Hold That Tray!

            John Brodie was pro football’s first player to sign a million dollar contract. His career spanned from the late fifties to the early seventies. During his prime, he was without doubt one of the great quarterbacks in the game.

            In the mid-sixties, Brodie and the old American Football League’s franchise, the Houston Oilers, arranged a deal which called for him to switch leagues and join the Oilers. It was this transaction that helped to cause the merger between the National Football League and the AFL.

            Because of his success, a reporter decided to goad Brodie a little during a particular press conference. The reporter asked Brodie why it was that a million dollar quarterback had to hold the football on field goals and extra-points. "Well," Brodie replied, "If I didn't, it would fall over."

            I always like that story, and it gave me encouragement yesterday morning when I was asked to serve the trays for our communion service. As silly as it sounds, serving “on the table” made me feel apprehensive. It had been almost thirty years since I had done that. I knew there were always risks involved in serving communion.

            When I was a kid, one of our members accidentally dropped the trays of grape juice he was holding, shattering the glass cups. The preacher tried to pass off the situation lightly with some humor, but the guy was so embarrassed, he never came back.

            I did not want to make a mistake in front of a lot of people, but risks notwithstanding, I decided to accept the challenge. After all, if nobody were to "hold the ball", “it would fall over.” 

            I knew the guys who were given the responsibility to locate people to help during the assembly. They always had a hard time finding folks to serve.

            Moreover, and I hope this does not sound presumptuous, but I thought it would be good for my kids to see me serve the church in another way besides being the preacher. So far my transition out of the pulpit has gone well, and I have been very pleased that my kids are identifying me in a role unique to them—“regular” member. You see, for as long as my kids have known me, I have been the preacher of their church.

            Our fellowship, comparatively speaking, is pretty good about not holding preachers on too high a pedestal, but even in our fellowship, there is something distinctive about the position of pulpit minister. I DO want my kids to nail down the fact that I'm a disciple first—not a preacher.

            That can be hard, particularly when their friends do not view things that way. At Shiloh, we are blessed with a large campus and many wonderful facilities, which people of the community use literally everyday. Last July, during our Vacation Bible School, one my son's elementary school friends (who does not attend a church) visited.

            One night, he emphatically stated to the children of his VBS class, “Timothy's dad owns all of this!” Of course, we know Jesus owns it; we're just marking time attempting to become more like him.

            Having stated that my kids (and their friends!) need to see me as a disciple first, I know I do as well. As I wrote a few weeks ago in this blog, I have loved preaching so much. Earlier this year I became concerned preaching may have become an idol for me. I know how crucial it is that I view myself as a disciple first, and not a preacher.

            As silly as it sounds, serving the communion trays-with all of its risks-was another opportunity to allow myself to be tested. I knew it was a good probe into my heart.

            Subsequently, I passed out the trays. Thankfully, I do not think I disrupted the service. I did not pass the trays to the wrong person. I did not drop grape juice.

            I think I passed the physical test of serving during communion.

            I hope I also passed the spiritual test of my heart.

            

A Little Dab Will Do You

             I received good and interesting feedback on my thoughts on THE LORD’S SUPPER/COMMUNION last week. What I wish to do today is unusual for me; today, I wish to make an argument for the other side.

            It would go like this.

            There is no way we can replicate the Lord’s Supper/Communion experience of the First Century. First, for a substantial number of Christians, that meal was their biggest and best of the week. (This is one of the reasons Paul jumped on the more well-to-do Corinthians—they enjoying a relatively sumptuous meal; meanwhile, the poor had little to eat and left hungry.)

            Meat was not an item Christians could always afford. For Jewish Christians, a carry-over from some of the sacrificial meals under the old law was eating meat during sacred meals. Most of us regularly eat meat, and when was the last time you enjoyed a church’s potluck more than you did food from your favorite restaurant.

            Second, for some early Christians, the only time they would enjoy a full stomach would be after the agape meal (the meal experienced in the context for the Lord’s Supper/Communion.) Were we to eat our fill during the Lord’s Supper/Communion today, we would have to wait until—the next meal… before we would fill our stomachs again. Whether we desire to admit or not, most of us have enough food in our pantries to fill our stomach’s for a week or two.

            Most of us, Christians, in the U.S. are simply affluent. So why make a big deal about eating our fill during the Lord’s Supper/Communion?

