Freedom to Set Others Free

Every so often I meet some guys in a diner for breakfast. And there's a quiet gentleman named Casey who drops by for coffee, too. He strikes me as a "strong, silent type" spiritually:  who's looking for ways he can be used of God to help others connect with our surrounding community's blessings. Each week, I get an email--mailed all over Chester County--that helps others know about important community services, like job training, and coping with the loss of a life-long companion, or finding a lifeline of support when habits begin to control one's life and spirit. What Casey does isn't flashy, but it's fundamental as a follower of Christ. He likes to see others set free.  So does Jesus.

"...He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives"  - Luke 4:18

The place God lets me preach is a special place, blessed by a unity that blends worshippers of varied background. So February seems like a good time to tell some stories of the Underground Railroad, of women and men who became free, and then risked it all to help others become free.


For the better part of thirty years, I have had some experience walking alongside of churches, observing God and observing people at work. Lately, I have been asking myself this question. 

When people think of church, 

is it a place where people are trapped?

or a place where people are being set free?

Through the month of April, my goal is for our congregation to look at a range of ways that God works "Setting The Captives Free".  Probably, this study will lead me to some places where Baptists seldom go. I can't be captive to that. Undoubtedly, this study will mean getting free of some old hurts and hangups myself. Undoubtedly, overdue. But if we go there, we'll be able to help others get there. 

Through His Cross, Though His Grace, 

Into a Springtime of Awakening ~ & breathing easier.

Because of Life Breathed Into Us

Yesterday even as I stood speaking to the church family, there were words and sentiments coming that had not been planned. Like most preachers, I usually have a general idea of what I'm going to preach several weeks in advance. The Bible has numerous "stand-out" names for Jesus, and I knew some of them seemed right to aim us, as a church, in a positive direction at the start of 2011.  


There's a certain name for Jesus that was coined by his critics, "this man is... a friend of tax collectors and sinners". There it is:  "Friend of Sinners". Ironically true. Those words intended for insult have inspired hope for many. Quite often, for me.


Today we whisper this word "sinner". We prefer to say "everybody has issues." Undeniably. One of our issues? People who say they want to be like Jesus, then kick others who are spiritually down-- treating them like dirt. You know how bad you feel when your back is out of line? Well, knowing your faith is out of line feels much worse!


So we looked at how Jesus befriended sinners, most of all, by dying for people like me on the Cross. But this sermon turned into a two-parter. Part two was how people wanting to be like Christ must learn how to be friends with all kinds of people, even those they might instinctively choose not to befriend.


How do we do that? Dr. Martin Luther King reminded people almost 50 years ago that you do it with forgiveness. Not just words of forgiveness, but deeds. That climate requires us to extend grace to those who've hurt us. And when we do, God breathes new life into them, and us.


Our most basic tasks include building character and availability. Availability means being there for others when it's especially challenging to stick by someone's side.


It takes patience, gentleness, genuineness, and caring beyond our own strength to care. It takes Jesus. It takes that mental memo and inner prompting-- He's still a friend to sinners. Will we act accordingly?

Any church doing this has to provide teamwork to shepherd people through a process, of . . .

•  Getting real about the issues.
• Getting close to Christ  (and getting around people who already are.)
• Getting away from all the old trappings of sin.
•  Getting help from a new circle of support. We're supposed to be family.
• Getting on with God’s plans to grow us into who we’re meant to be.
• Getting thrilled about every day progress and wins.
• Getting involved as a friend to others who need Your Friend. 

Are We Thinking "Defense" or "Offense"?

This week health issues require our family to adjust our schedule. Who doesn't face an issue that potentially could put them on the sidelines? Yet God's strategy isn't withdrawal, or the saints hunkering down until the devil is done lobbing his grenades.


Re-reading 2 Corinthians 10:1-6, we see that combat analogies are not alien to the peace preached in the gospel ministry. Here's my paraphrase of Paul's message to both detractors and allies at the church in first-century Corinth.

