Snow

One night and morning, we got a bunch of snow in front of our house. As pretty much every other house does, I went out when it had slowed down to get it shoveled away so we could get our cars out and it would not create an even bigger mess later on. About halfway down the driveway I saw it: the dreaded plow truck. I watched in dismay as it shoved an extra layer of wet snow onto the end of the drive and proceeded down the street. This is normal, but I was hoping for a chance to get the first layer off before the second got put on as well.

By the time I got to the heavy snow at the end I was running out of steam. Even better, as I have an arrangement for parking my car across the street in my older neighbor’s second drive, I had that one to do as well. I began wondering if I really would need my car that day…

As I was contemplating this decision, I heard a sound: the lovely, wondrous sound of a small-cylinder engine. Looking up I saw one of the teenage boys down the street bringing over his family’s snow blower. He had seen me taking a break and had come to help. He plowed out the heavy snow in my driveway, plowed the driveway across the street, and then plowed the older couple’s main driveway while I helped our next door neighbor with a second round of heavy snow brought by a second plow truck. The young man did not ask for payment, thanks, or anything of the sort. He simply saw a need and went to fill it without boasting or seeking praise.

This reminds me of the attitude we are to have in our own lives. Time and again Scripture tells us to help those in need. It does not give qualification. It does not tell us to judge if they are worth helping. Jesus says in Matthew 6:1, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your father in heaven.”

Every person reading this has opportunity to quietly do good for others. It is one way we show our faithfulness to Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day activities that we start thinking we do not “have time” for it, but that is simply not true. We have the time. It is a matter of priority. The question is what will we choose?

There is a time and place for big, grandiose aid, but those tend to be few and far in-between. It is in the daily life of watching for those who need help that we find the vast majority of our opportunities to do so. It is my encouragement to you that you watch for and take those opportunities whether big or small, so that Christ may be glorified as you go about your daily life. If we were all to do this, and shine the light of Christ in our actions and words, both big and small, there is no telling how far those seeds we plant will go!

I Will Bear

Isaiah 46:4

Even to your old age I am He. And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

This is my favorite verse in the Bible. It has been for the last nine years. I “happened” to come across it as a verse of the day on a website and it immediately spoke to me where I was and exactly how I needed. It took no effort to memorize. I basically saw it, knew it, and remembered where it was. This never, ever happens to me. I am probably the single worst memorizer I have ever known. But this stuck and has stuck with me ever since.

In an age where we are told to carry ourselves, fill our needs, and do what we want, this verse is important for us to remember. If we forget the principles it speaks to, we will quickly find ourselves walking away from God and the faith that saves us. It is, I believe, a vital verse, and one that remains relevant, especially in our current age.

In this chapter of Isaiah, God is warning His people Israel about the powerlessness of idols compared to His ability to save. In fact God begins by saying “Bel bows down, Nebo stoop; their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.”

Bel and Nebo were both ancient idols: false gods people worshipped without any power to aid. God go on to state that despite paying for an idol to be made, prostrating before them, and crying out, it could not move, save, or even answer the one in trouble. It had not power to do anything.

I wonder how often we do this in our own lives. We may not bow down to a statue, but often we look to everything except God to save us. We turn to our family, or finances, or job, or doctors, or hobbies, hoping they will take away the pain or give us what we think we need, when what we really need is to turn our faces to the One who can truly save us from it all. This is not to say that any of these things are bad – not at all! in fact God gives them for our good and to help us through life! But as another preacher once said, “when a good thing becomes a god thing it becomes a bad thing.”

God reminds us that He is just as strong to save today as He always has been. He will not leave us, forsake us, or fail us. He can and will carry us to the end, and bear us to His side. He says “even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

Let us be those who use the blessings and helps God has given us, and who also remember where those blessings and helps have come from. Let us turn our faces toward Him knowing He cares for us. Let us be those who remember the words of God through Isaiah: “Even to your old age I am He. And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

Experience

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under His feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And He did not lay His hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9-11)

“So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” (Exodus 32:3-5)

One of the great things about reading Scripture is that you occasionally notice things you have not made the connection between before. Having recently gone through Exodus, it clicked with me just how absurd the passages above look when placed next to each other. In one you have the only instance in Scripture where a group of people see God, and it specifically lays out that God did not destroy them in the process. In the latter we see Israel, some of whom have seen and had a meal with God, construct an idol in the shape of a calf and say “These are your gods!”

Like I said. Absurd.

The men of Israel, Aaron included, have seen something no other earthling has seen, and experienced something no other earthling has experienced. Yet at maximum 40 days later, they have lost sight of the amazing things and experiences God granted them. If this wasn’t enough, in Leviticus 10 Nadab and Abihu, during what basically amounts to the opening ceremonies of the Tabernacle, offer fire they were not authorized to offer and are killed by God. Like Aaron and the elders of Israel, they too are listed as participants in the feast on the mountain with God.

How quickly experiences fade from memory. This is not to say they are bad, only that we cannot rely on an incredible experience to keep us faithful. If we build our faith and lives around an experience, rather than the One who gives them to us, it becomes very easy for that faith to fade quickly over time with the impact of the memory.

God granted those men what they needed (possibly far more than they needed), to know Him and be faithful to Him. He does the same for us as well. All we need in order to know Him and be faithful is granted to us, whether that be His Word or and experience we need to have. But while we can (and should!) rejoice in and make use of that experience, we must also take care we do not build are faith on it, but on our Lord and Savior who it all revolves around.

Take joy in what you are given by God! Whether it be knowledge, wisdom, faith, experience, or something else to keep you faithful, He has given it to you for His glory and your good. Rejoice in it, and let it cause you to hold to Him ever more closely as you walk through life.

Knowing God

It is imperative for a Christian, above all else, to know God. Not just about Him, or His laws, or His works, but to actually know God. We realize the difference in our personal lives, how we may know about someone without knowing the person themselves. We know about the President, celebrities, coworkers, etc., but we understand that we do not know them personally. In the same way a person can have knowledge of God without actually knowing Him; just ask any atheist on the street.

How do we know someone? It starts with some base level of knowledge about the person. These are usually based on shallow first impressions which may or may not be accurate. As time goes on these impression become modified and rewritten the more we spend time with the person. Eventually we get to the point where we come to know the person – we understand them, empathize with them, and can even predict some of their thoughts and actions with a reasonable amount of accuracy. This is most common in close friendships and strong marriage relationships.

One humorous thing I have noticed with certain married couples (myself and Danielle included) and close friendships is that in certain conversations one person speaks, and during a pause the other person picks up mid-sentence to speak, then during another pause the first person once more picks up the conversation mid-stream and continues as if they had been speaking the entire time. This happens because they know each other and can largely predict the other’s movements. It is something that only comes with time, and springs from a natural, intimate knowledge about the other.

I find it interesting that God speaks of His people as His bride. I also find it interesting that Jesus calls His disciples His friends. These terms speak to a relationship where each party is known by the other in a deep, significant way. It goes beyond mere intellectual knowledge about the other (as important as that is), to actually knowing the other themselves. If God speaks about us in these terms, then He must have an expectation that we will know Him, and He will know us.

I also do not believe that this is only something that will happen one day when we leave this earth to be with Him. God called Abraham His friend while Abraham was still alive! Jesus called the disciples His friends while they were alive! The church is called the bride of Christ now! Our knowing God will surely be perfected when we are free from the corruption of this world, but that is another stage of growth, just as we continually grow in other close relationship. The fact is we are called into a relationship where we know God now, not just someday.

Over the next several weeks we are going to be talking about what it means to know God. I hope and pray you will take this time to delve into His Word, go to Him in prayer, and seek to truly know Him just as He knows you. The opportunity is given to us now. Why not take such an offer? J

Wanting the Reward

Every once in a while I come across someone saying something along the lines that we should love God so much that we would honor and serve Him even if there were no reward involved and we got nothing out of it. The basic argument essentially ends with the idea that if we really love God, we won’t care much about the reward of Heaven He offers. That will simply be a bonus top of everything else.

