The American Church at a Crossroads

It may seem strange to say this, especially on the Monday after Easter, but Christians and the church in America stand at the proverbial fork in the road. For many, the last few months have felt like we are slowly getting back to normal. However, inside the Christian community, things are not normal. In 2020 it seemed like the most significant disruption to church and the growth of Christianity would be lockdowns, social distancing, and capacity restrictions. While the pandemic continues to disrupt communities and create challenges, in 2021, most of the difficulties Christians face are coming from inside the church. Recent revelations of sexual abuse scandals with well-known author and apologist Ravi Zacharias and the new reporting of old sexual abuse at Kanakuk Camps have disheartened many, and they should. It should go without saying that sexual abuse is an insult to almighty God, especially when that abuse is done under the guise of “spiritual” help. Add to these recent days a Gallup report that shows the dangerous decline of church membership in the United States. They noted that in 2020 church membership in a synagogue, church, or mosque was down to 47%.

The temptation that most Christians, myself included, in this cultural moment is to attribute the moment to the rising tide of secularism and some bad apples in the community of Christians in the West. While there is increasing cultural opposition to Christianity, that opposition is fueled by both the harm of the church and what Romans 1 refers to as man’s ongoing nature to suppress the truth about God. We can no longer call this moment an either/or when it clearly is a both/and movement. So what are Christians and the church to do in the West? Do we merely lament the status of the church and blame it for where we are? No. Do we get louder about the rising cultural opposition while ignoring the mess in our own backyard? No. What is necessary for Christians and the church to do is take ownership of their faults while simultaneously getting back to some basic principles.

Value People Over Power/Success

One of the most dangerous moments that happens inside of Christian movements is when they gain power. Be it spiritual or cultural power, they both bring about dangerous temptations. The temptation is to use the control to exploit people to continue to exercise your power or influence or the image of success that you have. It’s honestly not a new problem. It’s one that Jesus himself warned the disciples about:

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus is clear that for you and me as Christians, we should be looking to serve people and model Christlikeness. What is Christlikeness? Servant leadership. Laying down yourself at the expense of others. It means that I functionally care more about people and their status with Christ than I care about how they can benefit me. This means that when we see leadership abuses, we don’t excuse them because they are “spiritually” gifted or successful. One of the fundamental errors that the church in America has adopted is, the ends justify the means. Sure many would not be so crass as to articulate this, but how many more people have to be abused for us to recognize that “gifting” and “talent” are not excuses to do whatever you want?

Love the Church, Warts and All

If we are careful to love people and we recognize that the church is the gathering of God’s people, then we will work to restore our local churches as outposts of Gospel light even if it is hard work. While I am sure that there are several reasons why church membership is on the decline, and we could do a series of articles on those reasons alone, there has to be some immediate application to why we are in the place we are.

Could we see a decline in church membership because we have conditioned people to believe that church is all about them or because we have created a climate in which it’s easier to critique everything but ourselves? Consider the following passage from 1 Corinthians 12:

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

If we recovered this understanding of the church body, we would recognize that everyone plays an essential role in the life of the church body. So when we devalue our responsibility to the church because of our desires, we hurt ourselves and those gathered with us.

This does not mean that the church is above critique or change or both. Consider the Reformation principle of semper reformada or always reforming. There is a real sense in which sometimes churches feel like they are above critique or change. However, when we read the New Testament, we see churches being corrected and changing all the time. If the church at Galatia needed to be reminded of the Gospel or the church at Corinth had to deal with members sinning, we shouldn’t think that we are above being corrected.

Conclusion

It may seem flippant to say that the church and Christians in America sit at a crossroads. It may seem like a hot take to say that we need to look internally at ourselves and see if we need to make corrections. Neither of these are my goals but as the rising opposition to Christianity gets stronger and stronger, we need to make sure that our churches are actual places of refuge and not more opportunities for harm.

Women are Vital to the Life and Health of the Church

This past weekend I had the privilege of serving at our church's Women's Conference. It was two full days of Gospel and Bible encouragement. The weekend confirmed a truth that I have already believed; women are vital to the church's health and life. Even as I am writing, I am fighting the feeling that I am writing a hot take. This is no hot take for me, and for others, having read the headline will already agree with me. Then why write this article? I think the church has struggled to express how badly we need women in the life of the local church and create spaces in them for women to flourish and thrive.

So why are women vital to the life of the local church? What follows below are some of the reasons and not a comprehensive list of why we need women in the life of the local church.

Discipleship

Women play a vital role in the discipleship of the members of the church. One of the critical areas where this takes place is older women discipling younger women. Titus 2 says that the older women are to teach younger women. While this may look like older age women discipling younger age women, this isn't the only older to younger women relationship. Paul also has in mind older in the faith women discipling younger in the faith women.

This is vital to the health of the church for multiple reasons. First, as more and more women enter the workforce and climb corporate ladders, they will be equipped to engage the world around them. We need solid Christian women who are in the world, and as the Lord gives them more and more standing in their communities, those women are equipped to talk about what it means to be a genuinely committed Christian.

Second, for women who have kids, they have a responsibility to be a discipling agent in their kids' lives. It is important to note here that neither the working woman nor the stay-at-home mom is better than the other; their discipleship strategies look different. All parents have the responsibility to disciple their children, but stay-at-home moms will have more time to intentionally disciple their kids if they take advantage of this time.

Women will also have the opportunity to disciple the people around them as they share what the Bible teaches them personally. It may not look like intentional discipleship, but anytime in a small group or Sunday school class or even over a meal, the Bible is being discussed, discipleship is taking place.

