In recent history, black Christians have generally voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate, while white Evangelicals tend to vote Republican. Many white Evangelicals wonder how anyone could vote for a Democrat who supports the killing of innocent babies. And while abortion is wrong, perhaps we white Evangelicals should take a look at a deeper issue. Are we making an idol out of the Republican party? Are we trusting in Conservatism to “save” us?

The people of Israel had the same problem in Jeremiah 2. Instead of looking to God to provide for them, they looked to Egypt and Assyria. Therefore God confronts them. “And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?” (Jeremiah 2:18).

Just as Israel looked to the Egyptians and Assyrians for peace and comfort, I believe that American Evangelicals look to politicians and parties for what only God provides. I understand all the arguments why we should vote this way or that. I just think that we Evangelicals need to stand back and ask ourselves where we get our identity from. If it’s in anything other than God, we must destroy those idols and return to worship the only God.

Family Integrated Church

I used to teach a college-aged Sunday School class. Somewhere along the way, I got the distinct feeling that separating that group from the rest of the group was unhelpful at best. Since then, my conviction has grown to cover other age-segregrated groups as well. I now believe that the church is made up of families and that those families should worship together as a unit.

I'm glad that there is a movement that addresses this concern that I've had for several years now. The Family Integrated Church movement is gaining some momentum as various publications hit the street. Those interested should check out Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham and Perspectives on Family Ministry: Three Views, edited by Timothy Jones.

Music and Worship

We recently started attending a new church. It is a small fellowship with a normal attendance of 60. The congregational music consists mainly of hymns, accompanied by a piano and organ. I had once swore to myself and to my wife that I would never attend a church that had an organ. Why the change?

I enjoy music. Not just listening to it, but the theory behind it. When I hear music, I don't just hear the melody. I hear the harmonies, the instrumentation, the rhythms. So when I to a church that has a full band, I become entranced by each instrument. I watch the drummer, the keyboardist, the guitarist, and the bassist, paying close attention to the parts they are playing. It's not that I do it on purpose. It's automatic. My heart is almost never moved during the music portion of a worship service that features a full band.

But at this little church, things are simple. No distractions. No big production. Just all of us singing about our Savior. And those are the times that choke me up. Those are the moments that I most clearly see Jesus and His wonderful love for us. Simple church. Simple praise.

New Post

Just wanted to add a new post because I haven't written anything since June. That's all.

Brock

I wrote this blog a few weeks ago but just had the nerve to post it today.

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I have worked at Johnson County (KS) Juvenile Detention Center since March 2007. I started out on the evening shift, but ended up on the night shift—where I’ve been for about a year and a half. I do shift work, so I don’t have much interaction with staff from other shifts except the exchange of pertinent information about our residents.

Last November, I stayed over to work overtime on the day shift. I was already acquainted with an officer by the first name of Brock. But now, since I was working on his shift, I could talk with him. After some generalities, he asked, “You went to seminary right?” I said yes. He went on to describe a ring that his late grandfather had left behind. On the inside of the band, it was marked with the word “Mizpah.” Brock asked what the word meant because he had heard it was from the Bible. I told him that it was a word used in Genesis 31 in the account of Jacob and Laban parting ways.

Later on in the day, I asked Brock if he had ever considered following Jesus. His answer surprised me. It was not hostile. His attitude was not belligerent. He simply said, “No, I’ve never even thought of it. Our family has never even discussed it or considered it.”A few days later, I gave Brock a copy of More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. I told him that maybe we could get together and discuss what he thought about it. Sometime later, he told me that he had read most of it, so I suggested that we go out for lunch or dinner on that Thursday or Friday. He agreed to go out to dinner on one of those nights (I can’t remember which one.) However, because of family commitments, he suggested that we wait to meet until after the holiday season was over.

January came and I presented a new Bible to Brock. He explained that he had read the first half of the Old Testament for a class at St. Mary’s College. I recommended that he start in the New Testament. “Start reading in John,” I said. “You’ll see that Jesus is God and that he died so that we could have forgiveness of sins.”He thanked me for the gift and said that he would start reading soon. I again suggested that we get together. And again he agreed to meet with me on that Thursday or Friday evening.

