A Disturbing Development!

About this time every two years, I am asked if I am going to preach on issues surrounding the upcoming election. Will I speak out on presidential, gubernatorial or legislative campaigns?  Will I share my opinions on the hot-button issues of the day?  The short answer is “no”.

I do not share the perspective of many of my pastor-brethren that the pulpit should be used to promote politicians or political parties.  Week-in and week-out, I’m given about 40 minutes to address the people at Life Spring, and I don’t really want to waste it sharing talking points published by politicians.  I won’t shy away from preaching tough sermons on issues rooted in Scripture, but I won’t try to make a political speech using the Bible as cover.  I’d much rather talk about Jesus.

Over the years, there have been numerous warnings of dire consequences that Christians and churches in America would experience as our nation becomes less tolerant of the beliefs and practices of people of deeply held faith.  I must admit that I have largely dismissed many of these concerns, chalking them up to a “chicken little” mentality that exists among many conservative evangelicals. For many of these folks, the sky is always falling.  I have believed—and I still believe to a large extent—that we focus too much on the temporal to the exclusion of the eternal.

But a recent event has sent shivers up my spine, and it should be a cause of concern among all Americans, regardless of religious affiliation or political persuasion.  Recently, the City of Houston subpoenaed several pastors’ emails, texts and other communications—including sermons—that dealt with gender identity, homosexuality and comments regarding Houston’s first lesbian mayor, in connection with a recently passed Houston city ordinance.

My primary concern is not with the ordinance or the efforts to put that ordinance to a public vote—that is a completely different issue. You can read more about that matter on several news sites, including at:    http://www.chron.com/default/article/City-subpoenas-pastors-sermons-in-equal-rights-5822403.php

My great concern is with a governmental entity issuing a broad directive to provide notes and sermon manuscripts or outlines for some government official to review. What is the purpose of such a review? How would such material be used by the government?

Don’t get me wrong. I’d be happy to send a few dozen sermons to the Mayor of Houston, with prayers that they would be read and considered for their effect upon her relationship with God. I’d love for her to come to know Christ and to turn from sin and wickedness.

But I don’t think that the purpose of such a review is for them to prayerfully consider their ways. The idea of the government—at any level—having the ability to randomly and arbitrarily secure the notes, sermons and correspondence of pastors is extremely troubling. Is government now going to put itself in the place as an arbiter as to what can and cannot be said from the pulpits in our churches? Will they decide what is acceptable and unacceptable theology?

There has been a strong public backlash against this governmental intrusion, even by many sympathetic to liberal politics and causes. I hope that this translates into an immediate effort to stop trying to intimidate pastors and churches from speaking out on Biblical teaching—however unpopular or politically incorrect it may be.

But we who take our faith seriously must constantly be on guard, and we must make our voices known. Because whether we admit it or not, maybe the sky really is falling.

Because He Lives

The emphasis at the outset of Holy Week is generally on the outpouring of support that Jesus received from the Jewish people as they contemplated the Messiah’s overthrow of the oppressive and corrupt Roman government. Although we know how quickly that support turned on Jesus, those images of palm fronds lining the road to Jerusalem are the enduring image of what we call “Palm Sunday”.

However, in our community, Palm Sunday turned dark this year as the forces of evil reigned ugliness and violence on a couple of Jewish centers in neighboring Overland Park. Three people are dead, including a teenage boy, and the entire Kansas City area is experiencing a collective sense of deep sorrow.

Although it’s early in the investigation and things are sure to change as more information becomes available, it appears that the motivation for this senseless violence was the irrational hatred of the Jewish race, something neither novel nor isolated.

But even as our hearts are heavy for those directly affected by this violence, we are reminded that at its core, Easter is all about such dark & sinful hearts. And while we may not have fired shots at innocent people or openly spewed such hatred for our fellow man, we too are guilty of sins for which Jesus had to die. It is every bit as much our spiteful thoughts, our jealousy & envy, our arrogance, selfishness and stubbornness that nailed Jesus to that cross.

It is because we all fall short of God’s standards of righteousness that we need a Savior. Not to make our tax system fairer or our healthcare system more just, but to pay the price for our sins and to endure the very wrath of God on our behalf.

So even as our celebration of our Savior’s victory over sin, death & the grave is tempered a bit by our grief for our fellow man, it should also be heightened by the reminder that such hatred and ugliness will not gain the ultimate victory. The love, grace & mercy of God will reign, and it is this hope that enables us to glorify God through our tears and to exalt His Holy Name despite our heavy hearts.

National Tell a Fairy Tale Day

I just learned that today, February 26, is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. It's also National Pistachio Day, but I don't know enough about pistachios to blog about them.


I love fairy tales. Some of my favorite stories begin, Once Upon a Time...


Whether it's Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs or some other story, they are generally fun and harmless.


Unfortunately, there are a lot of fairy tales being told these days that are far more serious and sinister. Here are just a few that are quite popular.


There's the one that says that people can disobey the Word of God and disregard the Word of God with impunity. Those who believe this fairy tale believe that we can thumb our noses at God and do whatever we want without paying a price. Now, that's a hoot!


Then there are several variations of this one: There is no absolute right or wrong. AKA All beliefs are equally valid. OR We're all headed in the same direction. OR There's no way to be certain what God really meant when He gave us His Word.  They're all good!


There's the one about how if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds at the end of this life, we'll be right with God.  How about that--"good" deeds in the sight of a holy and righteous God--PRICELESS!


There's also one that says that our relationship with God depends on us (e.g. our church membership, our works, our baptism).  Where do they come up with these things???


Although I share these with you with a certain level of sarcasm, it's not really very funny. Because as opposed to stories about wicked witches or big bad wolves, these fairy tales are believed by lots of people to their detriment. They would prefer to believe a lie than to believe the truth as contained in Holy Scripture.


