Homeschooler Moment #14

I know that some say homeschoolers are “over protected,” but personally I love that our kids still have a sense of innocence.  They are aware of the evils of the world, because they know the doctrine of man’s depravity, but when it comes to many of the “cultural” issues that most kids have thrown in their face until they are immune to it, our kids are blissfully unaware.  

For example, while they’ve heard the name “Justin Bieber,” I don’t think they could name a single song.  Some see that as being “out of touch,” I see it as a mercy and plain old good taste.

Anyway, sometimes this leads to a little humor.  Nathanael overheard that Mac Powell, lead singer of his favorite band Third Day, was going to be singing at a late night rodeo somewhere nearby.  He wanted to know if we could find out and go.  In case you don’t know, Mr. Powell has recently released a solo country (*cough..hack*) record, and is doing a few solo dates.  But because I love my son, I told him I would check it out.

As it turns out, he’s not singing at a rodeo.  He’s appearing at a club called Midnight Rodeo.  The fact that my son heard “midnight rodeo” and immediately thought of a late night bull riding/calf roping event, rather than a night club featuring “sexy buns night” (it’s true), thrills me.  (I'll save any commentary regarding my mixed feelings about a "Christian" artist appearing at such a venue for another time).

Again, I don’t want my kids to be naïve.  They know more about the world and its evils than I really want them to.  They have a realistic understanding of what it means to be in a world dominated by sin.  But the fact that they still have that touch of innocence, even as upper teens, is refreshing.  Maybe I’m the naïve one, but I hope they never lose that. 

With All Creation Sing

Several years ago I heard Paul Washer speak at a conference, and he was talking about the vileness of our sin in general.  In the process he was pointing out the fact that the rest of creation obeys God readily, except for man.

He said: God said to the stars, each of which is large enough to consume a dozen of our suns, "You go there, and you will be called this, and you stay there until I tell you otherwise."  And the starts obeyed.  He said to the planets, "you go there, and will be this color, and will go in this path, and will reflect light in just this way, and you continue to do all that until I tell you otherwise."  And they obeyed him.

 And He said to the mountains, arise and come forth and they obeyed and rose up out of the ground.  And He said to the valleys, "Cast yourself down" and they obeyed Him.  He said to the monsters of the deep dance in this way, and they danced in obedience.  And then he said to you come follow me, and you said, "No!"

Washer concluded by saying: Our sin is so horrible, so vile, such a blight on creation that when you take you first step into hell, all of creation will rejoice because God finally got rid of you!

Again, the point was focusing on the depravity of man, and it certainly highlights that.  Recently I was thinking about this quote again in terms of worship.  All of creation points to God.  All of creation does its job “declaring His glory.”  Only man is reluctant to do so.  Amazing when you consider that only man knows the glory of redemption.  How sad that we would be so slow to worship.

Thinking along those lines prompted me to write the following.  I hope it serves as an encouragement for all of us to take our place along side the rest of creation is making His name known, as we should. (And for the record, the photos here were taken by my son, Nathanael.)

With All Creation Sing  

The beauty of the rising sun

The splendor as it sets

All sing the praises of the One

Who gave us life and breath

We see His hand in morning mists

His blessings in the rain

We see in Him all things subsist

And honor’s due His name

All heav’n and earth His pow’r acclaims

To Him all nature sings

Yet man alone in sinful shame

Reluctant praise we bring

Remind us, Lord, about Your grace

How in Christ we’re restored.

Then move our hearts to seek Your face

To worship and adore.

Then with all creatures great and small

With land and sea and sky

We’ll join our voices with them all

Your name to glorify

copyright 2012 Servantheart Music

Go Ahead, Have a Slice

I’m in the minority on a lot of things.  At least it seems that way.  A Conservative, Reformed, Homeschooling pastor who also loves Christian rock music, NASCAR, and guns.  Odd, I know.  In fact, one time our daughter was talking with some folks and when they found out she was a pastor’s kid and a homeschooler, they said, “Wow, you’re really on the fringe!”

