What Is Success?

Years ago, before going to North Dakota to serve with the then Home Mission Board, I had the chance to visit with a high ranking officer of that entity (very high ranking). I had done some research and wanted his opinion.

Here was the question:
“In Texas, there is one SBC church for every 3,000 people in the state, and we have over 400 HMB missionaries. In North Dakota, we have only one SBC church or mission for every 30,000 people; yet we have less than a dozen people receiving HMB support. Why is that?”

Here was the answer:
“We get a better return on our investment in Texas.”

Fast forward a few years. The Sioux church we served was holding its own, so to speak. A new church plant 60 miles away we worked with only had about 4 families. In both cases we were told by outside sources that these works were not “viable.” In fact, when we left ND, no one was sent to replace us at the new church plant, and it died. (Of course we still brag about the number of “new church starts” but that’s another story).

Once again, I’m finally getting to the point. A dear friend of ours is currently struggling in a “frontier” ministry. Response is very slow, but there are those in whom God is stirring a hunger. Yet his financial backers in another state, who by the way have never set foot on his church field, are telling him it’s time to move on because this is not a “viable” work. I guess they think they’re not getting a good enough “return on their investment.”

How do we measure success? Is it based on the numbers we draw (like a popularity contest)? Is it in terms of how much that work begins to give back financially (like a stock market investment)? Or is there more to it in God’s church.

Mark Dever, in his book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, gives one of the best answers I’ve read. This is a lengthy quote, but it’s worth the reading:

We need a new model for the church. Simply put, we need churches that are self-consciously distinct from the culture. We need churches in which the key indicator of success is not evident results but persevering biblical faithfulness. We need churches that help us to recover those aspects of Christianity that are distinct from the world, and that unite us,

In a society where Christianity is being widely and rapidly disowned, where evangelism is often considered inherently intolerant or even officially classified as a hate crime, we find our world changed. The culture to which we would conform in order to be relevant becomes so inextricably entwined with antagonism to the Gospel that to conform to it must mean a loss of the Gospel itself. In such a day, we must re-hear the Bible and re-imagine the concept of successful ministry not as necessarily immediately fruitful but as demonstrably faithful to God’s Word.

Great missionaries who have gone to non-Christian cultures have had to know this. When they have gone to places where there were no obvious “fields white unto harvest” but only years andeven decades of rejection, they must have had some other motivation to keep them going. If William Carey would be faithful in India or Adoniram Judson in Burma, it could not be because their immediate success showed them that that they were being obviously relevant. It could only be because the Spirit of God in them encouraged them to obedience and trust. Rural pastors labor in churches amid declining populations, and they do so at the call of God. We today, in the secular West, must recover a sense of satisfaction in such biblical faithful ness. And we must recover it particularly in our lives together as Christians, in our churches.

My prayer is that we will find satisfaction and success in this way. And Brother Gary, if you’re out there, stay faithful, brother. As I told you, it’s all about the calling of God. He’s concerned with your faithfulness not the world’s idea of success. May we all learn that simple truth.

Go, Go, Gordon!

This just in. Jeff Gordon comes roaring back from 34th to 1st, to win at Talladega. This marks the 5th win of the season, 80th of his career, and 12th restrictor plate win (surpassing the late Dale Earnhardt’s 11). Gordon moves back to first place in NASCAR’s “Chase” for the championship, the place he held the majority of the season. The Talladega fans even showed improvement. (see here for my take on their childish/drunken behavior after Jeff’s last win here) All is right with the racing world. Now back to regularly scheduled programming.

A Serious Lack of Discernment

“Don’t you realize those are the Sacred Hoops?” That was the response to my wearing what I thought was simply a beautifully beaded bolo tie. What I thought of as simple artistic design, the Sioux people saw as a symbol for the Indian “life-way,” bringing to mind images of the Ghost Dance, etc. The same was true for the intricately beaded watchband I picked up. What I saw as merely artwork, the Sioux saw as a representation of the water-bird, complete with all the religiously charged symbolism it contained.

For three years my wife and I lived on a Sioux Indian Reservation, pastoring a little church there. It didn’t take long for us to see that not everything is as innocent and benign as we might think. We soon learned that images and symbols run all through the Sioux worldview, and very little can truly be described as being religiously neutral. Everything had spiritual meaning.

