Graduation Wishes

Congratulations to those of you who are graduating this spring. No doubt this is an exciting time for you since in many ways you are closing one chapter of your life and beginning a new one.

And you will surely receive many words of encouragement from friends, family, and graduation speakers. So I will not leave you with a long, complicated post commending you on your hard work and challenging you to go out and change the world.

Instead, I give you these simple words from Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB), my favorite Scripture passage.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and do not rely on your own understanding;
Think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.

I’m looking forward to hearing about the paths God has laid out for you in the future.

Confessions

Christian psychologist Henry Cloud asks an important question about openly acknowledging personal problems in our churches.

“In the church it is unacceptable to have problems: that is called being sinful. In an AA group it is unacceptable to be perfect: that is called denial. Which stance is more biblical?”

I met with a pastor this week who confessed to his congregation an ongoing and serious struggle with pornography and then resigned from his position. I imagine it took quite a lot of courage to do so. He wondered if confessing his sin would be equivalent to ministerial suicide. He wondered if he would be blacklisted from ever serving as a pastor again. He wondered about the kind of job he would be able to find and how he would support his family financially. He wondered what people would think. He wondered about the effects on his family. And yet, he believed that God was directing him to resign. So despite his fears, he was true to the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit and resigned.

I wish more church leaders were as transparent. I’m obviously not suggesting that pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers and other leaders should sin more, just that they demonstrate more brokenness and confession for the sins they are already committing. (And, by the way, as a teacher of a Sunday School class, I include myself in this category.) As it is, very few Christians today fully know the power of confession and it may be due, in part, to our lack of models who demonstrate the need for and power of confession.

Mark McMinn, another Christian psychologist, describes the relationship between spirituality and confession this way:

“Spirituality often becomes a source of secret pride. When churches are filled with people nursing spiritual pride, the blessings of community are overshadowed by ugly competition. Rather than being a place where Christians confess to one another, the church sometimes becomes a place where we compete with one another, trying to impress others with our spiritual maturity. Confession is difficult in this context because to confess is to shatter our fantasized persona of perfection.”

I wish we were able to be more transparent with each other in our churches. I wish we weren’t plagued by spiritual competition and pride. I wish there were more pastors like this one who was sensitive to the conviction of his sin by the Holy Spirit and taught his congregation about confession and repentance by his own example. I wish I were more like that.

Imagine a Church

Imagine a church where every member is passionately, whole-heartedly, and recklessly.....

Monkey Kick Off

The end of the semester is here and finals week is coming up. If you need a study break, check this out. In fact, I challenge all blog readers to a monkey kick off.

How Rich Are You?

I have a running list of things I want to purchase. It’s not a written list, because that would be too blatantly and obviously materialistic. But I have a secret mental list of things I want to buy someday soon.

A high-definition TV
A Nintendo Wii
3 new pairs of shoes (for work,
basketball, and goofing around)
There are always CDs I want (I have 4 in mind right now)
A new sofa and loveseat
New bedroom furniture
A new mountain bike
New sunglasses
And have you seen my bookshelves? There are always books I want.

None of this includes the things I actually NEED to buy soon. Like a new set of tires to replace the ones with metal showing under the tread. I don’t pay much attention to that list, though. It’s no fun.

But I don’t have enough money for all this stuff. So I sometimes think of ways to earn just a little extra cash. You know, a little extra money just to splurge with. And I think how nice it would be to earn just a few thousand extra in salary every year.

Then I come across a site like this. The Global Rich List.

From the site:
“Every year we gaze enviously at the lists of the richest people in world, wondering what it would be like to have that sort of cash. But where would you sit on one of those lists? Here's your chance to find out.”

Check it out for yourself. Be sure to select the $ as you enter your income.

Where is God?

This article seems especially appropriate this week. On September 15, 1999 a man entered Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX and killed 7 people in a shooting rampage. What follows is an edited summary of the sermon our pastor gave the Sunday after the shooting. (Our pastor, Al Meredith, loves to sing through his sermons, so imagine our congregation singing the hymns as he mentions them.)

What can be said when kids gather in a church sanctuary to sing and pray and a gunman comes in firing and their friends are shot? Why, why us? Why me? How could this happen? Who could have done such a thing? But the question that I've been asked most as I walk down the street and microphones are shoved in my face is, "Can you tell us where God is in all of this?"