Teaching

While the Bible is clear that the office of pastor and deacon is reserved for men, the teaching ministry of women is vital to the health of the local church. One of the essential teaching ministries that women participate in is teaching the Bible to kids.

The teaching ministries of women have forever shaped my life. I think of Kim Delveau, who taught faithfully for decades in the church's preschool ministry where I grew up. Her faithful commitment to teaching the Bible laid the foundation for my life and ministry, and she had no idea the impact she would have on my life. I think of Cindy Cordes, who picked me up,  my brother, my sister, and our neighbor's kids to go to another VBS week at the church she was attending. She taught all the combined kids during the VBS Bible storytime.

These are just two of the countless women who have taught me the Bible in the course of my life. When I am complimented for teaching in clear and simple ways that people can understand, I don't think of seminary professors who instilled that capability but the women who taught me the Bible growing up.

In addition to teaching the Bible to kids, women teach the Bible in all kinds of ministries that help the church grow. I think of those women in our church who teach our mom's groups or my good friend Beth, the Women's Ministry Director at our church. I have had the privilege of serving as the emcee for many of our church's women's events, and the Bible teaching that I hear is second to none. Our churches would be in trouble without the faithful teaching ministries of many women.

Theological Studies

One of the areas that seems to be overlooked in discussions about women in the local church is theological studies. The church at large is well-served when women commit to learning deeply about the Bible and Theology. Two quick illustrations will advance the point I am trying to make.

A few years ago, I preached through the book of 1 Peter on Wednesday nights in our college ministry. As I prepared each week, I was helped by a commentary on 1 Peter written by Karen Jobes. Her insight over the material in 1 Peter was not only instructive to my study but devotionally rich as well. Each week I was learning at the deep end of the pool and being encouraged as a Christian. Simply put, her work was magnificent. I praise her work specifically because she seems to be an anomaly in the world that I operate. I would have never have preached as well as I did without her help. I have tried to encourage as many women to take theological studies seriously so that they can write to help pastors and church members.

My second illustration comes from my time in Seminary getting a Master's Degree.  When I took the Systematic Theology courses and Apologetics course, I was blessed to attend them with several women. In particular, Kerrin Trotter and Kara Turner were great friends as I took those courses. As we read books simultaneously, sat through classes together, and had many group study sessions at the library or local restaurants, Kerrin and Kara pushed me and other brothers who would go on to be pastors and missionaries in our thinking and me. In many ways, I am a sharper theologian and pastor because of our discussions.

Beyond just general "helps," women who are engaged in theological studies serve in the life of the local church through counseling ministries, leading women's ministries, writing helpful books, and so much more. Our churches are better when the women in them are theologically informed and teaching within the boundaries that Scripture has set up.

Conclusion

In all seriousness, I know that I owe the women in my life a significant thank you for helping me serve my local church better. I would not be the pastor I am today without the foundation that my mom set by teaching me that even in difficult times, God is still sovereign. I would not be the theologian I am today without my wife pushing me to continue to study and helping me think about issues I was studying. I often tell people that what attracted me most to Jessica when we first met was her deep love of Christ, the Bible, and theology. I am a better theologian because of her. The church is better off with women because, as 1 Corinthians teaches us, every part of the body is necessary for its success (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Apologetics for Today

Since the Fall of 2018, I have had the privilege of teaching the seated version of Apologetics at Baptist Bible College here in Springfield, MO. It has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. Recently, the school has asked me to teach the online version of the class, and along with some help from online developers, we have begun to prepare the course for this summer's online schedule. As we have been designing, I have been thinking about what kind of Apologetic is necessary given our cultural climate and the climate of the churches in the West. If we are going to see an apologetic produced that will be able to engage the world around us, I think the following elements are needed:

Biblically Robust

We live in the best of times and the worst of times when it comes to the Bible. In no previous era of Church History has the West had as much access to the Bible as they currently do. While having monumental access to God's Word, most Christians simply are not reading their Bible. In one study, a third of Americans who attend a Protestant church regularly (32%) say they read the Bible personally every day. Around a quarter (27%) say they read it a few times a week. To put it simply, we are living in an era of Bible illiteracy.

If our apologetic method is to have lasting value, we must reclaim teaching all of the Bible as an apologetic. For far too long, the church has relied on a few gifted speakers doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the arena of Apologetics, and the church has told them to parrot the arguments. The problem with this approach is that many church members memorize statements without understanding the arguments or the Biblical texts that support them.

So how do we develop this Biblically robust apologetic? First, we need to train people in reading their Bible. Bible reading is not for a mere quiet time or to accompany a sermon, but it is done to disciple us. If we don't know how to read the Bible and understand the Bible, then we will never know the arguments that exist in it.

Second, we must allow the Bible to form our arguments and not selectively choose Scriptures that seem to fit what we are saying. This means that I am letting the Bible do the defending when I am engaging in defending the faith. You may ask at this point, "Why is this so significant?" The answer is because that's where the power is. Our strength does not come from our creative argument or persuasive speech but the very Word of God in our apologetics. We must make sure that we are plugged into the right power source.

Intentionally Evangelistic

If you talk to anyone who knows me, they will tell you that I spend far too much time at our local Christian bookstore. While that may be true (It's not), one of the aspects that I have noticed about books that deal with apologetics is that many of them are consumed with answering objections to Christianity but never pivot to sharing the Gospel. Don't get me wrong, many of them allude to the Gospel or point at some level to the Gospel; however, many are focused on dealing with an objection without connecting the answer to the Gospel.

