jesus to model his behavior after him and look for an opportunity to help aid others. Serving maybe as simple as bussing a table or as complex as cooking a meal or as degrading as washing feet.

Pride demands to be right while humility allows room for error. That “room for error” part is the key, because none of us have a monopoly on perspective. We don’t see perfectly, as we’re blinded by our own bias. So Paul’s plea for the Philippi church (Phil. 2:3-4) is to stop pushing and pursuing a personal agenda, but entertain the possibility that your neighbor may actually be right, or just be more right than you.

Pride seeks a God who performs loudly while humility knows God acts in the stillness. One of the problems with Elijah was that he felt that his God always did the big stuff, like the fire from heaven to consume the altar (1 King. 18:16-39). But God works far more behind the scenes and in the quietness of the heart (1 King. 19:11-14). Instead of seeking God to outdo what he did last week, we simply seek God for his continual presence. We slow down and listen to a God who already is speaking to us (Ps. 46:10).

The problem in the garden was pride and it has continued to be humanity’s Achilles heel. We can figure out how to deflate our egos and tone down the rhetoric ourselves and begin walking humbly with God, or we can take the fall when it comes. Because it will come.

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

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Sent: Beyond a Mere Errand

For years I considered the sentence a “throw-a-way” line with very little meaning or purpose. When Jesus heals the man born blind, he did so by spitting on the ground, fashioning some mud and rubbing it on the blind man’s eyes. He then instructed the man to go wash himself in the Pool of Siloam. It’s here where John inserts himself into the text with his own commentary, “Siloam means Sent” (Jn. 9:7).

For years I’ve read that line and thought nothing of the comment. To be honest, I couldn’t quite figure out why John needed to break the story to pass on that information.  Was he kind of a trivia geek? Did he think Alex Trebek and Jeopardy might use it as an answer? With tongue-n-cheek humor, It makes me wonder . . .

“The Apostle John tells us this body of water means ‘Sent.’”
“What is the Pool of Siloam?”

The first thing that should have tipped me off was that my bible capitalizes “Sent,” and after a quick pursuing of various bibles, and you find that almost every translation follows suite. Capitalizing a word in mid-sentence brings significance to the word. At least the translators are telling us this word is important.

Then in a prior study, I realized that the word “sent” is used at least a dozen times in John’s gospel. For instance, only six verses into his gospel, the apostle tells us that the Baptist was “sent” by God, whose purpose was to testify about the Christ. And a significant key verse, and popular one at that, is followed by the clarification of Jesus’ mission.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (Jn. 3:17).

The purpose for Jesus’ arrival on earth was to save the world. Condemning the world was never in his mandate. Actually, humanity had accomplished great feats in terms of condemning ourselves. We’ve never needed help from God in the “condemning” arena. We’re selfish, prideful, sharp-tongued, immoral, unrepentant, hard hearted, judgmental, and the list goes on and on. At the center of our core we have very little redeeming qualities and are in great need of redemption. Where we needed help was in the salvation arena. That help came from God who sent his Son on a redemptive mission to seek and to save. None of us were good enough, that was already proven. All of us were in dire straits. So God sent his Son to seek and to save the lost, which was his mission’s mandate.

So while John tells us that the Pool of Siloam means “Sent,” he actually does not explain its significance. Maybe because most of his readers knew that this pool was built during the time of Hezekiah and the water was “sent” to the pool by a channel from the Gihon spring. The water was used for the Feast of Lights and rumor was that it contained healing properties.

 That’s why we read that verse as some throw-away-comment that means nothing to us. But when we consider the larger picture, the moment become a window into the larger picture of Jesus’ ministry and mission. He is “sent” to save. While in the process of saving and healing, he “sends” a blind man to a pool to wash. Upon cleansing the mud from his eyes, he’s healed and able to see.

All this because Jesus was sent on a mission that was far more than just a simple errand.

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

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CHURCH: As Was His Custom

Christian living is filled with power as well as weakness, mountain top experiences along with valley occurrences, promises accompanied by fulfillments, and exhilarating moments together with mundane ones. Such is seen in a “throwaway” kind of statement Luke makes when Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth.

As Jesus entered the town, the Spirit was powerfully working in/through him (Lk. 4:14). One can only imagine what Luke meant. Jesus’ ministry had yet to begin (at least as laid out by Luke), so what demonstration of “power” is on him? Clearly, we can point to his baptism (3:21-22) and his defeat of Satan in the wilderness (4:1-13). And as Jesus’ ministry unfolds, we’ll note his miracles, his teachings, his love for folks, his insightfulness to people’s hearts, and his ability to thwart or absorb verbal attacks and criticisms. Yes, his unmistakable evidence is present that the Spirit had taken root in Jesus. And as we sit on the edge of our seats, we can’t wait to read what Jesus does next.

