Posted on

Rooted in the Soil: Church Growth in America

Jesus tells the story about a sower sowing seeds (Mk. 4:3-9). As he describes the ancient way farmers planted their crops, he stopped focusing on the sower and spent his time discussing the soil. His four descriptions of the type of soil drive the story. One soil never allows the seed to penetrate the surface. Two soils do allow the seed to penetrate but the seed never takes root, either because the sun scorches the growth or is squeezed out by weeds. The final soil is rich and filled with nutrients to allow for growth.

As much as the focus on the sower drives discussion of contemporary church growth, Scripture says much more about the kind of soil for the seed. Looking at today’s soil factors and understanding the ramifications might help in understanding how to tend to the soil for the seed to take root.

The information available tells us that churches in America have stopped growing and are on the decline. I recently read a report that the Southern Baptist Convention lost 200,000 members over the last year or more. One source I read said that Churches of Christ’s growth plateaued in 1980 and started losing numbers in the 1990’s. Since we do not have collectively accurate records of our members, one may argue any statistics about our fellowship. While pockets of growth are seen in individual congregations, most growth is sporadic at best.

If church growth always mirrors the community, then a couple of community facts must be established. The racial demographics have shifted across America. Not only have the number of people in a household has diminished, but society has grown older. An older society means churches are filled with older members, which means attracting younger members becomes more difficult. Along with the aging society is the influx of minority groups. The white community is not only greying but shrinking as well, with the black and brown community growing. Churches committed to homogeneous congregations will find fewer potential members among the white communities. The white community is older and there is not as many of that demographics as there were in the past.

One other dynamic that will negatively impact church growth is the sex scandal of the Catholic Church. Not long ago, it was believed that the corruption was only in America, but further studies have shown that the scandal is a world-wide cover-up. If churches faced scrutiny before this scandal broke, one can imagine what life under the microscope will be like now. The Catholic Church’s conflict will not be self-contained and its siezmic tremors will be felt in all religious bodies.

While many other factors are in play regarding the soil for church growth, a couple of observations can be made about the above information. First, if a local congregation is going to grow it will have to work hard at it and probably need creative approaches to do so. What we’ve done and might have been successful in the past will not easily translate to today. Secondly, the mobility of America still offers local churches the chance to attract new members, as long as churches recognize and open to accepting the nomads who are moving to their neighborhoods. Thirdly, the flood of immigration coming to America means more than opportunities of fulfilling the Great Commission. As long as individual congregations are willing to put skin color and language behind them, the fields may very well be ripe, if only God had workers willing to work. Finally, issues of integrity, authentic faith and a safe environment for children (and maybe for women) will go a long way to bring healing to the hurting and experience growth at the same time.

Ultimately, growth is not up to an individual or fully in the hands of the local church. Yes, we can prepare the soil. We can plant a seed and water it. But even Paul admitted that ultimately God gives the increase (1 Cor 3:6-8).

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

Posted on

Jurassic Faith

The speaker was addressing a movement in the church that promoted the young faith of believers. While the movement was attracting large crowds and the number of baptisms were unprecedented, fallout from the pressure and intensity to live by enforced rules drove these same people away. Sure, the movement made an incredible first impression and sold Jesus like no other church could or did. They targeted college students. They gave up everything, they walked with faith and many sacrificed their futures. All to follow Jesus, or at least the Jesus this movement was advocating.

Within a handful of years the same statistics showed that the young college age people left the movement broken, scared and less than even a mustard seed of faith. The rules and restrictions were so rigid and the burden so heavy, these members buckled under the pressure. Then the speaker lamented, “We should have members whose faith grew over fifty years, instead we have nothing.”

There’s something to be said about faith for a lifetime. The Bible certainly underscores a faith among the aged, a faith that walked with God over the decades. In the great chapter of faith (Hebrews 11) the author specifically points to three individuals whom he considered men of faith at the end of their lives. Note the focus of these three individuals is at the end of their journey, not the beginning or middle part of their lives.