 "I am asking you politely, because Christ Himself takes an even-mannered  approach. So you think I act like a wimp when I'm around, and talk tough when I'm not? I'll ask you again. Don't force me to come on strong. (That is what I've got to do with those who've been implying that we operate from our own fleshly power for our own fleshly ends.)

True, we go through life dealing with the same needs and realities other men do. But we're not shooting blanks in this war that's raging in the invisible realm. We're stocked with heavy artillery to get the job done knocking out Enemy strongholds. 

We demolish every resisting argument--every prideful pretension, those walls people set up to shield themselves from any awareness of God. (i.e., accountability to God.) 

We capture every single thought and make it march in the direction where Christ is taking us. Not one instance of insubordination will go unpunished--once you all are following orders."

Ministry is the work of faith. And faith will keep us on the advance. This week, what needs to fall down so His cause moves forward?

Bigotry Beyond Belief

Last week Bill Maher was swapping blows with Bill O'Reilly. (Television is such a tease.) But not to be outdone by FOX, CNN wanted to give Mr. Maher airtime too. It wasn't dull. Hopefully this post won't be either.

Looking for an email of said celebrity, I wanted to offer a reasonable response to a reasonable question posed by Mr. Maher. Indeed, it was posed. I happened onto another website dedicated to bashing "blind" believing sheep. There's nothing in my response that was terribly original. But for those who might be interested, here's what I wrote:   

Bill Maher asks how faith makes people of faith better off. By the nature of the question, many responses would be experiential anecdotes. Who gets to define what we mean by “better off”? Any definition has a certain spin on it: and that will defy universal agreement.

I earned my way through college working with the terminally ill. My observations are admittedly colored by my beliefs. From personal observation, in the hours approaching death, people who have lived in faith DIE differently than those who have not. For those assuming death is the last stop, you can say, “So they feel better? They play the last scene with marginally more tranquility? They still die. Is that better off?” My point can be tested by clinical observation: will people of faith be better prepared for death at the end of life? Unless you’re into the paranormal, as no true atheist should be, let’s agree that dead people don’t get to say. The exception to that rule is whatever legacy they left behind. Who else actually benefited because they believed?

Does it strike us as a sell-out, when the medical community, immersed in the sciences, is doing more to make institutional provision for spiritual care? Chalk it up as marketing to customer preference. But then they can show us research that statistically supports the idea that faith is a significant variable toward healthy recovery. Eventually death comes around anyway. Neither belief nor unbelief cures that.

Again it’s anecdotal. Much good has come in my life because of faith. Reduced anxiety. Destructive life patterns averted. Connection to some of the most amazing people I have ever been privileged to know. More energy to invest in the well-being of others. A standard by which I can evaluate my own motives and behavior. At the risk of sounding religulous, fewer expletives in my vocabulary– this effect could be devastating to a comedian’s career. Lasting benefits? Hey, I’m not there yet.

Millions, through faith, have found a desire to live stronger than they did before. Their self-improvement schemes had been blow-outs. They found themselves part of caring communities of faith that stood by them in good times and bad. Many others signed up and later felt jaded. Some of us had that experience, and we refuse to forgive. If this applies, then again it’s anecdotal. All the same. In believing God, many others have found behavioral, relational, and motivational power they were not able to independently access before.  If that angers you, guess who’s the irrational extremist?

Historically, most of the undercurrents of humanitarian reforms have stemmed from people of faith. You can despise that fact, but you can’t change it. Some atheists have the guts to admit that atheism, as a whole, can’t boast that track record. Give me a list of societies where atheism became the predominant belief system, and the world was better off. Go ahead and point the finger at religious extremists and their violence. Governments that institutionalized atheism are the least tolerant, most violent of societies known in history. The damage they’ve done and will do, literally, is of apocalyptic proportion. Meditate on that truth, beloved.

Volcanic Ash! Who's Breathing Easier?

