A Christmas Carol and lessons from Mr. Scrooge

My family and I saw the new A Christmas Carol movie starring Jim Carey a few days ago and were very impressed. The animation is amazing, and the the original storyline is followed for the most part. Each member of the family enjoyed the movie and agreed that it was well worth watching.

It is a movie that always causes me to reflect on my own life and consider those things that are truly important. I always come away contemplating missed opportunities to serve others and share God's love as well.

I was also impressed again by the sudden and noticeable change in Mr. Scrooge; the miserly curmudgeon became a catalyst for philanthropy and good-will overnight, literally overnight! As I was contemplating this phenomenon in old Ebenezer I was reminded that one who has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior truly is a new creation. One who was once spiritually dead has been made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit and now has a new life on every level. The Christian has a new purpose and Lord he serves as well as a renewed relationship with God. Every aspect of life for the Christian should be filtered through the reality that it's all about God. Loving God with all of our being and loving others is our sole passion. With this in mind I was rattled again by the reality that so many professing Christians live lives that appear to be anything but loving, kind, or marked by sacrifice. The "change" doesn't seem to be there in the lives of so many professing Christians.

The sad fact is that this is not biblical salvation at all. The Bible does not espouse a faith that does not lead to a new life. In fact, the Bible is emphatic in teaching that true faith in Christ will lead to a new life. A life changed in regard to thoughts, words, actions, and purpose. I am not suggesting that we earn God's favor or salvation at all, but I am suggesting that a new creature in Christ should have a new desire to serve God by serving others. After all, Christians are Jesus' ambassadors on this earth.

Perhaps pastors and Bible teachers are raising up legions of "Ebenezer Scrooge Christians," Christians who are not being taught the reality that "anyone in Christ is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Maybe the malaise that marks many Christians is partly due to apathetic spiritual leadership. Are we teaching true biblical Christianity, a life lived for God on every front where loving others is an outpouring of our love for God? May we as God's people show the love of God as we sacrifice for others, and may we remember that there must be a change in our life once we become followers of Christ. In this way we can follow the lead of Charles Dickens' famous character.

Blogs, Narcissism and God's Glory

I can't believe that I am writing this blog. Does anyone really care what I think or have to say? I know I could care less what most blogs and tweets and face book walls say. As if television, video games, and the Internet weren't enough to keep us occupied and vie for our precious time, we now have new ways to squander the 24 hours a day God has given us.

Can God use all of these techno tools for His glory? Can they serve mankind in some positive way? Yes, and yes. There are times when someone actually posts some thoughts or information that is encouraging and refocuses me upon God and His ways or His Word, but more often than not the information gleaned from these self-aggrandizing methods of communication serve no purpose of importance. Posts and thoughts that convey the mundane, obvious, or simply complain are of little value. It seems that all they accomplish is an opportunity to make the author feel good about himself due to the fact that his face and thoughts are "published" on the web and whatnot. The bottom line is this: facebook, twitter, and blogs seem to have encouraged and fostered an already burgeoning culture of narcissism. Some of us actually think that others care what we have to say!

Oh well, no one is forcing anyone to read any of this. I can only promise that I will try to communicate something of redeeming value in my posts. I don't want to post a blog to simply post a blog. In the meantime I encourage everyone to guard their precious time. God gave it to us, and it is a valuable resource to be used for His glory. Pick an choose the posts you read wisely and try not to communicate worthless, inane posts full of complaints and obvious facts.

Pastor: Jack of All Trades!

At first thought I can't bring to mind a job that requires a general knowledge of so many areas of expertise and so many skill sets as that of a pastor. It is comical to think that on a day-to-day basis so many men (and women in some denominations) are required to weigh in and offer insight on a bevy of issues and challenges. Just think about it: on any given day a pastor is called upon to be a marriage counselor, grief counselor, personnel manager, facilities manager, long ranger strategic planner, event planner, hospitality coordinator, salesman (yes we sell everyday in some way or another), teacher, financier, athlete, etc. You get the picture, and I know I forgot some stuff too.