The first is Isaac (v. 20). While the historical narrative tells us very little of Abraham’s son, he does highlight the moment Isaac blessed his twin sons, Jacob and Esau. And while the incident involved the deception of Jacob to get the blessing, Isaac still looked to the future where God’s promises would be made good through his son. He still believed and held on to the promise God made to his father and to himself. He was also convinced that promise would get work out through his son (or sons).

Following the promised line, Jacob’s life is skipped over and we’re given a snapshot of him on his death bed (v. 21). Not only is he worshiping God, he’s blessing Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. He’s claiming them as his own so that they will be part of the promise of God.

Finally, the author turns to Joseph at a point when the patriarch knew his end was near (v. 22). He points Israel to the day of the Exodus, as many as four hundred years into the future. He not only told them that God will lead them out of Egypt, but that he also had instructions about what to do with his bones. He believed their destiny was the Promised Land and he wasn’t about to be left behind.

Each of these men became men of faith because God never gave up on them. Through their failures and shortcomings, God was faithful. In his faithfulness their faith grew and deepened. In time they were men whose agedness matched their faithfulness.

In order for faith to grow and deepen, the church needs to cultivate a place where an environment for a growing faith is present. Those who are mature need to allow faith of others to be immature. Those mature in faith need to allow failure to be a part of the immature faith. Stop rebuking. Stop humiliating. Stop condemning. Instead, begin walking hand in hand. Always encourage. Guide with wisdom. Be present when they fall because people will fall. Only then will the tender faith of the young turn to the powerful faith of the aged.

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

Posted on

Reflections on a Politician without being Political

With the passing of John McCain we’ve seen the closing of an era if not an icon. My senior year in college saw McCain enter the US Senate, representing the State of Arizona to which he held that position until his death last week. He was a decorated Vietnam POW war hero. He championed conservative policies. And he was the Republican pick for the presidency in 2008.

As I reflect on his passing, I can’t help but draw on some of his strengths worth highlighting. He was by no means a perfect man, as noted below, but there were still good qualities about this man who served his country.

● He Readily Admitted His Failures . . . somewhat surprising, his wife of forty years, Cindy, was not his first wife. In 1965 he married Carol Shepp. But seven years after returning from Vietnam they divorced so that he could marry Cindy Hensley. One could easily make a number of excuses as to why his marriage to Carol failed. He was tortured as a POW and surely suffered from what we know today as PTSD. Upon his return to the states he started “acting out” by having one “fling” after another. Yet he readily owned up to his mistakes by admitting that divorcing Carol was his “. . . greatest moral failure.” In a society that downplays such failures, glosses over them, and even defends or denies them, it’s refreshing to hear painful regret coming from the highest levels of our nation.

● He Was Guided By Principles, Not By Party . . . while McCain was a Republican, he often broke with his party for what he believed to be “a greater good.” It earned him the nickname, “Maverick.” He pushed to cut spending, he pressed for campaign finance reform, and he voiced his displeasure for the strategic approach to the Iraq War. All of which came in opposition to his own party, alienating himself from his own fellow Republican Senators. In a time when party loyalty trumps the American people, McCain put the American people’s needs above party loyalty.

● He Reached Across the Aisle . . . two ways exist to get things accomplished in D.C. The first is to hold a majority where you never need bi-partisan support. Since that rarely happens, the second way is to implement a more honorable approach: work with both parties for a solution. McCain was often conciliatory with the Democrats including reconciling with John Kerry over the Vietnam War and readily praising his opponent in the 2008 election as being an honorable man whom he disagreed with on policy. In an era of villainizing opponents, it’s been refreshing to see someone intentionally work with liberals and conservatives alike.

● He Suffered Worse than Any of Us . . . he spent five years as a POW with two of those years in solitary confinement. He suffered a broken leg and both arms when his plane was shot down, and after being “rescued” by the enemy, they crushed his shoulders. While in prison, the Vietnamese refused to offer any hospital care for him. And when they discovered that he was the son of an Admiral, they were willing to release him. McCain refused preferential treatment but insisted those imprisoned the longest get released first. Next time you’re having a bad day, just remind yourself that “John McCain had it worst.”

