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03/31/10: To wrestle or not to wrestle... that be the question
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood ...”I find this verse in the Bible to be the most misunderstood, misinterpreted or misapplied in the whole Bible. But it seems to me that this has become the creed of so many American Christians. “We wrestle not...” It seems that we don’t fight. We don’t strive. We don’t wage war. Instead we acquiesce, compromise and diplomatically try to prevent conflict. We give ground, don’t resist any encroachment and then wonder why we’re getting chewed up and squished like grape.
Maybe we need to fight? ... No let me put that more emphatically: We are at war and we will either fight or die.
There, not quite Churchillian eloquence, but the same gist.
I’m in the middle of watching an episode of World War II in HD on the History Channel and I’m getting goose bumps up and down my spine as I hear Winston Churchill extol his people to “fight on the beaches, fight in the air... never, never, never give up.”
December 7th, 1941. We all know what happened on this date in history if we paid an ounce of attention in high school social studies (please tell me you paid attention). Japan attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan then declared war and was joined days later by Germany. The US responded to this outright attack and declared war and eventually won wars against both Japan and Germany.
The question and cause for my concern is that the real war had started over two years earlier in Europe and America stayed out of it to our and the world’s detriment.
Are we currently in this false peace? Are we squandering time, resources, people and energy that we could be using to mobilize and fight a very real war?
Oh... I forgot to finish the quote. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” So there is a fight, just not the one we were expecting. Maybe the physical one would be easier to recognize and mobilize for. Spiritual warfare isn’t easily recognized and therefore quickly forgotten or forsaken because of its intangible nature.
For the sake of space, I shall only discuss one physical manifestation of this battle but it represents a hundred other fronts of assault: Cancer.
Cancer is striking down millions of Christians every year, while in many churches we argue about whether or not it is God’s will to heal. “Lord, your will be done.” Pardon me, but that is taking Jesus out of context, and ignoring his whole ministry, teaching and resurrection. He said repeatedly “ask and ye shall receive, knock and the door shall be opened.” “If you’ll ask anything in my name it shall be done for you.” “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
But the facts are that cancer is gutting the church, and we’re letting it kick our butt. We hardly resist the devil... and yes I’m saying cancer is from the devil. Again to quote someone you might find harder to accuse of presumption “the thief comes not but to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and that more abundantly.” Jesus the Christ.
If Jesus’ view of life more abundantly is cancer, then he isn’t God, but a demon.
If cancer isn’t from the devil then I don’t know what is. And if healing isn’t a hallmark of Jesus then I’m spitting in the wind. Sorry Lord for my vulgarity, but I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to let the devil run over my brothers and sisters in Christ with impunity. In the week after Pearl Harbor over 130,000 young men enlisted into the US military. I wonder what will happen in the body of Christ when we finally declare war and get serious about this war that we’re in.
As for me and my house, we are arming ourselves with the word of God, trust in the clear words and promises of Jesus and with the knowledge that those who trust in the Lord will in no wise be ashamed. “Even if” (to quote Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) God doesn’t deliver upon the clear promises in scripture I’d rather go down fighting then to rearrange pews on the deck of the Titanic.
Just so you know... this isn’t the last you’ll hear from me about this. The time is short, darkness is nigh and the fields are overripe for the harvest. Let’s get ready to wrestle!!
07/20/09: Living Life on Purpose vs. the Damnation of Living by Default
I’ve converted to Arminianism. In many ways it was destined to happen.I just can’t stomach how so many Christians just accept life on default. We just go with the flow. Like a canoeist that is jostled to and fro on the rapids, bemoaning every bump, turn and dunking that the River throws at them. But sure that the River knows best and will take us where we need to go. Confidant that every trial, tribulation and consequence will make us better people and prove our faithfulness to the River.
Never mind that the River is leading to a huge waterfall. To death and destruction. Though visually stunning to others watching and bringing much glory to the power of the falls, need we take this plunge?
Of course by “River” I mean life and not God. Although many people lump these together. Whatever life throws at them must be from God because God is omnipotent and could do whatever He wants so this __________ (enter bad thing here) must be from Him.
This guilt by lazy association does unfathomable damage. We accept anything and everything as being from God. I just don’t think that is correct. While the Old Testament does ascribe many plagues, droughts and disasters to God’s providence the New Testament has a decidedly more proactive stance. Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. This statement, mentioned numerous times in the gospels, should destroy the idea that everything comes from God. Illness, disease, physical handicap, demonic possession and oppression and even untimely death were not from God but from the devil. So Jesus was an Arminian too.