If God really loves us, if God is all-powerful, why in the world didHe let this happen? Why does God allow evil to seemingly abound in this world? Why Columbine? Why Paducah? Why Pearl? Why do a million and a half unborn babies have their lives snuffed out before they ever have a chance to breathe a breath? Why do children die of hunger daily around the world? Why is there pain? Why is there suffering? Why is there mental illness?

Then there are the everyday trials that most of us have trouble dealing with. The car breaks down. Why is it rush hour, Lord? The surprise quiz in history class. All of the questions finally boil down to this: "Where is God when we hurt?"

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according toHis purpose." Richard Halverson, who for years was chaplain to the Senate, once said, "Even the best preachers really have only two or three sermons." The one sermon of my life is this: God is in control and God loves us.

The confidence believers have
Let me share with you from the verse just a few thoughts. First of all, did you notice the confidence that believers have? "And we know." Generation-Xers as a whole want to know where the truth is; what is reality. They know that the world is phony. They know that computer-enhanced imitation of truth--virtual reality--means seeing is not believing anymore. What is the truth? I understand that the most popular television show of Generation Xers is the "X Files." In the opening scene of each episode the slogan comes out: "The truth is out there somewhere." It's out there. What can we know?

Our world has no answers in the face of life's problems. The world doesn't know what to do about world hunger, or about violence in American society. The world doesn't have a clue about AIDS or ecological problems. The world simply does not have the answers.

I'm a child of the '60s. I love Simon and Garfunkel, the poet laureates of the my generation. One of their songs says,

A mirror on my wall casts an image dark and small
and I'm not sure at all it's
my reflection. I'm blinded by the light of God
and truth and right so I wander
in the night without direction.

That's what the world has to say. But God says, "And we know."

Christians are an exclusive subculture of confidence and calm in a world of relativism and ensuing panic. I have been told that as the shooter was coming into the auditorium he was cursing God and Christians and particularly Baptists. Somebody quoted him as saying, "You Baptists think you know it all." No, we don't know it all. But we do know this:

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."

We know that God's Word is absolutely true from cover to cover. It is unshakable; it is certain. Some folks say, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." I've got news for you, if God said it that settles it whether you believe it or not. A world falls apart when you have nothing to build upon. And when Christians have crises like this we run to the Word of God for the assurance, for the hope which is the foundation of our lives. "And we know." It is the confidence of believers.

The Covenant of God
Notice, secondly, the covenant of God. "We know that in all things God works for good." That's one of the most precious promises in God's Word. I think it is causative. God causes all things to work for good. Folks, the warp and woof of your life is not just blind luck or chance. You are not a cosmic accident. It's not karma, it's not fatalism, it is not blind chance.

Hear me today: God is sovereign over every molecule in the universe. He is in control of the birds of the air. Do you remember Elijah by the brook Cherith? He was hungry, and had no way to get food. God sent ravens to feed him. God is in control of the fish in the sea. Do you remember rebellious Jonah running from God? When he was cast in the sea the Lord send a big fish He had prepared to swallow him. God is in control of the worms of the ground. How do you think God feeds the sparrow? He directs the worms to the place where they feed.

God's control extends to every event in our lives, whether good or bad. The Word of God says that my DNA chain was fashioned and formed in my mother's womb before I was ever born. It says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delighteth in his ways." God is the one who is in control. God is the one who is working everything for good for those who love Him.

The Comprehensiveness of the Promise
Do you notice the comprehensiveness of the promise? says, "in all things." You might want to say to me, "Oh come on, Al, what good can possibly come from all this?" Your argument is no with me. Take it up with God. He's the one who said "all things." I have lived long enough to see things which I thought were bad get worked for good.

As I walked from the car to the building, one of our church members, Shanda New, showed me a card which someone left by our sign. Here is what it said:

"I'm not sure exactly who I'm sending this to. I just felt like someone would receive it. I've never believed in God or any sort of higher being. I wasn't raised in a church. My fiancée and I agreed once that we should start going to church. It was something we were both interested in. One visit, now I can't get him to go back. He always has something to do Sunday mornings. Since Thursday night, I want to be a part of it. More than ever. Something like this happens to you in church and all you say is God has something bigger and better in store. It's all part of (God's) plan to draw American neighborhoods and families back together. Wow. How much confidence in your faith you have. I want that confidence. I want to trust my life to God. I want to believe there's a bigger picture. I'm so sorry for all the families. I'm so sorry for all of us that we don't all have the confidence you have. But I am now looking for it."

It was signed with a heart. Dear lady, if you are hearing this today and you signed this card, come and let us show you how you can give your life to Christ.