McCain was far from perfect but he modeled virtues embraced by the Christian faith. We confess our sins (James 5:16; 1 John 1:8-9). We uphold principles over party loyalty (1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Philippians 3:4b-11). We seek unity (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 5:13-15; Ephesians 4:11-13; Philippians 2:1-4). And finally, the One we follow calls us to suffer for his Name’s sake (Luke 9:23; Acts 5:41; 9:16).

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

Posted on

CHURCH: The Rules for the Rules

The struggle for rule-followers to accept a life of grace is real. At every turn we look to rules to redeem and rescue us. But God keeps reaching into his deep pockets of grace to reach us. However, rules do play a role in the life of the church, and we grace-filled members need to feel the tension. After reflective consideration I’ve come to these five rules that play a role in guiding the church.

Rule #1 We are saved by God’s grace and not by the rules we keep. We can be looking at Ephesians 2:8-10, which reminds us that if salvation came by following rules then it’s accounted to us as wages, or we can study Galatians 2:16 where by nature the law condemns. No matter how good we are at keeping the rules, we cannot keep them to the level where we are sinless. And even if we kept the rules perfectly, rule-keeping cannot compensate for our own sinfulness.

Rule #2 The only law that matters is the law to love. The first century Jews had numbered and ranked some 600 laws, then they debated which the important ones were. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:23-40; Mk. 12:28-34; Lk. 10:25-28), he was invited into a local debate. His answer was a combination of the Shema in Deuteronommy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18. Simply put, love God and love your neighbor. Jesus claims that every other rule emerges from our ability (or lack there-of) to love God and to love our neighbor (Mt. 22:40).

Rule #3 Never neglect the weightier matters of the law. Jesus seems to draw from Micah when saying there are some laws more important than others like justice, mercy and faithfulness (Mt. 23:23). Micah says that God wants us to “act justly, love mercy and walk in humbleness” (Micah 6:8b). Some laws are more important than others, and the most important ones seem closely tied to loving God and loving each other.

Rule #4 Those bent toward following rules are spiritually immature. When Paul discussed the role of the law, he depicted it as a “babysitter” until Christ came (Gal. 3:24-25). When we grow and mature, we no longer need rules to guide our lives because the Spirit’s work takes over. If we argue for rules then chances are we’re not the mature Christian but the baby who is demanding his/her own way. Because of our immaturity we may need some rules or boundaries in place to protect us, but we should never confuse wisdom with Scripture authority by binding our opinion on everyone one else.

Rule #5 Churches need operational rules. Because churches are comprised of varying levels of spiritual maturity, church leaders may need to make policy regarding a number of issues. For instance, what is the benevolent policy? Do they help everyone who asks? How much are they willing or capable of helping? Some of the rules may be harmless like how long the morning assembly should last. Some rules may very well violate the law to love or the weightier matters of the law, like whether or not to accept into membership a person of a different race. Important clarification is needed in regard to church policy: do not confuse the need for policy to guide an individual congregation with actual teaching from Scripture.

The irony of trying to live by grace is that we continue to create rules to guide our lives. So as I reflect on my proposed lost, I don’t know if I’m on to something or I’m just as immature as the next person. Nevertheless, those are my rules for having rules in the church.

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

Posted on

Go Greyhound! Unless It’s a Knight

I must have been about eight or nine years old. Dad had worked some 16 years for the company he loved, Greyhound Bus Lines, when they updated their logo to a colorful and patriotic red, white, and blue wave behind the famed dog (their new logo may have been influenced by the nation’s bicentennial celebration). That same Christmas, Deanna, David and I were given Greyhound t-shirts with the oversized logo, and printed across the front were bold words, “Go Greyhound.”  It was a touch of old and new. The logo was newly revised, but the tag line maintained the campaign started in the 1950’s, “Go Greyhound, and Leave the Driving to Us.”  

The t-shirt quickly became one of my favorites, rivalling wearing time with my Cincinnati Reds t-shirt of “Mr. Red Legs” running through the wishbone “C,” a shirt I have packed away in a box. I wore my Greyhound shirt proudly, partly because my dad worked for the company, and partly because my dad gave me the shirt. So it was no surprise that when the first opportunity to wear the shirt publically presented itself, I jumped at the chance to wear it. 