But as odd as I may be, there is at least one area in which I am solidly in the majority:  Pizza Lover!  94 percent of Americans eat pizza regularly, according to some random statistic; so that makes me just a regular guy.  Of course, although most eat it regularly, many may not be quite as fanatical as our family.  

Between frozen and restaurant versions, we often have pizza 2-3 times a week.  Add in a quick slice for lunch, and I guess I eat pizza more than a “regularly.”  In fact, we have frozen pizzas every Sunday for lunch. We decided a long time ago that if this is a day of rest, mom should get to rest as well.  Easy cooking, easy clean-up; pizza is the answer.   

I can’t prove this, but I believe pizza will be a main part of the “marriage feast” in heaven.  Just my hopeful belief, since pizza isn’t exactly mentioned in the Bible.  (However, if you can tolerate this borderline sacrilegious list, someone had some fun replacing the word “peace” with “pizza” and came up with some great verses!)

Anyway, October is National Pizza Month.  In honor of that celebration, I have resolved to eat as much pizza as possible.  Which makes this no different than any other month, it just gives justification to my habit.  Of course, this also means I have to make the 35 mile trip to the nearest Imo’s Pizza, which is the absolute best pizza on the planet.  But, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

To help you celebrate, here are a couple of fun things to do.

Here’s a list of some interesting pizza facts.

Here’s a fun little online pizza trivia game.

And of course, the most fun song about food, sung by food, every made.  Pizza Angel: 

Less G.O.P. and More G-O-D

I spent the first couple days this week at a pastor’s conference/rally.  I call it that because it seems the duel purpose was to be an encouragement to pastors, to offer some useful information regarding the church and political involvement; but then also to “hype” us up about this year’s election.

Being a conservative and hanging out with conservative folks, being on conservative mailing lists, this was obviously a conservative event.  But more than that, it seemed to have a subtle undercurrent of being a Republican event.

Now, I understand that for the most part, conservative folks are going to be Republicans.  Those who are pro-life, pro-faith and pro-family tend not to align themselves with the Democratic side whose party platform confesses an outright attack on all those issues and then some.

Still, with all that’s happened in recent years in the GOP, with the constant barrage of “moderate” candidates being shoved down our throats, and with an ever increasing lack of genuine commitment to those truly conservative social issues, it’s frustrating to have a “pastor’s conference” that so closely aligns the Gospel and the GOP.

One of the best speakers of the whole conference was Laurence White, a well known Lutheran pastor from Houston, and speaker on the issue of the Sanctity of Life.  I’ve heard Pastor White before and I thoroughly enjoy his impassioned pleas to remind us that the issue for today; rather THE ISSUE for today, is the issue of life.  If we continue slaughtering millions of unborn children each year, then it really doesn’t matter what else we do.  I agree and support him when he says that it is sin for Christians to vote for anyone who would condone such murder.

However, the issue Pastor White brought up that really got my attention was this.  He was remarking on the fact that politicians have by and large seen religion as a tool.  People of faith are a demographic to them, nothing more, and they “use” us for their own purposes.  He then made the point that the Republican party has for years now simply “used” people of faith to promote their own agenda.  

And again, he’s right.  I’ve said here over and over that the GOP just assumes we will vote for them, simply because they are not Democrats.  Therefore, they can throw John McCain or Mitt Romney at us, neither of whom is truly conservative, and we’ll have to support them just because.  We’re being used.

Pastor White then said this.  It’s time we had less G.O.P. and more G-O-D.  The point was that godly, Word based churches needed to focus less on supporting the Republican Party and more on supporting the Gospel and Biblical values.   And I couldn’t agree more.

Here’s the thing.  As he is preaching this good word, pastors all over the room are yelling “amen.”  When he tells us that we need to stop being patsies for this party and support true godliness, people are again yelling “amen.”  And yet, by and large, these same folks will go right out and support Romney in spite of the fact that he is not the godly “shepherd” we were told at this meeting that our nation needs.  But they’ll support him because he’s Republican and not Democrat.