            The fact is, we are not where we are going. We have not experienced heaven’s wedding meal with the Lamb. That is to come. Indeed, it says something about our present limitations that we can eat until our bellies are full, and yet we hunger again by the time the next meal rolls around.

            Why not partake of just a taste of heaven—a reign and an experience that is not fully consummated yet?

            Someday, that age will come—but not yet. The wafer of unleavened bread and the thimbleful cup size of grape juice remind us of our present existence.

            LIFE IS BETTER, NOW THAT WE KNOW THE LORD. However, we are not where we desire to be—or where we will be.

            Until then, we will eat portions influenced by a fallen creation to celebrate God’s work in Jesus, and encourage us to wait for what is to come.

            I am not saying this should be our regular practice. I am saying how we think could redeem our current practice.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Okay, I have read messages from some of my friends on Facebook—wonderful, spiritual, and godly reactions to Osama Bin Laden’s death. These included marvelous scriptures that really made me think.

            So now, I am going to offer my initial emotional reaction. I am not saying it was right. Indeed, in light of scripture, it probably was wrong. But here it is:

            Last night, my daughter, Haleigh, woke me up from a deep sleep. Excitedly, she said, “Dad, they just killed Osama bin Laden. The president is speaking.”

               This is one of the few times I can remember being awakened from a deep sleep, and feeling upbeat about the experience. Instantly, even as my mind was processing the news, I felt positive emotions.

            Entering our den, where Haleigh had the president's speech live on the computer, I saw and heard him talking to the nation, and to the world. By then, I was fully awake, and I felt deep joy.

            Ten years is a long time. The world is a different place.

            Recently, I began watching Tom Hanks’ mini-series, THE PACIFIC. Some of those soldiers experienced perhaps the closest humans will get to hell on earth. Suicidal enemies attacking them using island civilians as instruments to blow up and destroy American soldiers. I tend to give others the benefit of the doubt when they have to choose between two or more bad choices.

            I am blessed by the world those soldiers helped protect. It is hard for me to divorce myself from this country. I have lived in other countries; there is no place like this one.

            I like feeling safe. I like feeling free.

            I appreciate our policemen. I appreciate our military.

            When others risk much (including the possibility that they might be doing something morally wrong in the pursuit of doing what is right), with the result being I am safer and free, I cannot help but feel gratitude.

2. Someday, someone should write an updated theology of government. When you wake up and find yourself the most powerful government on earth, how do you handle that responsibility?

            I suspect it is similar to waking up and finding yourself receiving the responsibility of parenthood. You cannot serve without sinning; yet, to walk away from the responsibility is sinning.

3. Way to go Mavs! Way to beat Portland.

4. DeMarco Murray drafted by the Dallas Cowboys? Please! If he cannot stay healthy in college, how in the world will he in the NFL?

5. It was five years ago this week I began my ministry at Shiloh. I am grateful, and there is no other place on earth I would rather be.

            

Communion versus the Lord’s Supper

                If you are not interested in Communion, the Lord's Supper, you are probably not going to be interested in this post.

                Recently, I told my sermon advisory group, I would be preaching a sermon on “Why The Lord's Supper” in a couple of months. I asked if they had any suggestions.

            One said to me, “Would it be possible to offer the people more than one little piece of cracker and one little cup full of grape juice? It always sounded strange to me to hear people talk about a supper, when what we experience is not even a good snack.

                Someone else, one who has been a Christian for a long time, said, “I agree. It just seems like what we do has very little in common with how they partook of the Lord's Supper and experienced communion in the New Testament.”

            I found our dialogue fascinating; it really gave me food for thought. (Wink. Wink.)

                  Since then, I have thought much about that conversation. I agree that what we do finds little connection with the way they did it in the New Testament. There is no implication from Scripture, and no implication from early church history, churches passed around portions of unleavened bread, from which each Christian took a tiny morsel.

               Now, since some churches passed around one cup, I can see each individual’s swallow being smaller, similar to the size of our little communion cups. However, these were experienced in the context of a complete meal. So people, by God's design, left feeling satisfied. (Indeed, one of the reasons there was a problem in I Corinthians 11 was because the more affluent Christians were sinning by not sharing their bountiful blessings of food with the poor Christians. Consequently, the poor left hungry.)