I have to say I don’t find this concept anywhere in the Bible.

In Hebrews 11 the writer states of the Old Testament patriarchs,

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

In John 14, Jesus, tells people to store up treasures in Heaven rather than earth, then during the Last Supper promises the Apostles mansions in His Father’s house. In Romans 8 Paul writes about the hope we (and creation!) have in being free from corruption. Revelation is filled with talking about the rewards God showers upon His people who remained faithful to the end.

I bring all this up to say this: if God Himself does not expect us to give ourselves over to Him for nothing, who are we to argue and disagree with that?

God has given us every chance and opportunity to be His special people. He sent Jesus His Son to die and be raised again so we could know His love for us and be set free from the power of sin and death. He makes all who put their faith in Christ and follow His path children of the Most High King. And then He goes another step and offers eternal rewards and treasures that far surpass anything we could possibly hope for in this present life.

In I Corinthians Paul through the Holy Spirit writes not to run for nothing, but to “run in such a way that you may obtain the prize.” It is a good thing to desire and chase after the promises of God. Desiring the reward God offers does not lessen our love for God, but shows that we want what God wants to give. It is a recognition that God’s promises are far greater than anything we could achieve in this life.

So let us, as God’s people, love our Father in Heaven, and chase after what He wants us to want – eternal life in perfect fellowship with Him, and all the good rewards He offers to His people.

Preparation

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17).

Reading through the story of the exodus, I came across this verse some time ago, and thought it interesting that even though Israel had just seen Egypt utterly decimated by the 10 Plagues, God recognized that Israel still needed time to separate itself from Egypt in a peaceful way. Instead of throwing them “from height to height,” God gave them rest a time of rest and peace so they could be mentally and spiritually prepared for what was coming. We know they were already physically prepared, since in verse 18 we read “And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.”

Israel had the physical tools necessary to get the job done; God had already seen to that. However they did not have the mental and emotional (and likely – spiritual) tools that were needed. They had been slaves for generations. They were no Spartans, trained for battle from childhood. They were brick makers, bakers, and sheep herders.

And so God took Israel the long way. He destroys the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, He feeds them mana and quail from heaven, He provides water for the nation from a large rock, He meets them on Mount Sinai showing His power and giving His Law. He confirms His covenant and tells them of the conquest of Canaan they are about to embark on. He gives the instructions for building the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant. Then He fills the Tabernacle with His glory and rests on the Ark.

In all these things God takes the time necessary to prepare His people. He shows them what it means to be His chosen people, and does everything necessary to equip them to carry out His will. Rather than throwing them in the deep end, He shows them how to swim, then says “Go.”

We see the same in the New Testament. The Apostles live with and listen to Jesus for 3 years, day in and day out. The entirety of Paul’s life appears as one big preparation before he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus. The church is in near-constant prayer and encouragement together from when Jesus ascends to the Day of Pentecost. We see God prepare His people, then tell them to act.

And act they do! Israel (after a bad miss), takes over Canaan. The Apostles preach and teach no matter what persecution comes. Paul goes across the known world teaching the Gospel. The church grows and spreads.

Things are the same for us. You may be in a time of preparation, or a time of action. It takes a genuine look at things to see which it is. If you are in a time of preparation, be prepared to take action when the time comes. If you are in a time of action, use what God has prepared you with to the best of your ability. But wherever we are, let us be faithful, trusting that God will lead if we will follow.

Anniversary

Today is the 12^th Anniversary of Danielle and I getting married. In that time we have had 7 zip codes, 2 states, 10 homes, 2 children and 1 phone number (yay for cellphones!). We have twice experienced the terror of being out of work for 6 months where we had to scrape by on savings, tax returns, night-shift entry level jobs, and gifts. Then there were the difficult births and pregnancies, the car engines exploding, the house repairs that cost way more than we thought we could handle, and more.

These are not the kinds of things you are dreaming about while standing in front of your friends and family saying “I do.” Usually you are dreaming of a life where late nights are nothing but laughter, children act just as you expect and desire, and you never leave the upward curve of a better and better life.  But that is not reality. And I am thankful for that fact.

The reason I am thankful for this is the simple fact that without challenge – without effort or difficulty – nothing happens. Bonds are not strengthened, stories are not made, and life becomes very quickly becomes a shallow, bland puddle.

Consider any good movie or book. There is always conflict, difficulty, and pain. There are good times as well, but if the entire story was nothing but one soft, nice thing after another it would be boring and bland. There would be no growth, no depth, and no truth to it.

Consider Scripture itself. In it we find both terror and triumph. Pain and joy. Strength and weakness. From Adam & Eve to Abraham to Sampson to David to Jesus to the Apostles, we find meaning and strength not because everything went smoothly but because it did not. Because it did not we can find truth and help in our time of need. In Hebrews 4:14-16 we read,

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Understand, friend, that Jesus Himself was tested and tried just as we are! In doing so He became able to sympathize with and help us. I say this to say that in a different way, we too can help others from the trials and tests that we have encountered in life. Our difficulties in life are not to grind us to nothing, but to build us into those who can perform the works God has prepared for us.

At the beginning I listed many of the difficulties we have faced as a couple. We have also had uncountable joys as well. The long trips full of laughter, the movie nights, the traditions built as a family, the games, the worship, the times everything looked wrong but turned out better than dreamed of and so much more. All these things, good and bad, are what God has used to mold us and grow us as a husband & wife and as a family. Wherever you are in life, God can and will do the same, if you will let Him.

My hope and prayer for both you and I, is that we will always do so.

"Christian Witches"

A real thing, coming this Easter.

Some time back, I read this article about the rise of witchcraft. Two sets of numbers stuck out to me in it. The first is that the number of Wiccans has grown from about 8,000 to 340,000 in the U.S. from 1990-2008. The second is that it currently looks like there are about 1.5 million Americans "identify as Pagan or Wicca," a higher number that mainline Presbyterianism (1.4 million).

I read it, and thought it interesting, but didn't really connect the dots until I read this article about the first "Christian Witches Convention," set for April 2019 in Salem, MA.

Let's just say this right now: there is no such thing as a "Christian Witch."

You might be a Christian who has fallen into witchcraft, or been lured into it by peers or culture, but if you stay there, you no longer be a follower of Christ. It is sin, and just as with all other sin there is a call to reject it and repent. Falling into sin doesn't condemn a follower of Christ automatically, but choosing to stay there and not fight against it will.

I could go through each and every Scripture that warns against it, but in the interest of space and time I will simply list several of them: Deut. 18:10-14; I Chr. 10:13; 2 Chr. 33:6; I Sam. 15:23; Acts 8:9-13; Acts 19:17-20; Gal. 5:19-20, and more.

Notice: the warnings appear in both the Old and New Testaments. It had no place with God's people in the past, and it has no place with God's people today. To live as a witch is to live in sin, Scripture leaves no room for it.

To get on with the main point however, we need to deal with what these people are teaching, namely that Jesus was a sorcerer, the Bible is a grimoire, and the Christianity and Witchcraft are compatible. I hope that last statement has been adequately answered above.

First, to imply that Jesus was a sorcerer is, simply put, blasphemy. To be a sorcerer Jesus would have to break Old Testament law, which would be sin, which would mean He could not die a perfect sacrifice for sin. It is a straight line from one to the other. Furthermore, to claim Jesus as a sorcerer because of His miracles is a fallacy. They broke the laws of nature in order to prove He was the Son of God. The miracles Jesus performed went far beyond what any of the prophets and people God used in the Old Testament did, as a proof of who He was. If you are going to live in agreement with the statement "Jesus was a sorcerer," you are living in blasphemy.