Being intentionally evangelistic is necessary if we want to understand the shift that has taken place among non-Christians in the West. Rico Tice and Sam Chan have been incredibly helpful in pushing me to see this shift. They argue that there have been three phases in our evangelistic efforts:

Phase one was the late twentieth century during the time of the Billy Graham crusades. The audiences then were Christianized. Even though the attendees weren't believers, they had Christian friends and had grown up in Sunday School. Phase two was in the early twenty-first century. The audience sort of knew the gospel, but they also had "defeater beliefs" that stopped them from believing the Gospel. Phase three is today. Our audience is in a completely different universe. They don't know the Gospel, and they aren't even sure they care about the Gospel at all. (You can read more about this in Rico Tice's book Honest Evangelism or in Sam Chan's book How to Talk about Jesus Without Being that Guy)

If we genuinely want to see our apologetic work, we must prioritize conversations that direct people back to the Gospel.  Even if we are met with so-called "defeaters," our main objective should be Gospel proclamation instead of overcoming those "defeaters." True apologetics is always pointing to the hope that lives in us (1 Peter 3:15).

Infused with Humility

Christianity's hope leads us to be gentle and respectful (1 Peter 3:15) when we engage with people. We are living in a time where there is so much contention and argumentativeness in every realm. Christian apologetics can take back some ground here in being careful to remember why we engage with those around us. We are hoping that they will believe in what we are sharing. The goal then is to move away from trying to win arguments to arguing on behalf of the one who saved us.

This humility stems from remembering that we have been saved by grace and that it is a work of God, and we cannot boast in it (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we remember how undeserving we were of the Gospel, it should motivate how we engage with those around us regardless of the medium. The goal should be to see more Christian apologists who embody the fruit of the Spirit rather than excellent oratory and debate skills.

These aren't the only aspects necessary for building a modern apologetic, but they are the foundation for an apologetic for our time. As we seek to engage those around us with the Gospel and defend the faith, let's be sure to ask God to help us embody these principles. In the end, we desire that God would be pleased with how we represent Him.

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about Apologetics, you can join us online or in-person at Baptist Bible College to learn more visit www.gobbc.edu or call (417) 268-6002.

Influences: Janet Nolan and the Impact of a Teacher

2020 has been a tough year for teachers. They find themselves working harder than ever trying to make sure students still get a quality education even while having new restrictions in the midst of a global pandemic. This is really the motivation to start a series called Influences by highlighting a teacher.

Influences is a way to share with you, the reader, the people who have served to influence my life. Some of the people that I will highlight will be dead theologians that have impacted the way I think. Others will be people from my life that had a personal impact on my day to day life. The goal is to try to show how people from the well-known pastor to the person you have never met or heard of have an impact on one life.

I had no idea the impact she would make. I was just a third grader who was in her class. Janet Nolan was the third and fourth grade teacher at our Christian school. Over the next two years as her student she would challenge me and help me to grow but what I didn’t know at the time she would continue to teach me even after I left her classroom. I would like to highlight a few of the ways that she influenced me.

Read Widely

I was in awe from the first time I walked into her classroom. I was already a bookish kid (my dad is really to blame for this as he reads 5-6 books interchangeably) but Mrs. Nolan’s room was my safe haven. When you entered the room it was surrounded on almost three sides by bookshelves. There were so many books and we were given free reign of this “library”. Books of all kinds filled the shelves and for a little guy who loved to read I felt like I was in heaven. She encouraged us to read and to love books but a moment that changed me forever was right around the corner. It was the Fall of my fourth grade year and I approached her desk to speak with her about book selections:

David: I have read all the books on the shelves. There is nothing left to read.

Mrs. Nolan: You have read all of my books? Every single one?

D: Yes, I have read all the boy books!

Mrs. N: Boy books? What do you mean boy books?

D: I have read all the books for boys on the shelves, there is nothing left.

What Mrs. Nolan did next set me up for life. She calmly and correctly encouraged me to not view books as boy books or girl books but books. She explained that stories that I couldn’t imagine waited for me. She didn’t make me feel foolish for making my comment or chastise me in front of the class. She gently pushed me back to the shelves. To this day when I approach a books that I may disagree with the author or the conclusions that they make or when I am assigned a text in school that I may not look forward to reading I hear her. I am reminded that there is a world out there that is waiting to be engaged with but I will never know it if I don’t pick up the book and read.

Think Critically

After leaving her classes our friendship continued to grow. She and her husband Tom went to our church and they lived a few blocks down the street from the house I grew up in. Several times during the year we would walk the few blocks to see them. Some of my favorite moments that I cherish dearly are the conversations that we had on their back porch. She always wanted to know what activities I was involved in but she never let me leave without telling her what I was reading, not that I would let her. I would share what I was reading and she would ask questions about what I was learning. I thought she was interested in me, and she was, but she was forcing me to think. She loved me enough to take the time to care beyond merely hearing. She engaged me not as fifth grader or seventh grader or junior in high school but as a thinker. When I am questioning how students think or engaging with a student I try to model what she did with me.

Constantly Encouraging

One of my last times to spend time with her was after Jessica and I were married. We were sitting in Tom and Janet’s back room talking. I had just finished another semester as a teaching assistant which involved me teaching multiple sections of a class at Baptist Bible College. I was telling her about the semester and how much I was loving teaching. I told her how I never thought I would love being in the classroom especially since I thought I would be on a church staff at that point in my life. Never missing a beat, she said, “Oh David I think you do a wonderful job preaching. I always thought you would make an excellent teacher as well. I’m not surprised at all that you love the classroom.” Were there times that she had to discipline me when I was a student? Absolutely! Were there times where she had to correct my thinking? No doubt! What never changed over the years was the spirit of encouragement that invaded my life every time we were together. When I thought about pursuing a Master’s degree she encouraged me to do it and when I thought I wanted to get a PhD she was a supporter.

