Internet Discipleship

What has Jesus called us to do as Christians? If you have been attending an evangelical church for any time at all, you will immediately answer, “Make disciples!” Of course. Matthew 28:19-20 records Jesus’ words commissioning each of us to go into all the world and make disciples. So is it any wonder many of us labor under a sense of failure? After all, how many disciples have you made recently, and how many parts of the world have you touched? Don’t answer that. It will probably only make you more miserably guilt-ridden.

Let’s face it. This matter of making Christian disciples is really tough today. The media has sold the public on very unappealing caricatures of evangelical Christians, the gospel has been maligned and misrepresented over and over again, and the church, whose mission it is to train and send out disciplemakers, seems impotent. As if that is not enough, Satan has effectively blurred the lines between being a church attender and being a disciple of Christ. I live in Lynchburg, Virginia. After just five months here, I am convinced that at least 90% of Lynchburgers would consider themselves Christians. They attend a church, they have a “Not I but Christ” sticker on their car bumper, and they know that Amos is a book of the Bible, not a character on an old-time radio series. So how am I supposed to find people who want to know the Lord, and desire real discipleship? How am I to become actively involved in helping people come to faith and grow into maturity?

My wife Penny and I spent several years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Two things about that organization became very clear: first and foremost, Crusade is all about evangelism; and second, the organization has not put enough emphasis on discipling new Christians. But that seems to be changing. With the creation of a worldwide internet outreach ministry called Global Media Outreach, Crusade has tapped a seemingly endless well of spiritual inquiries and directed them to trained workers who can encourage and equip their contacts.

Not sure about the value of spiritual inquiries online? Look at these recent statistics. In July alone, 9,373,000+ people visited Crusade websites to make spiritual inquiries. Over 1,128,000 decisions were recorded (either first-time decisions or recommitments), and 196,000+ of these were followed up with contacts by workers. In the period January to July, the figures look like this: 70,711,000+ visitors, 9,318,000+ decisions, and 1,433,000+ email follow-up contacts by trained workers. And this is not just a matter of recording numbers, like so many evangelistic efforts of the past have been. These web-site visitors who indicate a decision are contacted by a real person who has been equipped to respond to them individually, resources are offered to allow the new disciples to begin to grow, and their progress is tracked and made available to their disciplers.

Sound interesting, but a little daunting or beyond your capabilities? Believe me, it is easier than it sounds. And Crusade is recruiting more online disciplers all the time. Go to www.GMOJoinUs.com for a 4 1/2 minute video summary of what is involved. If you sign up, you will be trained to answer inquiries, given suggested responses and websites to direct your disciples to, and assigned a training community to monitor your progress through the preparation process.

Over the past few months, I have been in contact with 121 people, and I have had extended online conversations with 17 of them. They come from all over the globe, from Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Animist backgrounds, as well as various Christian points of view. What a blessing to be extending the kingdom all over the world. Join me, and you too can find an outlet for that desire Jesus has given each of us to create disciples.

An Easy Burden

If you have any propensity for music, you know what it is like to have a song stick in your mind. Sometimes it is a melody line that you just can’t seem to shake. Or it may be a lyric that repeats itself again and again in your head. But when a songwriter combines a captivating melody with inspiring lyrics, you are doomed. That has been my plight over the past couple months as a song titled “Come to Me”, written by Scott Baker and distributed by EarReverent Music, has been used in worship at our church. The lyrics come from Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. Here is how Scott has chosen to present that message musically:

Behold my child
my chosen beloved
the pleasure of my soul

I will put my Spirit upon Him
to bring justice and hope to the world

Come to me (all who are heavy-laden)
Come to me (weary of being your best)
Come and take this easy burden
and I will give you rest

This question keeps running through my mind: What exactly is the easy burden? Do you find being yoked to Jesus an experience you would characterize as “easy” or “restful”? Or would you at times describe your Christian life as a “burden” which causes you to feel “heavy-laden”? Evidently Jesus found Himself surrounded by people who were of the “heavy-laden” camp because He addressed them specifically in this passage (“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden…”). And if I am brutally honest, I find a lot in the Christian life that makes me weary and heavy-laden myself. Obviously Jesus did not intend the life of a disciple to be this way. His words make that clear. So what are we doing wrong?