Paul admittedly was a closet Calvinist but I’m choosing not to talk about him in this article.
The more I read about the life of Jesus Christ, the early church, church history and the history of missionaries, the more I’m convinced that God has empowered (with His Spirit) and commissioned us (with His authority) to do His will.
And like any good leader, God isn’t going to step in immediately and do the job that He’s given us to do. So when we get dunked, twisted and slapped silly that isn’t God’s fault, it’s the fault of Christians who haven’t taken their authority and power to fix the problem. Maybe even our own fault. Maybe our sins have consequences. This connection is easy to see when it comes to the mistakes, choices and directions of others, but we don’t or won’t make the connection to our own life. It is far more palatable to ascribe the crap in life to a holy God. More on this later...
Now the relevance for my life today (also my 35th b-day) is that I don’t feel like I’m supposed to be continuing in my current job for much longer. While I love my current job (teaching) and am content to teach for another year I just don’t feel like I’m supposed to be.
Now God could just move me into the job He wants me in. And most Christians I know would just wait until He does. Or pray for months... This is another conundrum that I’ve banging my head against, the balance between prayer and action. I’m wired for action. I don’t like prayer, but I think this has more to do with the belief that prayer is pointless. Which it is if God is going to do what He’s going to do anyway. Prayer only has an outlet if “there is no fate, but the fate we make.”
So what am I supposed to do? Wait for God to act. Or find out what God wants and then make it happen? I could see spending time in prayer for the latter. In a way its like praying for your favorite team to win. Pointless. Or you could you pray that you would perform your best and help your team win. Purposeful. One is a spectator, the other a participant.
It is at this point that life interrupts. I just read all the article that I had written so far to my wife. She and I then get into a major discussion. She holds that life is tough, bad things happen and God is glorified by our response and trust in him. Which I don’t totally disagree with but I feel there is a better way that we’re missing.
We then go into a 15 minute spin cycle about sickness, cancer, death, martyrdom and televangelists. I think there was even a wicked witch thrown in there.
No birthday cake but I did get a nice sucker punch. Which as I lay on my bed bemoaning the cruelty of the river, reminded me of the whole point of this article. So I waited for God to do what He was going to do anyway, but remembering that I’m an Arminian I got up and here I am.
What do I do? Notice I didn’t write “how should I feel about this?” or “how will this bring God glory.”
I think, random thought alert, that when it comes to spiritual truths we deal with them in a completely different mind set then physical truths. I don’t think this is good.
When it comes to physical truths about illness, disease, death, cancer and even martyrdom we put our shoulder to the grindstone and ask some hard questions about who, what, when, where, why and how. But when it comes to spiritual truths we throw our hands up and say “God knows, we don’t, but we’ll praise Him anyway.”
That doesn’t cut it for me. I want to know why my prayers for Judith Vanderbeek weren’t answered. Why Linda Davison died of cancer. Why my wife has suffered with chronic illnesses of one type or another for 20 years?
I do want God to get glory. But is He so capricious that He wants the glory whilst we suffer, toil and die? I don’t think He is - and if He is then His son Jesus is guilty of major misrepresentation. I think He had and has a better plan that we are just missing somehow.
It is at this point in our “discussion” that things became heated because my wife is very sensitive about divine healing. “Why hasn’t she been healed?” The temptation is to write off divine healing and say that this is just how God wants it. To God be the Glory.
I don’t want to give God that kind of “glory” and I don’t think He wants it either.
Physical truth begins with the assumption that there are causes and effects. Once we find the causes we can avert, protect against or remedy the effects.
This is what the physician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis and scientist Louis Pasteur strove for: the answer to why infections spread. As they discovered the cause they healed many that were oppressed of the devil. So did the Devil cause germs? Death? Contagions? Epidemics? I suspect that the answer isn’t a simple yes or no. More on this in another article.
I don’t know the answers. But I suspect that there are answers, and I am determined to find them. But we won’t find them until we start asking the questions and seeking to know the truth. Naively passing off the shit in life as gifts from God is a gross miscarriage of justice. Doesn’t God deserve more respect than to ascribe to Him the cancer, tumors, MS, CF, endometriosis, infant mortality, murder, etc... These are the works of him who seeks to “kill, steal and destroy.” But Jesus says that He has “come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
I don’t know the answers. But I know that the answers will bring God far more glory then passing off the devil’s monstrosities as God’s divine handiwork.
I think the answers may involve a paddle, an outboard motor and maybe even a parachute.