Teachers never know what impact they are having on their students and their pursuits. I never truly got the chance to tell her how much she has impacted me. She passed away a few years ago from a battle with cancer and we lived far away, keeping me from having this final conversation with her and telling her how much she meant to me. Some may look at their life as a teacher and wonder if it really matters. I can tell you it does. I have had the privilege of teaching at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO for 7 years. I moved from a teaching assistant, to part time faculty, to full time faculty, and now I serve as an adjunct faculty member but every day she walks into the classroom with me. She never lectured pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders but in a strange sense she really did.

If you think about it when you are finished reading this, reach out to a teacher that made an impact in your life and thank them.

Politics as a Test of Faith is a Dangerous Idea

It happened again this weekend. A friend shared an article with a group of us about voting. The essence of the article centered on the character of the candidates that we elect. Shortly after it was shared it happened. The inevitable you are not a serious/mature Christian if you vote for this candidate. Immediately the pendulum swung the other way, you are not a serious/mature Christian if you vote for that candidate.

Maybe you like me find yourself in a contentious political time as a Christian being told that if you are a Christian you must take a particular stance when it comes to politics and/or voting. If you can get anyone to admit that such a position is a relatively dangerous idea, what follows next is something like, “Well a serious Christian would hold this position” or “Well, a committed Christian would hold this view”. Please don’t stop reading at this point and leave to post on social media that I have gone soft or have become this or that politically. Please hear me out and hear me clearly. What I am saying is that to make politics a test of religious fervor or favor is a blasphemous idea. While having strong political convictions is a good thing to do and Christians can and should be involved in the political process, we must remember that our political involvement is always subservient to our identity in Christ. The following are a few reasons why demanding political alignment as a test of faith is a dangerous idea:

Political Ideology Does Not Save

The Bible is incredibly clear what is required of someone to become a Christian, they must acknowledge their status as a sinner and their sinfulness, they must come to understand and believe in Christ as he was and is, they must confess their sins and repent of them, and they must trust in Christ and confess him as their Lord and Savior. The Protestant Reformers framed it as one is saved by faith through faith in Christ according to Scripture for the glory of God alone. This is what was and is required to be a genuine Christian. When we force our political ideology on as a boundary marker of being a Christian not only are we wrong we are in grave error. How so? Consider what the Scripture says, “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:9 ESV) The Scripture clearly says that adding anything that would determine the salvation of a person besides the gospel should be accursed.

Spiritual Maturity is Marked by Christlikeness

When we assert that we have the corner market on spiritual maturity because we claim a political party we have failed to measure our faith in Christ according to biblical standards. One example of a way that we can see the spiritual maturity is by following Christ’s example. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8 ESV) Servant leadership is at the heart of what it means to be mature in Christ. Pointing others to Christ as their greatest need is an evidence of maturity in Christ. Showing the love of Christ to others in the way that we speak and the way that we care for those in our communities are also practical applications of showing Christlikeness. By selling out to political parties what we are is Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge. Esau lost sight of the value of the birthright because he thought it wouldn’t matter when he was dead. When we get sucked into believing that politics is a marker of maturity we lose sight of the point of life: to love God with our heart, mind, and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Eternity is a Long Time, Especially without Democrats and Republicans

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27 ESV). There is a day that I fear more than those who fear the results of November 3rd, it is November 8th. Why that date? This will be the first time that Christians will gather after the election. For some it will be the first time that Christians will decide to not go to church. After all, if loving my neighbor looks like shouting someone down because they don’t vote with me then why would I go back? This is what some will reason. The harsh reality of the moment is that Christians have forgotten that every idle word and deed will one day be judged. There is no escaping this reality. We can advocate for identity in politicians but one day there is coming a judgement and there will not be two lines, one for Democrat and one for Republican. No there will be one “line” for the entirety of the human race. I need this reminder and so do you. We as Christians would do to remember that as one popular slogan goes, “Right Now Counts Forever”. This is true for all of humanity. We cannot afford to make politics a measure of faith.

David French notes in his new book Divided We Fall that there is nothing that is pulling America closer together than is pushing it together. Evangelical Christians are partly to blame here as we allow issues of politics to push us as congregations and fellow Christians apart. This is why the hope of the Gospel is truly what we need to return to as it is the great unifier. The Gospel breaks down the barriers that mankind places provided we don’t attach things to it. In the book Compelling Community, Mark Dever reminds readers that the community of Christ followers that is truly compelling is the one in which people who would not normally gather are able to gather together in unity because of the power of the Gospel. May all Christians seek to help us get back to this place.