This tragedy that the devil wanted to use to stop the people of God has ended up strengthening us. Our church has never been more united. We've never been more praying. We have never been more singing. We have never been more in love with one another. There has been such an outpouring of love and support from all over the world, we can't say enough about it.

That's why we had to meet today. We will be stronger, we will be closer, we will be more united. We will have opportunities to share the love and grace of Christ to millions of people. Two days ago, we had more than 30,000 hits on our website. We put the plan of salvation there. It has been translated into Swahili, Chinese, Spanish and Russian and we hope to gave it translated into all the languages of the world so that they can know why we have this hope.

The Conclusion of the Promise
God's covenant is that all things work together, and the conclusion of the promise is "for good." First of all, let me make clear what this does not mean. God's promise in this verse does not mean that all things are good. That's idiocy. That's foolish, that's naivete, that's blind. Cancer is an evil thing. Famine is an awful thing. Crime and violence and divorce and death, they are horrible. They are obscene. They are bad, evil things.

But God says, "I can work them together for good." This does not mean that only good things happen to believers. Sometimes even Christian people, will mistakenly tell you if you are right with God you will be protected from all harm.

One of the promises that Jesus gave toHis followers was this, "While you're in the world, you will have tribulation." Why are we surprised? Jesus said, "Don't be surprised, they persecuted me before they persecuted you. Do you think you are any greater than your Master?" Abel was murdered, Jeremiah was imprisoned and thrown in a well, Elijah was depressed. Saints were martyred. Even Jesus, the founder of our faith, was crucified. Bad things do happen to good people. But God works all these things together for good.

The most obscene, despicable, evil crime in all the world happened 2,000 years ago where they took the spotless Son of God, stripped Him naked, beat Him beyond description, nailedHis hands andHis feet to a cross, and put that cross on a hill for everybody to see. That is the most evil, awful thing that has ever happened. But out of that cosmic evil came my salvation and yours. And the cross of Jesus Christ gathers together believers from all over the world, because God took that evil thing and through the power of the resurrection worked it for the salvation of all who will repent and place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And we rally around the cross.

When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the prince of glory died, My richest gain, I count but loss,And pour contempt on all my pride.

People have asked me, Can you forgive? I say, "Forgiveness is not easy." It was not my child who was shot. They were my precious friends and my church members. But no matter how hard it is, we must forgive. I hold no rancor in my heart for the family of Larry Ashbrook. I hope God will move in every heart in every member of this church and give the same attitude to us all. The poor man was deranged. His mind had been twisted by heaven knows what. He was in the power of the Prince of Darkness. But when I think of what God had to forgive in my life, that it was my sins that nailed the Son of God to the cross, if God can forgive me that, how can I not forgive anyone, anything?

The Condition of the Promise
I've got to point to one last truth, and that's the condition of the promise. Romans 8:28 is a verse that divides humanity. You see the promise is given to those who are the called, those who love the Lord. Let me ask you today, do you love the Lord? IsHe your all in all? Jesus said that the evidence would be this: "If you love me, keep my commandments."

Are you numbered among the called ones? Who are the called ones? In Greek, the word is ekklesia, the called out ones. How does that word translate into English? "Church" There is no such thing as Lone Ranger Christianity. I learned that this week. I need you. I need my fellow pastors. I need the family of God around the world to pray. We need each other. We desperately need each other. And the world will never believe that Christ is the Messiah until we are one.
I know that there are churches that abuse. If I were the devil, that is where I would concentrate my work. But there are also churches which, though imperfect, will love you and will welcome you. God is calling you to be part of a church that preaches the Word, somewhere, somehow, someway.

Are you part of the called out ones who love the Lord? Or are you part of the uncalled ones who love themselves? "Well, I don't hate God, preacher. I just want Him to leave me alone. I want to do my own thing." For you there is a promise. Nothing that ever happens in your life, no matter how good it is, is ever going to work out for good. The Word of God is clear: "The soul that sinneth it shall die." "The wages of sin is death." What death means in the Bible is not that you cease to exist. It means separation. Separation from good. Separation from God. Separation from one another. There will be plenty of people in hell, but if company is good, you will not have company. You will be absolutely alone. You once and for all will get your way: "God leave me alone!" And He will, forever.

Are you part of the called out ones who love the Lord or the uncalled who love themselves? If you are among the latter and you want to be part of the former, I am calling for you today. Jesus is calling for you today. He is saying, "Come to Me."