Here are a couple possibilities I have come up with. First, the burden isn’t easy because we are trying to be good. Scott Baker calls it “weary of being your best.” When we find ourselves trying to measure up to a self-imposed performance standard, there is no possible outcome but weariness. The answer to this laborious approach to the Christian life is found, I believe, in the opening lyrics to the song. We are the chosen of God, beloved by Him, and endowed with His Spirit. God loves us just as we are, and could never love us more no matter how “good” we are able to be. So our task is to live in that Spirit and relax in the knowledge that we are the beloved of our Creator, and we are totally accepted by Him because we have the righteousness of Christ Himself.

A second mistake we make that can bring weariness to our souls is to accept someone else’s idea of what our lives ought to look like, and hammer ourselves because we don’t measure up. The whole issue of personal evangelism is a good example. You have heard this kind of directed application, or read it, I am sure. “You should be sharing your faith with everyone you meet.” Or this one: “Not everyone has the gift of evangelism, but everyone is called to evangelize; so get out lead someone to Christ.” For some, this is an invigorating message, but for others such a call can bring about feelings of failure and a guilt-ridden existence. I don’t want to minimize the scriptural admonition to be ready to defend your faith and explain the hope that it within you (1 Peter 3:15), but our primary calling is to live the life of Jesus before people. It is His Spirit who will do the wooing and softening of hearts, and He alone is tasked with creating the divine appointments that result in true disciplemaking.

These are two of the ways I have become a weary disciple in the past. How about you? Are there things about the faith that seem burdensome to you? Share your experiences in a comment on this blog. Maybe Jesus can help us learn from each other and we can all find the “rest for our souls” that He intended.

The Will of God

During my 25 years of pastoral experience, I counseled many people on the topic of how to know God’s will. In State College a large part of our congregation was undergraduate and graduate students at Penn State. Often as graduation neared, a student would come to me asking, “How can I know what God wants me to do next?” Since I had pawned my crystal ball to buy books at seminary, and God seems to enjoy keeping me in the dark as much as the next person, my answer was always the same: pray, look for open doors, and then move through them. God will stop and redirect you if He has something else in mind.

When arrived in Lynchburg in early April, it was with a plan. We would get settled, and I would get a part-time job, entry-level, anywhere that I could be with non-churched people and begin to develop relationships. I spent time in April applying for jobs at McDonalds, Lowes, Arbys, Home Depot, Kroger, Wal-Mart—all the stores we frequented. My plan was simple. When I got an offer, that would be God’s leading and I would take it.

A little over two weeks ago I received a call from Wal-Mart. They wanted me to come in for an interview. Over the next two day, I sat for three separate interviews and found out that the job was in the dairy department of a very busy store on “the strip” in Lynchburg. I had no expectations other than to work for 15-20 hours each week, so I agreed to attend a one-day orientation. Seven other new hires filled out tons of paperwork with me that day and began an extensive series of video training sessions to prepare us for work. That was on a Wednesday. I was on the job in the dairy department on Thursday, and by the following Tuesday had put in forty hours in 6 days.

A couple observations about working at Wal-Mart. First, if you are under the impression that these are cushy jobs, or that most Wal-Mart employees stand around and welcome people, think again. I haven’t worked that hard for years. The job entailed unloading pallets of milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and a hundred other products from trucks, shelving them in a 30 degree dairy cooler, and then rolling them out to the floor for stocking. The store was so busy that you could stock the egg area, turn around to straighten up the cheese, and return to find that the cooler of eggs showed no signs of your previous work. And there was endless cleaning to do. Eggs break, yogurt containers split, milk jugs leak—you quickly find how to use the business end of a mop. On top of that, the video training is relentless. You learn how to use a box cutting knife, how to deal with all kinds of spills, how to handle store emergencies, operate a cardboard compactor and various kinds of jacks, avoid committing sexual harassment, and how to follow company policies on everything from time cards to union contacts.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience…and I quit after one week. Why? That brings me back to the topic of this post. I didn’t feel that is where God wanted me. My reasoning for taking the job seemed sound: that was the only offer I had had and therefore God must be in it. And maybe He was. I’m still not sure about all that. But one thing became clear after a week of work: I need to find a job that uses more of my education, experience and gifts. So I reluctantly left Wal-Mart and am now again in the job market.

I learned a lot during the time I spent at Wal-Mart. It was an experience that will shape my shopping forever. I have a new appreciation for what it takes to keep a store looking clean, neat and ready for the shopper. I am more careful now to put a yogurt container back where it belongs when I have looked at it and decided on another. Wal-Mart employees are taught to look the customer in the eye and say hello. I do that with employees now. And I am even more convinced than before that if you are uncertain of God’s direction, you should keep moving. He will use every experience you have to make you into a sensitive and obedient servant. And when the time is right, His perfect plan will become a reality in your life.