Diverse Friends are a Gift from God

It comes as no surprise that we are living in an increasingly divided country. As the research seems to indicate, we are becoming an increasingly polarized society and one of the contributing factors to this polarization is the lack of diversity in our relationships. Left to ourselves we will tend to congregate with people who share the same ideas and positions on every subject. Furthermore, once we get inside of these groups we tend to mischaracterize those who are not in our particular group. Not only does this create a lack of diversity in thinking it can lead to dangerous group extremism (For more information on this idea you can check out David Sunstein’s paper “The Law of Group Polarization” or David French’s book Divided We Fall). In light of this I think it is worth encouraging people not only to have a variety of political friends but also a variety of theological friends as well. I would also just advocate for a variety of friends beyond these two spectrums but for the sake of our writing I will be applying this to the political and theological spectrums. Here are a few reasons why I am thankful to have a diverse group of friends:

My Thinking is Sharpened

When I have to think about why I hold to a position it only makes me a better thinker. Being challenged as to why you believe something is not a bad exercise and it does not make the person challenging you a bad person. We can be tempted in many situations to merely accept what we are told and when we have to come up with reasoning as to why we hold to a position we are taking ownership of those beliefs. I have watched many college students struggle in this area as they have to wrestle with why they believe what they believe. This is not a bad process to go through and we shouldn’t demonize people as they go through this process.

One of the ways that my thinking is sharpened is when they point out perceived weak points in my argument. This allows for me to engage deeply on the topic that we are discussing by driving the argument further. Also, if there is a portion of my argument that is problematic it allows me to further think and wrestle with the problem. Sometimes the problems that arise are not in terms of the argument itself but in the argumentation for the argument. By having dialogue with friends who don’t agree those “blind spots” become visible and change can happen.

Finally, on this point a lack of diverse views actually dulls my thinking because I am never pressed on what I believe. When I am never challenged I rely on potentially outdated arguments and I am able to falsely characterize those who I disagree with which, in turn, muddies the arguments in the future.

My Knowledge is Expanded and Corrected

Even when I disagree with someone’s position, especially theologically, it forces me to grow. I don’t know everything that there is to know on any given subject and all the particularities that go with that subject. By having diverging viewpoints, I have to work at knowing more. For instance, going into my doctoral work I had what some would consider a very narrow view on certain theological disciplines. While the classes have helped expand some of my thinking and crystalize other portions, meals shared with friends discussing theological arguments and views has helped me to grow beyond where I was when I entered the program.

I also can be corrected easily by friends. They know my heart and I know theirs. They seek to see me grow and sometimes growth means change. Sometimes the renewing of my mind means that God uses my friends to show me how I am incorrectly interpreting or applying Scripture. Friends are a God given benefit for my spiritual growth and I should be thankful that the Lord has blessed me with them.

My Friends Are Protected

One of the most evident ways that lazy thinking takes place is in the area of stereotyping or caricatures of people and their arguments. These often can be termed “straw man” arguments. When I have friends with other viewpoints I am able to fight with them against faulty viewpoints. Some examples for you to think about would be the following unfair characterizations of people:

• Calvinists don’t care about evangelism.

• People who are more charismatic in their theology don’t care about Scripture.

• People who care about social justice are “liberal”.

• Democrats are all socialists.

• The pro-life movement only cares about unborn babies in the womb.

• Republicans are all wealthy and power hungry.

All of these are illustrations of where people have come down to the “lowest common denominator” of the arguments and give false witness to their neighbor. By having a variety of friends that hold onto various positions I am able to put to death false assumptions about people. Further, this creates in me a “social conscience” where I am unwilling to watch my friends be falsely accused of things that they don’t even believe.

All in all, the benefit widely outweighs the difficulty. Is it hard to have conversations with people that I disagree with? Yes. Avoidance of doing hard things is never an acceptable excuse for people and how they live. Christians must constantly find themselves in the public square advocating on behalf of and pointing people to Christ, but in the end those people aren’t my enemy. I see them as my friends, who I care about and want what’s best for them. There are going to be things that even Christians disagree about but that should not keep us from having deep and lasting friendships with those we don’t agree.

The Importance of Encouraging Pastors

I was 19 years old and interning for the first time at a church by working with college students. I had been at the church for about two months and the little group of students that had started with four had grown to 24. I knew that the Lord had been kind to us and we were experiencing real growth because, frankly, I had no idea what I was doing. I’ll never forget that morning when we hit 24 students. I came to the sanctuary for worship when I was stopped by a very faithful leader and volunteer at the church who asked how my morning had been. When I remarked excitedly that we had 24 students in attendance and the Lord seemed to moving he said something I’ll never forget: “That’s nice but it’s the summer and in a few weeks you will be back at school and they will all be gone.” I look back on that now and I’m sure that there were good intentions behind it but in the moment it crushed me. I went from soaring to under the ground in 10 seconds.

As we face the ongoing pandemic that has restricted some of what the church can do I wanted to write a little bit on pastoral encouragement. These are indeed strange times and we are feeling more isolated than ever. This is incredibly dangerous for pastors and the churches they serve. Pastors do not want the attention to be put on them because they seek to serve their churches but the truth of the matter is that pastors are human beings and Christians who need to be encouraged and supported during these days as well.

To be clear, I am not writing from a place of feeling like I don’t receive this or as some sort of underhanded critique of churches. I am blessed to serve at a church that is loving and has multiple staff members. I truly believe there are many church members who want their pastors to feel encouraged and supported but may not know exactly how to do this. In light of those feelings here are few ways that church members can serve to encourage their pastors as those pastors seek to minister to them:

Take Time to Check in on Your Pastor

From time to time it is important to check to see how your pastor is doing. You might find yourself as a student who is reading this. Check in on your student pastor. Send him a text letting them know that you are praying for them. Ask how you might be able to pray for them. You may find yourself reading this as an adult member of the congregation. When appropriate, ask pastors how they are doing with no agenda. Let them know that you are thinking about them and encourage them to stay faithful. Many a pastor has felt the benefit of receiving a note letting them know that you appreciate their faithfulness.