At one point, confused over the line between culture and religion, I consulted an older Cherokee brother while at Indian Youth Camp. His response was this: “Hunting buffalo and living in teepees is culture; all the rest is religion.” What I came to realize is that I needed to be very careful about the things I bought, wore, etc. because to me they may be benign, but to the people I was ministering to it had spiritual significance. For me to ignore that showed a serious lack of discernment.

Here’s the point (aren’t you glad there is one?!) The Missouri Baptist Pathway newspaper recently carried a piece about the expansion of Hindu influence in our nation, seen especially in the fact that a Hindu prayer was offered in opening the US Senate this summer.

An addition to that article discussed the offering of Yoga classes at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO. “Yoga with Sarah” is seen as just another exercise class; but is it really so innocent?

That Pathway article even included a quote from a Hindu professor who explained that each of the postures in Yoga was designed to represent a spiritual truth. In his words, to separate the posture from the Hindu meaning “must be challenged because it runs counter to the fundamental principles upon which yoga itself is premised.”

I’m having flashbacks of watchbands and bolo ties. Things are not always as spiritually neutral as we might think. We show a serious lack of discernment if we don’t realize this.

This is but the latest example of Christian people thinking that we can do what the world does with no consequence. This same issue of Pathway included articles on the Emergent Church with its use of alcohol, gambling, R-rated movies and religious inclusiveness all being used as “tools” to “reach people.”

It seems the modern church is suffering from a severe case of lack of discernment. I only pray that God will open our eyes to the truth and remind us that Jesus is the way, the only way, and that we truly need to reconsider what it means to “go out from their midst, and be separate from them” (2 Corinthians 6:17, ESV)

The Value of The Word

The Associated Press recently carried a story about a synagogue in Miami which came up with a rather unique fund raiser. In exchange for a sizeable donation, they are allowing congregants to host Judaism's sacred text in their homes. They call it a Torah time-share.

The article says:

For a one-time gift of $1,800, members of Temple Israel can sponsor a section of the scroll. Each year, during the week before that section is read at Shabbat services, donors can keep the Torah in their home — an event that has prompted families to host scripture studies, parades and dinner parties.

I had two immediate reactions to that story which came to mind almost simultaneously. First was: how pagan to treat God’s Word as a fund raising tool. This particular Torah scroll was about 160 years old, so I can understand some of the value placed on it in that regard. Also, knowing Judaism’s focus on the scroll itself, which borders on idolatry, is a whole other issue. (The rabbi even suggested that the Torah’s presence in the home made that home a more holy place!) But the bottom line was that it was simply used as a fund-raising tool. I was offended.

But the second, again nearly simultaneous reaction was this: I wish our people valued God’s Word that much. Once more, I know there are differences between Jews and Christians in how we view these things. And I certainly don’t want to return to a Pagan/Catholic reverence of the Book as an object of divine worship itself. Yet, still, there is something to be said for valuing the Word of God so highly.

I wonder how many of our church folks would fork over any money at all to “host a copy” of God’s Word in their homes. While I certainly don’t want us to worship the item itself, I also know that most of us take the Divine Text so much for granted that while we may have several copies lying around, we read them rarely and obey them even less. Didn’t someone once say that familiarity breeds contempt? Have we maybe gotten to that point with regard to Scripture?

I think of those missionary stories where people are clamoring to obtain a copy of the Word. I think of the young Belarusian girl we hosted several years ago, and her giddiness when we sent home a Russian language Bible for each member of her family. Why don’t we have that kind of passion for God’s Word? Have we forgotten that these are not just idle words, but they are our very life? (Deut. 32:47)

In a sermon called The Unkept Vineyard Charles Spurgeon said:

“We often say that the Word of God is precious — that every page of it glows with a heavenly light. Do we study it? Friends, how much time do you spend upon it? I venture to say that the bulk of Christians spend more time in reading the newspaper than they do in reading the Word of God. . .

“The last new book, perhaps the last sentimental story, will win attentive reading, when the divine, mysterious, unutterable depths of heavenly knowledge are disregarded by us. Our Puritan forefathers were strong men, because they lived on the Scriptures. None stood against them in their day, for they fed on good meat,
whereas their degenerate children are far too fond of unwholesome food. . .