Weeds

I have a mug on my filing cabinet, a gift from an anonymous member of my last congregation, that carries this inscription: “A clean uncluttered desk is a sign of a SICK MIND.” I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind that statement, but I am sure that if it is true, then a perfectly manicured yard must point to a person who is psychologically in real deep do-do. I worked on my yard in Wooster for ten years, and finally got it to the point where it was so lush and thick that I could pull a couple weeds each time I mowed and the yard was truly weed-free. Call me sick, but somehow that yard was a great source of comfort to me.

Fast-forward to Lynchburg, Virginia, and our new home (as of April). Obviously, the people who lived here before were not at all sick in the way we have been discussing. In fact, if the yard is any indication, they were extremely healthy. I have never seen so many different varieties of weeds in so small an area. There is clover everywhere, and of course the ubiquitous dandelions. But that is just the beginning. There is a weed that sends tough tendrils out and multiplies like crazy. And then there is the Creeping Charlie. It is really creepy. So every time I mow my weeds (read “yard”) I think about the difference between weeds (what you don’t want in your life) and grass (what you do want).

I have noticed, for instance, that the good stuff needs fertile soil to grow well. When I filled in the bare spots on my lawn with new seed, I had to put in topsoil and peat to get it to grow in this red Virginia clay. But not so with weeds. They can grow anywhere, including the cracks in my driveway. And I find the same is true with bad habits, unbiblical thinking, and sin in general. It will take root anywhere in your life. You don’t need to prepare a place for the bad stuff.

And if you want a lush, green lawn, you’d better be fertilizing regularly. Healthy grass needs to be fed if it is to stay healthy. Weeds? No food necessary. They will grow strong and propagate abundantly without any attention. I find that to be true of all the parts of my life that I want to eliminate as well. I lose ground in my Christian walk every time I ignore it for any length of time. But by feeding my mind and heart with God’s word, I can keep the good stuff growing. And eventually, if the habit continues, my life ceases to be a place where sin can find an easy place to grow.

One last observation. I know my battle with weeds is going to be a long one. I plan to hit them soon with a weed-killer, and then again in the fall. I don’t expect that even those two efforts will end the struggle, but with perseverance I know it is possible to keep the weeds in check. Our lives are pretty much like that, aren’t they? We are in a war with the world, the flesh and the devil that will determine who will control us and what kind of a life we will present to the Savior. Every day we need to check our progress, reinforce the good growth and attack the weeds. So get out your sprayer and join me as we prepare the lawns of our lives for the return of the Master.

Lord Jesus, show me the weeds that threaten to destroy the beauty and witness of my life. And help me to work as hard at keeping my life holy as I do at keeping my lawn green. Amen.

The right tools for the job

Ever tried to cut square corners with a circular saw? Or even worse, mitered and beveled parts? I have, and it’s the pits! Even if you get the pieces to fit, and usually they didn’t for me, there is this nagging sense that the job just wasn’t done right. For 43 years of marriage and through the maintenance of eight different homes, the only cutting tools I have owned are a Craftsman circular saw and a hand saw. For some reason, I could never bring myself to buy a table saw or other more expensive tools that are not used every day, but are absolutely essential when you face a more complicated cutting job.

Last week, with the encouragement of my wife, I went out and bought a table saw and miter saw. I have been cutting everything in sight. And I find that I now look forward to tackling those home improvement projects that I used to dread. It is fun to work around the house when you have the necessary tools to do the job!

You’re probably wondering where all this is going. Well, as I was cutting mitered corners for a molding repair this morning (big grin) I got to thinking about the parallels between being equipped for home improvement projects and being equipped for life. I can remember a time when I was really frustrated by the demands of my day-to-day life. Failure, especially moral and spiritual failure, was more the rule than the exception for me, and I struggled with the knowledge that what I should do I wasn’t doing, and what I shouldn’t be doing I was. Sound familiar? The Apostle Paul testifies to the same experience in Romans 7. Then, as chapter 8 begins, he writes: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” In other words, we no longer need to cut the tough pieces of our lives with a circular saw. God has made available the Spirit of life in Christ (read table saw, miter saw, scroll saw, planer, belt sander, etc., etc.) which not only provides a beautiful finished product, but also makes the process of creating it fun, as it was meant to be.

What does this Spirit do? He comes to reside with us, always there just like the table saw that now sits in my garage. And He is ever ready to enable us to cut the difficult angles, and in so doing, to actually enjoy the work we have been called to perform in His name. Jesus said the Spirit would abide with and in us (John 14:17), teach us all things and help us to remember what He said (14:26), guide us into all truth and disclose to us what is to come (John 16:13). We even have our Lord’s word that His Spirit will give us the words to say when we need to explain the hope that is within us.