Are you a troubled saint? Is your heart broken so that you don't know how you are going to get through it? Listen to this story about Luther Bridges. He was a seminary graduate nearly 100 years ago. Just out of seminary, he was called to a new church. Like most seminary grads, this brother had five kids. He was spending a weekend with his parents in Kentucky and that night the house caught on fire, burned to the ground. His parents escaped and he escaped, but his wife and five kids perished in the flames. In his desperation and depression he cried out to God, "O God, give me a song. Somehow give me a song to know that You are there." And God did. And Bridges wrote it down:

There's within my heart, a melody. Jesus whispers sweet and low, "Fear not I am with thee, peace be still,"In all of life's ebb and flow. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know,Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.

The world doesn't understand it, but those who know Him do. He is real. He is there. He's not asleep at the switch, andHe loves us. I don't understand sometimes what God is doing. I said yesterday at one of the funerals, give up your right to the position of general manager of the universe. That position belongs to God alone. So let God be God. He is in control. And He loves us.

Virginia Tech

Please pray for the students at Virginia Tech. Specifically, pray that the Christians at Virginia Tech will be able to communicate God's love to people who are hurting and confused.

What makes CBC a “Christian college?”

I had a CBC student complain to me not long ago that there were too many non-Christians at CBC. As he heard himself speak those words, it seemed as if he felt they were too strong. So he went on to explain that many non-Christians at CBC just feel too comfortable here. He was pretty clear in his conviction that if CBC were really doing its job as a “Christian school” then the non-Christians should feel really uncomfortable. Non-Christians should feel out of place.

I doubt this student's opinion represents the majority of students, but he brings up a topic worth discussing.

I rediscovered an article on Christian higher education the other day and found myself both challenged and inspired. In this article, a college professor discusses what it means for a college to be a “Christian college.” I would encourage you to read the whole article, but you might find the following excerpt especially interesting…

Christian higher education does not start with Christian students. That may surprise you. But I would hope Christian institutions do not have a Christian litmus test for students.

If students want to be a part of Christian higher education, they should be welcome. The Christian faith is defensible; the Christian faith is compelling; the Christian faith is true. So let unbelievers live and learn in the environment of Christian higher education and test the faith.

Jesus did not throw out Doubting Thomas. Christian higher education should be a place that welcomes Doubting Thomases, as students.

I don’t believe that CBC has a Christian litmus test for admission. I don’t believe that students have to check a box on their applications identifying themselves as Christians and are rejected if they do not. For that I am glad.

But I wonder about other kinds of Christian litmus tests on campus. How welcoming are we to non-believers, really? Do they feel accepted? Do they feel encouraged in their spiritual journeys? Do they fit in? Do they get leadership positions of any kind? Do they feel loved? Do we go out of our way to make them feel a part of the CBC family?

Or do they feel like outsiders?

This post is not about criticizing CBC. It is about discussing our identity and our approach to non-Christians. Two sets of questions are worth asking:

(1) What SHOULD our attitudes be toward non-Christians at CBC? How should we treat them? How should they feel about their time at CBC?

(2) What ARE our attitudes? How do we actually treat them? How do they actually feel at CBC?

Operation relliM

Funny college prank. But don’t tell anyone I told you.

Film Festival

I've been on an old movie kick the last few weeks. Anyone who knows me knows I love movies (films, if you prefer). But there's something refreshing about seeing really good actors creating really memorable characters without unnecessary distractions like nudity or explosions or car chases.

Three movies I've purchased in the last week have really made me think:
1. "Inherit the Wind" (1960)--Spencer Tracy and Frederic March play attorneys squaring off on the creation vs. evolution issue in a film based on the "Scopes Monkey Trial."
2. "The Intruder" (1962)--A pre-"Star Trek" William Shatner plays a charismatic racist stirring up trouble in a small town in which the schools have just been integrated (any coincidence to the the Little Rock Central High case is very deliberate).
3. "A Face in the Crowd" (1957)--A young unknown named Andy Griffith plays an Arkansas con-man (of course) who becomes an egomaniacal celebrity who influences public opinion and political policy.

What struck me as I watched these old movies (two of which pre-date me) is that the issues they address are still with us. If they were remade today, the issues would be as current as they were in the 1950's and 1960's. So, how do we address these issues today, especially in light of our faith? I'm not talking about a revolution, but are Christians really impacting the culture, or is the opposite true--the culture is shaping Christianity?

Discuss among yourselves and share your thoughts.

How Do You Spell H?