07/09/08: Fatalistic Faith: Or Why I Hate Faith
I hate Faith. Not my sister Faith. I love her very much. I hate the word "Faith", especially the Word of Faith movement.Problems quickly arise because the Bible says that “without Faith it is impossible to please God.” This and dozens of other references make it clear that Faith is important to God.
So as I struggled with faith it became clear that it was the definition of faith as more formula then actual trust in God that had led to this hating. But wait, I’ve given too much away already. I need to save something for the conclusion.
I wish there was a simple way of putting this without a history lesson but I don’t see one. Basically the Word of Faith movement teaches that anything is possible as long as one has enough faith that it will happen. So if something doesn’t happen (healing, success or wealth) then it was because of one’s lack of faith. Springing from this movement is the more blatantly unbiblical “Prosperity Gospel” that is being touted by many of the infamous tele-evangelists that clog the airwaves.
But I’ll save my skewers for these charlatans for a later day. Or maybe a “last day”?
The Word of Faith movement was really given birth by the late Kenneth Hagin Sr. at his church and bible school, Rhema, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It sprang from Charismatic and Pentecostal churches after World War II. (I am still a practicing Charismatic, though I reject the Faith Movement and Prosperity Gospel).
My family’s history is intertwined with this school and I hold no ill will for the Hagins or their school. In fact my parents are both graduates of Rhema and I myself attended numerous meetings, church services and am very familiar with the Word of Faith Movement as I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Most of Faith teaching is rooted in biblical passages and sounds great. The problems arise when the sh** hits the fan as it so often does in life.
During my late teens and early 20's I had a number of Godly woman that I knew and cared for die of cancer. This is unfortunately where the true colors of the Faith gospel is revealed. (Link to article about these women)
As was told to these ladies numerous times in their last days “if only you would have enough Faith, God would heal you.” Needless to say they didn’t have “enough faith.”
So much for mourning with those who mourn. Why heal the wounded when we can just shoot them?
Now my journey out of the Faith Movement into a more balanced (and scriptural) belief has taken me from the extreme of the Faith Movement to the opposite extreme of nearly becoming a deist (where God set the world in motion and doesn't do anything anymore) and now I’m resting peacefully in green pastures and guess who’s camped out next door?
The Faith Movement. But, alas, there are some major differences that need to be cleared.
My faith... Trust is a word that I think more accurately reflects what the Bible teaches. So my Trust/Faith is in God and the death, resurrection and finished work of Jesus Christ. My faith is not in my own formula, near incantational ability to conjure up enough Faith to demand God’s action.
My faith is in God. But unlike many who disparage the Faith Movement, this faith is not a fatalistic faith in God’s “divine will” that is a cop out for letting life slap us silly and then saying “oh, it must have been God’s will ...”
Herein lies the nuanced but powerful middle ground. God wants us to act, He wants us to pray and when we do He will act on our behalf. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. God repeatedly calls us to act, pray and believe for greater things. When we live life and play possum when problems arise we are hardly giving God much glory or even the chance for glory.
This is why Faith Movement churches are also some of the largest churches in the world. People want to experience an active God and God does act through these churches. Not because they have it all right, but because they are doing something.
But how big (not that size is a measure of success or biblical correctness) would a church get that expected and acted in accordance with a powerful and miraculous God AND approached the tragedies of life with more grace, comfort and weeping for those affected?
As for me and my house we will Trust in God and a big part of trust is obeying the instructions that we’re given by God. “Go... preach... heal... cast out demons... raise the dead... be my witnesses."
12/31/07: Certainty in Fallacy: Working Hard versus Striving to do God's Will
I haven't published a blog entry in over seven months. This absence was not purposeful, I just had better stuff to do. And judging from all of the reader feedback lamenting my absence, so have you.I've been busy starting my own production company and heading its first production. More on this later when I finish the first episode.
My friend John Strong, who is the director/editor on the production, and I were discussing the conflict alluded to in the title: working hard or striving to do God's will. As any Christian worth his weight in communion wafers will tell you, we're supposed to be doing God's will. Right?
If it were only that simple I wouldn't need to break my seven months of seclusion to wax philosophical.
The most obvious question is how do we know God's will? Because in order to do God's will we first have to know what it is. The problem here is what if what we "know" is God's will is not his will at all? I mean didn't the Crusaders' "know" God's will? The Inquisitors? The Jury at the Salem Witch Trials? The list could go on, but that is about all of the bad Christian antics I can think of (and yes, I plan on doing an entry about this at some point in the future).
