Who "Failed"

Every so often you will hear people bemoan the fact that the church has failed them. In a time of need the church was absent. A family was a part of the church but it didn't help their children who still wandered from the faith. A person came to the church but found that worship did not "meet their needs". The list goes on and on.

Here is a list of my own titled, "Who failed?"

• When a person has a genuine need and communicates that need and the church does nothing, the church has failed.
• When a church tries so hard to be relevant that it softens the message of the Gospel to make it more appealing, the church has failed.
• When all the church income is spent on the maintanence of property, the church has failed.
• When the church refuses to adapt its methods to changing preferences, the church has failed.
• When a church explicitly or implicitly excludes certain people from being welcomed into the church, the church has failed.
• When the church provides youth programs geared toward entertaining youth rather than discipling youth, the church has failed.

But often the church is not the one who has failed,

• When the church provides solid educational programs but people don't take advantage of those opportunities, the people have failed.
• When opportunities for youth are presented but parents choose to "let the kids decide whether or not they will go to Sunday School, youth etc." The parents have failed to lead their children in the way they should go.
• When the church presents a biblical and relevent worship services and the people come to worship distracted, the people have failed to prepare.
• When people agree to serve on committees but fail to show up for meetings, the people have failed the church.
• When people's devotion to the Lord consists only of what they do in church, the people have failed to be true disciples.
• When parents talk about the importance of the Lord but do not reflect that importance in their own priorities, the parents have failed because they are sending a mixed message.
• If people did not care for you in the time of need because they did not know of the need, the people have failed, not the church.
• If the church is willing to adapt to new styles but no one is willing to serve, the church has not failed, the people have failed to serve the Lord through the church.
• If friends and neighbors remain ininformed about the gospel, it is usually not because the church has failed, but because the people have failed.

It seems to me that if focused less on who is to blame for problems and focused more on what we should be doing to solve those problems we would be a much more effective vessel of God's grace.

Intrusion on the Lord's Day

A couple of weeks ago you may have noticed some letters to the editor that were written by Dad. In the course of a single week he and I had heard about several events in the community that were scheduled to be in direct competition with church services and programs on Sundays. We both decided that it was time to act, because the issue of remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy is obviously something that is a big deal to God (it's in the ten commandments, after all!) So, we began to write letters and talk to various leaders who were in charge of planning such events. The response, it seems, was that most people had no problem with us declaring that there should not be events scheduled on Sundays. The response that I heard quite often was, "Good for you! I'm glad you're standing up for this."

As I've had a chance to reflect on this issue a little bit more, I came to a realization. Ultimately, we as individual Christians are to blame for the fact that organizers are scheduling events on Sundays. Think about most of the things that are scheduled on Sundays--sports tournaments, fundraisers, practices for various community and school activities. What do all of these things have in common? They are all events that depend on getting a group of people together. Why do organizers schedule events on Sundays? Because it works! Our schedules have gotten incredibly busy, and trying to find a time when a group of people can all get together is difficult. What organizers are finding out is that people are willing to skip church or forgo youth programs in order to attend these events. They schedule events on Sundays because the competition for time is not nearly as fierce--and it's a competition they are often able to win.

Let me pose a question to you--what would happen if everyone who claimed to be a Christian vigorously adhered to the 5th Commandment? How many of the people who attend these events claim to be Christians or part of a church? If we all followed God's command to keep the Sabbath holy there would be very few people who attended these events! If all the Christians stayed home (or went to church), there would be no benefit to scheduling things on Sundays.

Lots of people are glad that Dad and I were willing to take a stand on this issue--but I suspect that most of those people also think it's a pretty self-serving stand. I hope that we all, as Christians, recognize this as a real problem in our society in general and in our community in particular. What we need to understand is that the problem is not just with the people scheduling the events--far too often we send the message that competing with church is not a big deal, because we support these events. So, if you recognize this as a problem let me challenge you to stop being part of the problem, and start being part of the solution. Take a stand, not just with your words, but with your time and your actions. Whether anyone else likes the stand you take or not, God will be pleased by your faithfulness to His commandment.

Speech on Healthcare

Last night the President spoke to the nation about healthcare reform. To be honest, I did not watch the speech. I seldom watch political speeches because I find them long on rhetoric and short on substance. I prefer to read the highlights in the paper.

Overshadowing anything the President had to saw last night was the outburst of "You lie" from one of the Republican congressman. It was a great breach of protocol. The congressman apologized for his lack of civility.

I am leery about a government designed health care program (especially one that does not address tort reform which drives up costs). However, the Bible is clear that we are supposed to show honor to those in authority over us. I think part of this is showing respect for the person speaking, even if you disagree.

I long for the days when Capital hill was characterized by "statesmen". These were people who debated ideas rather than sought to push through agendas. The uncivil comments in the halls of congress reflect what we are seeing in classrooms, workplaces, and even homes: a lack of honor and respect.

As believers we must lead the way in "giving honor to whom honor is due". For any public debate to be beneficial it must first be civil.

Lutherans in trouble

If you have paid attention to the news recently you know that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) has decided that those congregations that choose to have practicing homosexuals as Pastors may do so.

A couple of comments on this matter. First, it must be clarified that that are a variety of Lutheran Churches. The ELCA tends to be the most liberal (theologically...meaning they are shakey on what orthodox believers would consider 'essentials') of the Lutheran denominations. The Missouri Synod Lutherans did NOT adopt this decision.

Second, the nature of the decision, as I understand it, is that the ELCA concluded that though some believed the Bible speaks clearly of homosexuality as sin, others do not see it so clearly. So, in a baffling move, they decided that both sides should be embraced as lovers of the truth. Basically, each church is left to make it's own decision. One more step toward making homosexual relationships an accepted part of this denomination.

The reason this is so perplexing is that at its core the church is watering down its belief in the authority of the Word of God to rule our lives. Anyone who reads the Old Testament and New Testament passages on homosexuality will have no trouble understanding what is being taught. Such behavior is condemned as sinful. The church has basically said, "It is OK to change what the Bible teaches to fit your worldview".

This is one step further toward godlessness. When God's Word becomes subject to the whims of men then we have turned things around. God now serves us rather than we serving Him.

The church does not stand against homosexuality because we hate gays. We stand against this behavior and many others because we are FOR people coming into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Before that can happen we must turn from our sin. Whitewashing what is sinful is not better than painting over a moldy wall. It may look good for awhile but the problem is not taken care of.

Those who belong to the ELCA have some difficult decisions ahead of them.