When will we wake up?  Everything I heard (at least most of it) at this meeting was dead on.  We need to wake up the people in our churches, have them get in the fight, have them get involved in the political process, stand for truth, stand for life, stand for families, etc.  We need to seek godly men and women who reflect our values and support them in public office.  But here’s the thing, Mitt Romney is not that man.  He doesn’t reflect my values, he’s flip-flopped on major social issues like life and health care, his “faith” is not the same as mine.  So why should I support him?  In the end, his values are not mine any more than the other side. And so I'll support Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party instead.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  There are some good godly men and women running for office in the GOP.  Men like Todd Akin, running for the US Senate here in Missouri.  Yes, I know he made a really dumb statement.  So have I, so have you, and so has every other public figure ever put on the spot.  We’re human.  But I know the guy well enough to know his true beliefs and commitments, and I support him 100%.  

However, I also know there are a lot of folks on the ballot who are not worthy of my vote, or yours.  Moral issues, “issue” issues, stand in the way.  Meanwhile, here in Missouri, we have alternatives like Cynthia Davis running for Lt. Governor on the Constitution Party ticket.  This is one of those races where I can’t support the Democratic Party period, and I can’t really support the GOP nominee because of those issues, but we have an alternative.  So I’m not giving in to the lesser of two evils, I’m going to vote my conscience.

In fact, that’s what this meeting was all about: voting our values.  And I agree.  But where these folks assumed that voting our values would automatically mean a vote for the GOP candidates, truly voting my values means finding a candidate, where possible, that genuinely reflects those values.  More often than not, those candidates are on the Constitution Party ballot.

We heard a lot about our nation’s origins and the godly foundations and the solid foundation of our Constitution.  And again, I agree that we need to return to all of these.  But as we’ve seen in recent years, Republicans and Democrats alike have trampled the Constitution under foot; and it is indeed time for a change.

As I have said here repeatedly, go and check out the Constitution Party platform.  Compare it to the platform of the other parties.  Look at the candidates from ALL parties who will be on the ballot in November and truly vote your values and your conscience.  Pastor White was correct:  It’s time for less G.O.P. and more GOD in our churches and in our elections.  

(NOTE: the above post reflects my personal opinions, not those of any other party, person or organization.  While I approve this message, they may not, but it’s not their fault!)

C of O, Hobby Lobby, and Other Constitutional Heroes

For the record, my daughter is a current student at College of the Ozarks (C of O), so I’m hardly unbiased/uninvolved in what follows here.  The college recently released a statement which begins:

On September 17, 2012, the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, College of the Ozarks sought to enforce its Constitutional rights by suing those federal agencies…tasked with implementation of the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”).

I must say my heart soared with pride when I read that.  The statement goes on to outline the specific reasons for this action, which I strongly encourage you to read. (go here)

Then, I also read that Hobby Lobby, a Christian owned company, had likewise filed a suit over the impending ObamaCare and its requirement for employers to provide funding for contraceptives, abortions, etc.   Of course, the liberals are calling for boycotts, etc.   It seems that free speech and acting on your convictions is only allowed if you are liberal and support liberal causes.  All others, keep quiet or we’ll boycott you.

I must say I am proud of C of O and Hobby Lobby and the many others like them who are taking this action.  As the C of O website puts it:  The Constitution…It Matters.  

Our government is pushing harder and harder for more and more control of our lives.  Just witness the “sugary drink ban” going on in New York.  Now, we apparently want to the government to tell us how much soda we’re allowed to drink.

It’s getting out of hand, folks.  Call me Chicken Little, but the Constitutional sky really is falling.  Fewer and fewer people have even read the thing, let alone understand its principles.  Chief among them are the politicians who take an oath to support it, but then routinely trample it under foot.

I have no idea how these lawsuits from C of O and Hobby Lobby will turn out.  With the track record our justice system has of promoting the liberal agenda and “legislating from the bench” I don’t hold out much hope of true Constitutional justice.  Still, I have a great deal of respect for those who are making the effort to defend the Constitution and religious liberty.

