Category Archives: church life

Jan 9 2012

The Parable of the Good Mormon

25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”

 26 Jesus said, ”What is written in the law? What do you read there?”

 27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

 28 Jesus said to him, ”Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”

 29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 30 Jesus answered, ”As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him.34The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’ “

 36 Then Jesus said, ”Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”

 37 The expert on the law answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”

   Jesus said to him, ”Then go and do what he did.”

I would like to suggest to you, that the Orthodox Jews looked at Samaritans, the same way as we look at Mormons. I think there is a parallel. And I think that we could stand for an adjustment.

I very much want to be a voice of reason, but also firmly based in what is true. I quite simply don’t believe Mormons are Christians.  My personal history with Mormonism has not been good. Back in May of 1982, I ventured in the Temple grounds at Salt Lake City. I was quite “stoned”, and I didn’t have on a shirt, and I was smoking a cigarette. My tattoos certainly didn’t create a lot of good will either.

Quite suddenly, two men in suits appeared. I have no idea where they came from. But they briskly escorted me out to the gate. I was told not to return. But outside the Temple grounds I met Christian believers, who were stationed outside to hand out tracts. I talked with them, and took all the reading material they had.

Within this particular parable, the deep heart of our Lord is strong. As He spoke, He dismantled issues split from its foes. There simply isn’t room to carry our personal issues. He takes us apart, but in a good way. We are brought into a special friendship with God.

The Samaritan also has been brought into the presence of God. He does not volitionally do so. We who follow, we must enter into His presence. But the Samaritan must press further in. All that he does, is factored in.  Samaritan love does have definite boundaries. But it does have humanitarian awareness. There is a profound sense, in a kindness that is true and kind. I heard someone once say, “If I had to choose only one, I’d rather be kind than right.”  I have to agree.

When we examine closely all that really matters, we clearly must take a definite stand against evil. In this case we find less a stand against what is wrong, and we step up to what is right. The Mormons approach us with a righteousness that is really quite evil. And as believers we do absorb it, but not with out a certain rationale.

The Good Mormon pushes us way beyond what we consider reasonable. He performs a great goodness, as he rescues this beat-up man.  I don’t know why, but I’m quite taken by this particular by the Mormon’s efforts. But when I come to the Lord Jesus, I want it to be certain. I have no intention of  letting it vacillate. I do trust in Jesus, and I must learn things from strange places.

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Dec 28 2011

The Fishbowl and Your Pastor

Having been a senior pastor for three years, and in full-time ministry 20+ years, I have had to adjust to the constant surveillance of my life and my families. To be so visible, was wearying and maybe even demeaning at times. I was constantly “center-stage.” It’s funny but these two ingredients– the fishbowl and my Pastor’s love for his/her people combine to create quite the interesting concoction. There is nothing like it. But overall, the fact is we are now quite visible to all.

However there is a special momentum you see when you are a pastor, you have a real sense of things moving , (if they really are.) However your flock will keep you both humbled and elated by their antics. You also will continually fight with the idea of ownership– but you don’t own them, God does! He will make sure you understand this, over and over. The flock is His, you are only a partial excuse, out from His will.

First of all, every pastor is a sinner. They have weaknesses and faults just like church members. This is not to say that they are not to live as an example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3) and are not to have met certain moral qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). But we must be realistic about their sinful nature. They will continually do battle with the old nature which is still part of their lives, and will do so as long as they live. Pastors can be pretty ignorant at times. It does seem to be that folly is the human condition. They should understand this.

Total victory over sin will not be won in this life. Sanctification will take place; victories will occur; bad habits and sins will be overcome – but there will be many battles to fight until the day of glory… Remember that your pastor and his family constantly live in a fishbowl for all the church to see – and sometimes the sight is not going to be particularly attractive.

They are humans also! The fishbowl life has its own special work in the pastor’s heart. Sometimes I believe His call on us is the deep point He makes in order to save us. It may be true. that those who are called “pastors” are those who are the most desperate, who really need to have this call in order to save us.

Pray for your Pastor, pray for his/her family. This is by far and away the most significant work you could do for them. If they preach well, tell them. They want to know (even if they say they don’t!) Encourage their spouses, they alone have to live with failure and discouragement “behind the scenes”, without an outlet. They do know the real person who is a pastor. And please remember this, they are not your servants, but your friends.