“Alas, my brethren, too many eat the unripe fruit of the vineyards of Satan, and the fruits of the Lord’s vines they utterly despise!”

Oh, that God’s people would return to a genuine passion for His Word; that we would truly see God’s promises as valuable as David does in Psalm 19:10 - “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Our Jewish friends may have missed the point in all this, but I find myself wishing we had their zeal for the Word in this regard.

Mike Huckabee for President

I’ve just realized one of the really great blessings to blogging. I can say what I want about politics! As a pastor, there are those today who would like to gag my political opinions. The liberal powers that be have misconstrued the First Amendment and Jefferson’s passing reference to a “Wall of Separation” between church and state to say that pastors aren’t allowed to have public political opinions.

Of course, this wasn’t always the case. There was a time in this nation when pastors were expected to talk about, even preach about, not only political issues, but even particular candidates. There was a time when they named names. That was of course back in the day, close enough to the writing of our constitution for folks to actually remember what the intent was.

These days, due to memory loss on our part and outright deception on the part of others, we are told that the church should stay out of political matters. And whatever you do, Pastor, don’t ever mention a political candidate by name. I mean come on, you could lose your tax exempt status. (Even though this is all misunderstood, I wonder sometimes if that tax exempt status is even worth it! But anyway…)

However, as a private citizen blogging away in the blogosphere, I can say what I want. I don’t speak as a representative of any church or denomination. I don’t even speak as a pastor; merely a citizen who prays for his nation and for godly leaders to be raised up.

I believe former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is an answer to that prayer. Rarely do we find, in this day and age, a political candidate who claims to be a Christian, and by all appearances actually backs it up with his life! I realize I don’t know the man personally; but then again, I don’t know any of the candidates personally. Yet those who report on such things seem to agree that His faith is genuine, and I haven’t seen or heard anything to the contrary.

I was already leaning toward supporting Mr. Huckabee when I received an email from the Home School Legal Defense Association officially endorsing him. You can read on their site his position on several key issues.

I hope you do your own research. I hope you don’t just fall in with the guy who the party powers say has “electability.” It’s about time Christian people stood up and supported a candidate who is truly doing his best to represent Christ in his life. Wouldn’t it be great to return to a day when the leadership of this nation truly believed in the battle cry of the Revolution: No king but King Jesus!

To all five people who actually read this, tell your friends about Mike Huckabee. Maybe even send him a couple dollars to help out with the campaign. I’m waiting for my bumper sticker to come in the mail so I can proudly say: Mike Hucakbee for President.

The Passing Of A Hero

This is a day of mourning for the American church. Today we lost one of the truly great heroes of the faith. D. James Kennedy entered his reward early this morning. A memorial site has been established by Coral Ridge Ministries for more information about Kennedy's life and legacy.

That site begins with a message from Dr. Kennedy himself regarding how folks ought to react to his passing. He says that he wishes for rejoicing instead of mourning, since he says, "I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living."

As always, his sound theology comes through loud and clear. And yet, with all due respect, this is a day of mourning for many. We have lost one of the true heroes of the faith and one of the genuine patriots of this land. His commitment to sound biblical teaching was matched by his passion for this nation and her Christian heritage. Though with the miracles of modern technology Dr. Kennedy's teachings will continue to be available to the next generation of American Christians, we will sorely miss his voice.

Thank God for Stay-at-Home Mothers

I know I’m going to get flack for some of this (I’m still going on the delusion that people are actually reading this!). But here it is anyway…

Today’s Springfield News-Leader carried a front page story about an 18-year-old babysitter who got into a bit of hot water for, get this – dropping a two-year-old out a second story window!! And listen to her reason: “two children she was babysitting – including the toddler’s 8-year-old sister – wanted her to throw the child out the window.” You’ve got to be kidding me! She told police she thought is was a bad idea, but she did it anyway!

Now, I know this doesn’t reflect the mental capacity of all 18-year-old babysitters. I know that my 16-year-old daughter would show more wisdom than this. And I know that I don’t know the details of why this family’s mother wasn’t at home.

I am well aware that some families are dependent on two incomes. It’s tough to get by out there. (However I know that many of those who say they “need” two incomes only need it to sustain a certain lifestyle that they’ve grown accustomed to). And I know there are single parents out there who struggle day in and day out to make ends meet, etc.