Share How God is Working in Your Life

A lot of discouragement in this season and other seasons comes from not being able to see the fruit of their labor. Pastors spend a lot of time preparing sermons and wonder if they are making an impact. If you have been helped by something that a pastor preaches or a Sunday school teacher teaches share that with them. You may be able to encourage them as well if a principle they taught was connected in another way in your own personal study. Pastors do recognize that we are, as Mark Dever once put it, spiritual mailmen. We deliver God’s message to his people and these are not our messages. Just as we are thankful for the people who deliver our mail, packages, and gifts we should also be thankful for those who deliver the most important “mail” in our lives. The fault, that I often fall into with my pastor, is in thinking someone else will encourage. I am trying to make it a regular habit to encourage and share how God is using my pastor in my life.

Build Safe Environments for Sharing Burdens

Recently I was experiencing discouragement in our ministry and felt like I was experiencing some spiritual warfare. I reached out to the leaders in our ministry and shared with them what I was going through and their support was so encouraging through that. They had created an environment where I as the pastor could be vulnerable to share with them. They went out of their way to encourage me. In fact, one of my leaders called me the next day to check in on me and talk through what I was experiencing. Another leader messaged me back privately and extended an invitation to meet up and talk with me and my wife in order to encourage us and help share burdens. For pastors this is incredibly freeing. They have the freedom to know that people don’t expect them to be superhuman but wrestle with struggles like any other person.

Point Pastors to Christ

Using my previous illustration, all of the people who responded to difficulty prayed for me and pointed me to Christ. Churches should always point their pastors to Christ as that pastor is pointing his people to Christ. Our great encouragement through this season and any other season is to make sure that we all recognize that Christ is our only hope. When we can encourage others we know the impact comes for a moment but I believe that when we encourage others with Christ the benefit goes beyond a moment. There have been many moments in my life where the most encouraging thing a person would tell me would be to get my eyes off of myself and look to Christ! Those were hard moments for me but the benefits outweighed the difficulty.

Encouragement for pastors is a lifelong need. In reality though, we are simply trying to do what Galatians 6 challenges us to do when we encourage others and especially pastors: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2ESV)

Recovering Christian Civility

We seem to be in a new era of Christian conversation. Recent events such as COVID-19, issues over social justice, and religious liberty concerns have exposed a dangerous trend that has been lurking in the shadows. We have lost our ability to speak to others in a civil manner. The expansion of social media interaction has only put a spot light on the fact that most Christians cannot seem to engage on any issue without using inflammatory language and name calling. The questions that must be asked at this point is, can we recover? Can Christians regain their testimony in this area? Are we too far gone? The simple answer to this is that we serve a patient and longsuffering God who is abounding in covenant faithfulness to His people. God’s grace is sufficient for every moment and we should celebrate this truth. However, what is our hope of recovery as we look down the path at more divisiveness and unrest? Thankfully God’s word points us to the way forward.

Recover the Imago Dei

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27 ESV)

One of the most neglected parts of our conversation with people or about people is the theological concept of the imago dei. Simply put, the imago dei principle demands that people understand the way that God has created all of humanity. Humans are created by God in his image which means that they inherently carry worth, dignity, and value. All people, regardless of their status before God, have worth dignity and value. So every conversation that we have about people must be framed by this understanding. We may disagree on many things but that disagreement does not rob someone of their worth, dignity, and value. For Christians to refer to anyone as “trash human beings”, “pieces of trash”, “not worthy of life”, or any other type of remark that is along these lines shows that we have forgotten who people are. They are image bearers. This means that even if we don’t agree with all someone has to say on a subject we still are required to respect them because they have been made in the image of God.

Recover Kindness

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

I used to hate this verse growing up. Anytime there was conflict between siblings my mom would quote this verse (she still does when her grown children give evidence that they still haven’t learned this truth). However, I now love this verse even though I am not perfect in this area. Not only do people who we talk to deserve our respect they also deserve our kindness. Notice what Paul shows as the motivator for this kind, tenderhearted and forgiving person, Christ’s forgiveness. As I reflect on Christ’s forgiveness of my sins and rescuing me in salvation I should become a more kind, tender, and forgiving person. This does not mean that I am a doormat or don’t stand up for the things in which I believe. What it does mean is that my engagement around such issues is framed by the truth of the Gospel and the transformation that God has done in my life even when I disagree with others. Christian civility is shaped and guided by personal gospel transformation.

Recover Truth Telling in Love

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:15 ESV)

One error that has caused the loss of Christian civility is the idea that how one talks is excused provided that they be telling the truth. The excuse of being a “truth-teller” has allowed far too many Christians to say things that are never acceptable according to the Scriptures. Notice that Paul’s emphasis on how we speak is to speak the truth in love. This means that Christians must have a firm grasp on the truth but the way in which they speak truth is just as important as the truth itself. Christians are going to have consciences that lead them to a number of conclusions that are different from other Christians and non-Christians alike but never are those conclusions an excuse to speak in a way other than is loving. This is again not a call to water down truth. Christians must have a firm hold of doctrine that is rooted and based from Scripture. They must never compromise on Biblical truth. They, however, must always be loving and charitable in how they discuss issues with others.

In thinking on this issue the fatal flaw in the loss of Christian civility is that Christians can be far too concerned with being right or winning an argument than in how they think about other people. People are not projects to be fixed or arguments to be corrected. They are people who are made in the image of God and deserve to be respected and loved even when we disagree. Beloved, think of the gospel advance that could be made if we would simply return to the Word of God as our guide for how we converse with others. May we be far more concerned with God being pleased with our way of conversing that winning any argument or being “right” in the sight of others.