Partial Source: A section from an email from Grace Notes, Curtis C. Thomas
Life in the Body of Christ, Founders Press, 2006, p. 151, 153,
Dec 5 2011

The Mystery of Each Other

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:12

As believers we should be confident of the mysterious substitution that has happened between Jesus and us.  He has exchanged places with us, giving to us his righteousness in exchange for our sin.  Every encounter we have with a brother is an encounter with Jesus.  This is an astounding truth.

Every brother, every sister is a rendezvous of wonderful significance.  When we serve them, we are really serving the Lord Himself.  I guess it can also be a sobering experience if we should mistreat or neglect them.  What we say and what we do has consequences.

There is no escaping the Gospel logic that our personal contact with each other carries an eternal weight.  Immaturity and pride keep us from seeing the delicate connections that believers have with each other, and perhaps suggesting a new basis for our relationships is a bit much to hope for.

Without a complete mind removal renewal we will continue to see others as rivals or people to control.  We use the HS gifts to ascend rather than serve.  The disciples had to make their adjustments.  They were told that they were to lay it all down and wash each others feet.

We must begin to realize that when we touch someone, when we speak to a friend, we are doing that to the Lord.  Every believer is someone who will be covered in glory someday.  We are to live out this wonderful mystery of Jesus living in our brother.  He is that close!

Nov 21 2011

Sorting Out What is Real

It’s a terribly cold, gray day here in Alaska.  Very typical for the end of November.  Just as typical  is that I  have had a heaviness descend on me, just like when the fat kid sits on the little kid at the bus stop.  This grayness seems to be a premonition, I feel, of what I face trying to survive through another Alaskan winter, and I don’t know if  I’m going to make it (this year.)

Been thinking about ecosystems and symbiosis.  How the trees in a forest touch each other with their roots.  The big tree in the sun, “shares” with the little tree in the shade.  It’s the way they gently touch each other– helping, and encouraging and strengthening.

The Church is very much like this.  As a mentally ill believer, I have a lot of needs and weaknesses.  But knowing this, I draw from what God supplies by means of fellowshipping with others, and prayer, and the Word. (FYI.  I’m not good at any of the three.) But I guess I am planted in a good spot.

I think that when we finally make it to eternity, we will be interlaced with each other to the extent we really aren’t sure who is us, and who are our loved ones and our Christian ‘brothers and sisters.’  One thing is certain–we’re not going to survive the journey alone.  We just can’t do it on our own.

I must keep myself rooted firmly into “today”.  I can’t handle tomorrow’s sorrow today.  I have a special friend who believes he has to live “moment-to-moment”.  He says that this helps him navigate the hopelessness and the despair from depression.  One day at a time, and pace myself.  And perhaps, be just a little more gentle with myself?

An interesting thought, not sure who said it, but it seems true:

“There are places in the heart that do not yet exist; suffering has to enter in for them to come to be.” 

The transformational reason is that we grow after we hurt, that pain endured will change us.  I think this is what God has intended to happen.  (Good thing, not to waste our sorrows).  After all, we’ve already paid for them.

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Nov 18 2011

Our Hearts Plead for Good Pastors

Within issues of vulnerability, there are usually great problems.  These are tender areas:  Alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illnesses, homosexuality, sex addiction, porn and chronic depression are all substantial issues of  pain and conflict.

Strugglers are very often intimidated by leadership in the Church.  It seems all we can see is a position of authority, and we are fearful.  Typically, in our fellowships, our pastors and elders are men.  And that alone can sometimes create issues in hearts looking for tenderness.  Rather than opening our brokenness up to our shepherds, we fabricate for ourselves the illusion of sufficiency and invulnerability.

We are afraid, and our pain still resides in our hearts.  (We were never designed to carry this.)   As strugglers with great pain and confusion, we stamp ourselves as hopeless and completely defeated.  Some secretly believe that they have committed the unpardonable sin. But this is a lie, as God forgives every sin.  They’ve heard they are going to hell no matter what they do, so they are permanently separated from God. They need to know this is a lie, because when we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus covers them ALL and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Many of us who struggle have a ugly and a malformed sense of our leaders in the Church.  We get the “heebie-jeebies” whenever we contact them.  There is typically a sense of avoidance of those who try to pastor us.  As a result our flaws and our weaknesses will only grow.

