Leadership or Politics?

Leadership is often about having the courage to follow one’s convictions.  As the presidential race heats up, I’m reminded of the tragic gap between being a politician and being a leader.  I’m weary of hearing politicians state poll-driven “beliefs.”  Own your ideas.  If you are in favor of gay-marriage, state your position and own it.  If you are for a traditional definition of marriage, say so and have the courage of your convictions.  Don’t wait until the polling data comes in.  Don’t wait until after the election for your ideas to “evolve.”  The same goes for abortion.  I’m fatigued by candidates who have spent their careers in favor of legalizing abortion until they run for national office and need conservative votes.  Then, suddenly, they’ve seen the light and are opposed to abortion.  I have no doubt people can change their mind.  I have no doubt that time and experience can shape one’s values.  It just seems to me that more and more, shifts on such deeply held convictions coincide with polling data.  And, that’s not leadership.  It’s just politics as usual.

A Presidential Sign

The President is coming to our town today.  As a matter of fact, he is speaking directly across the street from the church I pastor.  On my way into church this morning, I thought it might by funny to post Proverbs 29:4 on our church sign.  It says:

“By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts (the margin reads “taxes”) tears it down” (Proverbs 29:4, ESV).

Then I thought that maybe I was the only one who would find that funny.  So, I thought maybe instead of being funny, I’d try to make a point and post Psalm 139:13-14.  It says:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14, ESV).

Then I thought maybe a church sign wasn’t the best way to make a political/social statement.  So, I pondered posting 1 Timothy 2:2.  There, Paul writes:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV).

Finally, I decided the best thing to do is just leave the sign alone and keep the message we posted just prior to Easter.  So, today our sign reads:

“Jesus is a living Savior.” and “A living Savior can make a difference in your life.”

That’s really the best advice I have to give to anyone. 

 

 

We’re Missing It

In the last week, I’ve had three conversations with people who are hurting.  Different contexts and circumstances, but all three hurting.  Interestingly enough, God brought all three individuals to me.  I wasn’t necessarily looking for them, yet God brought about these divine appointments.  In all three conversations, I had the opportunity to share the gospel and to be a messenger of God’s grace.  I’m thankful for each one of these people and the opportunity to minister to them.

Opportunities like these have prompted me to pay better attention to what’s going on around me.  The Scriptures say that when Jesus saw the crowds, “he was moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36).”  He saw their needs.  As a matter of fact, Jesus often saw through their needs to their greatest need – a need for the hope and forgiveness only He can provide.

As Christians, we are called to be messengers of that grace and hope.  Tragically, however, we often miss these opportunities.  We don’t see the needs of those around us because we’re too focussed on our own wants.  We don’t hear the cries of those around us because our own moans and complaints drown them out.  We don’t feel the hurts of those around us because we too busy centering on our own feelings.  We’re too busy, too distracted, and too self-focussed.  We’re too consumed with all the ways the church has failed us to see that we are desperately failing those around us.  And so, another opportunity passes us by.  Another broken life continues to wander in darkness and despair.  Another chance to glorify God by sharing His love evaporates into the distance.  And we just simply miss it.

What’s so sad is that as the people of God, we should know better.  As the church, we should do better.  We have tasted grace.  But we have a problem.  We come to church and drink our coffee while refusing to offer a cup of water in His name.  We shake hands in fellowship while refusing to reach out in grace and compassion.  We sing our songs while refusing to make music with the sacrifice of our lives.  We mark our Bibles while refusing to let them mark us.  We miss it.  The whole point of church.  The whole point of ministry.  The whole point of grace.  We just simply miss it.  God forgive us.

Just Life

I always get a little nervous publically citing something from a movie.  Inevitably, someone gets offended about the rest of the content in the movie and lets me hear about it.  With that said, however, I thought I’d borrow a line from the Touchstone Pictures presentation Tombstone.  In it, Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp is having a conversation with Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday.  Earp says he “just wants a normal life.”  Doc replies, “There is no normal life.  There’s just life.”

Many of us aspire to have some other kind of “life.”  We look around at everyone else and think they have it better.  Television presents us idyllic examples of the way “things ought to be.”  It doesn’t take too long before we begin to think that’s the norm.  We want that life, not the mundane, out-of-the-norm life we have.  While goals and aspirations are great, and we always want to strive to better ourselves, we need to remember this one thing.  There’s just life.  Make the most of the life you have now.  It’s the only one you have this side of eternity.

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, ESV, emphasis added).

