It’s About Discipleship

            Yesterday, Henry Holub, one of our staff members preached a really good sermon on "new birth" from the story of Nicodemus. I appreciated the points he brought out, especially the one that reinforced what I've been trying to teach my kids. And that point is this: it's not about baptism – it's about discipleship.

            All three of my girls initially wanted to be baptized early – too early. My youngest daughter started wishing to be baptized at age six. She was not ready. She had no idea what baptism was about. She was too innocent to understand the need for the power of God over her sins and her sinfulness. Basically, she wanted to be baptized because she loved God, and she wanted to grow up.

            I had to reassure her, "God knows you love him. Being a Christian is not about baptism; it is about being a follower of Jesus. Baptism is important – it will be the most important decision you will ever make. But it is only one part of being a follower of Jesus. You will still be a follower of Jesus after you are baptized. God will make you a clean follower through baptism, and he will give you the power in baptism to live even more like Jesus. You will be able to follow him even more closely.

            “All of this is to come. As important as baptism is, the most important thing is to be a follower of Jesus, and you can start that right now."

            I still believe those words. You don't need to know everything about baptism, but you need to know something. You don't need to live like Jesus to be baptized, but you need to have the maturity and commitment to choose to live like him. I want everyone to be baptized, but more importantly, I want everyone to be a disciple – of Jesus.             

            I can’t put it any better than Jesus, “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20.) NIV

How You Can Impact an Overchurched Culture—Pt. 2

          Elaborating on last week's theme, I want to emphasize that one of the most effective ways of reaching an overchurched culture is by serving the poor. I write this for two main reasons:

1. Overchurched (and in some cases, unchurched) people identify this ministry with Jesus—and rightfully so. The Gospel of Luke is a gospel highlighting Jesus’ ministry to the poor. In Matthew 25, Jesus makes serving the poor a salvation issue.
2. When we live by Jesus’ ministry, it authenticates our message. In survey after survey, numerous young adults who have left churches–obvious examples of the overchurched–have stated that they place a high priority on helping the poor. They have revealed that churches that attract their attention in a positive way are those who demonstrate a clear commitment to fulfilling Jesus’ mission of serving the poor.

            The North Main church of Christ in Winters, Texas made a huge impact on their community of overchurched people because of their commitment to serving the poor. When we lived there, people who were “hard on their luck” would occasionally pass through town needing help. After 5 PM and on holidays, some of these people would stop by our house. They had been sent to us by local establishments such as Dairy Queen–all having received a variation of the same message: "If you need help, go see the Church of Christ. They help people."

            I must confess; there were times I was not wildly excited to have my holiday “interrupted.” Having said that, I realized at the time that it was a whole lot better being known as the church who helped people rather than being known as “the church whose members think they are the only ones going to heaven.”

            The servant hearts of those North Main members changed outsiders’ perception of the congregation. (Incidentally, let me emphasize, those Christians were already serving in that way before I moved there. I had nothing to do with forming their faith.)

            Writing this, I think about several of the Christians of Shiloh I have observed over the last few years. A number of them have spent much time ministering to the poor in ways such as partnering with Christians of other churches to feed the homeless of Tyler, working with other Christians in serving the “working poor” at a downtown location, serving people in the fields of health care by offering help as dentists, nurses, and doctors. I have seen Christians become foster parents and adopt children. All of these actions are like deposits accumulating in the “good-will bank accounts” located in the hearts of the overchurched.

            Now, let me emphasize, we need to watch out for the temptation of downplaying opportunities to share our faith. The world is full of organizations that began as beacons of light seeking to serve people and call them to Jesus… only to devolve into do-gooder organizations indistinguishable from secular charities.

            The world is filled with materially affluent people who are spiritually impoverished. We should never be satisfied simply because we helped a person climb out of physical poverty and ascend a materialistic ladder. Rather, our prayer should be that all of these cups of cold water open the doors to many human hearts, so that these might receive the ultimate supplier of human needs: Jesus.

