I Wish...

I wish I could write like the authors I read.
I wish I could sing like the vocalists I hear.
I wish I could preach like the preachers I listen to.
I wish I could lead like the leaders I'm around.

I think my "wishes" probably point to some broken and fallen need in me to be the center of it all, to have my ego stroked or something else that I'm sure isn't good. The list likely reveals more my faults than my desires.

Maybe I should wish to be grateful and content for the things God has allowed me to do well and forge onward in discipline and effort to do those things with greater passion and excellence.

I wish that would be my wish.

Who Are Your Gifts?

“My advice to you is to seek out those kinds of friends. If you find ONE, then hang on to him. Then the two of you can seek out another. Listen and watch where the Lord is leading you. Stay away from the guys who do not love Jesus, who are not loyal, who are not fun, and who are not interested in community and accountability. Don’t settle for second-rate buddies. Ask the Lord to bring you into a small group of disciples who love life and want to be warriors for Christ. It will change your whole life for the better. I promise. I have stories to prove it.”
– Andy Kerckhoff, A note to graduating seniors from their teacher

This August I’m planning to visit Banff, Canada with six other college friends. While the details of the trip haven’t been ironed out, what has been established is the truth that there are fewer joys and jewels in life than deep, soul-stirring friendships. For almost fifteen years we have had the pleasure of watching each other live life, sometimes from a distance and sometimes up close and personal. We’ve witnessed unbelievable highs and unspeakable lows. We’ve laughed ‘til we cried and cried ‘til we laughed. We’ve kept in touch through the weddings, births, jobs and everything else that comes along with the lives of men in their mid-thirties. And do you know what? It never gets old.

A few years back we committed to meet annually for an extended weekend or so (we call the trip “Fandango”, which is another story for another time). I can’t speak for the rest of the crew (there’s seven of us total) but it is almost always the highlight of my year. Period. To again see the faces of guys I’ve admired, loved and cherished is simply a blessing. It’s a blessing to spend time with them, to be reminded of the goodness of God I see in their friendships, to see the trajectory their lives are taking both outwardly and inwardly.

My parents many moons ago told me that college would be a critical time for me, but the importance they warned about had nothing to do with grades or girls. They exhorted me to develop deep, godly friendships with other guys. My mother said that in no other season in my life would I have so much time and such close proximity to pour into so many friends than while I was away at college. She was right and I'm overwhelmingly grateful for her wisdom.

Not only did I see that example lived out in my parents’ lives but now I see it in mine. The greatest thing I have from Baylor University isn’t the sheepskin that hangs on my wall but the friendships I left with from Waco. So as August approaches my excitement level increases like that of a child who finds himself about a week away from Christmas morn. For once again will I enjoy the great gifts I've been given in Andy, Jeff, Jason, Mitch, Scott and Craig.

Who are your gifts?

Profession, Submission and the Bible

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
– The Gospel of John 17:17 (ESV)

Periodically I receive a newsletter from Baylor University which gives the latest and greatest news about my alma mater (Yes, I’m a Bear). Included in this newsletter is a response section which essentially functions as “Letters to the Editor”. I didn’t happen to catch the story to which everyone was responding but whatever the exact topic it definitely struck a nerve, and a religious one at that. The theme appeared to center around the idea of other religions outside of Christianity having access to heaven.

It’s not a new topic. The views around the nation are increasingly pluralistic. However, for the better part of two millennia the Church has held the ground that Jesus is the only way to God. The reason they hold that view is straightforward. Jesus, as well as his apostles, said this about himself (cf., John 14:6). It is recorded in the Bible. Christians, at least in the past, have claimed that the Bible is their source of unparalleled authority being that it is the fully inspired word of God.

Yet there is this response from a fellow alum in my latest college periodical to the statement that Christ is the only way:

“I am a Christian, but I do not believe that Christians have all the answers. Paul, Peter, James, John, and all the early "brothers" were human. The church leaders that decided what writings would go into the "New Testament" were all human. God only has humans to work through in this world, and none of them are infallible. I do believe the Bible is the "inspired" word of God. Other books that did not make the cut were probably also inspired by God, as well as writings used by other religions. The key word is "inspired," not "dictated." Why do many Christians in general and Baptists in particular feel they now have the final word? ...God cannot be put in a box. He cares for all his people and has since the beginning of time. Who are we to say who will and will not make it to heaven? That is God's call, not ours.”