Second, to say the Bible is a grimoire is ludicrous on its face. The Bible is a book of history that shows the path God has taken in order to bring all peoples to Himself. It is the history of the world and the church, and it is the Word of God to bring salvation to all men. To relegate it to the place of a book of magic is to take it from the highest place to the lowest. It is to steal from it its position as God's Word to save all mankind and turn it into a trinket for our own personal aggrandizement, power, and glory.

If you do happen to watch the video at the end of the article about the convention, I encourage you to notice the large number of red flags throughout it. The constant use of "oh my God," the theme of the witches ball (American Horror Story: Apocalypse), her desire to see someone attend dressed as Michael Langdon, literally the spawn of Satan in the show ("however, I like him" she says), or his "witchy mother," who was a "servant of Satan", as she states.

This is something to watch out for in our churches today. Wicca is one of the fastest growing (if not the fastest growing) religion in the United States, and it is likely to only accelerate. It is a perfect match for our postmodern culture, and we need to be prepared for it. Do not take this lightly. It is real and it is growing. Teach yourself and others to stand firm in Christ alone, so we do not fall into the mindset of saying something "isn't a big deal," or that it "won't affect me." Those are traps of the the most dangerous kind. We must know what it means to stand in Christ, or we will find ourselves standing in anything but Him.

10

My oldest boy turned 10 just now,

He's grown big! Can't you see?

It seems so short a while ago,

He sat here on my knee.

For reading books and playing games

And nursery rhymes with glee.

My oldest boy turned 10 just now,

While sleeping silently.

He used to run and play and hide,

And still does to this day.

My oldest boy turned 10 just now,

In bed there where he lay.

Through Kindergarten, Sunday school,

And on throughout the grades,

My oldest boy turned 10 just now,

He's growing, so they say.

And on it goes, it never stops,

He's bigger every year.

One day soon he'll be the pops,

With his own children near.

My oldest boy turned 10 just now,

From all these too fast years.

But now, for now, he's still my boy,

And ever will be here.

Mastering Sin

In Genesis 4:7 God tells Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” I feel that this translation, while basically accurate, misses the bigger part of what God is warning Cain about.

In fact, it would be better translated “And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is to master you, but you should rule over it.” That sounds a little more urgent. It is more forceful and (at least to me), a little more frightening.

I wonder if we often fail to recognize that sin is not a benign presence. Far too often we seem to treat sin as though it is passive. We say we “fall” into sin, as though it were a hole in the ground that we simply did not see and fell into. God never talks about sin like that. To Him it is something active. It is a hunter who tracks down its prey, waits until the opportune moment, then strikes out to tear it apart and consume it. Sin itself is really spoken of in the same way that Satan is: an active force out to destroy people and separate them from God.

James writes in 1:15 that “sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” I don’t know about you, but I have never heard of a passive, benign object “bringing forth” anything. Only that which is active and capable has the ability to “bring forth” something, let alone something as enormous as death itself.

It is to our detriment if we fail to see sin for what it is. It is an active, predatory force on the lives of people. If we are not prepared to fight back against it, it will happily consume and destroy us. How often the Scriptures warn us to be prepared and to resist sin! But resistance is an action, and action will never be taken unless we believe it needs to be. If our view of sin is one of passivity, we will not see the need to mount a resistance until it is already upon us.

This is not something we can do on a whim with no forethought. Paul tells us to run the race like we mean to win it. In Ephesians we are told to put on the full armor of God. Both of these things take training in order to do well. Without proper training you will never get very far in a race. In a similar way without proper training it will be very difficult to wear and move in armor and use shields and swords. In both of these cases the one who refuses to train and prepare becomes a drain on those who do.

This brings us to the fact that fighting sin is not something we do alone. A relay racer who refuses training will cost his team dearly. A warrior who refuses to train could cost the lives of those next to him. One who does train and improve himself, however, becomes a bigger and bigger boon to those around him over time. In the case of sin, God has given us the church to encourage, edify, strengthen, and hold one another accountable.

Let us be a church who takes sin seriously, who trains to fight back against it, and who strengthens each other to live as we are called by the King Above All.

Slowing Down

It is fairly popular today to tell people to "slow down" in order to improve their life. In a world where marketers and culture is saying "Buy more! Do more! Get more! Have more! Be more!" it is only natural that some segment rises up to fight back against it. The "slow down" movement instead says to have less, do less, and that ultimately, "less is more."

Now notice I only said it is popular to tell people to slow down in order to improve their life. I never said it was popular for people to actually do it. You see, it is far easier to talk about  than follow through on, because if we follow through on it then we might get bored or miss out. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a real thing, and it keeps people from slowing down even when they say they want to. This seems to be especially true in the realm of making decisions.

When was the last time you took a significant amount of time in order to make a decision on something? Now I am not talking about analysis paralysis when choosing whether to buy Cereal A or Cereal B. Rather, when was the last time that you put a decision on hold in order to figure out what was should be done in a given situation?

Often there is a great deal of pressure upon us to make a decision "right now." The pressure says that if we do not decide right now, we will miss the opportunity and be stuck always having wondered what could have been, and we will never get another chance like this one. Its "now or never," and we've got to "strike while the iron is hot," less this one and only chance escapes our grasp forever.

Now to be fair, there are occasional circumstances where we must make a decision quickly. There are moments where time is up and something has to happen. But more and more I am beginning to feel like that is the exception rather than the rule. Where the world around us (especially in marketing) tells us you have to choose now, in reality, we do not. How many times have you seen an email or commercial saying "Last Chance for 20% off!!! Today Only!!! Final Sale for Real this Time!!" only to see another one the following week saying very nearly the same thing? How often have you felt pressured to make a decision about something in life right now when waiting a day or two would make very little difference if any at all?

In those moments when pressure is being applied to decide now, I want to encourage you to take a step back, figure out if it really must be decided on right this instant and if not, take a breather and take some time to move through the process of making the decision.

In the ancient world it looks like this is what people did. There were no cars or planes. There were no phones or emails. If you wanted to do something or get something chances were it would take at least a few days before it would even be possible to get there. Then you had to go through the process of the work without modern technology and get back. Life moved at a slower pace because the environment demanded it. There was no other option.

It is this slower pace of life that (I believe) encouraged and enabled people to take the time to make decisions on important matters. I also believe that this led to a less stressful life with a deeper sense of meaning about what was happening. When we rush through decision after decision based on whim or feeling or a random internet review we might "do" a lot but the decisions are often shallow. When we take our time to think through choices, see what they will cost us, and discover whether or not they are truly worthy of our time we may "do" less, but the decisions carry a good deal more weight and allow us to experience more deeply the things that we actually care about. Furthermore, it allows us to make better decisions and end up with better results.

The book of Acts if full of waiting and taking time to make decisions. In chapter 1 the disciples are praying, fellow-shipping, and waiting for the promised Helper. In chapter 6 they take time to seek out men worthy of the service of widows. In chapter 13 Barnabas and Paul are appointed to be missionaries only after spending time fasting and teaching with the church in Jerusalem, and the list goes on and on. We read it as one thing happening after another, but there are days, weeks, and months between many or most of these events and choices being made. Those down-times are often spent fasting, praying, and seeking God's will. They take time to figure things out and, more importantly, they take time bringing their needs and questions before the only One who can truly give them the answer.

We need to ask ourselves, are we taking the time to do this? With everything going on and the pressure to "get more done," are we relying on the help of our Father and King, or are we relying on our own instincts and desires?

I want to encourage you to take the time needed to slow down and make decisions thoughtfully, slowly, and prayerfully. Let us as a people reject the frantic hamster wheel of decision-making the world desires to place on us, and be a people who seek God's will and take the time the listen for His answer before giving ourselves over to something.

Let us be a people of depth and weight, and allow our God to bring us into that depth and weight on His time, through His plans.

Fashionable Heresy

Fashionable: observant of or conforming to the prevailing custom of style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc.

Heresy: any belief of theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs, customs, etc.