And wouldn’t this be a good time to remind you once again of the Constitution Party.  All this is just one more example of how both Democrats and Republicans have completely lost touch with Constitutional reality and they need to be called on it.  The time has never been more right for a third party and so I’ll say once again, as I have many times, go to the party website, read the party platform, and then go and vote for presidential candidate Virgil Goode.

Then, run out to your local Hobby Lobby and buy up a bunch of stuff and let ‘em know you appreciate your stand.  I’m even going to wear my C of O hat when I go!  The Constitution…It Matters!!

Makes Me Wanna Sing

I know I might lose my membership in reformed circles for mentioning this, but back in the day I was a big Stryper fan.  In fact, truth be told, I still am.  Sorry.  Can’t help myself.  I know a lot of their lyrics are shallow, even cheesy.  But hey, I like thin cheese. 

Anyway, one of my favorite songs was “Makes Me Wanna Sing.”  The chorus simply says:  Jesus, King, King of Kings; Jesus, Make me wanna sing.  Not quite the depths of Calvin’s Institutes perhaps, but true none the less.  Jesus does indeed make me want to sing.

I thought of that song as I opened my Blogger “dashboard” and looked down the list of blogs I follow.  Two titles, back to back, had to do with singing.  As I’m reading down the list, here’s what I saw:  “American Men Don’t Sing – Alistair Begg”, and “That Thorny Doctrine Makes Me Sing.”

The first is an observation from Pastor Begg that American men are not by nature singers, as opposed to European men who sing at the pub, the game, etc.  He says this is how he knows when a man is truly saved in the American church, when he starts to sing.  

The second is a reference to the doctrine of predestination, a “thorny” issue to be sure, but when reminded of God’s Sovereignty, something that leads us to worship.

Those are two relatively different blogs, but in one sense they both come to the same point.  That point being that when we come to know Christ, like it or not we agree with Stryper:  Jesus makes me want to sing.

So here’s my beef.  Why do we have so many in the church today who are so reluctant to do that very thing.  Sometimes it seems like only half the congregation is truly singing, and sometimes it even seems like those are only singing half-heartedly.  What’s wrong with us?  Jesus should make us want to sing.

To be honest, I think I sometimes embarrass my family.  I don’t sing so well.  In fact, after one semester in college as a music major, my voice teacher and piano teacher together suggested I might be better suited with another major.  Lots of folks say they can’t sing, but I have the opinions of professionals to back my claim.

But I can’t help it.  I like to sing, and I like to sing loud.  I sometimes miss notes.  I sometimes even miss words, even though they’re printed right there in front of me.  But I don’t care.  I just want to sing.  When I think of Christ, when I think of what He’s done for me, when I think of His Sovereign hand in saving me, when I consider my sin and His sacrifice to redeem me from that, I can’t help but want to sing and praise His name.

I want to be careful here.  I don’t want to put on some kind of spiritual elitist attitude that says your experience has to be just like mine.  But I also know that the testimony of Scripture is that God’s people have always been a singing people.  Read just about any story, and at some point, someone’s going to break out in a song.  It’s like a bad musical or something.  Singing seems to be a natural expression of our love, devotion, adoration, gratitude, etc. to our God.

So why don’t we sing, folks?  Why don’t we just let loose and praise His Holy name? Why are we so worried about what others around us think about the quality of our voice?  Why are we so stifled by the whole “I don’t know this song” thing?  Learn it!  Sing.

Again, I don’t think everyone has to be just like me.  I’ve addressed that before.  But folks, Jesus makes me wanna sing, and if you know Him, He’ll make you wanna sing.

And so, for you listening enjoyment (or torture!) here are those deep and thoughtful boys from Stryper with a classic.  (Go ahead and tap your foot and sing along…you know you want to!)

Discouragement - "On Being a Hypocrite" Redux

Almost exactly four years ago I posted a short little confession on being a “hypocrite.”  You can read it if you really want, but in essence I was simply referring to those times when as a pastor I stand in front of our church and proclaim the truth of God’s Word, while at the same time knowing that I don’t always match up to the very standard I’m presenting.