So have fun with the tools, that endless array of spiritual equipment God has provided to live a life that glorifies His Son. Take on a long-delayed project. Restore something of God’s to its rightful place in His creation. And work with both joy in your heart and anticipation of the Master’s soon-to-come assessment: “Great cutting, good and faithful servant!”

Waiting

I pulled into my driveway after getting coffee a couple mornings ago to find a turtle crossing the blacktop. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

How are you at waiting? I just stink when it comes to the whole patience scene. I fume when the lady in front of me at Kroger waits until checkout is complete and then counts out $25.41 in quarters, dimes and nickels. I mumble unspiritual lectures at those drivers who cause one car to get through on a light because they don’t know enough to pull into the intersection and wait for the light to change. When I think about it, most of my life has been spent hurrying…rushing from one project to another, one job to another, one phase of life to another. There are few times in my six plus decades that I have stopped long enough to really call it waiting, and even fewer waiting patiently.

Over the last four weeks, we have attended two local churches. At one church, two full services have been devoted to the subject of waiting for God, and yesterday at another church, the sermon was on that same topic. I’m not the fastest gun the west, but even I began to suspect that I’m supposed to be thinking about the subject of waiting right now.

So back to the turtle. I have no idea where this thing came from. But it was moving across my driveway, and since I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I decided to wait until it crossed to pull into the garage. I waited, and waited, and waited. This box of legs and neck was definitely in low gear. It would poke its head out of the shell, look right and then left, stand immobile for minutes, and then take two steps and repeat the vexatious process. That turtle was driving me nuts by doing nothing but patiently taking its time to cross my drive.

As I sat and pondered all this, it occurred to me that the turtle was in no hurry. Wherever it was going (it eventually crossed my neighbor’s drive as well and disappeared into his grass), it was not programmed to stress out getting there. In some instinctive way, for the turtle the trip was just as important as the destination. And sitting there sipping my coffee, I wished I could live the same way.

My recent retirement has forced me to think about some new issues. Suddenly I find myself not working, not producing, not directing or planning or creating or…busy. And the question that I am dealing with is simply this: Is God as pleased with me when I am just being as when I am doing? I have taught for years that we don’t please God by our works (the Bible sometimes calls this sacrifice), but with our obedience and faith. Now I am testing that biblical principle as I wait. For what? I wish I knew. That might make the waiting easier. But whatever God has for me in the future, I know He wants me to wait patiently. Like the turtle, I have decided to take a few steps and stop. To look right and left and not miss what is happening around me. To enjoy the trip and appreciate that the Master Planner can make the waiting just as worthwhile as the arriving.

Are you waiting? How goes the wait?

A great read!

“If you are going to grow as a Christian, you need to be reading the Bible every day.” How often have you heard that? Not that I disagree with the statement, but if you are like me, it has sometimes been just one more thing to put me under the pile. C.H. Spurgeon is reported to have said: “A Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” I can’t really argue with the sentiment, but actually sitting down and reading the Bible every day can be a real challenge.

So what do we do? Pick up a Daily Bread. Five days later, the interest level has diminished and we are back at square one. Or our January 1 resolution (how many times has this happened?) is to read through the Bible in a year. We invest in a guide, trudge through Genesis and Exodus, and then the first week of February find ourselves “lost in Leviticus” and abandon the whole thing.

Lately, I have been trying to spend more time in the gospels. My reason is that those books are where we see and hear Jesus firsthand. Since I really want my life to conform to His, reading accounts of His life seems to be a wise strategy. But there are four accounts, each with a different approach to recording the events. And there is so much, especially in the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) that is repeated. Start reading in Matthew 1, and by the time you get midway through Mark, you are wishing someone had put all these together into one story. And then there are the “discrepancies”, the places where two accounts of the same event seem to be at odds.

Here’s a thought. What if the Holy Spirit, superintending the writing of these four books, allowed each author to address a different group and come at the task with differing capabilities and interests, but still supernaturally created a single account? What if someone took out all the passages where information is duplicated and then combined the four gospel accounts into one chronological biography? Would it flow without discrepancies? Would it make reading about Jesus’ life and ministry fascinating? Would you find that you could hardly put the book down?