On Wednesday morning, though, he approached me in the hallway. “I’m struggling with some issues,” he said. “Today, I’m checking into a treatment facility. Obviously, I won’t be able to meet with you tomorrow.” I told Brock that I would pray for him.I sent him an e-mail later. In the message, I quoted Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I wrote, “Brock, I will be praying for you.” He replied with a message thanking me.

I didn’t want to be pushy, so I backed off and figured that, if he wanted to meet or discuss Christ, I would let him approach me. So time went on and never asked me about it again. About 2 weeks ago, I saw Brock in the locker room at work. I asked him if he had been reading anything lately. He mentioned 2 different books—neither of them the Bible. I had to go back to my work responsibilities. Little did I know… that was our last conversation.

On Wednesday, May 20th, Brock chose to end his life. A million questions flooded my mind this week. Why would he leave a wife and 2 sons behind? Why couldn’t I speak to him once more about the gospel? A million tears flooded my eyes. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not fair. I’ve never known anyone personally that committed suicide. It’s new, unfamiliar, unfriendly territory.
There are many issues I’ve had to work through and lessons to learn. I won’t list them all—and to tell the truth, I don’t feel like writing much more about this right now—but I would say that the most important lesson is this: Be urgent about sharing the gospel. You never know how much time someone has left. You never know what they are going through.

Each and every person desperately needs to hear the terrible news that they are a sinner and will be punished in hell for their sins. They need to hear the good news that Jesus came to die for sinners and rose again from the dead. Tell them to follow Christ—to turn from their sin and trust in Jesus to rescue them from sin and hell—and they will receive eternal life with God.

Missions and Evangelism

Christian missions is a subject very close to my heart. Trisha and I intended to serve God overseas, but He had other plans for us. So now I help in the area of missions at our church. One of the ideas that I have discussed with leadership is the difference between missions and evangelism.

One of our church's missionaries recently spoke on the difference. It is basically this: Our outreach--our sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ--in the community is evangelism. There's already a church established in the area. Missions, on the other hand, is the task of taking the Gospel outside of ourselves to an area that does not have access to the Gospel.

After he spoke, I was inspired to write this little limerick called "Missions and Evangelism." Note: Shawnee, Kansas is the town in which we live and where our church is located.

Missions and Evangelism

Though it may be a matter of degree
I quite emphatically agree
100 percent,
the two are different.
We cannot confuse them, you see.

The goal of them both is the same:
Making disciples in Jesus' name.
Gospel access is the key;
It may be known in Shawnee
But the entire world knows not God's fame.

Lord of the Rings

I did it. I finally watched Fellowship of the Ring, the first of the LOTR trilogy. For all of you fans out there, I want to be respectful. So, I will just note the length of the movie. Wow! I think I could've read the book in the time it took to watch the film. I could've done a lot of things.

It wasn't a bad movie, and I will suspend judgment until I see all three. (I hope I have enough time this decade to sit through the next two.) But I think the Chronicles of Narnia set is more compelling, although I hate The Last Battle and its ending. Darn Lewis' theology of inclusivism.

In fact, off the top of my head, I can think of several trilogies that are more compelling than LOTR, starting with The Matrix, X-Men, Ocean's 11/12/13, and even Shrek.

I've got an uncle who loves the LOTR story. He lives out in New Jersey and he came to Missouri (where my Grandma lives) for Christmas or vacation or something like that. He watched one of the LOTR movies in a theater in every state that he passed through. I think he saw it like 11 times. Yeah, that's just bizarre.

Anyway, he smacked me when I told him I hadn't seen any of the LOTR movies yet. I think the next time I see him, I'll ask if he's seen the High School Musical trilogy. I'm guessing he hasn't. So watch out, Uncle Dan! My hand flies where it wants!

Exceeding Expectations

A friend approached me on Sunday and noted that I had not posted a new blog in quite some time. When I started my blog on April 2nd, 2009, I sent out an e-mail to friends and family telling them about my new post. I included this disclaimer in the e-mail: "I do not claim or pledge to update my blog often, if ever."