With Radical Islam presenting such a vivid picture of what it is like when someone "KNOWS" God's will it may be wise to be a little more circumspect. In other words we are wrong in our understanding and knowledge of God. I know I'm wrong I just don't know how or in what respect my understanding is skewed. Knowing that I don't know it all gives me the humility and ability to listen and learn from others despite the fact that their understanding is different from mine.
Now this was a slight departure from what I "knew" I was going to be writing about in this entry but ... well, it does illustrate the point I was going to try to make.
I believe that we are to work hard. We are to live our lives as unto God and in everything we do try to please him and bless others (which is one of the biggest ways we please him). In everything we do we are to do it with all our might as unto the Lord.
The problem with "doing God's will" as mentioned above is that we may be wrong about what his will is but our certainty that our actions are right could lead to unmeasurable harm. Jesus said that his followers would be persecuted and killed and that those who did this would think that they were serving God. Certainty in fallacy. Its a new phrase I just coined. I'll see if it catches on.
I believe (notice I'm not certain and am leaving room for my beliefs to change) that Radical Muslims have this problem. They know they're right and are laying down their lives because of this certainty. The problem is that they are wrong (probably) but will only realize this once they have been used and cast aside by their "handler."
The second problem with "striving to do God's will" is that the onus or responsibility of bringing about His Will is on us. The problem with this assumption is that if it is our responsibility then we're in charge. In the New Testament we (followers of Christ) are routinely called stewards or servants. Never are we called the boss or owner. When we strive we take onto ourselves pressures, difficulties and all the frustrations that don't belong to us.
In my own life God (I believe) has been leading me into this current production (which has consumed every free moment [after family and work] for the last eight months). I believe he is going to bless it, open doors and that I am honoring him by doing this. But I can't and won't say that this is His Will and that anyone who disagrees with the project or how I produced it is wrong.
An interesting example of this is found in the book of Joshua, when Joshua meets the Captain of the Lord's Army (probably an Arch Angel or maybe even Jesus). Joshua asks him who side he is on and the Captain says neither side. The Captain then offers Joshua the opportunity to get on his side.
God is not on our side. God is not a Republican, Democrat, American, Christian or Muslim (although it could be argued that he is a Messianic Jew). What God asks of us (I believe) is for us to be on his side, to work hard, to please him and bless others. We get on his side by knowing his word. We work hard when it is something we believe in and find a purpose in and will then persevere and be faithful to complete. We please him by the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness and self-control: I've rehashed them since they seem to have gotten lost in all of self-help pseudo-spirituality that we'd rather rehash) and these fruits are essential to our helping and blessing others.
I think that if we do this (get on God's side, work hard, please him and bless others) then we are in God's will. But this is more of a journey and not a destination. And for many of us this is our first opportunity to please God by practicing patience and self-control.
As I've been writing this entry I've tried to decide whether I am the pilot and God is my co-pilot/navigator or whether He is the pilot and I am the co-pilot. I believe that I'm the pilot. Ultimately I am in charge of my own life (free will). And this is how God intends it to be. He is my navigator and has a plan for the trip. I should be working hard with all the piloty stuff and not trying to plot my own path by looking at the map.
In my own recent endeavors God has constantly reminded me that what I am responsible for is how I conduct myself on the journey. I can't worry about the destination. But if I do what I know to do and do it with all my might as unto the Lord, then what He does with my business, well that's His business.
01/09/07: Does Jesus Burp?
This was my son’s question, but it did get me to think. “What would Jesus do if he had to burp?” Or on a slightly skewed approach, “did Jesus ever have burping contest with his buddies?” And if he did, did he ever use his supernatural powers to burp the whole Torah?Now if this line of questioning seems sacrilegious then I must protest at your sanctimony. And yes, I do like using big words for no reason. I could, of course, have just said “if these questions bug you then I think the way you see Jesus may be too strict.”
Jesus was God, sure. But he was also fully man. And as a man he may have found some pride in his ability to burp... maybe even ... flatulate. And yes, I can’t get myself to write “and Jesus farted.” That seems to cross some line of good taste and seems crude. It is, but the simple fact is that Jesus was a man just like you and me. What is more, burping and farting are not sins. They are perceived as crude and impolite in formal situations but that doesn’t make them impure.
This line of thought is not so benign as you might at first imagine. The fact that Jesus was a man (and all that that entails) is something that people have struggled with since the first century. In fact many in the early church viewed this world and our earthly body as contagions that contaminated our pure souls/spirits. The sect of Gnostics rejected that Jesus Christ was fully human and even rejected the crucifixion because it was so vulgar.