Steve and Tim were playing a high school basketball game, in which hundreds (?) of people were certain to show up for the game. Our gym was always packed, loud, and exciting. We were the Knights and our colors were black and white. I should have worn black and white. Mom had crocheted me a granny-squared, black and white vest that I usually wore to the games to show my support (yes, it’s in the same box as the Reds t-shirt). But that night, I wanted to show everyone my new, cool t-shirt.  So I put it on and planned on going to the game. Instead, I was told in no uncertain terms to change my shirt. Mom, Steve, and Tim, in very strong words of warning, telling me I was not to wear that t-shirt to this game. 

I was a little shocked. I didn’t understand why, but I thought I knew better. I went upstairs and grabbed my heavy coat. I put it on, zipped it up, and thought that when I got to the game, I could take my coat off and parade around in my new colors.  With mom running the scoreboard and my brothers playing in the games, I was free to do as I pleased. And I did exactly that. I paraded my shirt with the bold lettering, “Go Greyhound,” written across my chest. Within five minutes, all my friends were laughing at me and the adults who knew better were smirking. Suddenly, mom and my wiser brothers’ warning came clear. They weren’t against me wearing the shirt to a ballgame, they were against me wearing the shirt to that ballgame: we were playing the Gaston Greyhounds, and my shirt in bold lettering was cheering, “Go Greyhound(s).” I went to the bathroom to turn my shirt inside out, and then hid the rest of the night under the bleachers. 

We might expect an eight year old to mistakenly wear the wrong shirt in support of the wrong team. But in your walk of faith, have you ever wore a shirt that ended up supporting Satan and his cause? Yes, you’re loyal to Jesus, but your actions deceives your heart. Greed, lust, slander, hate, bitterness, anger, unforgiving, apathy, and divisiveness are all actions that betray your loyalty to Jesus.  Paul might say it like this, “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Rom. 6:2b). 

I no longer have the Greyhound t-shirt, though I do wish it was packed away in a box of mementos. I think about that shirt every now and then, and even more so about the man who gave it to me. Even more important is that Jesus gave us something to wear (Col. 3:12), are we wearing it or choosing to wear his enemies colors?                                                                                                              

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

Posted on

A Time for Silence

I’ve always been intrigued about the story of Laban. Jacob’s decision to return to Canaan is motivated, at least in part by God’s will (Gen. 31:3). But another factor was his deteriorating relationship with his father-in-law, Laban (Gen. 31:2). Without warning, Jacob uproots his family, getting a three day jump before Laban finds out that his son-in-law, daughters, and grandchildren are long gone. Like a posse, Laban pursues Jacob for seven days. Like water reaching the boiling point, Laban fumes over Jacob’s double-crossing. With seven days to think, Laban rehearses his speech; he’ll repay Jacob for the pain and damage caused. 

But the night before Laban overtakes Jacob and sets to confront him, his sleep is disturbed by a visit from God. “Be careful,” warns God, “not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad” (Gen. 31:24). Wow!  God puts a cork on Laban’s bottled anger and oozing thoughts of retaliation. I’ve often wished God would intervene like that whenever someone had a score to settle with me. Even more, I’ve often wished God would intervene and stop me from saying or doing something I later regretted. 

The trouble with “words” is that they emerge from a problem with the heart. Jesus made it clear that it’s not what goes into a person that makes him/her unclean but what comes out of the mouth (Mk. 7:15). So whatever is going on in the heart will emerge from the mouth. We might hope the words are as sweet as honey, but we often hope in vain as what emerges is as vile as projectile vomiting. 