In particular, I think at the time I was talking about anxiety, my ongoing struggle with it, even though we teach and preach the truth of God’s Word to renounce it, avoid it, etc.  It’s not that I present myself as someone who has it all together, because I don’t.  I know I don’t.  Others know I don’t.  And yet I’m still called to proclaim the truth of God’s Word, to present the standard, even though I fall short myself.  It’s a real struggle sometimes.

And here I am again.  Last night we looked at Paul’s admonition to “not lose heart” in 2 Corinthians 4 and I presented several means of encouragement from that text; reasons to not lose heart.  And yet, this morning I find myself struggling with the very thing I preached against last night:  discouragement.

Maybe it’s coincidence.  Maybe it’s some psychological suggestion that in thinking about it, it comes true.  Maybe it’s an attack from the enemy.  Maybe it’s just Monday.  Maybe God just has a sense of humor.  I don’t know.

I just know that I get so tired and weary of the multitude of issues in the church.  When Paul tops of his list of suffering in 2 Corinthians 11 with his ongoing concern for the church, I can identify, as can most pastors.  Families that are falling apart, individuals struggling with sin, situations that need to be addressed that no one wants to address, constant undertones of bickering and discontent from that one or two individuals, plus the regular stress of wanting to see growth, wanting to see ministry happen, wanting to see people come to Christ, etc.  It’s just a bit discouraging at times.

Now, lest you think we have the world’s worst church or something, I’m just mentioning things that are in every church, that we all struggle with.  All in all God has blessed us with a wonderful church family, with some amazing friends and people who are a genuine encouragement to me and my family.  Which just makes this whole issue even bigger: if we do have so many blessings, why do I let myself get so discouraged?

And the answer is probably as simple as this:  discouragement is a favorite tool of the enemy.  As I said last night, he can often get us here when he can’t get at us in any other way.  So why don’t I listen to myself? 

In that post several years ago I stated that maybe this was just some kind of cathartic confession, and I guess it is.  But more than that, I also want to try and offer a bit of encouragement to someone else.  I know I’m not the only one here.  I know others deal with this, and even today might be fighting that discouragement. 

So let me just offer Paul’s encouragement to you:  Don’t lose heart.  God is at work here, doing bigger things than we can possibly imagine.  Keep your eye on the treasure and not the vessel.  Move forward in faith, trusting in His power and knowing that He is faithful.  Pray for me, and I’ll pray for all those out there who may be facing a little discouragement this morning.  

So there, I said it all again.  And maybe if I keep saying it, I’ll start to believe it.  In fact, maybe I’ll just go and play the recording of last night’s message and “preach to myself!”  In the end, let’s just remember with Bunyan’s Pilgrim as he languished in Doubting Castle under the Giant Despair:  “What a fool am I, thus to lie in a stinking Dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty. I have a Key in my bosom called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any Lock in Doubting Castle.”  God is so good!!!

Grow Up, Already!

OK, so here’s the deal.  In high school, I was a band and drama geek.  This was way before recent movies and TV shows made this a popular thing.  But believe it or not, in our high school, it actually was fairly “in.”  

We went through a stage where our marching band and jazz band won competitions right and left, whereas our football team…well…didn’t.  (In an 8 year stretch the team was a combined 17-63). In fact, we had several football players wanting to be in the marching band.  They would actually march with their pads on during half time shows.   So, being a band “geek” wasn’t the term.  We called it being a “band jock.”  

The point is that we had success.  As I said, our bands usually took a trophy at every competition we entered.  I was no slouch myself,  earning top ratings at state contest several years doing solos, etc.   

 Yeah, that’s me on the saxophone.  Don’t you love the hair and glasses?   Anyway, I enjoyed those things.  Just as I enjoyed the plays we did in school.  I had major parts in most every production we did during my high school years.

 Wow, look at those guns I’m showing off! Who did I think I was?  Once again, I’ll say, “Anyway….”  There’s a point here, somewhere.  I enjoyed high school, for the most part.  I met my sweetheart (not pictured here, BTW) in those days, and that worked out pretty well!  But, you know, I don’t really think about those days all that much.