I heard echoes of this with the recent release of “The Passion of the Christ” and how it was so violent and bloody.
Now I’m not going to be one who glories in the bodily functions of my savior. There does need to be some respect but the fact that my Lord was a human and more than that created mankind (so farting was his idea, not the Farrelly Brothers) does need to be remembered.
This does tie into another one of my motifs (more on this later): SEX. God created sex and it isn’t dirty. In fact God created sex FIRST and then LATER told Adam and Eve to procreate. So many want to make sex obscene that they will go so far as to say sex was instituted AFTER the Fall and not before. Obviously, such a person needs some Levitra or Viagra. If I was all alone and God brought a drop dead gorgeous lady to me to be my wife AND she was naked, well I would have given up on naming the animals for a week or four.
Many see sex as so impure that they demand and add extra-biblical theology called the Perpetual Virginity of Mary because they can’t imagine that such a highly honored saint as Mary is (and should be) would be corrupted by marital relations with her husband, Joseph, after the birth of Jesus. They go so far as to insist that she was conceived without a father as well (called the Immaculate Conception). What would be so wrong with Mary being born normally and receiving the honor of baring the Christ child because of her choices and God’s grace? And why shouldn’t Joseph and Mary be allowed the joy and pleasure of marital relations after Jesus’ birth? Is sex that perverted? If it is, then again you must blame the Creator. Seriously blame God for sex, and if you can’t get yourself to do this, then you need to reevaluate your perception of this covenant.
This attitude is a lot more damaging then it might appear. As Jesus told Peter “whatever I have declared clean, don’t you declare unclean.” The Church has done innumerable damage by declaring marital sex unclean or at best only tolerated for procreation. I can only imagine what sort of society we would live in if all the godly priests and nuns that served God with their lives were allowed to marry and teach their children to follow the Lord with the devotion of their parents.
This attitude also makes a proper and righteous understanding of sex virtually impossible. This past fall my wife and I took a course on the Song of Solomon by Tommy Nelson. It was one of the best classes I have taken. And had the most enjoyable homework ever!
While taking the class one of my biggest frustrations is that this class and information wasn’t presented to me when I was a teenager struggling with my sexual desires and functions. What I saw then, and see in the church to this day, is that young people will find the answers to these questions - even if the answers they receive are way off and extremely damaging. Maybe its time to dust off the Restricted portions of the Good Book and teach young Christians the truth and plan that God has for sex. Such pertinent questions on such a pressing subject would, I imagine, validate and inspire young people to seek answers for other questions that they struggle with. But if the Bible doesn’t even speak about masturbation, petting or sexual urges (except for those references to cutting off your right hand lest you go to hell - which is of course not what Jesus is talking about but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been used to scare many perplexed young believers) then how can one trust it to give the answers to the other problems that one faces? So many people have left the church to find the answers to this and while they’re sleeping (around) they question everything else that they were taught - and I can’t blame them.
If this doesn’t bother you enough how about trying this on for size? While I don’t buy the line espoused by The DaVinci Code about Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene, the truth is that Jesus will one day marry. While this marriage won’t be exactly as we know marriage to be on this earth, God did create the union of man and wife to be a type and shadow of what is to come. Maybe this union of Christ with His bride (that He’s been engaged to for two millennium) is what the Bible means by Rapture.
Not exactly the brain fiber you expected to read about in an article called "Does Jesus Burp?" was it?
11/07/06: Hypocrite or Harassed: A Cautionary Tale
"Be careful where you stand lest you fall."Ted Haggard is a sinner. And apparently a meth user and homosexual adulterer. I don’t relish writing this, though I’m sure there have been a few who have enjoyed the toppling of another Christian leader.
This entry isn’t about Ted Haggard really. My hope and prayer is that he has come completely clean. If he has then he can get the help he needs, and God can redeem his life, his family and use this redemption to glorify Jesus.
Unfortunately, history reminds us that rarely does someone ever come completely clean. "It’s not the crime, but the cover-up" the old political adage goes. Well, hopefully this particular falling of a Christian leader is over and done. My fear is that it is not.
Irregardless the point of this entry is not Mr. Haggard. It is the role of the Christian Leader in general.
Last night at a Bible study I attend we discussed the failing, temptations and pressures put on Christian leaders especially over the past 50 years. After discussing the numerous leaders whose life didn’t match up to the their message (i.e. hypocrites) and of the pressures and trials that those who did remain faithful endured I was struck with one resounding thought: I don’t want to be a Christian Leader.