Well, someone has. And the answer to all these questions is a resounding “YES!” The format I have described is called a harmony of the gospels. And the particular harmony I have found most helpful is titled, “The Life of Christ in Stereo” by Johnston M. Cheney. A number of features make this an excellent book to use as a devotional. Each passage carries a raised numeral to identify its gospel author. In the back of the book, explanatory footnotes and an outline of the life of Christ give additional information to encourage further study or assist in teaching the material.

If you are looking for a way to get into the Bible every day, I would highly recommend this book to you. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print. But used copies are available on Amazon, and you can probably find them at a used bookstore, or even at some libraries. If not, then any harmony of the gospels will fill the bill. Read…and enjoy!

Advice, advice, advice

Isn’t it amazing how many people there are around who want to give you advice? And the advice is usually to do what they do, or do things the way they do them. I’ve been thinking about this lately because it seems like I keep running into people who think they know just what is best for me. Now there aren’t that many people out there who obviously have it all together, whose lives or jobs or ministries or families have the mark of perfection on them. So why do they think they have the answer for me? Maybe it’s a psychological thing. I seem to remember from one of my college psychology courses that we tend to transfer our own experiences to others. Whatever the motivation, it can sure get tiresome.

I’m not suggesting we isolate ourselves and refuse to seek good advice. There are times when I specifically ask for help, and I expect the advice I get to be based on that person’s experience and the wisdom gained from it. But even that can become tedious. I like Larry Burkett’s thinking on this: “A wise man seeks much counsel…a fool listens to all of it.” But what about all the advice we get that is totally unsolicited?

Here are some examples from my own life. Penny and I raised our kids in a pretty high-pressure environment. I was a pastor for most of that time, and in the early part of our ministry, we found it necessary for Penny to work just to make ends meet. The kids felt like they were in a fishbowl, and the pressure took its toll. You can’t believe how many times we were given unsolicited advice on how to deal with the situation. And often by people whose own families were anything but healthy. Throughout my 25 years in the pastorate, someone was always offering me the perfect solution to every problem I faced. And it continues. A couple days ago, I went online and watched several speakers at Liberty Seminary deliver messages to a pastor’s conference held there. Two of the three guys explained in no uncertain terms that a pastor should never retire from church ministry. Interestingly, one of these guys isn’t presently pastoring a church and the other, Chuck Swindoll, took four years off to work in another ministry area outside the organized church. So where do they come off telling me what God wants in my life?

Have you found yourself needing to tune out the advice-givers? I’d love to hear about some of your frustrating encounters.

Oh, well. Such is life. To rephrase a proverb from Ecclesiastes: “Be warned: the giving of advice is endless, and excessive attention to it is wearying to the soul.”

What would happen if I really...?

I suppose every time we are confronted by a new understanding from Jesus’ teaching, we face the issue of whether or not to incorporate the lesson into our lives. Will I move from precept to practice? Am I a disciple in name only, or am I really committed to becoming like my Master? I have been discussing just one idea Jesus presented in His Sermon on the Mount—the challenge to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and refuse to respond to violence with violence. For me, this particular issue is somewhat of a bellwether on the sermon as a whole. I have become convinced that Jesus intended to communicate exactly what His words convey to us. I believe that He is telling us that kingdom citizens who take seriously their faith commitment will choose a non-violent response to those who act in violence against them. Just as importantly, I am sure that Jesus is calling us to actually love our enemies and, by our willingness to show them that love, demonstrate in some small way what kingdom life is like.

But some thorny questions emerge when I try to visualize that kind of life. How do I balance non-violence with what I understand to be my obligation to defend and protect my family? What would happen if everyone took this position, and there were no police or armed forces to keep law and order? How should a person who is drafted into military service respond? What would have happened if America, as nation, had taken that position in 1941 after Pearl Harbor? I wish I had answers to all these questions. I don’t. But let me share with you the issues I have come to see a little more clearly, as least as they apply to my own life.

First, there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus came to announce a kingdom that is characterized by peace. What did the angels announce at Jesus’ birth: “…And on earth, peace among men…” (Luke 2:14). Isaiah’s prophecy again and again calls us to see Messiah’s coming as the advent of peace. In Isaiah 57:19 we read: “ ‘Peace to him who is far and to him who is near,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will heal him.’ “ Paul picks up this theme in Ephesians 2:14: “For He Himself is our peace…”. And to make his point credible, Paul cites Isaiah in verse 17: “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near.” God is a peacemaker, a reconciler at the very core of His being. For the world, a peacemaker is Samuel Colt’s 45 caliber revolver (or, today, a Glock G-23). But isn’t Jesus calling us to abandon violence and be the peacemakers, as He understood His own calling from the Father?