All of this is not entirely new to me; as a small business manager/owner I got used to wearing many hats. But at the end of the day I didn't answer to any man and the bottom line is what mattered. However, in pastoral ministry any and everyone in the church is happy to offer their thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions. This is truly unique; I suppose that politicians can relate to this on some level too. Sometimes you just have to laugh at some of the comments that fly out of folk's mouths. Anyway, the daily grind of dealing with all of this can get to you, as can the expectations and judgmental musings of so many. If you couple that with the fact that pastoral ministry is unlike other jobs in that spiritual life and death hang in the balance you start to see what can be a very stressful job.

Well, what's the point? First, I want to say that I love being a pastor. I love sharing in the lives of others; I love it when the light bulb comes on and someone grasps a spiritual truth. I love it when someone makes a decision that is life-changing in a positive sense. I love getting to know people and being a part of the most important events of their lives. I love that I have a job that cannot ultimately be judged by a bottom-line (though some want to judge it that way) and has eternal implications (well, everything is about God, but pastoral work is more intense in this way). I love it. But the real point is that those of you who have a pastor need to be lifting him up in prayer and offering him encouragement and help. He has a great and grave responsibility, so give him a break please. In addition, remember that your pastor is dealing with spiritual warfare on a very deep and real level. Also, remember that he is a human and is entitled to make mistakes. These mistakes make him human and allow him to relate better to you!!!

So the next time you don't like how he hit the ball in the softball game or handled a motion in a business meeting give him a break; he can't do everything well! He is merely a jack of all trades who ultimately is called by God, serves God, and answers to God...

If you are a pastor reading this, please give me your thoughts on the matter;)

How Can A Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?

This is an interesting question, and one that is often not met with an answer that is true to God's revelation of himself in Scripture. The reality is that many preachers don't touch this question or even hell as a topic. They don't preach it, for it is politically incorrect and controversial, negative and not uplifting. "Preachers today try to air-condition hell," said Al Mohler. The reality is that the God of the Bible does warn us of the reality of hell; in fact, Jesus spoke often about hell and in specific terms. One of the big problems that exist today is the reality that man insists on ignoring what God has said regarding hell; they try to explain it away or downplay its reality, insisting that it can't be a real place or an eternal place or a place of torment. Well, according to the Bible and the teaching of Jesus it is a real place, an eternal place for those who are thrown into it, and it is a place of torment.

This brings us back to the question at hand, and for that I appeal to the character of God and not man. Again, the problem is that we humans insist on judging ourselves against ourselves. In other words, when compared to many in the world we are "good." We can easily point to evil people such as Hitler or some mass murderer or terrorist and claim that we aren't that bad! In fact, compared to them we are good; plus, we are generally moral and law abiding. We must break the habit of judging "good" from a human standard and start judging it from God's. God's standard is perfection; He is perfectly holy. The mark we are to hit is His standard, and we all fall short of that mark. We all fail to achieve that standard and level, which is His perfection. The sad reality is that we all deserve hell when viewed from God's standard. And as a just and righteous God our sin can't simply be overlooked or brushed under the proverbial rug. God would not be loving if He did not uphold and remain true to His holiness, righteousness, and justice.

In His love He provided one to bear our sin and its curse- one who met His righteous requirements and standard of holy perfection. He sent His own Son Jesus Christ who lived a life of perfection and died in the place of sinners.

For more information on this topic and the question at hand I would refer you to www.albertmohler.com He posted a video of a sermon he gave dealing with this issue on his blog. I would recommend it; it is well worth a listen. And may I never shrink away from the doctrine of hell in my own preaching and teaching; I encourage any other pastor or teacher that might happen upon this to be true to the Word of God in this as well.

Men and the Sea- a story of sabbath

I was reminded of one of my favorite literary works this past week while fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. I felt a little like Manolin, the young understudy to Santiago, in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. Just like Santiago, the gentleman with whom I fished was a man of methodology; he has fishing down to a science. He knows exactly how to fish for certain fish, and he sticks to his plan. Hemingway's character had not caught a fish in several weeks before his epic battle with the marlin, but the old man of my experience is generally successful in his fishing endeavors. He is consistent and steady, the model of patience as he fishes. Like Santiago, his body is wearing down, but he still has a fire in his soul, a love for the sea and fishing. There is a quote from the aforementioned work, which won Hemingway the Nobel Prize in literature, that reminds me of my captain: "Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated." This description fits my fishing partner who is battling cancer yet again.