Whatever glory, honor or power that may come with the role of a pastor, preacher or evangelist it is far outweighed by the pain, pressure, exhaustion, and attacks that these men and women endure. They have to work themselves to exhaustion building a ministry. Once it is established they are then fawned on and over which doesn’t help their struggle with pride (some skip this by not struggling but simply embracing pride). So they are in positions of tremendous power and authority but have few if any friends who keep them balanced and accountable. One reason they become so insular is that there are already so many trying to take them out or replace them. "I may be paranoid but that doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get me."
It is at this point that their Achilles heal is found, exploited and their fall commences. The fall, of course, can’t be quick and surgical but slow and bludgeoning. When they fall, those who fawned over them are left disillusioned and drifting. And of course those who wanted to take their place get the position of captain on the sinking ship (which was the ministry built around the personality of the initial leader).
Meanwhile the world chimes in: "that hypocrite got what he deserved. See it IS better to just live life for yourself, at least you wont be a hypocrite."
Aside: Which is better? 1. To live your life for others and tell them the truth knowing that you are yourself a sinner and may
Funny that hypocrisy is seen as such a tremendous sin. While it is regrettable, I personally would rather stand for something and fail, then to never have stood for anything and failed because of my inaction.
Anyway, so back to my thought: I don’t want to be a Christian Leader. Besides, it gets worse.
If the Christian Leader can somehow avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, by staying humble and approachable, honest and accountable (therefore protected from the major sins that doom many ministries: sex, corruption and heresy) he isn’t out of the woods yet. Next on the chopping block will be his family. Maybe the target will be his wife: depression, exhaustion or infidelity. Or his children: suicide, drug or alcohol addiction, sexual immorality or just plain old neglect.
And if somehow through the prayers and efforts of the leader, spouse and children (and hopefully the church body) none of these attacks pay off, then, well there is always the smear campaign.
Unlike many of my articles on this subject I actually know of which I speak. Having grown up in the church I have seen numerous leaders fall due to sexual immorality (adultery usually), or their children succumb to the very vices that their parents railed against. For the sake of their privacy and in honor of their sacrifice I won’t go into any more details. Suffice it to say, if you have been in or around the church for any length of time you will have your own horror stories.
Sadly, one of the most profound for me was when one of my pastors in college was caught in adultery. The man who came down to Tulsa to help heal the wounds and keep the church intact was Ted Haggard.
* * *
In war if the leader is wounded or killed the troops rally around his sacrifice and memorialize him (Custer, Travis, Stonewall Jackson to name a few). But when it comes to leaders in the Church if they are wounded then their followers turn on them, cannibalize and defame their memory.
The astute will point out that in war leaders are taken out by enemy fire, while in Christianity the leaders we are talking about are taken out by their own sins and moral failures. True, and yet I would counter with the suggestion that these Christian Leaders were indeed under attack. Not physical attack necessarily, but spiritual and even more deadly.
So to recap: I don’t want to be a Christian Leader. No person with any clue would desire such a position. So why do people seek such leadership positions? The short answer is that most of them don’t seek the position. They see people in need (physical, emotional or spiritual) and seek to help bring healing to those who are hurt. In time this leadership lands them in the role of a Christian Leader. Ironic, that when they do fall so few people are there to bring healing to them.
Ted Haggard. I don’t know him personally, but from the times I’ve heard him speak, his writings and his testimony I can definitively say that he is a Man of God. And that one day he will hear the Lord say "well done my good and faithful servant..."
He may be called many things in the days and weeks ahead, but all that will matter is what God says. And God knows Mr. Haggards heart and if He says that Mr. Haggard is a man after God’s own heart then He probably knows what He’s talking about.
07/09/06: Holdin' A Braveheart Prayer in Texas
You can learn a lot by watching poker.I sure have. The most obvious is that I watch too much poker.
The second lesson is that of the calculated risk. Most humans want the sure thing. The 100% money back guarantee.
In the game of the Texas Hold'em these type of people are called spectators. No poker player worth his mortgage in default is risk averse. The truly successful players take a lot of risk and lose.
And lose. And lose. And once in awhile they'll even split the pot.
But they play the odds and if they have done their homework and consistently prod and poke then they do eventually win and win big.
I don't take enough risk. In the game of Risk I consolidate my holdings, build up my forces while taking advantage of the obvious weaknesses my enemy has and usually will win by shear attrition. Most generals follow this same path. A few will branch into the riskier waters and gamble it all. Some went down with the gamble and their names are lost to history. Others won the gamble and history records their names with titles like great or brilliant.