Fashionable Heresy: a belief or theory conforming to prevailing popular thought that is strongly at variance with established belief

I wish I did not have to write on this topic. I wish I didn't because it frustrates me and I am not quite sure how exactly I should go about it. But it is something that has been bugging me for a while now and I cannot ignore it any longer. Y'all...this thing I have named Fashionable Heresy is tearing the Christian faith apart at the seams. We have got to get a handle on this. It has been around since The Way of Christ began, it is never, ever stops. Like the lovely image above, it has no brakes.

Who is it that you follow when it comes to spiritual matters? I know there are some people that I do. I like what they say, how they say it, and the conviction behind their words. There are times where I disagree on some relatively minor points, but that's not a problem. I know where they stand and I know where I stand, and if we met somewhere one day I would not be afraid of speaking and discussing both our similarities and differences. I am sure we would both walk away better for it and happy to have met another member of the family of Christ. We even have Biblical evidence for doing so. In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul writes "Imitate me, as I imitate Christ."

So the question that must be asked, the question that must be answered, is this: do you follow someone, or do you follow them as they follow Christ?

It is very fashionable to hold certain positions in our society. Some of that is good, but some of that is bad. Furthermore, some is simply based on poor theology.

Take poverty for example. It is a real and pressing problem. A good position that is also fashionable is that we should take care of the poor around us. That is a Biblical, sound position to hold. No one who has the right idea of what Scripture says is going to argue against it (and they should be arguing for more of it).

A bad position that is also fashionable is that we must force everyone to take care of the poor by taking what they have and giving it to others. That is not a Biblical position to hold. Christians are told to take care of the poor and hurting, but we are not given leave to force others to against their will. Rather, it is our job to do what we can in following Christ the King as we walk through life.

A position that is based on poor theology would be "we can eradicate poverty!" Unfortunately, though it sounds great and wonderful, it is not Biblical. Jesus says explicitly in Matthew 26:11 that "you will always have the poor among you." There will always be those who are marginalized, exploited, and poor, and we must do all we can to help and aid those in that position. It is not a popular idea, but it is a truthful and sound one.

The problem with Fashionable Heresy is that it takes what is Biblical and inserts ideas that are in tune with the times but not with God. In doing so we either get watered down truth, or the truth is drowned out by the lie. Take the above example and put it together:

"God says we should take care of the poor, so we need to create new government programs and raise new taxes so that we can eradicate poverty."

It sounds nice. It is even couched in Biblical language. But it is not a position based in Scripture. The Bible says nothing about government programs, and specifically states we will never eradicate poverty. If you think it is the government's job to help the poor, that is fine, but you can't make the case through Scripture (that is what philosophy, social commentary, and politics are for).

But do you see how easy it is to inject Fashionable Heresy into a topic? You can make it sound nice, and even holy. But if it does not stand to the test of Scripture we need to be able to see that and call it out. Here is another one (this time a real example):

"If the fruit of doctrine regularly and consistently creates shame, self-harm, suicide & broken hearts, families, and churches, we should listen."

Again, we have Fashionable Heresy injected into a Biblical topic. It is laced with both truth and lie. It also makes an assumption by putting doctrine in the place of the failure of people. It is couched in Biblical language by talking about "the fruit of doctrine". It takes what Jesus says about being wary of false prophets by seeing their fruit in Matthew 7 and applies it to theology.

The problem, however, is that this statement places the blame on doctrine when it should be on people. The doctrine in this case (homosexuality is sin), is blamed as the cause of the bad fruit. But doctrine is nothing more than words on its own. People may use it poorly or produce bad fruit by it, but that does not mean the doctrine is wrong, it means the people are. I can take a hammer and use it to build a house for the homeless or kill someone with a quick whack to the head, but that is not the hammer's fault. I am at fault for how I used it, and no one else (not even the person who made the hammer).

And so we have lies mixed with truth that sounds great and wonderful and Biblical, but that cannot hold up to revealed Truth. The Bible states both implicitly and explicitly that homosexuality is sin, as is sex before marriage, cheating on your spouse, and any other type of sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman. It also states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all are invited to come to Jesus, repent of their sins, and be washed in His blood to live a new life, no matter who they were or what they have done. The doctrine is sound and in line with what God has said. It is people who have messed it up from time to time.

Now yes, there is bad doctrine. It exists in spades in the religious world, even among believing Christians. If there were not we would not have to be warned against it in Scripture so often. But there is also good doctrine used badly. The point is we must be able to tell the difference.

You see, every doctrine, every scrap of it, must be parsed through the lens of the Truth. There are doctrinal truths that all of Christianity, regardless of time, place, and denomination (or lack thereof) has agreed upon for the last 2,000 years up until about 50-60 years ago. That should probably warn us that if we are going to change something, we had better be really, really sure of what we are doing and that it is in line with what Jesus, the Word of God, has revealed. If it is not, we need to run, not walk, away from it.

Please. Do not fall for Fashionable Heresy, no matter what the topic is. It shows up in every way and on every subject. It is so, so easy to get caught up in it because someone writes well, or speaks well, or has passion, or is doing so many other great things. But even Fashionable Heresy is still heresy, and it is still dangerous to our life and faith.

So be strong, stay faithful, and keep informed. :-)

Of Mice and Men

I don't know what made me think of it, but for some reason out of the blue I decided to watch the ending to Of Mice and Men. I would have read the the ending of it, but unfortunately I do not have a copy of the book. It was as sad as I remembered it being in high school.

Of Mice and Men has one of the saddest, worst, best endings of any book I have ever read. I would even consider saying of any book ever. It is a hard book in general that forces you to think through its controversial ending. It will not settle for being ignored.

In my senior English class we had to read the book, discussing each part of it during the weeks it was assigned. When we got to the end, there were several camps on if George did the right thing (I am not going into specifics here so as not to spoil it for future readers), and what he could have done differently. I still remember my position, though I continue to wonder if it was the right one or not.

What makes the issue in that book so unclear is the fact that it deals with the reality of man and the situation. Lennie has done a great wrong, people are rightly angry, and he is too simple to know what is going on. In that day and age there were no resources for people like him, so should he be doomed to a life of terror and fear or freed? The author gives no clear-cut answers, nor does he expound over whether George's choice is right or wrong. All we know is George loves his friend Lennie, and wants the best for him. Beyond that we are offered no answers in the book. 

This post is not about whether George was right or not, but about how we as Christians need to take life and deal with it as it is, and not as we wish it were.

Far too often I hear fellow brothers and sisters in Christ speak about the world in terms that either whitewashes or sidelines uncomfortable truths. Some things I hear are:

"Christianity is not in decline, revival is just around the corner!"

"The kids are fine. Everyone has smartphones these days."

"We'll make it to church next time. Scouts/sports/school/etc. is so busy this time of year!"

"What racism?"

"What police brutality?"

"What attacks on police?"

"What war atrocities?"

"What illegal immigrant problem?"

"We both have to work if we're ever going to get ahead."

"If only politician/political part XYZ would win, things would be better."

"This generation is so narcissistic and weak."

"We can't associate with that church, they [fill in the blank]."

"LGBT issues are settled."

"Why are you worried about LGBT stuff? It's never going to affect you."

And on and on the list goes...

Now if I have done what was intended, you found at least one of those to be offensive or something you would rather not think about. I know I found at least a couple of them to be, but that is the point. If we never stop to really consider what is going on around us and what the issues are, we are not grappling with the world as it is in reality, but only as we wish it were. This will never get us anywhere, because unless we deal with reality we will never make any progress in dealing with the world around us.

We as Christians do not get the luxury of ignoring what is going on around us. If we do that we will have no answer besides the standard cut-and-paste rhetoric of a Facebook post. For us to reach the world we have to be ready and willing to face it head-on as it is. That is how Jesus interacted with the world after all.