How You Can Impact an Overchurched Culture

            I have shared how I see myself engaging an overchurched culture. What about you? I think there are ways you can do so effectively.

            If you are not on a church staff, you have an advantage over those who are: for instance, those of you who have jobs outside of the congregation have special opportunities to penetrate the overchurched culture’s protective shell.

            To illustrate, let me take you back to the North Main Church of Christ in Winters, Texas–where I preached for seven years. I never saw a congregation where such a high percentage of members sought to take the presence of Jesus to the workplace. One example was found in the field of teaching.

            Teachers would minister to their students who lived in dysfunctional families and in poverty. Indeed, North Main’s greatest ministerial legacy arose out of a teacher’s ministry to three children from the same family, who did not have enough to eat.

            I remember one mother of children who occasionally attended our church. One weekend, she overdosed on drugs. She was hospitalized in Abilene–40 minutes away. I visited her there and found with her a junior high teacher who was a member of our church. The teacher had stayed the night with that frightened and very sick mother.

            Winters was an overchurched community at that time, but let me tell you–it was ministry of members like the teacher, which lent authenticity to their name–Christian.

            Had you asked someone in the community about the congregation during that time, you might have received a response like this, “I am not certain about all that they believe, but they sure love people.”

            To summarize, here’s what you can do:

·      show Christ at work

·      serve people at work

·      search for opportunities to serve people who are in the extended families of those you impact through your work

This will lend authenticity to your message.

            Many people who are overchurched have left their churches because they were disillusioned with people who were in their churches. Observing somebody live a life of Christ-like service often destroys that disillusionment. This in turn will go a long way toward demolishing the hardness of their hearts.

Living Together

            A trend I’m seeing more and more is living together. No, I am not talking about a trend in our society. I know it’s been going on there for a long time.

            I am not even talking about unchurched people who are visiting churches as they consider responding to the gospel. Their job is to live according to the flesh. It would be very difficult for them to live holy lives without the Holy Spirit living inside of them.

            What I am speaking of is the amount of Christians I am seeing who, although they have grown up in Christian families and attended churches, are living together.

            This is possibly connected to the fact that, for the past decade or so, more and more Christian college students, whether they attend state universities or Christian, are feeling comfortable spending the night in the residences of members of the opposite sex.

            Another offshoot of this is the old THREE’S COMPANY theme—Christian men and women from the same town or church moving to state universities and sharing a house or apartment. Usually, it is two boys and one girl—or vice versa.

            You might be shocked to hear this but—I don’t think this is a good idea. The frog is in the kettle, and the water is growing warmer.

            There are several reasons why I don’t think this is a good idea. (None of them include a “thus sayeth the Lord—thou shalt not live together.”) Let me offer three.

            First, even the world assumes that men and women will be (what the Bible calls) tempted to have sex. I use that term advisedly—recognizing the world generally does not care if people have sex before marriage.

            Should we as Christians assume otherwise? I remember when THREE’S COMPANY, now shown on TV LAND, first appeared on the ABC network. I was a junior in high school.

            Culture at the time considered it one racy comedy. Sexual innuendo was present everywhere. Part of the tension was based upon the premise that there no way one guy living with two attractive girls would NOT be having sex with at least one or both of them. Indeed, part of the gag was that the threesome lied to their neighbors and told everyone that the guy was gay.

            Again, the world still assumes that sexual sparks will fly when you have men and women living together—they just don’t care. Today, the neighbors in THREE’S COMPANY would say, “Go ahead, have sex.”

            With regard to the trend of Christian couples buying or renting a place before the wedding--and moving in together, let me share a story. One time, I was discussing this very topic with a group of older Christians who were in their seventies and eighties. They were, believe it or not, trying to get me to preach some sermons on sex and sexuality for those who were younger Christians.

            I was sharing with them the percentage of U. S. Christians who were moving in together before marriage (or spending the night together in apartments or motels) before marriage; yet, most were claiming to not be having sex.

            The older Christians roared with laughter—their laugh rooted in skepticism. They knew the human condition. They knew the pull of sexual desire. Most of all, they knew the challenges of remaining pure until marriage.