Secondly, Jesus lived a life that was precisely in line with His teaching on loving your enemies and turning the other cheek. Again, the prophets made clear what to expect from Messiah when He came. Isaiah (53:4-9) tells us that He was to be struck, wounded, crushed, chastened, scourged, oppressed, afflicted, led to slaughter. And that is exactly what Jesus experienced. Isaiah goes on to tell us that Messiah would be silent before his persecutors, “like a sheep led to slaughter.” How can we help but be troubled by the way Jesus reacted to the brutality of His accusers? He had the resources to strike them back, to end the suffering. Instead He remained silent and even blessed those who were taking His life.

Thirdly, our calling is and has always been to make our lives congruent with that of Jesus—to emulate the Master. That is what discipleship is all about. To the degree that we can be little Jesus’s, we will have fulfilled the Master’s commandments. Jesus made that clear in John 8:31 when He addressed those who believed in Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” And to those who hear His words and chose to ignore them, Jesus said (Luke 6:46): “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Finally, it does no good to theorize what might have been, or try to construct a scenario where I might respond in a particular way to some external threat. Our foundational instruction as Christians is and always has been to live today in faith. We are not given grace for tomorrow, only for today. And our task is not to figure out what might be coming, but to prepare ourselves to walk in faith no matter what the circumstances we might face. Either we can trust the Master to equip us or not; either we can trust our lives to His sovereignty and grace or not.

Now you can see where my own struggles with this issue have led me. I certainly don’t write this to convince others or to take the same position. Nor am I convinced that I can live out what I believe even now. But my heart is to be like Jesus. My desire is to understand what He wanted us to see as our kingdom heritage, and to experience as much of it as my faith will allow. So I leave you with one more passage, this one to look at in your own time and digest as the Spirit provides the enabling. Take a moment to reread 1 John 3:11-16 in light of this discussion. It has taken on some new meaning to me of late.

Father, as I encounter each experience you have sovereignly chosen for my life, help me to bring the life and words of Jesus to the situation, and may my responses to life's challenges speak to a lost world about your heart.

Identifying the problem

There is a story about a young soldier in Italy during WWII who jumped into a foxhole just in time to avoid bullets screaming overhead. As he frantically dug to deepen the hole, he came across something metal, and brought up a crucifix, left by a former resident of the foxhole. A moment later, another leaping figure landed beside him as the shells exploded overhead. When the soldier got a chance to look, he saw that his companion was an Army chaplain. Holding out the crucifix, the soldier gasped, “Am I glad to see you! How do you work this thing?” Sometimes I feel like that soldier when I try to understand Jesus’ teachings. I want to ask an expert, “How do you work this thing?” Or, more appropriately in this situation, “How can I use this teaching of Jesus?”

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that those who are peacemakers will be happy. And He made it clear that we are not to resist an evil person, but turn the other cheek when struck, and give the person even more than he has taken forcibly. Taken literally, this teaching presents a real conundrum. It goes against all my natural self-preservation instincts, all that I have been taught since childhood, against common sense and against the whole nationalistic idea of fighting for freedom that has been so much a part of my public education and church experience. Is it any wonder that so many Christians ignore or spiritualize the message?

For me, the solution was a little of each. Spiritualize the sermon, making it talk about minor grievances instead of actual physical abuse. Emphasize the “eye for an eye” part of the instruction rather than the “turn the other cheek” part. But basically, I have just ignored it altogether. I have been taught to defend my home, family and country at all costs. I have believed those who have told me that to die for one’s country on the field of battle is the highest honor one can achieve in death. I have served in the armed forces and would have killed without regret if ordered to do so. I have many times said that if a person violates the sanctity of my home or the safety of my family and I have the means available, the violator will be carried away in a bag. And I meant every word of it.

But something has begun to change in my thinking. As I have reconsidered the SM, I find myself thinking that those were not biblical responses, but instead fleshly, worldly responses to fleshly, worldly threats. And it is not just the words of Christ that I find unnerving. As I look at Jesus’ life and death, I see Him modeling how we are to react when we are treated unjustly, unmercifully, viciously and inhumanely. We say that He lived a life that we are to emulate. Can we say less about how He reacted to those who wanted to (and eventually did) take His life?

In my last post, I mentioned a conversation with a Mennonite after our tour of Behalt in Berlin, Ohio. As we talked, I asked him if he was a pacifist. He said he would not call his position pacifism, but Christian nonviolence. That wasn’t good enough for me. I asked him point blank: If someone broke into your house and threatened your family with bodily harm, what would you do? His response not only gave me insight into his own journey with the SM, but also gives me some hope for continuing this quest I am on for a faith worthy of the name “kingdom citizen.” He said: “I’ll give you two answers: the first is what I would probably do; the second what I would want to do. The person who threatens my family, not my home, would have to reach them by killing me first. But I would want to be able to trust God, even in that situation, and not respond to violence with violence.”