Consider the things Jesus dealt with without resorting to platitudes and standard, rehearsed lines: prostitution, adultery, disease, politics, poverty, hunger, inheritance, God, marriage, children, purpose, racism, Heaven, Hell, Jerusalem's destruction, death. I could go on for a while here but I think you get the point. Instead of pretending like they did not exist or moving them off to the side, Jesus looked at it straight-on, considered it in the context of God's Will and Plan, and dealt with it accordingly. There was no rhetoric when it came to how Jesus spoke. Each situation was dealt with as it was - an individual situation. There was no one-size-fits-all solution for every issue. He did the hard work of not only dealing with the issue, He also went to those who were involved in it. He empathized with them, then lead them to the truth of God in love.

As followers of Christ, we are called to do the same.

Today's post is a call to put away the rhetoric, put away the self-reinforcing news feeds, put away the talking heads and pundits, and come before God Almighty for the real answers to the real issues in life. Today is a call to reject the wisdom of this world and all those who are not giving their lives over to God in favor of His Word and the wisdom of those who strive with all their hearts to follow Christ wherever He leads. Forget the politicians, the celebrities, the bloggers, the memes, the YouTube videos and the Facebook friends who tell you what the world wants you to hear instead of what God wants you to know.

Come to God. Pray for His Spirit to lead you in His Word. Look for His Will and His Truth to come from what He has provided for us. There is only One who we can look to in order to be refreshed by the water of life and nourished by truth.

Let us face the hard issues straight-on with honesty, empathy, and open eyes. Let us face them as Jesus faced them. Let us face them in the truth and love of God.

Beauties, Beasts, and Art

Should I see it? Should I not? AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

I wasn't really planning on writing about this. It wasn't particularly on my radar, and I was pretty much prepared to ignore the Beauty & The Beast release and not worry too much about it. I don't get to go to the movies much, but if I could make it, great!

Then director Condon came out with his big "gay moment" line and the news, Facebook, and everyone blew up and everyone had a meltdown. Many Christians said they wouldn't go, many LGBT activists were overjoyed, and many others kind of shrugged and said "whatevs".

Now this has never been a blog about saying "whatevs", nor has it ever focused on LGBT things (though we have talked about it). What we have done on this blog is try to deal with real issues and the real things behind them, without compromise or backing down. I realize I am not perfect at that, but hey, I'm trying. :-)

So to get back on topic, after the B&B Meltdown, it came to light that in fact the whole "exclusively gay moment" (director Condon's phrase), was very short and not easily noticeable. In fact it was so small that if you didn't know it was there, you would probably miss it.

And so...many Christians who had bemoaned what the director said about the movie...went and saw the movie.

Then...went on social media and gushed over how amazing the movie was.

Then...chided other Christians who were choosing not to see the movie as making something small into a big deal.

Then...started linking to every blog and Facebook post by other Christians who thought the same thing they did so that the people who chose to stand their ground and not see the movie would...just go see the movie already because its great and the story is awesome and the gay thing is no big deal and if the director hadn't said anything you wouldn't even know and besides why are you making such a big deal out of something that is so small and insignificant so just go see the movie already.

I kid you not, this has been my Facebook non-stop. I am not exaggerating. The movie has been out for 3 days, and I cannot log on without someone trying to convince me to go see it.

This. Has. To. Stop.

We're going to take this in 2 parts, because there are 2 different issues here. 

The first is this: why are some Christians trying to convince others to break their conscience to go see a movie?

The second is this: can we so easily rationalize away something which the director of the movie himself says was his goal? How do we square that circle?

I will try not to make this incredibly long. Hopefully I will succeed.

The first issue should be a no-brainer. Remember what Paul wrote in Romans:

14:15 - Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with you food the one for whom Christ died.

14:21 - It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 

15:1-2 - We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

This is really very clear. If you know other Christians are of tender conscience about this movie, don't be telling them to go see it. In fact, do not be bragging about going to see it. To do so is to do harm to your brother and sister in Christ and treat them in an unloving way. This is unacceptable behavior for the Christian to engage in, and we should take no part in it. If conscience allows someone to go see it, great! I cannot personally judge that, as my conscience is not theirs. However, I can say without any hesitation that to go bragging about it and telling everyone it is fine, or even worse that they should just go see it already (when they have doubts & reservations) is, in fact, a big deal, and should be avoided at all cost.

We can walk in love and encouragement toward our fellow travelers in Christ, or we can put stumbling blocks in the way.

The second issue is a little more murky and difficult to deal with. Has anyone really stopped to ask why some people are holding out on seeing the movie? All I have heard are people who do see it saying about those who refuse, "they're making a big deal out of nothing," when they weren't the ones who made the controversy in the first place.

Remember, it was not some random blogger or even an actor who said,

"He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh [Gad, who plays LeFou] makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that's what has its pay-off at the end, which I don't want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie."

That was the director, Bill Condon. He's the guy who calls the shots and gets to decide what the movie is about. So the controversy does not fall on the shoulders of people who, for reason of conscience, choose not to see the movie. They did not ask for nor bring up the issue. The man who made the movie did. He, not those who see it, gets to decide what the movie and its moments are about. If he had said that when the Beast tosses Gaston off the roof that is represented the feral nature of man overcoming his self-righteous, deified self, that's what it would have been about. If he had said Belle's imprisonment and escape was about women rising up to overtake the patriarchy and bend it to her will, that's what it would have been about.

I still have a visceral reaction against this,
but at least I know what it is about.

Basically, whoever is the creator of something gets to decide what it is for and what it represents. So if the director is hyping up his "exclusively gay moment", then that is what it is. I can determine if I believe it is good or beautiful, but for me to say "that's not really what it is", is ludicrous. It would be like me viewing the art piece titled "Piss Christ" and claiming it is a strictly anti-Christian piece of propaganda. That's not what it is about, and it is ridiculous for me to say so when the artist himself states that it alludes to a perceived commercializing or cheapening of Christian icons in contemporary culture. It is the creator, not the viewer or even the participant, who determines meaning.

This is why Christians must be so careful in what they support and what they are involved in. It must be remembered that those with the microphones and those who create are the ones who get to decide what something represents. We don't get to be involved in something and say in our hearts "well, I'm really here for this other reason." It simply doesn't work that way. It is only the organizer, creator, or one with the megaphone, who gets to decide what something is for. Everyone else is simply along for the ride.

As a side-note, this is one reason why worship is so beautiful. Because even though I may mess up or have the wrong mind-set or struggle during that time, Christ, as the Author and Creator of faith, decides what worship is really about and brings me along for the ride. In doing so He makes sure that through Himself, my worship is made perfect despite my imperfections.

I get the feeling that this is the real reason why conscientious objectors to the movie are holding back. It is not whether the moment or scene is big or small, open or covert. Rather, it comes down to what the publicly stated goal of the director. In saying what he said he turned it into a referendum on if it would fly in a Disney movie. Considering it made $170 million in its opening weekend (the largest March opening of all time), I think it is safe to assume that the answer was "yes".

The bottom line is there is a real reason why some people continue to object to the movie. If someone does not agree, that is fine. But please, please remember to always walk in love and to never put a stumbling block in front of our brothers and sisters. It is never OK to try and force someone in Christ to accept what is against their conscience toward God. It is also never OK to mock or treat as ridiculous the reason (any reason) someone chooses not to do something because they are trying to honor God. That is something that should always, without fail, be praised and admired in a person.

So always walk in love, always give in so others may be build up, and always, always choose the path that you believe will honor and glorify God in your life, whatever that choice may be. 

Leaders and Titles

***This is not mine. I did not write it or even originally come across it. A friend from preaching school shared this on Facebook, which was difficult to read. I shared it here and added some formatting to increase its clarity. This is a long article, but it is very important. I suggest reading it, especially if you are in leadership or considering installing leadership.***

Church Leaders and The Use of Honorific Titles

"But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them" (Jeremiah 45:5)

by Darryl M. Erkel

The Lord Jesus, in His condemnation of the Pharisees recorded in Matthew 23, plainly forbids His followers from either giving or receiving honorific titles. Whereas the religious hypocrites love "respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men Rabbi" (v.7), this is not to be the mark of Christ's disciples: "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted (vv. 8-12).