But here’s the point. Thank God for women who have answered the God given call to motherhood and who are committed to that call as a top priority. They aren’t ready to let others raise their children for them while they are off being modern, independent women, or whatever the current phraseology might be.

Again, I know there are certain circumstances that require something less than the biblical ideal in the home. (And yes, I do mean that the biblical ideal is for a mother to have her family and child-rearing as her top priority; let the riot commence). But for most, having mom stay home would simply be a matter of making some choices.

We shop at Wal-Mart and Dollar General. And that’s for the good stuff. For everyday stuff, we shop at garage sales, and second-hand shops. Doesn’t hurt my pride at all, nor my family’s.

We don’t have the newest cars, or the biggest, best house. In fact, after nearly 20 years of marriage we are just now making house payments on our own home for the first time.

Our kids don’t have all the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos. For electronic entertainment they have a garage sale Sega Genesis (for those who may not know, that is way, way, way out-dated in this day of the X-box and Playstation 3, 4, 100, whatever). But their entertainment isn’t limited to electronic devices that cost millions. They read books!! They play outside!! Imagine that.

Now, I’m not just trying to brag about our kids, as great as they are. Nor am I trying to hold our family up as some kind of super-family. I’m simply saying that we made choices. If Cheryl worked, maybe we could have newer cars, a bigger house, and “nicer stuff.” But at what cost? And is that what’s really important?

I don’t know how my kids will all turn out. We’re homeschoolers by experiment, which means “we ain’t never done it before” and we don’t know how it will all turn out. But I do know this much. Our kids are grounded in God’s Word. They are being given a biblical worldview that will be their foundation for life. They know that we strive our very best to base our family on God’s Word in all things. And they know that their mother loves them more than the new “stuff” she could buy with the income from outside employment.

I know there are more issues involved here than I could address in several days worth of entries; and this is probably already way too long. But reading that article just led me to let out a big prayer of praise and thanksgiving for a godly wife and mother to help raise our children. We may not be perfect. But I’m pretty sure no one is going to get dropped out of a window anytime soon.

Sometimes It's Good To Look To The Past, Part Two

In response to my post about returning to the passion of earlier days, my good friend Rod, a little side tracked by the whole Stryper theme, gave me a good natured rebuke. He told me to “Dust off your Puritan hymnals my friend, and feed your soul the true music of heaven.”

Actually, he wasn’t just being facetious. I do collect antique hymnals as a hobby. And he makes a very good point. The idea of returning to the past and recapturing some of the passion and substance of our forefathers in the faith would apply to the area of music as well.

As I’ve already demonstrated, I have a certain weakness for loud screaming guitars. But there is certainly something to be said for the insightful lyrics of days gone by. So much of today’s “worship music” is weak and insipid lyrically, regardless of the musical style. The hymn writers of days gone by were often much more theologically astute.

One of the favorite pieces in my collection is the 1847 edition of The Psalmist, a nice old Baptist collection which includes many of the Puritan writers Rod refers to, especially Isaac Watts. Consider the richness of Watts’ words in adoration of God’s Sovereignty:

Keep silence, all created things,

And wait your Maker's nod;
My soul stands trembling while she sings
The honors of her God.

Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown,
Hang on His firm decree;
He sits on no precarious throne,
Nor borrows leave to be.

Before His throne a volume lies,
With all the fates of men,
With every angel's form and size
Drawn by th' eternal pen.

His providence unfolds the book,
And makes His counsels shine;
Each opening leaf, and every stroke,
Fulfils some deep design.

Here, He exalts neglected worms
To scepters and a crown;
And there, the following page He turns,
And casts the monarch down.

My God, I would not long to see
My fate with curious eyes,
What gloomy lines are writ for me,
Or what bright scenes may rise.

In Thy fair book of life and grace
May I but find my name,
Recorded by Thy sovereign grace
Beneath my Lord, the Lamb!

Aside from the sound theology of that great work, how many of us would even have the patience to sing that many verses?! Definitely not a "7-11" song. Or how about this humble entreaty from 18th Century Baptist PK, Anne Steele:

And will the Lord thus condescend
To visit sinful worms?
Thus at the door shall Mercy stand,
In all her winning forms?