So what would happen if I decided to live out this understanding of Jesus’ SM? What are the implications for my daily life? I’ll visit that set of problems in the next post.

Lord Jesus, show me how to live as a disciple of the Prince of Peace. Amen.

Next installment: What would happen if I really…?

Did Jesus really mean...?

The real question about the Sermon on the Mount, for me, is “Did Jesus actually mean what He said?” Put another way, are we to spiritualize the principles Jesus sets forth in this message, or are we really to live lives that reflect these kingdom ideals?

The SM brings to mind many specific questions about our lives as kingdom citizens, but one especially has been bugging me lately. Before I get to that question, I need to relate a couple events that will provide background. For some time now, I have been following David Fitch (www.reclaimingthemission.com) as he has shared his thoughts about his local fellowship (Life on the Vine) and the state of the church today. David is a C&MA pastor from the Chicago area and author of “The Great Giveaway.” In a number of his posts, David talked about his alignment with Anabaptist beliefs. I was interested, but knew very little about the movement from my seminary church history classes. On one of his posts, David suggested a paper written by William McGrath in the 1950’s titled “The Anabaptists: Neither Catholic nor Protestant” as a primer on Anabaptism. I found it at www.cbc4me.org/articles/Baptist/04-McGrath.pdf, and it was a fascinating read. Again, more questions than answers, but stimulating just the same.

The second event could only have been orchestrated by God. Penny and I decided to visit Behalt in Berlin before we left Ohio. For those unfamiliar, it is a large mural-in-the-round that depicts Amish and Mennonite history. I love history, especially church history, and I was sure I’d get more insight into the Anabaptist tradition there, since the Amish and Mennonite traditions come out of the Anabaptist movement. We took the 30-minute tour with two other men who seemed to know about the events and characters highlighted throughout the tour. When the tour ended, and we were all standing with the tour guide talking about the presentation, I asked one of the men if he was Mennonite. He acknowledged that he was, and it became clear that he could easily have led the tour himself. We parted after a half hour or so of conversation.

During that conversation, I felt compelled to ask him about his views on pacifism. For some reason, to me the whole of the SM kept coming down to Jesus’ comments on turning the other cheek and not resisting an evil person. Not that that issue is the most important that Jesus addressed in this sermon, but it seems to hit home to me as a prime example of my failure to measure up to the standards of a kingdom citizen. And the tour just amplified that feeling, as it pointed out the thousands of people who had been martyred during the early years of the Anabaptist tradition, burned at the stake and tortured in every imaginable way because they felt that neither Catholicism nor the Protestant Reformation of their day accurately reflected biblical principles. For the most part, they had stood silent before their accusers and, though treated mercilessly, refused to defend themselves, retaliate or even harbor hatred in their hearts for their persecutors.

In my next post, I want to share with you some of the contradictions from my own life between the principles of the SM and my own attitudes and behavior. And you will hear how this fellow tourist and devout Mennonite answered my question about pacifism. Thanks for joining me in this personal journey. And don’t hesitate to comment on any of these thoughts.

Heavenly Father, continue to teach me what it means to be a kingdom citizen. Show me how to live in this broken world with the spark of divine presence that will offer Your hope of final restoration to all who I meet. Amen.

Next installment: Identifying the problem

Blessed are the...

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Now there’s a message that can wreak havoc with your concept of the Christian life. Oh, it doesn’t attack your suppositions with frantic accusations. It just quietly bites you with the inconspicuous truths of the kingdom of God, and then moves on to allow you to scratch the itches it has produced. I’ve heard this message called the most important passage of the Bible, the whole of Jesus’ ministry in one sermon, the Christian Magna Charta, the Christian Manifesto, the Rules for Living, and on and on. I have read chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s gospel innumerable times in my 40-plus years as a Christian, and preached through it several times in my pastoral career. And until just recently, I was sure I had a pretty good handle on what Jesus was saying.