Jesus is not denying functional differences and roles within the church; nor is He suggesting that it is wrong to term one's biological parent "father." Rather, He is prohibiting the use of self-exalting and honorific titles of distinction among those who have chosen to follow Christ. While conferring honorific titles upon prominent religious authorities may be the way of the world, it is not the path that Christ has called us to pursue.

Yet, in spite of the clarity of Jesus' command, Christians have historically ignored His words. We continue, for example, to address our church shepherds as "Reverend," "Doctor," or "Minister" and, unfortunately, far too many of them are glad to receive such flattery and even love to have it so! Commenting on the words of our Lord in Matthew 23, the noted New Testament scholar, R.T. France, has perceptively written:

These verses, while still commenting on the practice of the scribes and Pharisees, are addressed directly to Jesus' disciples, warning them against adopting this status-seeking attitude. "Rabbi" (v.8) and "Master" (v.10) probably act here as synonyms. They are titles appropriate only to the One Teacher (v.8), the Christ (v.10), in relation to whom all His followers stand on an equal footing as "brothers"... Over against that unique authority His disciples must avoid the use of honorific titles for one another ("Christian rabbinism," Bonnard)--an exhortation which today's church could profitably taken more seriously, not only in relation to formal ecclesiastical titles ("Most Rev.", "my Lord Bishop," etc.), but more significantly in its excessive deference to academic qualifications or to authoritative status in the churches (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Matthew [Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985] p.325).

Christian magazines are filled with advertisements for books or products recommended by "Doctor" so-and-so; and churches continue to promote their ministries led by "Reverend" so-and-so. The Christian world, it seems, is consumed with exalted and honorific titles for those in positions of leadership or influence. Some pastors, in fact, are rather offended when their congregational members address them by their first name or simply as "brother." It is thought by many to be disrespectful or unbecoming to address a Christian theologian in any other way than "Doctor" or "Professor."

But we must ask, are such titles necessary for church leaders? Have evangelicals genuinely honored the words of Christ in Matthew 23:8-12 by prefacing the names of their leaders with such flattering titles as "Reverend" or "Senior Pastor"? Church history, according to J.C. Ryle, has all too clearly demonstrated that we have missed the true meaning of Jesus' words:

Happy would it have been for the Church of Christ, if this passage had been more deeply pondered, and the spirit of it more implicitly obeyed. The Pharisees are not the only people who have imposed austerities on others, and affected a sanctity of apparel, and loved the praise of man. The annals of church history show that only too many Christians have walked closely in their steps (Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Vol. 1 [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Reprint, 1977] p.299).

Greg Ogden, a writer and church shepherd in Saratoga (CA), states:

I mourn for the church because we seem to display so many of the characteristics that Jesus said, "Not so among you" (Mark 10:43). Shameful arrogance and haughtiness have reached epidemic proportions among church leaders... A direct implication of Jesus' servant stance was His obliteration of titles... We have refused to take Jesus' words at face value. Jesus' obvious intent was to remove any basis for "lording it over" others by dispensing with titles that give people an elevated place in the "pecking order." We all occupy the same level ground at the foot of the one Teacher, Jesus Christ. We are not "great ones" or "lords"... Finally, do not accept the designation "master" or "leader." No human can usurp the position of the head of the body, Christ. Our tendency seems always toward idolatry, to make someone larger than life. Never forget: Jesus alone is Lord (The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990] p.172,174).

The Son of God "made Himself of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7), yet His servants seem bent on following an opposite course. Christ bids us to learn of Him who was "meek and lowly" (Matthew 11:29), yet His representatives continue to exalt themselves with self-glorifying titles. But someone may ask, what real harm is there in such titles of prominence? Perhaps the following points will help to explain their danger and assist Christians in avoiding them.

1. The New Testament simply provides no warrant for giving congregational leaders priestly or honorific titles. Thus, any man who seeks or permits such titles to be given to him violates the express commands of Christ (Matthew 23:8-10) as well as apostolic practice. Alexander Strauch, a writer and shepherd in Littleton (CO), has stated:

The modern array of ecclesiastical titles accompanying the names of Christian leaders--reverend, archbishop, cardinal, pope, primate, metropolitan, canon, curate--is completely missing from the New Testament and would have appalled the apostles and early believers. Although both the Greeks and Jews employed a wealth of titles for their political and religious leaders in order to express their power and authority, the early Christians avoided such titles. The early Christians used common and functional terms to describe themselves and their relationships. Some of these terms are "brother," "beloved," "fellow-worker," "laborer," "slave," "servant," "prisoner," "fellow-soldier," and "steward." Of course there were prophets, teachers, apostles, evangelists, leaders, elders, and deacons within the first churches, but these were not used as formal titles for individuals. All Christians are saints, but there was no "Saint John." All are priests, but there was no "Priest Philip." Some are elders, but there was no "Elder Paul." Some are overseers, but there was no "Overseer John." Some are pastors, but there was not "Pastor James." Some are deacons, but there was no "Deacon Peter." Some are apostles, but there was no "Apostle Andrew." Rather than gaining honor through titles and position, New Testament believers received honor primarily for their service and work (Acts 15:26: Romans 16:1,2,4,12; 1 Corinthians 16:15,16,18; 2 Corinthians 8:18; Philippians 2:29,30; Colossians 1:7; 4:12,13; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 3:1). The early Christians referred to each other by personal names (Timothy, Paul, Titus), the terms "brother" or "sister," or by describing an individual's spiritual character or work: "Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5); "Barnabas, a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" (Acts 11:24); "Philip the evangelist" (Acts 21:8); "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus" (Romans 16:3); "Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you" (Romans 16:6) (Biblical Eldership [Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth Publishers/Revised, 1995] pp. 302-303).

Frank A. Viola has, likewise, written:

In keeping with our Lord's command, biblical elders did not permit themselves to be addressed by honorific titles such as "Pastor Bill," "Elder Tom," "Bishop Jake," or "Reverend Sam" (Matthew 23:7-12). Such titles naturally elevate church leaders to a plane above the other brethren in the assembly. Thus, congregations and clergy alike are responsible for creating the current "Christian guruism" that is rampant in the church today wherein religious leaders are recast into spiritual celebrities and lauded with fan club status. By contrast, New Testament leaders were viewed as ordinary brethren and were just as approachable and accessible to the saints as any other believer in the church. For this reason, 1 Thessalonians 5:12,13 exhorts the saints to intimately know their leaders (a near impossible mandate to fulfill in most contemporary churches where the pastor is trained to keep his distance from the people lest he lose his authority). In this regard, the common image of church leaders as "sacred men of the cloth" is utterly foreign to the biblical concept (Rethinking the Wineskin [Brandon, FL: Present Testimony Ministry, 1997] p.63).

2. The apostles of Christ employed lowly and unofficial terms when describing themselves or others. Notice the expressions which Paul, Peter, and John repeatedly chose to use--which tends to argue against any notion of honorific titles:

Acts 15:23, "The apostles and elders, your brothers."

1 Corinthians 4:1, "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."

2 Corinthians 12:11, "I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody."

Ephesians 3:8, "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given..."

1 Thessalonians 3:2, "And we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the Gospel of Christ..."

1 Timothy 1:15-16, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience..."

1 Peter 5:1, "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder..."

2 Peter 3:15, "And regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as our beloved brother Paul..."

Revelation 1:9, "I, John, your brother and fellow partaker..."

In light of these clear passages, should we not, then, heed the practice of our Lord's apostles? "Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us" (Philippians 3:17).