Winston Churchill, my inspiration for all things political, said that he would always gamble when there was a high probability of success. His first major gamble, Gallipoli, almost sunk his career. But he came back and led the United Kingdom to victory in the Battle of Britain, World War II and gave the Free World the vision that would eventually win the Cold War.
There's a book my brother Sam gave me called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." The point of the book is to make people millionaires. The way to do this is to take calculated risks. The point of my life is not to be a millionaire. As I point out to my students, money is just cotton paper. If you rip it in half, no magical fairies fly heaven ward, though you would think from the gasps in class I'd killed JFK (which I didn't, though I did give Washington a splitting headache). My purpose is to affect and influence others with truth and faith. But the same principles apply. Calculated Risk.
The step between dreams and visions is the planned implementation. For most of my life I've been a dreamer. But what I want to be is a visionary.
Along the journey I may have my Gallipolis but that's a risk I have to take.
What about the "Braveheart Prayer?" in the entry's title? In the movie Braveheart there wasn't a lot of praying as we know it. There was a lot of fighting though, which was a lot more entertaining to be sure.
So here's my idea or twist. What if men (who are prone not to pray) could reframe their view of prayer from a some fatalistic recantations to a "no holds barred fight for souls?" While I admire the many intercessors that I've known (many who paid for their prayers with their lives) I think the fact that most intercessors are women have caused some men to shrink back from engaging in the style of prayer that they witness.
I'm currently rereading a book called "And God Changed His Mind" by Brother Andrew. The simple premise of this book is that God is open to changing the course of history and the world if His Children will simply ask Him. Brother Andrew says that many Christians have a form of Christian Fatalism; God is in control so anything that happens must be God's will. So they give God credit for tragedy, sickness and the Dallas Mavericks losing the series (yes, I still haven't let it go).
He argues that Christians should be anything but fatalistic and I have to agree. Throughout scripture and Church history Christians who dared to engage God in prayer have helped save nations, eradicate illnesses and bring blessings to the world.
If men (and women) would take risks and fight in prayer with the same tenacity that the Scots exhibited in Braveheart and not give up until their prayers were answered ... well that is something that not even the State of Texas could hold onto.
True, that's not the best wraparound I've ever written but its a risk I'm willing to take.
07/08/06: Would you convert?
What if you're wrong?What if you discovered that your religion, your beliefs, your way of seeing life and reality was wrong?
Would you leave your religion? Would you join a religion that you've considered your enemy your whole life?
I think most of us wouldn't. I don't know if I could. But I have considered it.
In college I spent a summer in the Middle East talking to Muslims about their beliefs and my own belief in Jesus. As I talked to them it became clear to me what I was asking of them: to leave their faith, their culture, their family, their whole outlook on life. If they were to convert to Christianity such a move would change everything for them. The immediate consequences would be very harsh and hard. I won't recall here the thousands of Muslim converts to Christianity that are killed every year for their new found faith. In the country where I was this probably wouldn't happen, but things would change that's for sure.
"What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
So would I convert? Would I leave Christianity and convert to Islam? At this point I don't see any compelling evidence that would make me believe such a conversion is likely. But I find it hard to ask something of someone else that I am not myself willing to consider.
This was driven home to me this past fall as I spent 3 hours talking to a Muslim friend while eating chicken wings and discussing our religions. He said at one point that even if he were wrong he would never leave Islam. It was his faith and identity and that he would never leave it.
So the question that every honest person needs to ask themself is this; do you want to be right or do you want to know the truth? If the point is to be right, then it necessitates an "us versus them" mentality. Lines are drawn, ammunition is stored, troops are mobilized and diplomats withdrawn. If the point is to know the truth then the opposite occurs.
I don't think it is much of a surprise but most people want to be right.
It makes me admire those who are humble and thoughtful enough to question how they were brought up, and follow the truth wherever it leads them.
It seems to me that a truth seeker would be willing to follow the Truth wherever it leads even if that means abandoning his father, mother and family. That search would be uncomfortable and could prove deadly. But I believe that there is a God that rewards those who diligently seek Him and that He will be found by them when they search with all their hearts.
This God could be Allah. He could be Vishnu. He could be a she (Gaia). Or He could be Jesus. The point is are you willing to follow the truth wherever it leads even if it leads you where you don't really want to follow?
Me? I was hoping you wouldn't ask.