In the New Testament list of “big” sins, the spoken sin always finds a voice. For instance, Romans 1:29 speaks of those filled with wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. Yes these are big sins, but so are the ones associated with the mouth: gossip, slander, and boasting (Rom. 1:30). I may not be guilty of the former, but of the latter . . .? In the list found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul includes slanderers alongside the prostitutes and drunkards who will not inherit the Kingdom of God. While the acts of the flesh (NIV’s “sinful nature”) stand in opposition to walking by the Spirit, they do not include the spoken words; they do talk of “fits of rage” (Gal. 5:20).  Paul tells us to get rid of all slander (Eph. 4:31), obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse (dirty) joking (Eph. 5:5); such traits disqualify a person from any inheritance in the kingdom of God. James, recognizing that the tongue, i.e. mouth, can be as wild as an unbroken stallion, says to bridle it and keep a tight rein on it (Jam. 1:26). 

James’ larger context is that the person who believes they’re religious or spiritual, yet cannot control the words he/she says is only fooling themselves; God cannot be fooled. Therefore, one of the signs that our religion is either pure or corrupted is found in the way we use words, because what we say reflects our hearts. Our heart is the throne-room. Who sits on that throne is revealed by what we say. And there is only one throne in our throne-room, and only enough room exists for one ruler. Since I doubt you’ll ever get the help to bite your tongue like Laban did, we have to ask ourselves, who’s ruling our hearts? What we’ve been saying speaks volumes about who exactly rules our hearts.

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

Posted on

CHURCH: Start Finding the Good

The bad stopped playing “hide-n-seek;”
No longer does evil try to conceal itself;
Positioning itself through propaganda and marketing;
The worst of society has come out loud and clear,
But can we Start Finding the Good?

We step into the church hoping to find the pure, the just, and the holy;
We expect that Christians are actually acting like Christ.
But we find that the difference between the world and the church is a thin line,
We find too much of the world’s thinking has crept into the church.
So we’re left to wonder, is there any way we can Start Finding the Good?

We listen to the message hoping to hear good news;
Why does it seem like all we hear about is the bad news?
All we hear about is Nadab and Abihu struck down by God for offering “strange fire,”
Or Ananias and Sapphira facing a similar fate for lying to the Holy Spirt.
Why can’t we Start Finding the Good? 

We’re told about two roads,
One leads to life and the other to death.
I don’t want to be on the road to death,
But why does the road to life feel like death?
Surely, one of the roads opens the way to Start Finding the Good?

My week is full of my own sin, failure, struggles, and hopelessness,
I can’t do the right because I keep doing the wrong.
I come to worship God in dreaming of discovering forgiveness and grace,
But when I awake, I am reminded of how God cannot love me.
I don’t know if I can ever Start Finding the Good.

They say the glass is half empty,
And the only thing you see at church is the bad.
But what if the glass could be half full?
Your eyes are suddenly opened to God’s work;|
And maybe we can Start Finding the Good.

Jesus never came to condemn you, me or the world;
We were doing a pretty good job of that on our own.
Jesus came to save you, me and the world,
He paid the price for all mankind for all time.
It makes me want to Start Finding the Good.

So here I am leaving this highway to hell forever,
Instead I am climbing the stairway to heaven.
And along this journey, I’ll stop magnifying or the bad, the negative, and anger.
I’ll no longer minimize the right, the positive and the love.
I’ll Start Finding the Good.

I’ll Start Finding the Good when I open God’s word,
Looking for God’s grace, mercy and steadfast loyalty.
I’ll Start Finding the Good when encountering God’s people,
Extending compassion, kindness, gentleness and goodness.|
I’ll Start Finding the Good.

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

This poem is an attempt at the “couplets” where the first and second lines are repeat themes. This was a common practice in Hebrew poetry. JAP

Posted on

The Delimma of a Zero Tolerance Police

The first time I heard the term, “Zero Tolerance Policy,” was in the wake of the Columbine tragic shooting. I was intrigued by the term. Schools, motivated by Federal Government funds, decided to take a strong stand against violence, and I applauded them. In the wake of the shooting, two boys came to a school in Greene County, Tennessee dressed in overcoats like Columbine shooters. They thought it was going to be funny as they carried no weapons. But the outcry was loud and they were suspended. Personally, I was glad. It looked like the “Zero Tolerance Policy” was going to work.