            This just in—the hardest thing on the planet is to refrain from a sexual relationship when you are engaged to marry someone. Restraint is NOT a casual decision; it is a war against ancient desires and against an evil ruler of a dark world. Without the greatest effort, a person will not be victorious.

            Ever hear of bundling? In colonial America in the mid-1700s, a young man would visit the family of the young woman he was courting. Typically, he would stay the night.

            The family would make provision for the couple to sleep together in the same bed. A “bundling” board was placed in between the boy and girl, physically separating them to ensure that nothing sexual would happen. The boy and the girl would wrap themselves in separate blankets. The couple could talk to each other—but that was all they were allowed to do.

            Strangely enough, the illegitimate birthrate shot up dramatically. It was not reduced until a great wave of spiritual revival hit the United States in the late 1700s.

            Joseph ran from sexual temptation in Genesis 39. That is probably good advice for all Christians.

            Today’s popular culture is wired with the assumption that couples live together and have sex before marriage. Whenever they see a man and a woman living together, they assume they are having sex. This leads me a to a second reason for not living together before marriage—our Christian witness.

            Christians are part of the universal church of God. The church is called to be a holy community. The church is called to be above reproach. What that means is that Christians understand that sacrifice is expected in order to rise above the level of innuendo. This is critical, strategically, for the mission of the church. 

            No problem. Christians understand Jesus called them to carry a cross and to crucify self (see Luke 9:23.)

            The Kingdom of God is not growing in the U. S. That is no secret. One reason is that Christians too often do not live up to the standard of their message.

            The world has no problem with a couple having sex before marriage, but the world does have a problem with two Christians having sex before marriage -- that is, if the two Christians hope to witness about the life-changing good news of Jesus.

            Paul writes in I Thess. 5:22,  "Avoid every kind of evil." Paul's advice is good in two ways. The world doesn't mind dabbling in evil, but they don't want Christians to do so. Why give them the appearance? Moreover, as mentioned, living together does not avoid impurity; it opens up the possibility of impurity.

            This may be hitting closer to the heart of the challenge churches face.  Bottom line: many Christians make it a low priority to bring people into the Kingdom. For a lot of Christians, following Jesus is a means to an end, and usually that end spells the pursuit of fulfillment for the Christian. The thought of carrying a cross for the Kingdom, placing the needs of others before self, or seeking to carry out Jesus’ will before one’s own—is idealistic at best, and repugnant at worst.

            Author and preacher Tullian Tchividjian, paraphrasing John Calvin, said, “The human heart is an idol-making factory.” I think he is on to something. We in the Kingdom of God must surrender idol worship and truly live out our call to discipleship.

            A third reason for the sexes not living together before marriage, and here I am again speaking of couples dating, is this—their children. I have lived long enough to see a few generations having to tell their kids—“Don’t do things like I did them. Learn from my mistakes.”

            I have to do this myself. It is not fun to advise my kids, "Learn from my mistakes…", even if it is as impersonal and universal as explaining the time I got stopped on Main Street in high school for speeding. I cannot imagine what it would it would be like to explain that Judy and I lived together before marriage.

            I can testify to this--it is nice to be able to look my kids in the eye and tell them that Judy and I waited until we were married to experience God's greatest gift to a couple.

            Let’s pretend you can live with a person you are dating, or to whom you are engaged, and not engage in sex. (I could not do it—I know of less than five who have even claimed they could.) Do you think you can bottle that self-discipline and sell it to your kids?

            God has gifted you with imagination. Imagine yourself facing your beautiful daughter, as she tells you she wants to live with some guy—only in purity, of course. If she asks, “Did you ever live with dad (or mom) before marriage…” do you want to answer, “Yes”?

            James Dobson used to say, “Life is loaded.” What he meant is that all of us—but especially younger people—can make decisions that can blow up on us.

            There is no question in my mind that someday our descendants will live in a society that values purity before marriage. A culture will be destroyed by its own weight if it does not.