So if I never published another post, I have still exceeded expectations. Good day.

Enter the Tomb

I have been a Christian for nearly 26 years, and I've heard it all. But I heard someone say yesterday at church something I've never heard before. It is a saying that's sounds cheeky, but is somewhat profound. Here it is:

"The stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out, but to let the disciples in."

My mind immediately drifted off to John 20:19: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"

Jesus didn't need to sneak in through a door or window. He just showed up. First of all, He is God. Though He did (and still does) have a physical body, He is not restricted to one location. Second, He had a new resurrection boyd. We don't know much about how it is made up, but Paul writes, starting in 1 Corinthians 15:35, that the new body will not have the same limitations that our current bodies do.

So it made sense. Jesus didn't need an opening in the tomb to get out. He could've walked through the stone walls. He could've just "transported" Himself to wherever He needed to be. Then why was the stone rolled away?

The stone is just one more piece of evidence for us to see that the Resurrection is true. There is so much contained in the Gospels and the writings of Paul that confirms that Jesus is alive.

Praise God that He gave us this evidence and recorded it in Scripture. Without the Resurrection, "our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Cor. 15:14). And if "we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Cor. 15:19).

Enter into the tomb. Stare at the place where His corpse had once rested. Listen to the angel say, "He is not here, for he has risen." He is risen indeed!

The Shadow of Light (part 2)

My wife read "The Shadow of Light" and gave me a puzzled look. She slowly responded to the poem, "I have no idea what it means." So I told her what I meant, and I told myself that I would write down what I meant. Here is that explanation:

Aiming for a paradox, I placed shadow and light together to lead the reader to ponder how they fit together. I wrote this poem to illustrate a certain truth: you must see your sin before you see the need for a Savior.

The shadow represents the darkness of sin. This grim reality mocks us by trapping us in its grip. We cannot escape its hold, and it leads to death and destruction. Light, on the other hand, gives us the ability to see the glory of Christ. It leads to eternal life by lighting the way to the Father. Before we can see the light, though, we must understand that we are hopelessly lost in the darkness. Only then can we step into the light.

The salvation that Christ offers makes no sense if there is nothing to be rescued from. I tried to capture this idea in “The Shadow of Light.”

Waxing Nostalgic

"Nostalgia is a bitter enemy for those of us who dare to dream." A wise man once penned that great thought. Oh wait... I flatter myself... I wrote it. I must explain what I mean.

My mind moves so fast, it would do well on the Autobahn. There is no slowing my brain down, as I'm always thinking of something. My personality assessment puts it politely when it says that I have "sporadic listening skills." It takes every ounce of my being to pay attention when someone is talking. I'm already thinking ahead finding a solution to what they are discussing. Generally, I'm thinking of the future and all its possibilities. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Lately, though, I've been waxing nostalgic. My mind is on a trip, flying through the peaks and valleys of my past. I don't really remember much from birth to age 5. Oh, I remember Kindergarten in Archie, MO, with Ms. Fuller. I learned to use scissors there. We moved to Harrisonville, MO, when I was 6. Halfway through first grade, we drove up US71 and planted ourselves in the Seat of Cass County. It was a tough transition and I even remember crying in school about it. But Michael Jackson's "Thriller" came out around that time and everything was OK. (Thanks, Michael. Now beat it!)

Elementary school was awesome, even though I spent a lot of time in the Principal's Office all the way up through 6th grade. But my mind cannot escape daydreams of ages 16-19. I'm not going to bore you with any details. Heck, I'm not even going to write anything vague.

I just want to say this: God has been faithful to me each and every step of the way. He used Mrs. Cavanaugh pinning me against the wall by my shirt in sixth grade to break my rebellion. (I still struggle with that one, and I wish Mrs. C was still around to put me in my place.) He used the socially awkward years of high school--yeah, I hated high school--to show me that I needed to find my identity in Christ. (Hey, I'm still struggling with that one, too.)

Every single thing that has happened in my life--all the experiences, all the friends, all the hard lessons--were designed by God to bring me closer to Him. He is guiding me every second of every minute of every hour of every day. In all my nostalgia and daydreaming, I need to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. I must allow the Holy Spirit to give me spiritual sight into my past. When that happens, I can see clearly that God has been faithful to me my whole life until now. And when I understand that, I know that He will be faithful to me each moment from here through eternity.