What is stunning is not the fact that people don’t believe Jesus is the exclusive way into the Kingdom of Heaven. That is old news. What is stunning is that people who claim to be his followers are now joining in the chorus.

Apparently it’s completely acceptable today to profess both your allegiance to Jesus (say, “I’m a Christian”) and your rejection of the Bible. “Rejection” too strong a word? Not at all. To piece together what you like of the Bible and disregard that which you don’t (e.g., the exclusivity of Jesus) is to place yourself as the authority and judge over God’s Word instead of the other way around which, by the way, is how authentic followers of Jesus have been described in that very Bible.

1 John 2:3-5, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Professing a devotion to Jesus while rejecting parts of the Bible will not do, and yet many have been so hoodwinked by the zeitgeist of postmodernism which tempts us to exchange pearls of absolute truth for pebbles of ephemeral opinion that after hearing someone do exactly this we move on to the next topic without even blinking. But God will have none of it. You can’t claim to love Christ and with a clear conscience play loose and fast with his word.

If 1 John 2:3-5 tells us anything it says that fidelity of faith is found not in profession but submission.

By God’s grace, may we seek and struggle to demonstrate both.

Like Son, Like Father

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”
– The Epistle to the Philippians 2:3-5 (ESV)

Saturday we spent time with some sweet friends of ours. It was one of those all-day affairs because we see them so infrequently. So after we had my eldest son’s basketball game early in the morning we raced home to throw toys back into their rooms of origin, sweep up stale cereal that had dried and adhered to the kitchen linoleum with the bond of industrial strength super glue and all the other various and sundry activities you engage in to get your house ready for guests. I anticipated a time of laughs and smiles. Little did I know there would be a tear or two in there as well.

Our friends have a child named Claire who, for all intents and purposes, suffers from a severe case of cerebral palsy. She cannot talk (at least like we do), does not walk and moves with the help of her loving parents and a wheelchair.

My oldest son Thatcher was super excited to see her. He kept waiting at the window for her to arrive with her parents and younger sister. When she came he wanted to help with the wheelchair, ask her to play (with childish naiveté, “Let’s jump on the trampoline!”) and generally wanted to hang out with her. I was all smiles to see him take such a liking to her. But it was more than liking for Thatcher. He wanted to “do stuff” with her. When Claire's mom asked if he would read a book to her Thatch lit up like he’d won the lottery! Even though he is in kindergarten Thatcher reads at a third grade level (chalk one up to my wife’s home schooling efforts) and reading books is something he loves. And I love that he loves reading. Thatch sat on the couch as Claire’s mom wheeled her over next to him, then he opened a book about King David in front of her and began reading.

For the better part of twenty minutes my son displayed a grace and servant-heartedness that not only warmed my soul but also humbled and convicted me. As he was reading to (his words) “Clairy-Beary” with the exuberance and intensity of a professional narrator, I was questioning how many opportunities have I squandered to be a blessing to someone else? Or when I do serve others, how pure are my motives…how altruistic are my aims? Do I serve with joy or do I serve because that is what I’m supposed to do? Sadly, there are probably more times than not where my son far outpaces his father in taking joy in serving others. Still, my aim is to win at this more times than lose.

I also saw in my son as a five year old what I hope to see in him as a fifteen year old, twenty-five year old, and any other age you can think of. May I be the kind of father that models Jesus for my sons (I’ve got three of them) in such a way that "reading books for others” is their default mode, the sine qua non of their life. If that would be true for them then I would know in some small measure I will have helped guide them in the way (and mind) of Jesus.

But Saturday, my son modeled Jesus for me.

The Two Tenses of Truth

"The bond of tears is the strongest bond of all."
- William Barclay

You know what’s tough? Looking in the eyes of a 16 year-old girl who’s late-40-something father suddenly and unexpectedly died two days earlier.