              Where did this disconnect between our experience of communion today and the early church's experiences come from? I suspect Constantine's influence on the church is partially to blame. That's the subject of another post for another day.

              Within my own fellowship, I'm wondering if there is another reason as well. In my fellowship, we practice open communion. That means, anyone who desires to partake of the bread and the cup may do so. We leave it up to each individual's conscience. Each individual is subject to God's judgment (I Corinthians 11:17ff), but each is allowed to make his or her own choice.

              Now, in a conservative and doctrinally careful Fellowship, you've got a problem. How do you share communion with someone who may not be a Christian? Especially, if it is someone you really believe is not a Christian? The solution is simple; you virtually eliminate the communion aspect of the service, and emphasize the Lord's Supper facet.

              In the Lord's Supper, it is every man for himself. You're not showing a desire to fellowship someone, who is outside of Christ. That's his problem. Consequently, your conscience can remain untroubled.

              Unfortunately, in our congregation's case, all too often we do not experience communion; rather, what is happening is 500 people are individually, and simultaneously, taking the Lord's Supper.

              This explains how we can say with a straight face on Sunday nights, “If you were unable to partake of the Lord's Supper this morning, it has been left prepared for you and you may leave the auditorium to partake during the singing of our next song.”

            Voila! A handful of people go to a back room, away from the rest of the Body. Or, everybody in the auditorium sits and watches three people, who are taking the Lord's Supper on a Sunday night.

              Whatever that is, it clearly violates the meaning of the word–communion. Not much is being held in common by the assembly.

              What's the solution? I have some ideas. But I would enjoy first hearing from you. What do you think?

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. When I left for Argentina in 1989, I assumed I would spend the next five years practically isolated from American news and sports. I will never forget our first night in Argentina, in the home of the Reece Mitchell family, in Buenos Aires. I mentioned to one of Reece’s sons, I cannot remember which one, that I expected to be cut off from American culture, as I had been in Papua New Guinea.

            He replied, “Oh, well we get cable here.”

            That was the first I heard of the Argentine cable service. God bless the individual, who brought cable to Argentina.

            Because of the cable service, we received a direct feed of CNN. (Later, we received ESPN as well.)

            After we settled in our house in Cordoba, I subscribed to the local cable service. Now, we had been in Cordoba for a little more than a month, so I already felt a little bit out of the loop. One night, about 10:30 our time, I turned on the TV to CNN.

            It was 7:30 PM in Atlanta—time for CNN SPORTS TONIGHT. The program’s anthem blared out, and I emotionally tasted a little bit of home.

            Virtually every night thereafter, I watched the news on CNN and SPORTS TONIGHT. Anchors Fred Hickman and Nick Charles grew to be my friends, even though I never met them.

            Nick Charles is dying. He is suffering from bladder cancer and will be taken from us soon. Patrick Leech sent me a link that offers a marvelous testimony to Charles’ faith:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/06/nick.charles.facing.death/index.html?iref=obinsite

         I feel sadness because of the connection of my past. Yet, I can say gratefully, that Nick Charles is dying well.

2. I got to experience LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR CHRIST for the first time on a Sunday morning. I know of no better ministry for equipping young people, children, and adults (!) than LTC. What a blessing it is.

3. The Mavericks blowing a 23-point lead to Portland on Saturday doesn’t scare me. Of course, I may be whistling in the cemetery.

4. My heart goes out to the people, who have lost property, especially homes, to the wild fires. Yet, another reminder of how little humanity really controls.

5. I took my family to the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination yesterday afternoon. The Texas School Book Depository has been turned into a museum. We did not go inside, but we walked around the site of the murder. Sad.

            I was impressed by how many people were there—more than I saw at Ford’s Theater last year. I heard the German language spoken; it looked like others from different countries were present as well.

            One strange moment: at the grassy knoll the investigator and author, Robert Groden, was present with his books and DVDs on the Kennedy assassination.

            He believes Kennedy was a victim of a conspiracy. Part of his proof is photos taken from Kennedy’s autopsy. (How he got them, I don’t know.)

            The reason I know he had photos is, Groden had a point man, who held up some of the photos. Fortunately, he told Timothy and Annie to turn around before he did.