            The question for us today in the church is, will we lead by example? Or will the culture have to take us where we should have been all along?

           

           

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

1. Casey Anthony—found innocent! Look out, Casey. They can still take away your Heisman Trophy.

2. Rangers on a seven game winning streak. May July be a month of separation.

3. Congratulations Doug Page on your new preaching job at Kaufman. And thank you for introducing me to the “HootSuite” app. Never has simultaneous tweeting and Facebook posting been easier.

4. Last week, I completed the new history of ESPN entitled THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN. Although it is over 700 pages, it is a fast read—and a fascinating one. Part of the charm is the participants basically tell the story through their interviews. The authors (compilers) are the same guys who wrote (compiled) LIVE FROM NEW YORK, which was a history of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

5. Jaycee Dugard, you are one amazing human being. May God bless your future.

Heavenly CPS

            I want you to imagine a nightmare scenario. Imagine Judy and me adding a baby to our repertoire of four kids! (If you don’t know me, I’m fifty, Judy is … well, Judy is my wife, and we have four kids ranging in age from 8-17.)

            Now, picture Judy and me placing the bulk of our attention on our oldest daughter, who is a high school senior. We dialogue with her constantly, listen to her every whim or complaint. We do all we can to make sure she is happy and doesn’t rebel and leave our family.

            Meanwhile, after the initial excitement over the birth of our baby, we pay less and less attention to it. Even though some attention to our oldest daughter is important (helping her in her transition to college, for example), logically, we should understand she has entered a state of maturity that demands less concentration. Instead, one would think it essential to demonstrate more care and concern for the baby than our oldest—or even our other three children.

            All humor aside, I want you to picture in your mind something truly awful. Let’s say Judy and I neglect our baby so much, the child becomes malnourished or even terribly ill. Unfortunately, since we are so occupied with the desires and concerns of our oldest, we neglect our baby.

            Granted, it is easier to minister to our oldest child in a lot of ways. One would be communication. Our daughter can tell us how she is thinking and feeling. Indeed, she has the confidence to seek us out.

            Babies, as you know, can’t communicate well. Sometimes something can be wrong with them, and the parents have a difficult time diagnosing the problem.

            To society, however, there are no excuses. If Judy and I neglect our baby and the symptoms began to show, CPS will come calling.

            Here is my point—inspired by months of study in the book of REVELATION. Too often in churches, we preachers (and I definitely am including myself), elders, staff, ministry leaders, and members, place the bulk of our attention on the “older children” of the church. I don’t mean senior citizens; I mean those who have been in Christ for a number of years.

            We focus our sermons on the mature Christians. We plan our worship according to what mature Christians are thinking. We listen to mature Christians, who seek us out to give opinions and feedback. We organize our congregational families around the needs, and wants of mature Christians. Meanwhile, too many of us are not paying enough attention to the spiritual babies.

            I am glad there is no Heavenly CPS. Can you imagine? Heavenly case workers taking neglected spiritual babies from one spiritual home and placing them in another—offering someone else a chance to give them the nurturing and care they need. 

            Or, maybe there is. Maybe that is where all the spiritual babies have gone.

            Maybe that is why so many of our churches are spiritually infertile.

            Excuse me, I haven’t heard anything from my spiritual baby in a while; I need to go check and see if everything is okay.

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

1. I am ashamed to say I have still not gone out and purchased the new Rob Bell book. I’ve got to do that this week--and read it.

2. Saturday was the day I sprayed the house and yard for bugs—always an ordeal. But I did get to catch the end of the Pittsburgh-Butler game to see who advances to the Sweet 16. What a finish! I’ve never seen a guy foul underneath his own goal, after a free throw, with virtually not time left. I have a feeling we are going to hear the name of Brad Stevens this time every year when major schools are looking to hire a new coach. Butler has 4200 students. Amazing.

3. With Netflix’s growing instant play library, I’m starting to wonder why I keep so many DVDs around. 

4. I finally got around to reading last month's TIME Magazine’s cover story on the young generation of leaders seeking freedom in the Middle East. Maybe this is a time to be truly optimistic about the future there.