What we do read, though, is kind of a letdown. What he did next was that he simply attended the local synagogue, “as was his custom.” He had a pattern, a routine, a habit, a schedule. On Saturday, when his fellow Jews gathered at the Synagogue, he joined them. It’s a moment that doesn’t grab your attention or “wow” you. Jesus simply shows up where Scripture is read, prayers are led and encouragment is offered. And, according to Luke, he did this every Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). Every. Single. Sabbath.

The Synagogue history is a bit of a quagmire. When we close the books on the Old Testament, we have no mention of the Synagogue and it’s clearly not endorsed by Moses and the Law. Some have found possible hints of the Synagogue in Ezekiel and Nehemiah, but those are strongly debated. Most scholars will tell you that the Synagogue arose during the diaspora as a means to fill a void in the Jewish spiritual life. With Jews (i.e. people from Judea) having no access to a temple where sacrifices were made and with their national identity in question, a void was instantaneously created that needed filled. Priests required a place to read Scripture and to instruct on matters of faith. Israel craved local places to meet together to pray and to be instructed. Thus, most likely, the Synagogue came into being during the Babylonian exile. The acceptance of a local place to pray and hear instruction from Scripture was so relevant and popular, the Jews brought it back with them from captivity. And 400 years later, it’s woven into the very fabric of Jewish culture. So much so that Jesus makes it his own weekly priority to gather with the saints.

But let’s be honest, the weekly gathering with the saints is far short of sensational. It’s mundane.

We witness the struggle from within. The singing is too often off pitch, too slow and, who wants to learn a new song anyway? The prayers usually reflect the spiritual shallowness of the person praying. The Lord’s Supper feels rushed because of the uncomfortable silence. The sermon is too long and irrelevant. Relationships with each other is strained and drains the time together. In the process we forget that the “audience” for the worship is not the people who gather, but the One who gathers us together. 

We witness the struggle from without. Everything seems to keep luring and pulling us away from Sunday. Sleep ties us to our beds. Stress from the week builds to a point we cannot cope with the stress of getting ready for “church.” Apathy sets in because, “Who really cares if I show up or not?” The work around the house still needs done. The kids are all committed to sports or other extracurricular activities. Vacations. And all the while, the people down at the lake are all a lot nicer than the ones at church.

And the weekly gathering with the saints is so monotonous. And yet where do we find Jesus?

So Jesus shows up for “church”* because that “was his custom.” And if we point to his baptism as a logical argument for our baptism (e.g. “what’s good enough for him is good enough for me”), then that logic applies to his weekly attendance with saints too. And in the tediousness of making it to services, every … single … week, I think even he finds some joy,  

“I will declare your name to my brothers;
In the presence of the congregation* I will sing your praise.”
(Hebrews 4:12 quoting Psalm 22:22)

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

* The word “congregation” is the Greek word, ekklesia, which means, “assembly” but is often translated “church.”

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Ray of Hope: Renew, Recast, Re-Envision

While visiting family over Thanksgiving, I found myself at the local Save-A-Lot store running errands for my mother-in-law. With my adult daughter, Taylor, in tow, we tried purchasing the correct corn meal and other items on the list (“tried” is the key word). However, outside the story was a Christian recovery group selling items like bracelets, necklaces and t-shirts. Intrigued, we stopped to look at their table. As we sorted through the merchandise, we saw one that caught our eyes. Playing off of the drug epidemic and recovery angle, it said, “Hope Dealer.” In true fashion, I purchased the shirt.

Soon after arriving at Sunshine, Gabe Coriell approached me about the possibility of doing a daily one minute radio spot. He thought with my storytelling background, a presence over the airwaves was not only possible but a positive move. After much discussions and vision planning, he, along with the other deacons, embraced Ray of Hope. We wanted an uplifting message rooted in Scripture, without using Scripture to pound its message. The world is filled with too much adverse messages, so we counter the negative with the positive. We wanted to offer hope. In March of 2018 it began to air on The Mix WNXT 99.3. We settled on a set time of 7:25 am and a floating time for the afternoon to appear sometime between 2:00-6:00, and then a repeat of one episode on Saturdays.

Ray of Hope made the positive impression we desired. The feedback was always encouraging. People were listening.