Surprising grace! - and shall my heart
Unmoved and cold remain?
Has it no soft, no tender part?
Must Mercy plead in vain?

O Lord, exert thy conquering grace;
Thy mighty power display:
One beam of glory from thy face
Can melt my sin away.

Unlike our modern little song books, there are over 1,000 entries in this old book, most of which reflect the same kind of passion and insight. Indeed, looking backward to some of these great old hymns would do us a world of good. It would remind us modern, independent, self-sufficient types of the biblical truth that God is God and we are not. Our pride and ego could use a good dose of these songs.

So thanks, Rod, for the reminder. Though it was meant in jest, you merely confirmed my previous post that there is great value in looking back sometimes.

Sometimes It's Good To Look To The Past

I’m a Stryper fan. I can’t help it. No apologies. As a newly saved teen who had been used to listening to AC/DC, VanHalen, etc., I just couldn’t get used to Sandi Patti (and that’s not a knock on Sandi, just a matter of taste). Praise God for folks like Petra, Resurrection Band, and yes, Stryper. Say what you want about the hair and spandex, these guys have talent and they love Jesus.

Although many may think they’ve left the scene, they’re still around. A new album (sorry, CD) came out a year or so ago, and then just recently they released something called The Roxx Regime Demos. For the uninitiated, Roxx Regime is the original name of the band, before they signed a record deal, and before they became the phenomenon called Stryper. This was their original demo album, now released for all of us to enjoy.

I love this CD. It may not have polish, but it has passion. You can hear that this is a bunch of young guys who love Jesus and just want to sing about it. It doesn’t have all the fine tuning of later releases, but that’s not all bad. The passion makes up for it.

Now, this isn’t just about Stryper, however much I might like them (and my good friend Rod might hate them!). This is about all of us. This is about the church, too. Sometimes, it’s good to go back. Sometimes it’s good to return to the days of raw passion, without all the refined polish.

The church today is much like a band that’s signed a major record deal. The producers have taken the raw talent and shaped it, refined it, maybe even edited it, to make it more marketable. The producer wants to sell records. Some in the church want to sell memberships and attendance and so on.

How nice it would be to return to the raw, natural passion of the early church. They didn’t care about marketability. They weren’t concerned with niche marketing and popularity and target audiences. They loved Jesus and wanted to sing about it, tell about it, live it day in and day out.

Some look at the New Testament church as rough around the edges. After all, they didn’t have new buildings with stadium seating. They didn’t have praise bands and light shows. Good grief, they didn’t even have a PowerPoint to play movie clips! But they had passion. They were a family of families who gathered for fellowship, prayer and learning from the apostles’ teachings. That’s what the church is all about.

I know progress can be a good thing. After all, I even use a PowerPoint to display my sermon outlines, the text for the morning, etc. And I obviously love modern musical styles. (What would Paul have said about Stryper? Hmm). But the key is in the motive. Are we looking to produce a polished product that appeals to the masses? Or are we just some folks who love Jesus and want to worship Him, proclaim His Word (however un-PC it might be), and fellowship with His people?

Sometimes it’s good to look to the past. I know all anecdotal preacher stories get attributed to Billy Graham, so I don’t know if this really happened. But I read one time that someone accused him of being old fashioned and setting the church back 50 years. His response was, “That’s too bad; I was hoping for a lot further back!”

Let’s go back and listen to the demos again (i.e. the New Testament). Let’s look at what the church should really be about. Let’s get back the passion we each had when we first came to know Him. Let’s not give into the worldly temptation to focus more on polished productions, and let’s just be the church God intended.

Apologies

Hard to believe it’s been over a month since I opined in this space. In that time, we’ve had VBS and spent two weeks on vacation; the first one in over 5 years. It was good to be away for awhile, to spend a lot of good, fun, quality time with the family. But it’s good to be back at it, as well.

While I was away, the cloning issue has blown up again. It has been masterfully handled by the ever-vigilant Rodney Albert, among others. Read his comments here and here and here, as well as those he links to for a masterful account of the issue.

And since he’s done so well, I’ll just ease back after my vacation with some less stressful things like the next article to come. It may not have the profundity of the cloning debate, but I promise it will be fun.