Cellulitis is bacterial infection of  the skin and underlying tissue.  While I was in the Army, I developed this inflammation in my right forearm.  It started as a very small spot.  My arm quickly ballooned up, and within days I couldn’t bend my arm.  The infection just continued to grow and spread.  But I refused to see a physician.  When I finally did, they had to drain my arm and he put me on heavy-duty antibiotics and bedrest.

Often we try to live a life separated from outside intervention.  We avoid people who could really help us.  But we are sick, and need a pastor or elder to work through these things.  But they intimidate us, and we expect to be rebuked and reprehended.  Certainly that there is often a need for scriptural direction, but always in love and even tears.

 A Note to Pastors and Leaders:

There is almost always a definite frailty that is common in the hearts of us strugglers.  We have fought for our spirituality, sanity, and our sexuality. We have very few relationships, and the ones we do have are seldom healthy.  We are intimidated by authority and afraid of any kind of transparency.  We live in a enormous pile of shame and guilt.

We need “good shepherds” that can be deliberately gentle and tender.  Pastors and elders must reflect the astonishing grace of God.  We need His deep love, and you must show us what that’s like.  Please show us.  Verbalize it.  We need to know that we have been forgiven, over and over.

You may not really know this, but some in your flock have broken walls.  Our boundaries are down; they are crumbled, and we are in peril.  We need you to help us, and share His love and acceptance and yours as well.  We need to be immersed in the atmosphere of spiritual kindness and forgiveness.

We are not like the “norms” in your congregations.  It is highly unlikely we will completely healed. Many of us are gifted by the Holy Spirit, but we are flawed and we struggle a lot.  But consider this; perhaps you need us as much as we need you.

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Oct 20 2011

Is ‘Evangelism’ the Christian’s Greatest Fear?

“Why are you afraid of evangelism?”

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Lets get serious now, why does it  frighten you? 

Is it flesh, or maybe is it demonic?  What do you think? 

What does God desire?

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Bad experiences

  • Door to Door- My first witnessing experience happened in 1984, we went out 2×2.  I was paired up with Jody, a quiet and gentle soul.  I freaked out at our first house, and hid behind a tree, and got sick to my stomach, I left her on the porch standing alone.
  • Pushy televangelists–Hate them. I abhor Christian TV.  It is affront to God in my opinion.
  • “My friend was obnoxious with me.”– Are you ‘joshing’ me?
  • Clumsy Apologetics, (being caught without answers). You need to be light on your feet, nimble, evasive if you have to…

Emotions

  • Fear of Rejection– Major deal!  I hate to have people reject me.
  • Losing a friendship– IDK, maybe?
  • Fear of offending– Offensive, who knows, maybe?  It could very well be that I’m being persecuted for Jesus‘ sake.
  • Feeling inadequate– Never, but if I don’t ever witness, it is never an issue, right?
  • Embarrassment over unanswerable questions– Everyone has questions.  Besides, they are heathens!

Perceptions

  • Fear of what others will think about you.– Too close for comfort to answer.  O.K.  I admit it… I have chicken blood in my veins.
  • Rudely interrupting somebody’s life– Never thought of that.  Is that even remotely possible?
  • Being seen as arrogant– Not a chance, I am super humble (ask my friends.)
  • Your own weakness, hypocrisies, and inadequacies– You got to be kidding. Weaknesses, we don’t need no stinkin’ weaknesses!
  • Personal Doubt– I am throughly trained to avoid this trap.  Doubt is never part of my thinking, never, ever!

 

Guilt

  • Pastor says so.– He/she knows, he/she has heard from God.  Besides, who can disagree with him/her.
  • Jesus says so.– Are you sure?  He loves me too much to do this to me.
  • To mess up somebody’s eternal destiny is your fault– No sweat. Everyone is responsible for their own decisions.

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Thank you Evangelism Coach International for the jumpstart on this subject.  http://www.evangelismcoach.org/

A good start happens right here.  http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53499

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