But the one flaw of radio ministry has two related elements to it. First, it’s expensive to purchase airtime. The cost for Ray of Hope was usually six hundred plus dollars a month. Over the long haul, that’s a lot of money to invest on a monthly basis. That leads to the second element, long term commitment is needed before you start realizing the benefits. If Ray of Hope was to have the maximum results possible (e.g. people attending our services), maybe we’ll see them after five year presence on the radio. Maybe. Significant funds is needed to sustain such a ministry. A number of churches have those resources. Unfortunately, Sunshine does not.

Last summer, Gabe, Aaron Kallner and I began talking options. What direction can we take Ray of Hope? To be honest, as much work as it took to write a daily spiritual message, I loved the ministry. But the truth was it was not going to be sustainable. We talked. We prayed. We tried envisioning what to do.

Enter another option. With the launch of Sunshine’s new website, an opportunity to reach more people through an online presence has been realized. Ray of Hope was not about to be shut down but re-envisioned. We will be creating an audio recording, like before, and formatting it to a podcast linked to our website. Jacob Miller is working on dynamic artwork to accompany the audio portion. Instead of a daily moment, we will be posting 2-3 podcasts weekly accessed through the church’s website and FaceBook.

I will miss the radio version of Ray of Hope, especially since a large number of people have tuned in for the message (and it helped that I grew up on the importance of radio as a medium for messaging). But as Bob Dylan once wrote, “The times they are a-changin,” and the online presence is both affordable and prolific. I am excited about this new opportunity to renew, recast and to re-envision a message of hope for everyone. After all, I am a “Hope Dealer.”

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

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The Naughty/Nice List: How Santa’s List Differs from Jesus’ List

One of my earliest memories of Christmas centered on St. Nick. I remember sitting on his knee asking for a new bike. I remember the cardboard fire place we set up in our living room with a lighted fire we turned on at night (without a real fireplace this was his entrance into the house?). I remember the year mom crocheted/granny square stockings to replace our small plastic ones; these still hang each year at my house. Finally, I remember the year my sister’s stocking was empty, and what I thought was a strike of justice turned out to be a faulty assessment of reality (she had already gone through her stocking).

The Santa Clause tradition has motivated children to spend the month between Thanksgiving and New Year’s exhibiting their best behavior. In a rewards v. punishment theme children wish to avoid an empty stocking with desire to cash in on Santa’s generosity.

Similarities exist between what St. Nick hopes to accomplish and walking with Jesus. Both are appear to be all-knowing. Both desire to bring the best out of the people they encounter. Both have a list used to categorize people and their behavior. Here the similarities seem to break down and begin to diverge, as the lists available are handled quite differently.

St. Nicklaus’ list is about behavior. He rewards the good while punishing the bad. A child does everything he/she can to ensure they are included on the “nice” list. Sure, Santa grades on a sliding scale, but either you’re good or you’re not. And the burden is on you. Your behavior determines your destiny. If you’re not good enough, you fail to get the stuff you want. Simply, it’s a works-driven form of righteousness.

Jesus’ list, on the other hand, is about grace and discipleship. Those who are on Jesus’ good list find themselves filled with flaws, shortcomings and sin. As Paul quotes the Psalmist, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). No matter how hard we try to be good, we cannot be good. In part, because nothing within us is good. The purpose of the cross was to transfer the righteousness of Christ onto us in order to make us good (2 Cor. 5:21). Even Jesus describes his Second Coming, not in terms of a “naughty” and “nice” list but, in terms of compassion. Did we feed the hungry, offer a drink to the thirsty, practice hospitality to the homeless, and clothe the naked, visit the sick or those imprisoned? (Mt. 25:31-40).

Maybe the best picture of how Jesus’ list gets flipped is the story of the two men who ventured to the temple to pray (Lk. 18:9-14). The first was a member of the conservative political/religious party. He avoided an immoral life, and shunned the people who lived such lives. He fasted twice a week and tithed a tenth of his income. If the prayer was made today, he’d boast his church attendance too. The other man knew his sin was before him, and he refused to look up at heaven. He just cried out to God in confessional tones for mercy, not justice.

Santa’s list, as a works-oriented list, places the first man on the “nice” list while the other goes on the “naughty” list. Jesus flips the list because he is looking for humility and compassion while operating in a context of grace. Neither men are good, but the second is willing to admit and trust God’s grace. The first one trusts himself, while the second puts everything on God.

When I look back at the year I thought my sister’s stocking was left unfilled, I’m ashamed at the thoughts that went through my mind. I thought we both got what we deserved. And that’s the flaw in Santa’s works-oriented list, and it’s where I was fatally flawed in my theology. He gives you what you deserves with the “naughty” while rewarding you far better than you deserve with the “nice” list. Jesus’ list simply includes those who know they deserve nothing but are given everything. He calls it grace.

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