It seems some folks think about stuff like this all the time.  It’s like they never left.  Things like Facebook have highlighted just how much some folks have never left high school.  They still act, think, talk like they did then.  They still fixate on the same things.  It’s like their identity is trapped 30 years in the past.

I mean, sure, I’d love to go back to the days when I was that skinny.  Heck, I’d even take that haircut again if I could lose that much weight!  But seriously, that’s all in the past.  And I like it there.  I’m not dependent on the band and drama geek, I mean jock, for my sense of identity.  Today I’m a husband, father, pastor, etc.  There has been years and years (and years) of growth and maturity since then.  OK, so maturity might be stretching it a bit, but you get the point.

And here is that point.  We can’t live in the past, good or bad.  It seems that so many people are trapped by their past.  Either they can’t get beyond those “glory days” of high school or college, still trying to get by in life on past success; or they can’t get beyond the hurts and struggles of the past, allowing those things to continue to bring them down.

Here’s some great good news.  In Christ, all things are new.  In Christ, the old is gone and we are new creations.  And as such, we ought to be living as new creations.  We ought to be growing and maturing into His likeness.  The past is gone, and while it certainly has some influence on who we are, it doesn’t define us.  Our identity should be in Christ, in who He is making us now.

Sadly, even in the church, too many folks haven’t made it out of high school.  Not only do many people, especially in small towns, fixate on high school sports, etc.; but our attitudes are still the same as high school.  Bickering and gossiping and looking for status in all the wrong places.  On the other end, some folks can’t seem to get past things that happened years ago, old hurts, old offenses.  Grow up, already!

Or as Scripture puts it, our goal should be that “we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”  (Ephesians 4:13-15, ESV)

We ought to be growing in our faith to the point that when we look back 10, 20, 30 years, our Christian faith and practice then seems as embarrassing to us now as those old pictures from high school do.  We should look back and see so much growth, so many changes, and our confidence should be in who we are now, who Christ is making us to be through the power of His Spirit.

So, looking back is good…from time to time.  Just stop living there.  Let’s all grow up.

The Need to Remember

"We wish we could remember better. Not just the blood-soaked events in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. But also the blood-soaked events at Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha"

So says David Murray in this wonderful article on our need to remember the truly important things of life.  Yes we need to remember the events of 9/11, but as he points out, we also need to remember a few other things as well.  He already said it, so I don't have to.  On this Day of Remembrance, I encourage you to go and read this wonderful article...

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Figthing Procrastination - the Rest of the Story

As you may have heard, Thursday was “Fight Procrastination Day.”  I was going to post all this then, but I didn't get around to it.  No, seriously, I sort of waited on purpose because if I had actually done a post on procrastination on the scheduled day, I would have lost my membership to the Procrastination Society.  This is a big deal for me, because as far as I can figure it, there are only two members in this prestigious group.  Here's the true story.

In college, my roommate Bob was doing a little research in the library, reading through some old magazines (this was before the internet, folks).  He came across an ad in one magazine for joining a Procrastination Society (I forget the actual name, sorry).  This was about 1986, and the magazine was dated 1983. 

He showed it to me, and having joked about our own procrastination problems before, we thought it would be some fun to send in a three year old ad for a Procrastination Society.  We thought we could make a copy of it, send it in with the date on the magazine and all, and wait for the laughs to begin.  Good joke, right?

Now, here's the honest truth about how things turned out.  We never got around to sending the thing in!  Seriously.  We talked about it more than once, really intended to do it, but just never got around to it.  Therefore, we figure that this means we are the only two “real” members of the Procrastination Society.  I mean, if you get around to joining, you sort of disqualify yourself, right? 

Now you know why I couldn't possibly post on procrastination until at least two days after the scheduled day; even if the day was intended to fight procrastination.  Some things are worth fighting for, and some aren’t I guess.

So here's to me and Bob, the only two official procrastinators we know of.  Of course, if you have a similar story, I’d love to hear it and make you a member, too…if you ever get around to telling me about it!