Torture

OK, I really need to shut this blog machine down for now and go to bed. But I wanted to post this picture before I do. It's our dog Luci looking out the window. It's one of my favorite pictures of all time.

At the Table

Here's a little poem I wrote. Note: Isa is our younger daughter's nickname. It has no Arabic meaning. (The name of Jesus in Arabic is Isa). Nor is she named after the character from Dora the Explorer. It's just short for Elisa. Another note: When I write "She's a little airplane now," that line is from a song on one of Big Bird's videos.

At the Table

Another dinner, Isa’s all done.
All the food on her plate is gone.
She motions and says she wants down
Wants to watch TV or just play around.

But big sister—she makes us wait
Hardly a piece of food left her plate.
Every meal is exactly alike
She takes forever just to eat a bite.

Eliana talks and laughs and dances and sings
On her knees, she spreads her wings
She’s a little airplane now
Her performance ends and she takes a bow.

Will she ever get around to eating the bread,
Maybe her chicken or broccoli instead?
The food grows cold, but she doesn’t mind
In fact, cold is her favorite kind.

She makes me wonder, “Do I eat too fast?”
Do I need to sit around and make the moment last?”
My mind turns to Jesus and how much time I take
To sit with him, how much effort do I make?

I say a quick prayer, read a verse or two.
Because right now, I’ve got so much to do.
But I need to wait, sit back and unwind.
Dine with my Savior and savor the time.

Jabberwocky (Part Two)

In chapter one of Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, Alice happens upon a Looking-Glass Book. At first, she taken back by the strange language that she does not recognize. Then she realizes that she must hold the book up to a mirror in order to read the words. “Jabberwocky” is “the poem that Alice read.”

If you read the poem, you may be scratching your head. What a strange bit of writing! Even as Humpty Dumpty later explained to Alice what the words in the poem meant, both Alice and the reader are still wondering, What in the world is that all about?! It’s all nonsense!

That’s the way I feel about my life so often. Why did that happen? or What’s the point of this? are both questions I ask myself frequently. The other day I slipped up and told my mom, “Hindsight is 50/50.” She corrected me, “I think you mean it’s 20/20.” I tried to cover my obvious folly by explaining, “Sometimes when you look back on certain events or decision, you’re not sure if they were right or wrong. Hindsight is 50/50.”

The more I think about that—Hindsight is 50/50—the more I think it’s true. Even after all is said and done, life may not make any sense. The events in our lives occur randomly. We cannot judge whether or not we made the right choice. Just like Alice was baffled by the poem “Jabberwocky,” nonsense is just too difficult for me to figure out.

For me, “Jabberwocky” stands for nonsense, a monster that needs to be cut down. I don’t necessarily want to be free from pain and discomfort—those help us grow. I do, however, want to hold on to Jesus in the middle of chaos. I want him to slay all the chaotic thoughts waging war against my mind. In some weird way, “Jabberwocky” reminds me that only Christ can make sense of this mess.

Jabberwocky (Part One)

In Part Two, I will explain why I chose to use the term "Jabberwocky" for my blog. Here's the actual poem from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

The Shadow of Light

Here's a poem I recently wrote. You may read it and wonder, "What the heck is that all about?" I'll tell you next time.
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The Shadow of Light

The shadow of light mocks me.
For I cannot discern its face.
Is it taunting me
Or does it smile?

The shadow of light mocks me.
For I cannot escape this gaze.
It’s destroying me
And yet I stare.

The shadow of light mocks me.
For I cannot outline its form.
Is it truly there?
Does it exist?

The shadow of light mocks me.
For I cannot deny it’s there.
I suppose it’s real—
At least to me.

The shadow of light mocks me.
For I have yet to understand
how in its darkness
it shines on me.

The shadow of light mocks me.
But now I realize the truth
that shadow and light
must live as one.