Let me summarize my approach to the passage over the years and see if you can relate. It seemed obvious to me that Jesus was talking about the kingdom of God, that perfect heavenly version of what we know as the broken world today. Matthew records that Jesus had announced that His presence made the kingdom a reality (Matt. 4:17), and Luke (4:43) records Jesus as saying that His purpose in coming was to preach the kingdom. So Jesus must, I concluded, have used this lengthy and very early address to summarize what we who are His disciples will all look like when the kingdom is realized in its fullness. Makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, He surely couldn’t have been describing how we are to look today. The standard is far beyond the reach of any but the dead saints of old, and since they are not around to provide verification of their saintliness, I’m not so sure I trust the accuracy of their biographers. You can see where I am going with this. The demands of the Sermon on the Mount are so outrageously superhuman, I reasoned, that they are to be spiritualized and were never intended to be taken literally.

Result? Well, when Jesus says the poor in spirit, the gentle, those hungering for righteousness, and the peacemakers are blessed, I added “those who try to be” before each descriptive word or phrase. Blessed are “those who try to be” gentle, blessed are “those who try to be” pure in heart, and so on through the list of beatitudes. Later in the message, when we learn that to be angry with a brother makes us as guilty as a murderer, or that we are to turn the other cheek when struck, I could only understand those as intentional exaggeration, hyperbole meant to drive home the point that we need to set a higher standard for ourselves regarding civil and moral behavior than the world does.

That was then. This is now. At some point over the last year or so I have become convinced that my understanding of this important passage has been deeply flawed. And it comes to a head with Jesus’ words from Matthew 5:38-42, verses that I feel are a commentary on the phrase from Matthew 5:9…”Blessed are the peacemakers…” Don’t assume that I have received some insightful revelation that will open the meaning of this crucial message of Jesus. I haven’t. But what I have come to understand about the message is rocking my theological boat. This article and the ones to follow that complete my thoughts on the topic are only my way of asking for help with some very troubling questions I must now answer. I invite your thoughts and comments.

Father, I have put my faith in your living Word and the record of His teachings. I have trusted your Holy Spirit to guide me as I try to learn and become like Jesus. Forgive me for reading my own thoughts into your revelation and for taking the easy way out as I seek to apply scripture to my life. Open the eyes of my heart to know your truth. And keep me from misleading myself and others as I seek to grow in this blessed faith. Amen.

Next installment: Did Jesus really mean…?

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs???

Isn't it interesting how God can teach us something profound when we least expect it? Like the time I was almost asleep in Jr. Hi English and I suddenly heard the teacher say, "Regis, name two pronouns." I blurted out, "Who me?" And the teacher said "That's correct. You're doing much better in this class." OK, that didn't really happen, but you get the idea.

My immediate plan for retirement was to unpack, get a part time job, and then find a ministry. I was sure there would be no problem finding a job. I mean, all I wanted was an entry level position in any retail, food service or other local business where I could rub shoulders with non-Christians. Minimum wage, part time, available anytime but Sunday morning. I was sure I could get work whenever I wanted it. After all, when was the last time you ate at a fast food restaurant and they weren't advertising for help. In fact, I have always been sure jobs are there for the asking. At least the entry level jobs. I've been so sure of that fact that I have often looked at those without jobs as either lazy or unmotivated or both.

So at the end of March, I completed applications online for the two places I most wanted to work--Lowes and Home Depot. I told them I'd be available on April 2, and I fully expected a call by the 3rd. We have been in Lynchburg now for 4 weeks, and I have completed applications for every major chain store and restaurant I can think of. Nothing. Isn't that amazing? No one wants a dedicated, hard-working, ethical, retiree with at least some people skills to fill a part time position.

Know what it has taught me? Never, never, never judge a person until you have walked their path. I have a special softness in my heart now for those who are struggling without skills to find an entry level job to support them. Maybe this economy is worse than I thought. Or maybe it is a factor of how applications are filled out. Or maybe some part of their personal profile is not appealing (age, experience of lack thereof?). Whatever the reason, I finally understand that there are probably a lot more people out there who want to work than there are jobs to sustain them. And that is a tragedy.

Here's what I am going to do about my own predicament. I'm done filling out applications online. I have always sold myself eyeball to eyeball, and that is what I plan to do starting Monday. That's when Sam (the lady who is in charge of hiring at the nearby Lowes) is due back in her office. I plan to meet her when she arrives and tell her how much I want to work for her, how great an employee I would be, how conscientious I am about details, how much experience I have had with people, and how I love tools and home improvement.

So if you think of me Monday morning, say a little prayer asking the Lord to give me the right words and attitude...and if it is His desire, to get me a job interview at Lowes.

God, forgive me for judging those without a job and assuming I know more than they about their lives. And be with every person who today wants a job that will supply their needs and lift their sense of self-worth. Fill every void in their lives and supply every need until you place them in a job that will be a blessing to them. Amen.