Then other reports began to surface which began undermining the purpose of the policy. The first was an Eagle Scout holding a 4.00 GPA in school. He had never needed disciplined and was, by all accounts, a model student. Then he returned from a camp out and failed to unload all of his camping equipment from his truck. In the back was a hatchet and a knife. The student, under the new “Zero Tolerance Policy” was expelled from school. Another account involved a kindergarten child who, in a “boys being boys” moment, bit his cookie into the shape of a gun. The student was expelled because of the policy on guns in school.

Holding a “Zero Tolerance Policy” does sound like one is taking a strong stand against crime and behavioral problems. Advocates claim that the policy levels the playing field so that it eliminates any room for discrimination. Thus, punishment is unilaterally given for those who are in possession of weapons on school grounds, or bullying, or possessing drugs or any kind.

I can see how Christians are drawn to the “Zero Tolerance Policy.” They can point to Scripture showing God acting unilaterally in punishment for sin. So Nadab and Abihu are executed for offering “strange fire” in the Tabernacle (Lev. 10). Uzzah is killed for touching the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sam. 6:6-7). And in the New Testament God puts Ananias and Sapphira to death for lying to the Holy Spirit concerning the amount of money they gave to the church (Act. 5:1-11).

As powerful as these stories are, they are outliers and exceptions to the rule for how God deals with his people. God’s merciful judgments are far more numerous than his justice judgments. He spared justice for Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit. He spared justice for Cain when he murdered his brother. He spared justice for Moses for failing to maintain God’s holiness before Israel; God allowed him a view of Cannan. He spared justice for David over Bathsheba, though the fallout in his family seemed punishment enough. The truth is God does not operate out of a “Zero Tolerance Policy;” he works from a grace and mercy position.  

The “Zero Tolerance Policy” has not curbed the violence like it has promised (i.e. look at the number of school shootings). The policy does not distinguish between opioids and a baby aspirin (i.e. the same punishment for distributing opioids is the same punishment for giving a student an aspirin for a headache). It tends to be a quick fix for long term problems. It tends to embolden those in position of power and weaken those who have no say. And some studies have suggested that the policy targets minorities (i.e. it does not level the playing field).

So if God built his relationship with humanity based on a “Zero Tolerance Policy” in regard with sin, who would escape punishment? As Paul quoted the Psalms in Romans 3:10-18, his answer is clear: no one. If God treated us exactly like we deserve, none of us could stand before him. But God doesn’t treat us like we deserve, does he? So if God has rejected a “Zero Tolerance Policy” as a mandate to deal with humanity (i.e. you and me), why do we keep thinking that this policy is a good policy to follow?

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

Posted on

Restoring Civility

“Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell . . . You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also . . . If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Mt. 5:22, 38-41). 

A number of years ago I accessed YouTube to introduce my children to The Muppet Show. When I searched the site, the old men in the balcony, Statler and Waldorf, appeared. Someone had strung about two minutes worth of insults together. We laughed till our stomachs hurt and tears flowed. Poor Fozzy Bear who absorbed the blunt of the humor, heckling, and harassing. Such bantering was scripted and all in fun, evident by my children’s reaction to the video. But in the real world such mocking is rude and lacks respect. The danger is that such incivility in the real world threatens the social fabric that weaves us together. 

We live in an informal society, where people “speak their minds” at the expense of other’s feelings, who address seniors by their first name instead of “Sir” or “Ma’am,” and where Casual Friday includes jeans has extended to most parts of the week and social occasions. The comfortable, laid-back environment seems to allow far more intimacy, where people can be themselves. However, it also seems to spawn rudeness, disrespect, and selfishness.

We turn on the TV and the panelists on the talk shows attack each other instead of discussing the issue. The more sensitive the issue, the more passionate the panelist justify their insults. We tune into talk radio and the host of the show spends his/her three hours on air demonizing anyone who disagrees with his/her position. We open up FaceBook only to find angry and disruptive arguments, leaving us wondering why we’re even friends with them? Without face-to-face interaction, we feel the freedom to say anything unfiltered and the result is a lack of civility in our society.