5. Congratulations to Diann Preston’s ETCA girls basketball team for yet another honor. My daughter, Haleigh, joined Samantha Phillips in making First Team on the TAPPS All-State Basketball Team. Jenny Munoz was selected to the Second Team. Hayley Robertson was named as an Honorable Mention. Samantha, Jenny, and Hayley Robertson are all juniors and will return next year. If I may indulge in a little parental pride, I have been grateful to see Haleigh named to First Team All-State in both volleyball and basketball this year.

What do you do when a convicted sex offender comes to your church? Two and a half years ago, a young man, named Matt, visited our church. He came from a Tyler halfway house. He had been arrested for carrying child pornography across state lines on his computer. He served in the federal penitentiary in North Carolina. While he was there, he was converted to Christ. Two and a half years ago, staying in that halfway house, Matt was looking for a church home. He visited us, at Shiloh, enjoyed the way our church treated him. Knowing he needed a church home, he decided he would ask the elders if he could become a member at Shiloh Road.

There were complications. You see, Matt was listed on the Internet as a sexual offender. Matt knew the problems this would pose for a church. That is why he very graciously and unselfishly told the elders, if he created problems in any way, then he did not want to place membership.

The elders asked me to check with other churches, which had similar circumstances and see how they handled it. I did so.

I found the way they handled them was one of two. Some leaders told their church they were going to welcome this sexual offender, only to have families rise up and threaten to leave the church. The leaders would then back down and inform the sexual offender that he was not welcome.

Other leaders would welcome the sexual offender but admonish him to keep his status a secret. Thus, he was a potential time bomb, posing terrible problems in the future for the churches.

Neither one of these solutions were acceptable for Shiloh. We never found a church, who welcomed a sexual offender in a holistic, authentic, truthful, Christ-like way, so we had to prayerfully ask God to lead us and try to find a way.

The elders spent a great deal of time trying to decide what to do. Ultimately, what they decided was this, Shiloh Road needed to offer forgiveness and reconciliation, but also, discipleship and responsibility. We needed to offer a chance for redemption, but also, let Matt know we were going to hold him accountable. Gradually, a new policy took shape.

Meanwhile, we debated how best to process this with the church. We knew it was a high-risk endeavor. I never will forget the night J. B. Berry, one of our shepherds, said to the rest of the elders and to the staff, “We may lose families over this, but it is the right thing to do.”

Never was I more proud of an eldership. Finally, we conceived a strategy for communicating to the rest of our church leadership, and, ultimately, to the church, we were welcoming Matt into our midst.

We decided to do so in an assembly, where the whole focus would be on God, the saving work of Jesus, and our response to Matt. That service took place on Sunday, July 15, 2007.

During the assembly, our elders shared how they formulated their decision, items of the new policy, and relevant parameters concerning Matt’s accountability.

I began my sermon time, by playing a clip from a passage that I had preached on from the book of Luke the year before. The passage was from Luke 14 and the sermon was on the parable of the great banquet, where Jesus talks about the master sending the steward into the highways and byways to bring in people because those who had been invited to the banquet did not want to participate.

I had asked the church who the present day people were from the highways and byways. Likewise, I had told them about hearing a program on the radio from Focus On the Family, where James Dobson interviewed a former sexual offender. The sexual offender had talked about how he had become a Christian but how no church would welcome him, and so he was living his Christian life in isolation and in exile. On that day in 2006, I had asked the church the rhetorical question, “Were this man to come to Shiloh Road, would we accept him?”

After playing the clip, I arose and preached out of the same passage again. I told the church, I believed God had led a man to come to our church so that we might have the chance to live out the gospel. I told the church about Matt. I alluded to the communication made by the elders, to the new policy, to how there would be areas of the building, where Matt would not go. I told the congregation that Matt would have to earn our trust. We would hold him accountable, but we would also forgive him and offer him reconciliation and hospitality.