Acts 15:23 ("The apostles and elders, your brothers") is particularly interesting since, in an official decree that was to be sent to all the churches, the apostles and elders simply referred to themselves as "your brothers." It contained no honorific titles or hierarchical expressions; only the phrase, "your brothers." Thus, the apostles and elders are brethren writing to fellow brethren. The Lutheran Bible commentator, R.C.H. Lenski, writes: 

"'The apostles and the elders' write for themselves and for the entire church but as 'brethren.' Some texts have 'and the brethren,' referring to the congregation, but this reading lacks attestation. The apposition 'brethren' is highly significant in this communication. The apostles and the elders of Jerusalem speak to the Gentile Christians only as brethren and not as superiors... Brethren salute brethren. The communication is fraternal and asks to be accepted as such and as such alone" (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles [Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961] p.621).

Another significant passage is 1 Peter 5:1 ("Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder"). Here was Peter's great opportunity to use an exalted title for himself (e.g., "Senior Pastor," "Chief Elder," "Bishop of Rome"), but chooses not to. Instead, he simply refers to himself as "your fellow elder." Such terminology, as Peter H. Davids points out, is "consistent with the tendency among the early leaders to avoid the use of exalted titles such as were used about them in the second century" (The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The First Epistle of Peter [Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Eerdmans, 1990] p.176).

It is important to emphasize that such terms as "elder," "overseer," and "pastor" are functional terms, and were never intended to serve as formal titles. In other words, the terminology is descriptive of one's task; they help to picture a church leader's function or may even denote one's spiritual maturity as in the term "elder." Thus, it is just as foolish and unnecessary to speak of "Pastor Bob" as it is to speak of one who possesses the gift or function of hospitality as "Hospitality Harry"; or one who has the gift of mercy as "Mercy Mary"; or one who has the gift of giving as "Giving George."

3. Honorific titles feed the pride of men. It tends to inflate one's ego, thus provoking church leaders to think more highly of themselves than they should (Romans 12:3). Let's face it: we all struggle with sin and pride; but why compound that struggle by exalting oneself with special titles which have no basis in the New Testament? While seeing nothing inherently wrong with titles per se, even Craig L. Blomberg, associate professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, is compelled to recognize its dangers:

But one wonders how often these titles are used without implying unbiblical ideas about a greater worth or value of the individuals to whom they are assigned. One similarly wonders for how long the recipients of such forms of address can resist an unbiblical pride from all the plaudits. It is probably best to abolish most uses of such titles and look for equalizing terms that show that we are all related as family to one Heavenly Father (God) and one teacher (Christ)... In American Christian circles perhaps the best goal is to strive for the intimacy that simply makes addressing one another on a first-name basis natural (The New American Commentary: Matthew, Vol. 22 [Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992] p.343).

4. Honorific titles, contrary to what many ecclesiastical authorities would assert, are a form of self-promotion. In fact, some men employ the title "Doctor" for the express purpose of making their opinions or books carry greater authority than they actually do. We tend to assume that the man with an earned doctorate is an "expert," whose words are beyond question. But no man's opinions should be accepted merely because he has a Th.D. or Ph.D. behind his name. Every doctrine or human opinion is to be tested by the rule of Scripture (Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Revelation 2:2), not one's educational achievements.

If we were to look at degrees only, we might also conclude that the apostles of our Lord were not particularly trustworthy, since none of them (except Paul) had any recognizable formal training: "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). Moreover: 

"teachers amongst the Lord's people do not need titles granted by men as a sign of theological authority to teach; authority and ability to teach in spiritual things come from the Lord through the Holy Spirit, and not through the schools of men. Such titles, both then and now, distract from the preeminence of Christ over all those who are brethren in the family of God... We are all brethren and we are all servants (diakonos); this excludes self-exaltation. God reverses what man would esteem" (J. Heading, Ritchie New Testament Commentaries: Matthew [Scotland: John Ritchie, LTD., 1984] pp. 307-308).

Perhaps one reason why some pastors feel compelled to preface their names with a degree or honorific title, is because they have an inferiority complex or are ineffective in gaining respect in ways that are more servant-oriented. It's also important to note that many clergymen have pursued a career in pastoral ministry for reasons less than the glory of God. Far too many are seeking the honor and recognition of men, rather than the honor of Christ (John 5:44; Galatians 1:10). The use of self-glorifying titles only helps to attract such kind.

One common argument used to support honorific titles is that the man who has earned a doctorate in theology worked hard for it and, thus, is entitled to display his accomplishments. But so has the man who has earned a Master of Divinity degree or even a Bachelor of Arts! Should we, then, continually refer to such persons as "Master of Divinity Dave" or "Bachelor of Arts Bill"? If not, why should we continue to employ the title "Doctor" before one's name?

We remind the reader as well that Jesus clearly forbid such titles of distinction among His followers in Matthew 23:8-12. Any person, therefore, who seeks to justify the use of honorific titles must ultimately answer to Jesus Himself. It might also be interesting to note that "Rabbi," as used during the time of Jesus, was employed "much as 'Doctor' is today. In fact, the Latin equivalent of rabbi comes from docere, which means to teach and is the term from which the English word doctor is derived" (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 16-23 [Chicago: Moody Press, 1988] p.366).

Another argument used to justify honorific titles is that they are a means of expressing respect to church leaders. The early Christians, however, were still able to express their esteem toward each other without having to resort to special titles (Philippians 2:25-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17).

5. Honorific titles draw unnecessary attention to oneself. The man who uses them is subtly telling others that he is someone important and worthy of their respect. Although he may never admit to it, the great day of judgment promises to disclose his true motivation and inner-secrets (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

6. Honorific titles detract from the glory that rightfully belongs to Christ alone. Such titles of distinction as "Reverend" (meaning, "he who is to be revered") not only esteem persons higher than is humanly permissible, but it intrudes in a realm that is not rightfully theirs. We would be wise to listen to the counsel of J.C. Ryle:

But still we must be very careful that we do not insensibly give to ministers a place and an honor which do not belong to them. We must never allow them to come between ourselves and Christ. The very best are not infallible. They are not priests who can atone for us. They are not mediators who can undertake to manage our soul's affairs with God. They are men of like passions with ourselves, needing the same cleansing blood, and the same renewing Spirit, set apart to a high and holy calling, but still after all only men. Let us never forget these things. Such cautions are always useful. Human nature would always rather lean on a visible minister, than an invisible Christ (Ryle's Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Vol. 1, pp. 299-300).

Many churches in our day refer to their most gifted or experienced leader as "Senior Pastor." However, the only "Senior Pastor" that the New Testament speaks of is Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:3). He alone is "the great Shepherd of the sheep" (Hebrews 13:20; cf. John 10:11,14,16; Ephesians 5:23). Those who serve in a leadership function within the local church are undershepherds. They are called to be humble servants of the sheep (1 Corinthians 3:5; 4:1; 2 Corinthians 4:5), not lords who reign over their fiefdom (1 Peter 5:3). Thus, it is quite arrogant to take on the lofty title of "Senior Pastor" when Scripture reserves this for Christ alone! Even the apostle Peter merely referred to himself as a "fellow elder" (1 Peter 5:1). The Christian apologist, J.P. Moreland, has said it well:

The local church in the New Testament contained a plurality of elders (see Acts 14:23, 20:28; Philippians 1:1; Hebrews 13:17). The New Testament knows nothing about a senior pastor. In my opinion, the emergence of the senior pastor in the local church is one of the factors that has most significantly undermined the development of healthy churches... Given these facts, the senior pastor model actually produces a co-dependence that often feeds the egos of senior pastors while allowing the parishioners to remain passive. None of this is intentional, but the effects are still real. The senior pastor model tends to create a situation in which we identify the church as "Pastor Smith's church" and parishioners come to support his ministry. If a visitor asks where the minister is, instead of pointing to the entire congregation (as the New Testament would indicate, since we are all ministers of the New Covenant), we actually point to Pastor Smith... The local church should be led and taught by a plurality of voices called elders, and these voices should be equal... No one person has enough gifts, perspective, and maturity to be given the opportunity disproportionately to shape the personality and texture of a local church. If Christ is actually the head of the church, our church structures ought to reflect that fact, and a group of under-shepherds, not a senior pastor, should collectively seek His guidance in leading the congregation (Love Your God With All Your Mind [Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing, 1997] pp. 190-191).