Timing is Everything

Here we go again.  It seems time after time, the media tries to swat down any potential threats from rising in the Republican primaries.  First it was Herman Cain and an endless series of allegations (whatever happened to those by the way?).  Now, Newt Gingrich’s dirty laundry is getting aired…again.  I’m not promoting or defending either of these men.  What they have or haven’t done is fair game in the world of journalism and politics.  To me, it’s just that the timing always seems to coincide with a spike in the polls.  Why does some scandalous piece of old news always seem to re-emerge just as someone new begins to climb in the polls?  How does breaking news always seem to hit within days or even hours of the polls opening?  What an incredible stroke of luck for both the media and the politicians involved.  Apparently, in journalism and politics, timing is everything.

Where Are We Running?

According to its latest report, Planned Parenthood made 841 referrals for adoption in 2010.  Contrast that with the fact that they performed over 329,000 abortions during the same period of time.  It seems that the eighth-century prophet Isaiah’s words apply to our culture today: “Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways” (Isaiah 59:7, ESV, emphasis added).

It is worth noting that the true values of a society are revealed in how they treat the weak, the infirmed, the unborn, and the elderly.  Apparently, we are far from where we need to be.

 

Bible Reading Plans

If you’re interested in reading through the Bible this year, these links provide you a number of great reading plans.  The first takes you to an article written by George Guthrie.  He is the author of Read the Bible for Life.  Our church followed one of these plans in 2011.  He provides a number of great links in print, digital, and audio.  You can read his suggestions here.  The second takes you to the ESV website.  They too offer a wide variety of plans in different formats.  My family and I are using the M’Cheyne one year reading plan this year.  You can find their offerings here.

The Lasting Impact of Our Decisions

I spent part of Monday watching the Gator Bowl.  Actually, as a Buckeye fan, I spent part of Monday wincing through the Gator Bowl.  It was a bad ending to a bad season (Ohio State’s worst season in over 100 years).  The game did serve to remind me of something though.  Our decisions have a lasting impact.

We often think that we can do what we want as long as no one is impacted but ourselves.  The truth of the matter is that all of our decisions matter because all of our decisions impact someone.  A while back, several Ohio State players decided to skirt the rules.  When they were caught, their former coach decided to cover for them.  No harm, no foul.  Not quite.  The students that remained paid the price for those decisions.  Granted, the biggest name of those players was removed from team and the coach was fired.  They both, however, landed quite comfortably in the NFL.  The kids and the coaches that remained took the brunt of the consequences.  They had to answer the unending barrage of questions.  They had to limp through a season filled with scandal, uncertainty, and ultimately penalties for crimes they did not commit.  They were impacted by the bad decisions of former boosters, players, and coaches alike.

The decisions we make impact the people around us too.  We may not think they do, but they do.  Sometimes the impact is instant and dramatic.  Sometimes it is it more subtle and takes longer to develop.  Regardless, our choices impact others.  Our choices impact our spouse, our children, our families, our co-workers, our neighbors, and untold others.  The decisions we make create ripples all around us.  Subsequently, we should make good decisions.  Actually, we should make the best decisions because we know that our lives, and the lives of people around us, will be impacted by them.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.  Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God, just as I also try to please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:31-33, HCSB).

A Quick Thought on the Federal Budget Showdown

Here’s a thought.  Every incumbent member of congress should have their pay and benefits stopped immediately for dereliction of duty.  They failed to pass a budget last year out of election-year fears.  Since they refused to do what they were elected to do, all of the perks and benefits of their position are immediately frozen.  What a remarkable combination of ineptitude, arrogance, and political grandstanding.

And, on a related note, shame on the contemporary media for refusing to point out that it was the last congress that refused to put together a budget.  That point is remarkably absent from their coverage of this issue.

Book Review: Slave

Thanks to the folks at Thomas Nelson for their review copy of Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ, by John MacArthur.

John MacArthur has been clearly teaching Biblical truth for decades.  His new book Slave is another example of what he does best.  He takes a biblical concept and presents it in a clear and insightful way.  MacArthur’s whole premise is that virtually every English translation of the Bible has mishandled the Greek word doulos.  The word literally means “slave.”  Almost every English translation uses the word “servant” instead.  MacArthur not only traces the rationale for this, but also demonstrates how this mistranslation has damaged our understanding of Christianity.  MacArthur contends that as slaves, we are obligated to our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are to be completely surrendered to Him.  Servants can come and go.  Slaves, however, are completely submissive to their masters.

MacArthur fleshes out what it means to be a slave for Christ.  He gives a historical background to the concept, and then helps the reader apply the concepts to her Christian walk.  He then moves on to the biblical truth that we are more than slaves.  We are also sons.  We are adopted members of the family of God who are completely surrendered to our Lord and master.  What a great concept, so deep on one hand and yet so simple on the other. And, Dr. MacArthur does a great job of mining it.  His book is worth your time.  Grab a copy and explore what it really means to be a slave of Christ.