What a great day! Not only did I get the privilege of fishing with an 87 year old man who knows what he is doing but I was able to experience the bay on a hot, glorious, summer day. Those of us who live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia are privileged to have access to some great bodies of water. From the marina in Hampton where we started the Chesapeake Bay was only minutes away, and the Atlantic Ocean was within reach as well. It was a beautiful setting for relaxation and sport; one that I probably take for granted. There was something therapeutic about fishing on the bay; perhaps the reality that no matter what I needed to be doing I wasn't going to get to it while out there was the main reason. But no matter the reason, I am convinced that I don't take advantage of opportunities to take a Sabbatical- a sabbath, a time to cease from normal activities and rest often enough. I hope that we all will learn to make time to cease from our normal activities on a regular basis. We need it- no matter how dedicated, talented, or indispensable we may feel.

"What's Pray?": Scary and Exciting Times for the Church

As a pastor of a local church (Southern Baptist) I am often amazed at what I see and hear. After my years in the business world and time spent on the campus of a state university I am surprised that I can still be shocked. Paul gave Timothy a warning of what he would continue to face and run into in 2 Timothy 3; he used words like "brutal", "lovers of themselves", "lovers of money", and "slanderous" to describe the actions and attitudes of people. Actually, none of this is a surprise at all, and most of us are used to dealing with this sort of thing and battle these tendencies in our own lives. But I have run into a few things lately that are scary on one hand and offer opportunity on another.

Last week our church hosted a Vacation Bible School for our community. It proved to be a great opportunity to meet and connect with some new families. As always, there were families who attended who already belong to a Bible preaching church, and they and their children were very knowledgeable of the Bible. However, I have to admit that I was surprised to hear a five year old child say "what's pray" when we were about to pray. I was taken back a little when another child confessed that they had never heard of Jesus. At first glance the reality that these children are ignorant of Bible basics is scary, but on another hand it simply shows the opportunity that exists to share God's love with people right in our own neighborhoods who have literally never heard it before. This is exciting!

For those of us who grew up in church it is hard to imagine not praying as a child or knowing about Jesus, but that is today's reality for many right here in the United States. All of this will prove to be a challenge for many churches who have a hard time imagining that there are folks out there who simply aren't "churchy" at all- masses who have never been in church and don't really know what it's all about. But again, that is what's exciting- the opportunity to connect with these people and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. After all, this is why we are here! The challenge then is many faceted for the church. How to connect to these people is only the first question. A better question might be "is the church ready and willing to accept them and deal with them once we reach them?" What will discipleship look like in a church where many are ignorant of biblical basics, which is not often the norm in many of the churches with which I am familiar or have attended?

Scary and exciting...right now that is all I have to say...

Oh, for even scarier check out this blog from Albert Mohler entitled "Does Your Pastor Believe in God?" at http://albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3532

the plight of the "neither poor nor rich" and financial aid woes

I have always appreciated Proverbs 30:8-9:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. (New International Version)

These verses just make sense on so many levels to me; I feel like I get what the author is trying to say. In the case of the rich man or the poor man the temptation is to lose focus and bring reproach and harm to God's name and glory is greater than for the man in the middle.

If you are blessed with great wealth I simply encourage you to realize that you are blessed for a cause and purpose greater than yourself. God has blessed you for His purposes. Likewise the poor; God loves you and has a plan and purpose for your life. He desires to be your greatest treasure and can offer something far greater than riches. But that brings me to the point of this post:

If you are neither rich nor poor heed my words. Plan ahead and save diligently for your child's college education!!!! The sad reality is that if you are not dirt poor the financial aid system will not help you much. Hard working people who pay taxes and try to pay their bills get left out when it comes to grants and subsidized loans etc. I guess the rich can simply stroke a check, so they aren't all that concerned.

The bottom line: if you are in the "middle" tough luck. Hopefully your child will have a mind like Einstein, a bat like Albert Pujols, an arm like Roy Halladay, can tackle like Brian Urlacher, or run the ball like Ladainian Tomlinson; if so, a scholarship might be feasible. The normal, run-of-the-mill honor student who was active in clubs, sports, and philanthropy doesn't count for much in the "money for college" game. Am I whining? Yeah, I guess I am.

So back to the theological side of all this. Fortunately God loves the middle-class too and His promises apply to them. He "owns the cattle on a thousand hills," and it wouldn't take too many head of cattle to cover college tuition! But seriously, either way He has a purpose in it all....to be continued