03/17/06: And the answer is ... Jesus
Now what’s the question?"Jesus is the answer for the World today, above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the Way."
Having grown up as an Evangelical Christian I’ve sung the above chorus a thousand times, and I know that its true. But its cheesy.
And therein is my problem. Familiarity breeds contempt. Having grown up inundated with Jesus and the fruits of his spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, meekness, self-control) I’ve become a spoilt glutton.
As I became a young man I "knew" that Jesus was the answer but the answer was so obvious that I had to find more creative answers. I had to add my own spice or take on the truths that emanated from His words.
Now that river of life has led me 15 years into the future I’m returning to the simple truth. Jesus is the answer.
I try to add my spice. My take. I try to repackage the truth in ways that people can understand and digest. I could do all of this but the simple fact of the matter is that I’m highly unoriginal. And I’m cool with that.
I have nothing new to offer this world. If I do my job right the world will hardly recognize my handiwork.
To use a film metaphor. If all the below the line crew (grips, gaffers, editors, mixers and camera people) do their job right, you’ll never even realize they exist until you see the credits. A boom in the shot is not a good thing - no matter how creative or funny it is.
I’m a big copycat. I have nothing new to say. Everything I say, write and exercise in my life was Someone else’s idea.
I think many of the world’s problems occur when we depart from the tried and true and want to be our own boss. Be our own god. Be wise in our own eyes.
One of favorite poems is Rudyard Kipling’s "God of the Copybook Headings."
A century ago school children would practice their hand writing by copying simple and trite headings (many of them from the Bible). Cheesy stuff if you will. Boring. Repetitive. So man abandoned the tried and true and sought his own path. With the promised consequences.
So I’m boring. I’m cheesy. I’m repetitive. I’ll never be an original thinker like Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche or Sarte. Nor will what I write ever lead men and nations to the “unique” destinations that these original men trail blazed. Shucks!!!
When it comes down to it I believe that Jesus IS the answer.
I do find it funny (not ha ha funny, more sad funny) that so many Christians want the world to go through Hell so that God’s Kingdom can come. I think there is enough hell already. I’m ready for the kingdom now. When will it happen? It will happen when...
When people love their neighbor as themselves.
When we show greater love for others by laying our own life down.
When we forgive as we are forgiven.
When we do good whenever we are able.
When we prefer others above ourselves.
When we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength.
When we confess our sins, turn from them and seek to live lives that honor Jesus.
When we love our wives as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for it.
When we turn the other cheek.
When we walk the extra mile.
When we reach out of our own hurt to heal others.
When we are nailed to our cross and yet we forgive.
When we give control of our lives to Jesus and accept his forgiveness.
Simple. Cheesy. But there isn’t a problem in the world that wouldn’t disappear if all the people that call Jesus Lord started doing what He said and did.
But maybe that’s just too simple. Fine, come up with your own answer.
FYI: You’ll be wrong.
08/25/05: Answered prayers; wither thou comest?
My daughter Anna, just woke up with night terrors. I went in to comfort her and as I held her I began to pray. “Lord give Anna peace. Comfort Anna and be with her.” As I held my daughter it hit home, that I was God’s answer to my own prayer. The night terror has passed and she is now fast asleep.The simplicity of it hit me as I held my daughter. I am an answer to prayer. We all are when we serve, love and comfort others.
I had a friend who was in a major wreck two years ago and had humongous medical bills, and was out of work for months. Last year he won a insurance settlement that (while not exorbitant) took care of the bills and will provide for him until he is back on his feet. When he went to see his mother recently she questioned his “calling” and asked why didn’t God provide for him. True, the insurance company isn’t God, but the provision it provided did meet his needs.
So did God make the insurance company pay up? Were they going to do it anyway? Would this have happened the exact same way if he wasn’t a Christian and hadn’t asked God to help?
I guess people answer that many different ways, and I honestly don’t know which one is the correct answer, but I will gladly fault on the side of giving God too much credit, rather than not enough.
Other people, myself included, have questioned why so many bad things happen in this world if there is a loving God. Some even dismiss the idea of a good God because evil exist.
Tonight as I held my daughter, I knew that God existed and that He provided a means for my precious Anna to be comforted, protected and given peace. He had given her a dad.
It seems the people that sin (i.e. premarital sex) and then run from the consequences of that sin (children) are the same type of people who question why bad things happen. Dude, look in the mirror.
In life, you’re either part of the answer or you’re part of the problem.
I personally would rather be an answer to prayer, then a reason people pray.