            I have to admit; I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, the photos were morbid. (I decided to turn away; I couldn’t escape the sensation I was violating something sacred.) On the other hand, we are a democracy. We must hold the government accountable. Clearly, if someone in the government was conspiring to hide evidence, it would take the people seeing the evidence to move an investigation along. And, if you run for president, there are certain rights to privacy you surrender for the sake of the democracy. 

Matter is Good; It’s Sin that is Bad

God made creation.  God dwelt in creation.  God can fellowship with matter.

Abraham welcomed three visitors. Genesis says that one of them was Jehovah, appearing as a human (Gen. 18:20) before Abraham.

If that was not enough, Jesus made it official, God become flesh and dwelt among people (John 1:14.)

All people from the beginning of time have wrestled with the idea of the gods coming into creation. This is the conscience of humanity, subconsciously, paying tribute the gravity of sin.

The Old Testament and New Testament are the only documents ever written that sufficiently address the solving of this dilemma. Even to those of us who are Christians, this seems too good to be true. Yet another reminder of why we call this the gospel.

God has never had a problem with matter; he created it. It’s sin God has a problem with. I say all of this because I believe one barrier preventing us from ever celebrating the Lord’s Supper, in the context of a meal, is our fear God will become angry at our irreverence.

There are probably a lot of reasons why we think this way. I suspect one is the residue coming from the ancient Greek philosophers who pontificated that matter was bad, while the spiritual is good. Gnostics, in the first century, infiltrated the church with this teaching. I believe Augustine bought into this belief, and it hurt him as it did those whom he influenced. These would include many of us in churches today.

Too many Christians believe that Lord’s Supper, communion, is a spiritual meal to be observed in a spiritual worship service. To them, to eat a physical meal along with the Bread and the Fruit of the Vine, would desecrate the Lord’s Supper.

This is wrong. This view is fundamentally flawed. It creates a false dichotomy. The Lord’s Supper and a physical meal are not contradictory events that should be separated. Indeed, they should be united as much as possible. Here are some reasons why:

1. To do so would remind us that our sustenance comes from God.

2. To do so would remind us that God has cleansed us from our sin; therefore, we are able to enter into His presence.

3. To do so would remind us that God’s grace has cleansed us from our sin; it has nothing to do with our human efforts.

4. To so would follow biblical example and precedence spanning both Testaments—God’s people celebrating God in the context of meals.

5. Because of numbers 1-4, we can and should celebrate our salvation. We should celebrate our reconciliation with God, redemption by God, and consecration to God, in fellowship with God and in fellowship with our fellow priests with a meal that includes the Lord’s Supper. Moreover, we should do so in the context of public worship by the community of faith.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I’ve got to brag for a moment. I just found out that my second cousin, Skip Hollandsworth, recently won the American Society of Magazine Editors award for an article he wrote in Texas Monthly last year. Here’s the link: http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-05-01/feature2.php

     Folks, this award is in the Pulitzer class. Congratulations, Cuz!

     BTW, I have you know he attended MY wedding back in 1988. So there, I am related to somebody who is famous and successful.

2. Rest with God in eternity, Jim Jordan. You were a great man for God.

3. It's official. Summer is here. I go outside; I am soaked with sweat.

4. Nice NBA series--Boston vs. LA. I'm pulling for seven games.

5. Congratulations to you, Abby Edge. You graduated from the eighth grade. Well done.

Are We Scriptural in the Lord’s Supper?

            Shalom. It has a ring to it, doesn’t it? It means more than just a Jewish greeting. It contains components of integrity, wholeness, and completeness with God and the world. One is in proper relationship with God, and one is in proper relationship with the world.

            The Old Testament depicts an offering and a meal that reflects shalom. As a matter of fact, it was called, in derivative form, the “Shalom Offering.” Leviticus chapter three and chapter seven emphasizes that God’s people were experiencing meals with God that were to also be celebrations of shalom. Lev. 7:11-17, particularly, emphasizes this was to be a communal meal.

            In the burnt offering, atonement was made and God’s people could enter into the presence of a holy God (see Lev. 1). The natural response of this reality was for God’s people to submit to God in his service (see the Grain Offering in Lev. 2).

            In Leviticus 3, you see the logical follow up. Because of the burnt offering, God's wrath for sin had been appeased. God’s people had dodged a bullet; they had entered to God’s holy presence—and survived!