7. Honorific titles tend to attract carnal and power-seeking men to positions of church leadership. As pointed out earlier, if our churches continue to give to their leaders lofty and self-glorifying titles of distinction, we will continue to attract a large percentage of men seeking prestige, recognition, and power. This is not meant to suggest that every church leader who employs an honorific title is necessarily seeking to have his ego stroked or possesses less than genuine motives, but only that far too many fall into this category. Some are simply naive as to the dangers and implications of their lofty titles.

Let's face it: if you set up a religious clerical system that promotes power, prestige, and self-exaltation (as opposed to the humble servant-model of Jesus presented in Mark 10:35-45 and John 13:3-17), such a system will repeatedly attract men seeking such power and prestige. This is one of the major reasons why our churches have historically had the wrong kind of men in positions of leadership. But, we must ask, what kind of men would be attracted to church leadership if they were told they will be servants, not lords; not titled; probably not salaried (Acts 20:33-35); not the sole preacher/teacher (Acts 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:17); an equipper, not a shining superstar; and only one amongst a plurality of other leaders (Acts 14:23; Hebrews 13:17)? Only the most dedicated, humble, and self-sacrificing would be desirous of such a noble task! And, yet, these are the very kind of men that Christ wants to shepherd His sheep--and who are often most lacking in our churches. Greg Ogden writes:

We get the kind of leaders we deserve. It often seems that the world's view of greatness is the standard we use when we select our leaders. We have allowed arrogant, unaccountable, and self-professed channels of the Spirit to shoot off like loose cannon. We sometimes have a penchant in the Christian community for holding up the proud and arrogant as our ideal because "they get the job done." Using the world's view of power, we want leaders to exercise influence, work their way into positions of power, and throw their weight around. We therefore get what we ourselves honor--Christian leaders who act like potentates rather than self-sacrificing servants of Jesus Christ. Our actions show that we do not believe that real power is expressed through servanthood that leads to a cross. The Church Growth Movement has identified strong pastoral leadership as a key ingredient in the growth of a congregation. I will grant that leaders must lead. But what gets passed off as leadership often has no resemblance to servant leadership as modeled and taught by our Lord... Our natural tendency is to concentrate power at the top, but Jesus modeled and taught a different way of life (The New Reformation, pp. 172-173).

8. Honorific titles tend to promote an elitist attitude and authoritarian forms of church leadership. Even the best of men can find self-glorifying titles intoxicating and begin to form lofty opinions of themselves. Within time, they begin to look upon their congregational members as mere "common folks"; an ignorant mass of "laity" who desperately need their wisdom and insight (John 7:49; 9:34).

Church leaders, however, must never give themselves the airs of stuffy, official, and fussy "ministers" as is common among many claiming to be pastors in our day. Instead, their behavior and attitude should conform to the words of Paul in Romans 12:16, "Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly" and in Philippians 2:3-4, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." The 19th century Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, warned his pastoral students of the danger of ministerial pride:

My brethren, be not priests yourselves. It is very possible to give yourselves the airs of hierarchs, even though you are avowedly nothing more than Nonconformist pastors. There is a style of dress--the affectation of it is not praiseworthy. There is a style of language--the imitation of it is not commendable. There is an assumption of superiority, looking down upon the common people as mere laity; this piece of pompousness is ridiculous. Avoid the way of certain clerics who seem intent on making their people feel that a minister is a dignified individual, and that the rest of the members of the church should hardly venture to differ from him. Say what we like about all believers in Christ being a generation of priests, we still find vain fellows among us who would be thought of as possessors of a mystic specialty. Our office, as pastors, deserves to be respected, and will be if properly carried out; but I have observed that some who are very anxious to magnify their office, really try to magnify themselves (An All-Round Ministry [Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1960] pp. 371-372).

9. Honorific titles help to perpetuate the "clergy-laity" division. While it is common for people to speak of church leaders as the "clergy" and the rest of God's people as the "laity," the New Testament never divides the body of Christ into two classes known as "clergy" and "laity."

The root meaning of kleros, from which we get our word "clergy," is "inheritance" or "lot" and refers to the believer's inheritance in Christ, not to a special class of ministers. The word laos, from which we get our word "laity," refers to all of a group; in some cases, it specifically denotes the people of God. Thus, all believers in Christ are part of the laos (or "laity"), including pastors! Every believer is a minister and priest before God with authority to do the work of ministry (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6). The New Testament never confines "ministry" to a select few.

Clericalism has done much to harm and weaken the body of Christ. It clearly divides the Christian brotherhood; it hinders the saints from behaving like the ministers they are; it obscures, if not annuls, the essential oneness of the people of God; and it exalts the pride of church leaders by conferring upon them special titles and privileges. Howard Snyder, a prolific author on the subject of church renewal, has stated:

The New Testament simply does not speak of two classes of Christians--"minister" and "laymen"--as we do today. According to the Bible, the people (laos, "laity") of God comprise all Christians, and all Christians through the exercise of spiritual gifts have some "work of ministry." So if we wish to be biblical, we will have to say that all Christians are laymen (God's people) and all are ministers. The clergy-laity dichotomy is unbiblical and therefore invalid. It grew up as an accident of church history and actually marked a drift away from biblical faithfulness. A professional, distinct priesthood did exist in Old Testament days. But in the New Testament this priesthood is replaced by two truths: Jesus Christ is our great high priest, and the Church is a kingdom of priests (Hebrews 4:14; 8:1; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). The New Testament doctrine of ministry rests therefore not on the clergy-laity distinction but on the twin and complementary pillars of the priesthood of all believers and the gifts of the Spirit. Today, four centuries after the Reformation, the full implications of this Protestant affirmation have yet to be worked out. The clergy-laity dichotomy is a direct carry-over from pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism and a throwback to the Old Testament priesthood. It is one of the principle obstacles to the Church effectively being God's agent of the Kingdom today because it creates the false idea that only "holy men," namely, ordained ministers, are really qualified and responsible for leadership and significant ministry. In the New Testament there are functional distinctions between various kinds of ministries but no hierarchical division between clergy and laity (The Community of the King [Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1977] pp. 94-95).

What Can Church Leaders Do to Help Correct This Problem?

They must humble themselves and begin to view their ministry in terms of servanthood, not lordship (Mark 10:35-45; 1 Peter 5:3).

They must remove all clerical titles and gowns (Matthew 23:8-12). The saints must be taught to refer to their leader(s) as "brother" or by one's first name.

They must return ministry to the people of God, seeing them as full partners in the task of building up the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-14; 14:12,26; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

We are in dire need of language reform. The terms that we use for ourselves ("layman") and those used to describe our leaders ("Reverend," "Minister") are very important since, not only do they convey our thinking on such fundamental issues as the nature of the church and how local church leadership should be structured, but the use of unbiblical or improper terms may help to stunt the growth of Christ's body. As Alexander Strauch has wisely stated:

It is critically important for Christians today to understand that the language we use to describe our church leaders has the power to accurately reflect biblical thinking and practice or, conversely, to lead us far away from the true Church of Jesus Christ and into the false church... In the end, every local church is responsible to teach its people the meaning of the terms it uses to describe its spiritual leaders, whether it be elders, overseers, ministers, preachers, or pastors. Biblically sensitive church leaders will insist that the terminology they use represents, as accurately as possible, the original biblical terms and concepts of a New Testament eldership. False teachers have had their greatest triumphs when they redefine biblical words in a way that is contrary to the original meaning... Much of our church vocabulary is unscriptural and terribly misleading. Words such as clergyman, layman, reverend, minister, priest, bishop, ordained, and ministerial convey ideas contrary to what Jesus Christ and His apostles taught. Such terminology misrepresents the true nature of apostolic Christianity and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to recapture it. As a result, most of our churches are in desperate need of language reform (Biblical Eldership, pp. 32-34).