 I wondered aloud on my Facebook page if "no smoking" restrictions were still in force in Iceland. Bad joke, perhaps, but it was a coping mechanism to get through some frustration over travel delay. As of 10 AM this morning, it's not a couple of hours delay, or a couple of days. It could be a couple of months before my wife and I get to visit our son overseas. "Hope deferred" is tough. For people stranded between places, they would gladly trade places and be "stuck" at home. We don't know when, but we expect that when the family does get together, the pleasure will be doubly appreciated.
    All the same, it isn't easy. Maybe if I was Stoic, I wouldn't blink. But I do. I aspire to being a follower of Jesus, and "Jesus wept." Certainly not over a personal inconvenience .He wept for a generation that turned away from Him. Then He outlined some events coming in The Last Days.
    Don't attempt to connect all the dots here. Just pause. A mountain on a sparsely populated land-mass belches; and flights, nations, and commerce are grounded. Who's able to sell you comprehensive coverage? I'm not a Stoic, or an atheist (thank God.)  We can hardly wait to see our son. It is a strain. But the hope of seeing him soon, helps me think of seeing Christ again. With that thought, be ready for departure.And breathe easier.

Breathing Easier Because of Church?

Since my adolescence, it seems each generation thinks less of the Church. Some who felt that way were eventually reached by a church. Many others have not-so-inspiring stories. Instead of being touched by God's people, they were roughed up. What do you make of The Church?  What will God make of it in time to come?
I like to drive backroads and envision the landscape as God made it, before it was "spoiled" by human enterprise. Now that's an unkind estimate! Developers sometimes improve a site. They can work for good or greed. Is that the view people have of churches? Is it only human hands steering things  towards human ends, or does God's Hand continue shaping things towards His Ends? To the good of many who will forever be grateful.

I read 1 Kings 15:23 this morning... a verse that sizes up the 41 year term of a king named Asa. The Bible often gives leaders tough reviews. But Asa, it's said, "did right in the eyes of the LORD." Here's verse 23:

"The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet." What a word this is for us in the evangelical Christian tradition. What a challenge as we think about churches' futures! 

Sure, we can point back to positive accomplishments, but the last words about us have yet to be written. Will it be said that toward the end, we had "a disease of the feet?" So we quit moving forward and could no longer advance in love where God wanted us to go? Whatever reasons we may cite for churches experiencing decline, could Asa's ailment be one of them? 

I have a new sister in the Lord who will soon be with the Lord. A week ago she had strength enough to put up with a visiting preacher. Church wasn't at church. It was in a hospital room. During our talk she prayed to receive the promise of Life beyond this life. Over centuries, churches have walked with people through life and crisis--and this point of peace with God is the goal. May God heal our feet, and keep us going wherever Christ would send us. When we go, we and they can breathe easier.

Epiphany In A Fast-Food Line

Several friends had just left the church, where I'd begun the first session of our Connection Points class. I postponed dinner until after class. So did they. All of us managed to find a brief pause between the people, places and projects of our lives. I phoned home after class to confirm what I already suspected. She too had a long day. Tonight was one of those nights to grab dinner on the go... as 1 out of 4 of my fellow Americans does every day.

Not being a vegan, I stopped by a burger bar. The prospect of cold FF further down the road this rainy night didn't excite me: I opt to eat in.
Across the room, a red velvet banner with gold foil lettering warms my soul... PEACE on EARTH, it says. I wonder if this banner was manufactured in a nation where followers of Jesus suffer at the hands of their persecutors? Some nation where U.S. diplomats hesitate to mention human rights violations for fear of damaging trade relations?

One of the young ladies working at this burger bar is bagging the wrappings and crumbs of what other customers like me left behind. In a couple of hours she will sit down and sip a Coke with her boyfriend, who is hanging loose 'til lights out.  I thought I might mention this holiday banner, and it's gentle message. Peace on Earth.

"That's only half the message", I said. "Have you ever heard the first half?"
     "I don't think so", she responds.
The night Jesus was born, angels were seen in the sky. They shouted out "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace...".
      "Yeah. I thought maybe that was it."
"And we'll never have the second part, without the first part. That's something everyone needs to know."

Sermon Bytes may never be on their Side-Order menu. But all of us need some moments of holy pause between the places and projects of our lives. Even for a fast-food world, there is redemption. Glory to God then peace on earth. Pause in breathless wonder before Him. And then... breathe easier.