            They were thrilled to be alive. God was thrilled for them to be alive. God was pleased for their consecrated lives. God said, let’s celebrate! Let’s have a party!

            God gave instructions for how his people could enjoy a meal with Himself and with each other. He would receive His portion, a portion would be given to God’s priests, and the offerers themselves would receive a portion—meat.

            I cannot overemphasize what a big deal this was. Most of the Israelites did not have the means to regularly eat meat. Here was God commanding them to eat meat. What a blast! You talk about celebration.

            Don’t let Leviticus fool you. It is a complex book that includes the remedy for a humdrum life. Leviticus includes instructions from God on how to joyfully celebrate his presence.

            All throughout the Old Testament you find this offering and meal. Sometimes it is referred to as the Thanksgiving Offering. It is part of every major festival. It was to be eaten to conclude Nazerite vow (Numb. 6:13-17). Other places it is mentioned include:

           

            *The renewal of the covenant at Mount Ebal (Jos. 8:31)

            *By Hannah (I Sam. 1)

           *Saul's inauguration I Sam. 11:15

           *The arrival of the ark in Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:17)

           *Solomon’s inauguration (I Chron. 29:21-22)

           * Psalm 50 and many more.

             Now, wouldn't it be nice if God could come up with a meal, eaten by his priests, celebrated in the presence of God, reflecting upon the sacrifice that had been offered up to God.

            What? You mean we have one? Oh, yeah, the Lord’s Supper—Communion!

            It is interesting that in the eight (Mt. 26:17-30, Mk. 14:12-26, Lk. 22:7-38, Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, I Cor. 10:14-22, I Cor. 11:17-34, Jude 12) references to the Lord's Supper in the New Testament, five explicitly refer to a meal being part of that supper. The other ones don't negate a meal; they just don't go into detail mentioning that it is done in a meal.

            Did you know that Paul builds his case for unity (see I Cor. 10-11) on a communion meal whose roots are found in the Shalom meal of Leviticus, as well as, the Passover Meal. Paul’s argument for unity and separation of the world is symbolized in a meal of communion.

          Luke, in his gospel, offers Jesus’ emphasis on eating and drinking and banquets in the kingdom of God. Scripture anticipates the day when the bride of Christ will eat with the lamb in heaven.

            The Didache, an ancient document written about 100 AD, speaks of the communion meal.

            A few centuries later, churches lost the meaning of the meal in the communion service. As John Mark Hicks put it, what were at one time an altar and a table became an altar only. [By the way, his book, COME TO THE TABLE, is an excellent resource. Many of his conclusions agreed with mine; therefore, I find him brilliant. :)]

            

            Since then, we have emphasized the individual in the Lord’s Supper, not the group. We have lost an exciting and vital element of communion, found throughout scripture—the meal.

            Now, I realize if you are in a church with a good number of people, experiencing the Lord’s Supper in the context of a meal can be impractical. Still, it could be done.

            Churches have captured the reverence of the Lord’s Supper, but this is only one facet. Joy and celebration are another. Unfortunately, we have been so brainwashed by tradition, whose roots were laid with Constantine, the only way we could capture the biblical ideal and precedence is through imagination.

            I am part of a movement that seeks to restore New Testament Christianity. I regret that my attempt to convince others in my movement of this biblical teaching has been an utter failure.

            I am not saying we should eliminate times of meditation during the Lord’s Supper. I am saying we would expand our vision to include that which is biblical.

            It is biblical to rejoice with God and God’s people in a meal, and within that meal, to share the bread and fruit of the vine, honor Jesus as Lord and Savior, and recommit ourselves to lives in His service.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Upon further review, I rank GETTYSBURG the second greatest war movie I have ever seen. Only SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is better. One reason I liked GETTYSBURG was it was the only war movie that explained to me what was going on well enough for me to understand.

2. Okay, I’m lost on this LOST phenomena. My understanding is that it ended last night. So were the lost, found?

3. I’ve begun my yearly reading of THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES. One of the greatest baseball books ever written. One of the greatest history books on life at the turn of the 20^th century ever written.

4. Could morality be making a comeback? Friend Patrick Leech sent me a fascinating article written by Raquel Welch. Acknowledging that it was strange coming from a sex symbol, she encouraged society to restore the ideal of marriage. Go, Raquel, Go.

5. Congratulations to all graduates. You’ve worked hard. Say safe.