Through the little pain in my own life I’ve learned that there are two tenses of truth. There is “Now” truth and “Then” truth. Today, at the funeral home viewing, I crossed paths with my departed friend’s little girl. Upon seeing me she came over and I sensed she expected me, as her pastor and her dad’s friend, to do something “preacherish”. I didn’t try to cheer her up and utter some scripture on heaven. That is “then” truth – stuff we need to hear, stuff that’s true but stuff that probably is better suited for another time and place. I definitely didn’t say, “Don’t be sad, your dad’s in a better place.” That would be just plain stupid.

I just looked her in the eyes, placed my hand on the back of her head and traced it down her hair maybe as her father would’ve done and began to cry (as she did). Through the tears I told her I was so sorry at what had happened and that I knew she missed her daddy. Then I simply hugged her.

I think that was “now” truth.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."

- The Epistle to the Romans 12:14 (ESV)

We Got Radicals, Yes We Do; We Got Radicals, How About You?

This evening while channel surfing I stumbled across a report on Fox News centering on extremists in Islam from which so much of today’s terrorism flows. I caught only the last ten minutes. Most of it was the same stuff you’d see any other time of the day – “death to America” chants, burnings of the Stars and Stripes, rhetorical antipathies toward Jews and Christians and guns…lots of guns. But what struck me in the piece were the examples of how some in the Muslim (and I’m assuming Middle Eastern) media were promoting the extremist agenda with their programming. One incredibly disturbing example was a cartoon for children that showed a plane (with “made-for-kids” eyes and mouth on the front of it) just flying happily along until a Jewish man (his yarmulke for all to see) pushed a button which somehow transformed the happy face plane into a mean-faced plane that now was rushing towards the Twin Towers to meet its 9/11 destiny.

That is sad on so many fronts but what stood out to me being a teacher, and a religious teacher at that, was that everyone who felt this cartoon was okay (the creators, the TV programmers, the audience of adults and children) was taught to believe that this was okay. My assumption is that most, if not all of it, was under the guise of religion. That God believes these murderous thoughts, feelings and actions are good and noble. This is somehow his plan.

I’d like to throw some stones at them. I’d like to live with a heavy dose of righteous indignation toward their lemming-like following of teachings so ruinous. I like to show people why being a Christian is so much a clearer choice in contrast to Islam by using delusional stories like the one I’ve just told you. The only problem is Christianity has its own set of wackos preaching delusions that are just as ruinous. Many of these teachers, like their radical Islamist counterparts, are lauded by millions, watched on television and followed like rock stars (to which many of them live like such). While their teaching doesn’t promote violence or hatred against another group or race of people it still is a far cry from God’s heart. Maybe you’ve come across it…

It makes God your personal market-money manager who guarantees financial gain. It says that no one should ever be sick, be poor or be anything they don’t want to be. It promotes man as all-powerful teaching that life is all about the fulfillment of his destiny, dreams and desires. They see the “not yet” as the “already”.

Subtler cousins of this teaching equate following Jesus with the great American Dream, allowing you to choose Jesus like you would anything down the supermarket aisle – just buy it for when you need it, use it when you’d like, jettison it when it gets old, boring or just doesn’t “work” for you anymore – didn’t make my marriage stay together, didn’t improve my business, didn’t give me obedient kids. Still, it can all be yours for a prayer and an ounce of emotion. Don’t worry about denying yourself and taking up your cross, this is easy.

Friends, the sad truth is we have our own radicals. We have teachers who have a radically different version of what it is to follow Jesus. It is radically different from what we see predominantly around the world, in early church history and definitely (and most importantly) from the scriptures. Yet many embrace them. They’re given lucrative book deals, worldwide television programs and packed out churches, and, like their Islamic counterparts, are taking generations down with them.

So maybe the next time you click through your television programming and run across some slick, bejeweled and bedazzled preacher weaving the latest and greatest from God on the loom of prosperity and/or consumerism be reminded that Western Christianity has a terror of its own.