Minimized, But Still There

This isn't my writing. It's today's (April 2, 2009) message from Peacemaker Ministries. I was immediately reminded of my earlier post that discussed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll's desire to "free" Mr. Hyde came about because Jekyll had never learned to deal with his evil nature as a young man. Confession of our sins to Christ is the key to forgiveness! Oh, how different Jekyll's story and our own lives would be if confession is made.

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If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

Because most of us do not like to admit that we have sinned, we tend to conceal, deny, or rationalize our wrongs. If we cannot completely cover up what we have done, we try to minimize our wrongdoing by saying that we simply made a "mistake" or an "error in judgment."

- Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 120.

Food for Thought

Regardless of how you look at it, there's nothing small about sin.

Think about it this way: on your computer, depending on the operating system you use, there are probably several little boxes at the bottom of your screen. They exist down there because they've been minimized -- they were the primary window, but in order to give attention to something else, they were minimized and they'll be returned to later. They are out of sight, but they're still there -- with all the nouns and all the verbs, all the email messages, and all the stuff to buy.

Ken wisely shows us that we do the same thing with sin. Sin may be the primary thing going on in our lives at the time, but in order to keep life going or give attention to something else, we minimize the wrongdoing and tuck it away, somewhere in the margins of our hearts. However, it's still there. In all of its ugliness, in all of its selfishness, in all of its rebellion…

Instead of minimizing our sin, it's best to leave it in the forefront and then fully confess it to a faithful Father, who will remove it as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). And that's a whole lot better than just sending it to the recycle bin!

My New Scary Blog

One of my pet peeves is people who have blogs but don't update them very often. Well, I started one of those blogs. Here is my disclaimer: I do not claim or pledge to update my blog often, if ever. The blog seemed like a good idea this morning, but tomorrow it may not look so good.

Please: Do not have any expectations. Do not expect great writing. I'm half-asleep when I write anyway. Just read it. You might learn something about me and the way I think. Of course, Trisha (my wife of over 10 years) will tell you that my thought-process is just plain scary. I blame it on my formative years--a little period of time we call the 80's.

Jabberwocky and Jekyll

"Jabberwocky" comes from a poem in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. It's a pretty nonsensical bit about a monster of that name. What happens to the Jabberwocky? I guess you'll have to read that for yourself. By the way, I'll write more about that character in a later blog.

Speaking of monsters... or writing, as it were... I just finished Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde last night. I'm starting to think that someone should start writing theology books in a fiction format. This book, more than any theological treatise, demonstrated for me the struggle between the two natures of a person. Except for the experience of turning into a monkey-like creature with a penchant for all things evil and perverse, I really projected myself into the story and related to the poor fellow (or fellows).

I will not spoil the story for those of you who have yet to read it, but I will comment on the theme that I related to. Dr. Jekyll is a scientist, a professional, and a responsible individual. Deep within, though, he longs to be carefree. He yearns to be released from restraints that both he and society has placed on himself. Mr. Hyde represents that longing for absolute freedom.

The doctor tries to live as both Dr. Jekyll--who is good--and Mr. Hyde--who is evil. He found out that it was impossible to separate the two natures within.

If you've read Romans 7, you'll see that Paul fought the same battle. In verses 23 and 24, he writes, "For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Sound familiar? Yep.

If this book were converted (pardon the pun) into a Christian novel, the story might end a little bit differently. There might be some consideration of our two natures from a biblical perspective. The way it is, though, happens to be a good starting for talking about the flesh vs. the spirit.

My two daughters aren't quite old enough to interact with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or even the "Jabberwocky." The only monsters they are familiar with live on Sesame Street. (Think Telly, Herry, Cookie Monster....) But once they reach that point of life where they can read and think critically, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will be on their reading list. You can be sure that we'll talk about the story and its theme of humanity's dual nature.

As for you, I assume that you can read. And if you can't read, you won't be offended if my assumption seems arrogant and incorrect because you wouldn't have been able to read it. Anyway, as you read this, you may choose to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You may not. But you probably understand the conflict between good and evil in your own life. I challenge you to read Romans 7 in order to put words to your struggle. As you're reading the chapter, see how Paul resolves the dilemma of his two natures. You may find the answer to your own battle with sin.