On Teaching: Matt Hasley and Lessons for a Lifetime

Where it all started (photo courtesy of golfdavenport.com)

For those who may not know me all that well, I actually felt called to ministry at the age of 14 while attending a summer student camp. My church family was ecstatic and put me to work teaching. No one really took that much time to teach me how to do what I felt called to do. Sure, I occasionally would sit down with a pastor and leader to look over some notes that I had prepared or I would get some feedback on a sermon but it was sparse. Little did I know that some of my foundational concepts on teaching the Bible would come from an unlikely source.

Fast forward two years and I was sixteen and needed a job. I only wanted one, to work my local golf course Duck Creek. I loved golf and wanted to absorb that environment and in God’s providence the still current pro, Matt Hasley, offered me a job. Matt was not a seminary trained pastor. He did not have years of experience leading a church. To my knowledge he has never preached a sermon. However, he was a great boss, friend, but more importantly taught me some truths that have served me in preaching and teaching the Bible. I am quite sure we both had no idea at the time how impactful he would be in my life. What I would like to do is share a few things that he taught me and how they are helpful to those of us who teach the Bible.

Keep Things Simple

One of the responsibilities that a person working my job had was to set up and pick up equipment for group lessons that Matt would teach. On slow nights I got the opportunity to watch and listen to Matt as he would teach beginning golfers how to swing a golf club. Regardless of your knowledge of golf, all people agree that golf is a difficult game to pick up and excel. This only becomes more true if you have little to no exposure to golf.

Matt had played and taught golf for years but over the course of the three years that I worked for him I watched as he made something complex incredibly simple. You can become very technical very quickly when talking about golf instruction but Matt was never this way. I was always amazed at how he could explain complex topics to people who had no prior knowledge and they would walk away understanding what he was teaching.

When it comes to the Bible this is what Christians, pastors, and theologians should be striving to do. People should not need a four-year degree at a Bible college to understand our sermons, lectures, or teaching. Further, this is not a call to water down our theological convictions or teachings. I never once saw Matt put the responsibility on the student to understand something that was new to them. We as Bible teachers must rigorously work in our studies to understand what we are teaching so that we can communicate it in clear and concise ways. Clarity is what we are after here and if we are not careful we can enjoy complexity because it makes us look smarter. People are hungry to know the Word in deep and meaningful ways and as teachers of the Bible we should strive to model how people can experience this in their lives.

Teach Up Not Down      

As I was able to watch these lessons unfold I also noticed the way that Matt talked to the people he taught. He laughed, joked, and instructed them without talking down to them or making them feel foolish. He never made people feel like they were less than important for not catching a skill right away or needing lots of practice to get better. I would watch as class after class and person after person left feeling like they could play the game. They also left with no illusions of their future in golf. No one left these beginner lessons thinking they were going to play on the PGA Tour but they didn’t leave feeling like there was no hope for them either.

Those of us who teach the Bible need to remember that at one point we didn’t know what we know now and that there is still a lot for us to learn. We need to be patient with people and help them along. I am so excited when my college students ask me questions about the Bible and I would (metaphorically) give my left arm if they would ask me more. It can be frustrating at times to be the answer man or woman but there is no greater gift than to have people who are hungry to study the Scriptures. Never take for granted that God has blessed you with people who show up to hear you teach.

Encourage Other Teachers          

As I worked for Matt I learned a lot. I also was given the opportunity to teach a little here and there. What many do not know is that there were moments when Matt would encourage me. He encouraged me by noting that I had talent at explaining things or he would share with me a way that I could be clearer in explaining something that I was trying to communicate. Keep this in mind, my job was not to teach anyone anything about golf. My job was to make sure golf carts were clean and had gas in them. My job was to help out picking up or setting up or doing something in the pro shop. Yet Matt invested in me. He encouraged me. He was the first person other than my parents to intentionally say “Hey I think you have skill in this area”.

I’m trying to do a better job in this area. If we want to see a new generation of Bible teachers, pastors, missionaries, or counselors to grow up and go out into our world we must recognize them and encourage them. If you find yourself reading this and you are the new one to this area, seek out your pastors and leaders and hang around them and learn as much as you can. If you are the “seasoned veteran” take the new person under your wing. Invest in them and encourage them even if they have no idea what you are doing.

This summer I had a chance to go home to Duck Creek. I had a chance to visit my old boss and friend. It wasn’t until I returned that I realized what the place had done for me. I didn’t realize what God had done in putting me there. I honestly thought during my years working there that I was just enjoying what I was passionate about but God was using an unlikely place and an unlikely person to shape me and mold me. If we could go there today I would show you the places where hundreds of conversations formed the way that I would think about people and how God is still using those conversations in the way that I think about the people I am blessed to teach week in and week out.

On Christian Conversation: How A Round Table Shaped My Life

140 characters. The short pithy and snarky comment on Facebook that shows how witty you are. The constant name calling, and you are in this “camp” or that “camp.” This is the world that we find ourselves and Christians are not off the hook. Add to this a pandemic that causes decision makers to be puzzled and confused and divisive rhetoric everywhere from politicians of every stripe and it’s downright chaotic. Finally, you couple all of this with the relative death of in person extended conversation and you find yourself living in 21st century America.

The home of the infamous “Round Table”. (Picture courtesy of the Quad City Times.)