Do we get along with people? Are we being neighborly?  How fast do we seek retaliation instead of forgiveness? Do we respect boundaries and are boundaries enforced? Are we a people characterized by decent behavior in all situations? Civility is about public restraint, by controlling ourselves for the greater good of the community. Without civility, society leads to civil unrest, and chaos soon follows, and the fabric holding us together ends up frayed. 

Jesus addressed civility when he spoke of turning the other cheek, avoiding name calling, blessing those who curse you, widening the definition of “neighbor,” and forgiving those though they were executing him. Even “shaking the dust off one’s feet” was a civil way of leaving an uncivil environment. So discipleship forces us to act with civility even when those around us are uncivil. 

Have we lost civility? If not, it’s almost gone. If civility is restored to our society, it will only happen when people of faith begin acting like people of faith. When we treat everyone with dignity and respect, we’ll begin restoring civility. When we engage others with listening ears, we’ll begin restoring civility. When we stop making blanket statement on groups and try to understand individual plights, we’ll begin restoring civility. When we start adopting Jesus’ policy of love and shut down the rhetoric of hate, we’ll begin restoring civility.

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

Posted on

Does Your Talk Match Your Walk?

The demon possessed little girl was trafficked by men who used her curse as their gift to make money. She spoke the truth, at least in this case. Actually, she shouted the truth as she followed Paul and Silas around Philippi the first week they were in town. What she said was true; these two men were from God telling everyone how to be saved (Act. 16:17). But something beyond the words was very wrong with her message. So after a number of days of following the men with her vocal insight and commentary, Paul turned to her and in Jesus’ name cast out the demon.

At this point in the story we need to stand in the conflict between the girl’s message and the girl’s life. Beyond the fallout for Paul (i.e. falsely accused, arrested, beaten, jailed), one might question his action. If the girl is speaking the truth, does it really matter what was hidden deep within life? All that mattered was that the truth was being spoken, right?

Years ago I had a conversation with an elder concerned about the Involvement Minister. Over a seven year period he began questioning the man’s ethics. Actions taken could not be reconciled with the explanations given. The elder told me that every class the minister taught and every sermon preached he listened, hoping he’d say something conflicting with (his interpretation) of what was clearly taught in Scripture. In my youthful zeal I told him, “I don’t think it’s always about what the person says in the pulpit that matters, but how they live outside of the pulpit.”

Paul exorcises the demon from the girl, and part of me thinks he over-reacted. She wasn’t lying. She was pointing out exactly who Paul and Silas were. She was clarifying their mission. She was right. What was wrong with that?

For Paul almost everything was wrong. Beyond the basic information being true, the source of the information was corruptibly wrong. Her information was not revealed to her by the Spirit of God, but through the demon destroying her life. Paul didn’t need that kind of endorsement, if he needed any at all. Maybe that’s the key to this little girl’s story. It mattered to Paul whether or not this little girl possessed by the demon not only spoke the truth but was allowing the truth to speak through her life. Since the demon wasn’t about to repent or change, Paul wanted nothing to do with the demon. He cast the demon out of the girl.

We call this “Talking the Talk” versus “Walking the Walk.” Red flags are raised when we find someone who says the right words but whose life is lived in contrast to the spoken words. Jesus might have called them “actors,” people who were pretending to be his follower without any semblance of allowing him to shape their life.  We call them hypocrites.

The conversation with the elder eventually led to action, though not because of anything I said. The Involvement Minister was discovered in fraudulent activity regarding church funds and was immediately dismissed. His wrongful actions far outweighed his truthful words.

Jesus talked about fruit inspectors (Mt. 7:15-19). He said to examine what kind of fruit people are bearing in their lives. If you cannot see how Jesus has changed their life, then maybe the person should be questioned. Maybe the speaker should be tuned out. Maybe the church should stop putting such individuals on a pedestal and start putting Jesus back on the pedestal.

In a time when people will say anything to get you to listen and to buy into their agenda, we need to use more scrutiny. Just because a person knows the right words to use when speaking to the public, doesn’t mean they live by those words. If the walk does not match the talk, then maybe we should stop listening to the talk.

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