Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Rick Warren is the pastor of Saddleback Church in California.  He is a phenomenally successful pastor.  His church is enormous.  His impact on contemporary Christianity is also enormous.  He has written a couple of extremely popular books in The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life.  His political forum this past fall was perhaps the most interesting exchange of the 2008 presidential campaign.

I do not agree with everything that Pastor Warren says or does.  I do think he has a heart for the Lord, and a heart to genuinely reach people with the gospel of Christ.  Recently, he found himself in the difficult position of being invited to prayer the inaugural prayer at President Obama’s inauguration.  Secularists were outraged that he was invited and that he might pray in Jesus’ name.  The homosexual community was outraged because he had led the movement to define marriage in California as between a man and a woman.  There were also those in the Christian community who were outraged that he would be a part of the event all together.  Pastor Warren was really between a rock and a hard place. 

While I did not watch the event, I have read the transcripts of Dr. Warren’s prayer.  If my opinion counts for anything, I think he did an outstanding job.  He represented the Lord well.  I would hope I could handle the situation with as much grace and wisdom as he did.  You can read the text of his prayer here.

Our Cultural God

Americans talk a lot about God.  We refer to God all the time.  “God bless you” and “Thank God” are just a few of the phrases we throw around.  An overwhelming majority of Americans claim to believe in God, and at times, we even claim to be a Christian nation.  While I am thankful that God is still on our radar, I wonder, who is God in America?

As time goes by, I have become more and more convinced that we worship a “cultural” God.  We have drifted from the God of Scripture and replaced Him with a watered down version.  We have diminished the power of the all-powerful creator and sustainer of the universe.  We have replaced Him with a God who is limited by time and space and our own intellect.  We have ignored the holy righteousness of God and diluted His grace by embracing an “anything goes” version of Christianity.  We have relegated God to little more than our great benefactor in the sky, just waiting to reach into his bag of goodies to give us the latest gizmo or gadget.  In our eyes, He is nothing more than a great dispenser of answered prayers and desired blessings. 

Remember the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11?  An array of congressmen and congresswomen stood on the Capitol steps and sang “God bless America.”  It’s the same statement that virtually every politician makes at the end of a speech.  While I appreciate the sentiment, I wonder how these refrains echo in the ears of God?  After all, we have no interest in God when everything is going well.  We have no desire for holiness or righteousness.  We have no taste for sacrifice.  Following Him is the last thing on our minds.  We just want the blessings of our cultural God.

I wonder what would happen if we got a renewed sense of who God is?  I wonder what would happen if we turned to Him in brokenness and sorrow for the sin in our lives?  I wonder how God would change our land?  Our churches?  Our homes?  When God sent Moses to the children of Israel, Moses wanted to know how to identify God to the people.  God said, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:15, NLT).  God reminded His people who He is by pointing to their spiritual legacy.  They needed to look back to remember their God.

We need to do the same thing today.  We need to look back to see who God really is.  He is more than what he have made Him.  He is bigger and greater than our contemporary perspective.  He is more than our culture has reduced Him to.  Revisit the Scripture and be reminded of just who God is.  He is the all-powerful creator and sustainer of everything.  He is perfect in His holiness and righteousness.  He is our loving, gracious redeemer.  He is our all-knowing judge.  He is much more than our cultural God.

Listen to the People Who Have Lived It

I have never had a kidney stone. I don’t want a kidney stone. You know why? Partly because I have read about what they are, and how much they hurt. My book knowledge of the subject, however, is not the main reason I don’t want a kidney stone.  The main reason is that I have talked to people who have had kidney stones, and they confirm what I have read. There’s something compelling about someone’s personal experience.

On a similar note, have you ever noticed that as our country drifts towards more socialistic policies, the only people who think that it’s a good idea are people who have never lived in a socialistic country. Virtually every story you read, or personal account you hear from someone who has lived under socialism tells how desperately they tried to escape it.  Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that the people who have never had it want it, and the people who have had it don’t?  Maybe we should slow down in the midst of letting the government pour their our money and their control into every arena of our lives.  Maybe we should take just a moment and listen to the people who have lived it.