A Story

If I may (hey it’s my blog after all so I guess it’s okay), I would like to share a coming of age story from my life. I grew up in a medium sized Midwest town in Iowa (Davenport). A growing metropolis it was not but it’s where I call home and I’m proud of where I grew up. As I turned seven or eight a new tradition started. Every Saturday morning my Dad would wake up me and my brother and we would head to a local hole in the wall breakfast spot called Mary Sue’s. We would go in and eat breakfast with a regular group of men affectionately referred to as the “Round Table” (we literally ate at a round table). It was at this round table that I was introduced to what I would call “long form conversation”. The morning news was playing on a small TV in the corner and there were no smart phones to be seen anywhere (mainly because they hadn’t come into existence yet).

This round table exposed me to all kinds of new thoughts on life. I grew up going to a Christian school and church so the people that I spent the most time around were Christians. Here at the round table I was exposed to a lot of different thoughts and ideas. Saturday conversations ran from talking about sports depending on the season, events in the city, politics, practical life matters, hunting, fishing, and even religion. It was in this environment that I was forced to think and argue for myself week after week. At eight I wasn’t arguing the finer points of foreign policy and the impact on the United States but I was learning how to defend my love of the St. Louis Cardinals in an area that was mostly Chicago Cubs fans. It was through the help of men I knew as Don the Barber (shockingly he was a barber at a shop just down the street) and my dad’s closest hunting buddy “Honda”.

As I grew up I started to intern for my dad at his insurance office and that meant the Saturday breakfasts would turn into almost daily breakfast starts to the morning with my dad. This meant even sharper conversations and the men at that round table became increasingly different. I distinctly remember for the first time ever sitting at that round table to postal carrier who was not shy about claiming to be an avowed Democrat. The conversations were great and sometimes intense but one thing that I learned is that they were always respectful. They didn’t demean each other for having different viewpoints and it wasn’t weird to be a Christian even if some of them weren’t. It wasn’t even frowned upon as I would share the things that I was learning at church or school or when I invited some of the to come to something special that I was doing at either place. Those men may not have believed in Christ (which was heartbreaking for a boy and now a man who loved them so dearly) but they never made me feel little or dumb for my faith.

My Concern

The reason why I share this story is that I’m concerned that Christians are losing the ability to have meaningful conversations with those they disagree with in a productive way. I think that in the society around us we are losing the ability to have detailed, in depth, nuanced conversation. I never knew how much I respected the Apostle Paul beyond being a Biblical author until I read about his engagement with skeptics and thinkers on Mars Hill in Acts 17. Paul was able to dialogue with people in the city of Athens respectfully while pointing out their error and calling on them to respond by putting their faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins.

My Hope

I hope that Christians can jettison the cultural moment and strike out in the direction of engagement with the people around them in extended conversation that respects them while warning them of the dangers that come from living for themselves. I hope Christian parents will do what mine did and not shelter them from the world but find the spaces where they can navigate it together. You see my dad was not content to merely let us hear and exchange ideas at the round table. Many times we would get in the truck after breakfast and he would expose the dangers of some of the things that we had heard. He also managed to do this without sounding like a professor or pastor. Looking back on it now, he was incredibly sneaky.

Christian let’s not be afraid to run into the fray and engage with the people around us. Let’s not limit our interaction on dissenting opinion to social media and maybe take a break and seek out ways to have more meaningful conversation in person. Maybe that means inviting someone over to dinner and having informed discussions or inviting someone out for a cup of coffee or maybe, just maybe you can find your own round table to have breakfast and lively conversation.

Searching for Truth in Uncertain Times

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17 ESV)

One thing is certain right now, we don’t know who to believe. Throughout our information platforms conflicting messaging seems to happen by the hour. Day to day we hear different things from leader, news outlets, social media regarding what the next right step is for our country. One need only to scroll through their social media accounts to watch as people argue back and forth about what should be done. The ultimate question for Christians is “Where do we go for truth?”

Science and Scripture

Now at this point the careful reader may observe, “The Bible does not give us an action plan for dealing with global pandemics!” That person would be right and we would want to concede the fact that the Bible is not field manual for responding to our current crisis. However, it does tell us something that seems to be missing in all of our conversations about moving forward. That simple truth is that everyone will die.  “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 ESV). Make no mistake, it doesn’t have to be Covid-19 and there is no guarantee that it will be Covid-19 that kills but you and I will die. The truth of the Scripture and medical science agrees here that one out of every one person dies.

The Truth about the Afterlife

If you notice what Hebrews 9:27 also confirms is that after death comes judgment. At this point many of my friends would be looking for charts or want to get into grand discussions about the right ordering of the end times. All of that is good and worthy of discussion but the simple truth of the matter is that you and I will one day give an account for our lives. We will face judgment before a holy God. The only hope that we have of escaping judgment that leads to eternity separated from God in a literal hell is found through the saving grace of Christ.

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Searching for Truth

This leads me back to the original question that we asked as we started this journey, where do we turn for truth? The simple answer is the Bible.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We can be lulled into thinking that the world around us has all the answers that we need. While the leaders around us can be helpful in regards to truth about treating disease and other human problems (this is where we thank God for common grace) their answers regarding ultimate truth will always come up short. The hope that the Christian has is contained in the Word of God and it is through the very word of God that we can point people to the rock solid truth of who God is, who we are, and God’s expectations of us. Christian let’s not get too carried away in speculative theories about the right way to respond to this crisis or the next crisis that we will face. While we want to make sure that we are helping those around us the best way for us to do that is to the share the greatest truth that we know, the Gospel of Jesus Christ!