I concluded my sermon by doing something we always do for new members to Shiloh, albeit typically in a different part of our assembly. Normally, we have new members stand, so the church may know who they are. We usually welcome them with our cultural affirmation, which is applause.

At the end of my sermon, I asked Matt to stand and welcomed him to Shiloh. The audience not only applauded him, but they gave him a standing ovation.

After the service, the line of those waiting patiently to welcome Matt to Shiloh Road extended out into the foyer. Most poignantly, I saw a sister in Christ, who was wheelchair bound, asking her husband to wheel her to the back of the line so she too could welcome Matt into the Shiloh family.

We did not lose one individual over this decision. Still, there are complications. There are areas in the building where Matt cannot go, just like in our society there are places Matt cannot go. We have a loop, a freeway, that circles Tyler. Matt cannot drive on it because of a state law. He has to drive through other streets and neighborhoods. (Don’t get me started on the idiotic nature of some of our state laws.)

We also have to tell new members, for liability sake, about Matt. Actually, this has become a positive. Every couple of weeks, we have a conversation with potential members in a session we call, Tell Me About Shiloh. There, we recount Matt’s story and give them a DVD of the worship service. Typically, the response we receive sounds like this, “I want to be a part of a church that welcomes people in this way.”

Incidentally, the policy our elders constructed has helped us in other areas. A couple of times, we have had other former sexual offenders visit us. Each time, the elders have met with them and explained our policy. The individuals then rejected becoming a part of our church. Perhaps they had ulterior motives and the elders, in their wisdom, have protected the flock.

Late in the spring of 2008, Matt began bringing a young woman named Samantha to our services. They had begun dating. Samantha had known heartache in her life. She entered rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous at age 15. Her life had known brokenness.

We shared the gospel with Samantha and she became a Christian. We baptized her into Christ in June of 2008. Since then, we had opportunity to fellowship with Matt and Sam and study with them in various venues; most recently, Matt and some other guys in their 20s have been studying the Bible with me in my home. Moreover, Matt and Sam, and another couple, have been working through the Song of Solomon with Judy and me on Tuesday nights.

Tomorrow, June 27, 2009, Matt and Sam will be married and I will have the privilege of performing the marriage ceremony. You can fly me to the moon, send me to the Super Bowl, vote me the Heisman Trophy, but I don’t think anything will top this in terms of offering contentment, satisfaction, and happiness.

Initially, when Matt came to us, we were thinking God had brought Matt so that we could bless him. Now we realize, Matt is the one who has blessed us.

Five things I think I think

(a tip of the hat to Peter King for this idea)

1. Many years ago, a guy I knew told me of his experiences when he worked for Bob Hope. One of the things that stuck in my mind was the superstition in the entertainment world that entertainers die in threes. I don’t believe in superstition; however, it has been strange how many times I have seen three members of the entertainment world die within a short time of each other. This week, they are Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.

2. Gratitude is a powerful motivator. One advantage that entertainers have is the cultivation of gratitude from their audience. The audience, feeling that it owes a debt, will overlook a lot of strange, odd, or inappropriate behavior. I am not saying this is good or bad, but it is reality. (The same thing goes for politicians and their constituents.) I will be watching with interest over the next few years the world’s response to Michael Jackson.

3. The past couple of weeks I’ve been arising between five and six in the morning to play full-court basketball with my firstborn. This experience is making me feel like a teen-ager again. More specific, it is making me feel like I did when I began two-a-days every summer before football season—incredibly sore in certain muscle groups. The good news is that I do, evidently, have muscles.

4. My family joined my sister and her family for a day at the Canton water park this week. Having gone there the past two summers, I have totally reformulated my views on modest apparel. Lust is no longer the problem for Christian males that it once was. We live in a very unfit world. Most females wearing bikinis are suited for the category that I would be were I to wear a Speedo—crimes against humanity.

5. I’m easing my way back into the pulpit. I preach Sunday morning. Thanks to Henry Holub for preaching this Sunday night.

Have a great weekend!