Parker declared to me the other day, “Dad, I think I know how you spell ‘H’!" I was curious about my son’s great epiphany, so I said, “Oh yeah? How?” With a good deal of pride and satisfaction on his face, Parker said, “A-C-H.”

I guess if you use a long ‘a’ sound, then phonetically that makes some sense. I hated to crush his sense of accomplishment, but I had to explain to him that you don’t spell letters. Letters are just letters. (Although I wonder how one would spell “W.” – Is it “dubbleyoo”?)

“But why don’t you spell it “A-C-H?” Parker is very inquisitive.

“I don’t know, man. It’s just “H.” What great words of wisdom from a dad.

Here’s where things started to get a little spiritual for me. I’ve started wondering about how many questions over the next 20 years my son is going to ask me for which I have no good or easy answers.

• “Why is the sky blue?”
• “What happened to dinosaurs?"
• “What does heaven look like?”
• “Why are girls so mean?"
• “What should I be when I grow up?”
• “How do I know what God wants me to do about _____?”
• “How do I know what college to go to?”
• “How do I know if this is the girl I’m supposed to marry?”

I don’t like the idea of shrugging my shoulders and saying “I don’t know” (or “go ask your mom”). But I suppose it is good for kids to get used to the idea that some questions just don’t have easy answers. That’s life. And the older I get, the more I distrust anyone dispensing easy answers.

Questions with no easy answers keep us on our toes. They encourage us to persist in our pursuit of truth and God. They promote our faith. Unanswered questions point to the One who will someday answer them all.

I have my own list of unanswered questions and I’m looking forward to hearing from my Creator about them. Some are silly, some are serious. But they all keep me in anticipation of meeting the author of all truth. Here’s a sample from my growing list:

• Did Adam have a belly button?
• What do you think of U2?
• What did the tower of Babel look like?
• What in the world happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4?
• Whatever Jesus wrote on the ground in John 8:6-9 sure spooked the accusers of the adulterous woman. What was it?
• How should I understand Revelation 2:17? Do I really have a name that is known only between you and me? What is it? How did you choose it?
• How should I have done counseling with my clients?
• Do people choose to accept your gift of salvation or do you choose them? If it is both, exactly how does that work?
• Why should I have to persist in prayer? If I am earnest the first time I ask and you hear me the first time, why is repetition necessary? Doesn’t that make answers to prayer dependent on me instead of you?

Don’t spoil my anticipation with your own answers right now, if you have any. I’m sure some of my questions have good answers – that’s what keeps me studying. This posting is instead about questions. And I’m especially interested in hearing your questions for God someday, too. Maybe they will encourage us all in our anticipation.

I Need Some Skills

My classes are not nearly this interesting……..

I need to pick up some skills.

God Doesn't Wear Red and White Stripes

It seems at least one person thought I was foreshadowing a post on God and patriotism. I suppose that’s the beauty and danger of blogs. They allow for free-thinking and creativity, but they also are ripe for misunderstanding.

I rather had in mind Waldo. You know – the guy who’s so hard to find. He wears red and white stripes.

(For the record, God is not American. But maybe that’s a topic for another post someday.)

I have been thinking about the idea of “finding Jesus” lately. I think this is the short answer to the semi-quandry I posed regarding Luke 10. Should you “do something” or should you “sit there”?? I think the answer is that you should find Jesus.

And then I found myself thinking about the number of people I know who went on some sort of mission trip this last week. I know a group of CBC guys who went to New Orleans to work and serve. I know of various groups who this week went to Belize, Peru, and the Philippines. I’m sure many of these folks will come back home with great testimonies of God’s work in those places. I’m sure they found Jesus there.

At first, I thought I might open the blog to those who would like to share about how/where they saw Jesus during their trips this past week. But I started wondering about finding Jesus at CBC. CBC and the people here are not perfect. But I don’t think Jesus is hard to find, even among imperfect people. So let me share with you just one of ways I see Jesus at CBC. Then I would like to hear what you think.

One of the places you can look for Jesus is among those who are less fortunate than us – see Matthew 25:31-46, for example. I mean absolutely no disrespect to Bobby Wilkey, but by the world’s standards, Bobby is less fortunate than most of us. Yet he has dedicated much of his life to serving faculty, staff, and students at CBC. He works hard – very hard. He is a servant and I see Jesus in Bobby Wilkey.

Be as creative as you’d like, but I’d like to hear about where you all see Jesus at CBC. Because He is here and He isn’t hard to find.