So, enjoy National Tell a Fairy Tale Day, but don't believe everything you hear!

New Year's Resolutions

As 2014 began anew,

I resolved to change a thing or two.

Improve some things, some changes make.

All for a Happy New Year’s sake.

I’d start by losing unwanted weight,

Perhaps 4 pounds—or 6 or 8.

But then a thought I began to probe:
Less weight would mean a new wardrobe.

Think of all the money I’d spend.

I’d end up broke—though I’d be thin!

So then I decided to exercise.

Firm up my abs, my arms, my thighs.

Lift weights or jog or mountain climb.

“Oh no”, I thought, “I don’t have the time.”

For I am busy; I must admit,

Eventually exercise I’d quit.

And then, although I knew it was funny,

My thoughts turned to the way I handle my money.

“This year”, I declared, “I’ll watch what I spend. 

I’ll live on a budget.” But then, in the end,

I knew it wouldn’t work—it would just be too hard.

To be honest with you, I love MasterCard.

I considered many others changes to try,

Things that would help the New Year to go by.

But nothing I thought of sounded much fun.

So, for a resolution, I’ll stick with just one.

To do nothing this year—neither too bold nor too tame.

In 2014, I’ll just stay the same.

Using the ESV in Our Services

I recently announced that I will begin using the English Standard Version (ESV) translation in my preaching. This represents a big change for me, as I have used the New International Version (NIV) for many years. But over the past year, I find myself gravitating more towards the ESV in my studies, so I decided to make the switch in my preaching. 

I’m sure some people will wonder why the switch, so I wanted to offer a few thoughts on it in this forum.

First of all, I find many translations to be useful in my study of Scripture. Whenever I prepare a sermon or a lesson, I consult many versions. My favorites are the ESV, NIV84, New English Translation (NET) and the New Living Translation (NLT). I also frequently study from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).  And I usually read from The Message for a more contemporary paraphrase of the passage.

But when I preach or teach, I try to use one primary version, though I often quote other versions as well (I always try to mention it when I do this, just to be clear). Now some preachers don’t do this. In any given message, they may quote multiple versions without ever noting that they’re doing this. That’s their prerogative, but it’s not my style.

I find that preaching from one primary version keeps me theologically honest. I don’t try to find a version that says it the way I want it said, and it forces me to do my homework in preparing sermons and preaching the Word of God.

Keep in mind that almost all of us use a translation of the original Scriptures, since most of us don’t know Hebrew (the primary language of the Old Testament) or Greek (the primary language of the New Testament). We are forced to rely on those who know the languages and have translated them into English.

Even then, modern translations have updated older translations because the language changes. The King James Version (KJV) from 1611 is a very hard translation to read and understand, even though it is in English. The language has changed so much in 400 years that updated versions are needed.

This would be a good time for me to tell you that if you are among those people who believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the only acceptable English translation of the Scriptures, you can stoppeth reading now. You won’t liketh anything else that I have to sayeth.

When it comes to Bible translations, there are three primary types of translations. The first is a “word for word” translation. In reality, most of us would never read a true “word for word” English translation, because it wouldn’t make much sense to us. Translating the Hebrew Old Testament or Greek New Testament “word for word” into English would be cumbersome and awkward. But versions considered “word for word”, including the KJV, the NASB and the ESV, come closest.

The second main type of translation is “thought for thought”. Here, the goal is to convey the “thoughts” or “concepts” of the original languages into English. The emphasis is to help the reader understand the ideas behind the words. The NIV and the NLT fall into this category.

Finally, there are “paraphrases”. These are great resources to help us to put Scripture into modern terms, but they should never be used as your primary source for Bible study. They simply take too much liberty with the original languages. The Message and the Living Bible are popular paraphrases.

If you want to debate the merits of various translations, be my guest—just don’t do it with me. I have my preferences (hence the change to the ESV in my preaching). I don’t believe that all translations are created equal (I like the older translation of the NIV—the NIV84—much better than the newer translation—the NIV11, for example). And I studiously avoid “gender neutral” translations. But I'm not going to debate the subject with you.

That’s probably a much longer explanation than you wanted of the planned change to the ESV in my preaching ministry, but I wanted you to know why I’m making the change. Of course, you can still follow along pretty well in my sermons even if you use some other Bible translation. We’ll still display the words on the wall as we always have. It’s just that now, those words will be coming from a different translation—but the same Word of God.

A Sacred Institution?

In action taken this week by the Supreme Court of the United States of America, we have once again witnessed assaults on the Biblical, historical and traditional institution of marriage. These actions will result in further redefining marriage by our culture in a way that is inconsistent with the Scriptural perspective of the union of one man and one woman together for a lifetime.

Having said that, and having consistently expressed strong opposition to the concept and practice of same sex marriage, I must also point out that no actions taken by the states, courts, legislative bodies or executive branches of government can change the fundamental nature of marriage in God’s eyes. While I am highly disappointed in the continuing degradation of marriage as an institution in our society, I cannot honestly say that these recent actions by government have done any more to hurt the institution of marriage than actions and attitudes of society in general, including, I am sorry to say, self-professing Christ-followers.

Long before the concept of same-sex marriage became a realistic possibility in our culture, heterosexuals were doing more than their fair share to degrade and defile marriage. If we are outraged by society’s acceptance of same-sex marriage and view that as a threat to the institution of marriage, we should be equally offended by other practices that have trivialized marriage as well.

For example, sex outside of marriage (either pre-marital or extra-marital sex) is a fundamental threat to the institution of marriage. As our society has become accepting of sex outside of the confines of the marriage relationship, we have seen a cheapening of both sexual relations and of marriage. The idea of “saving yourself” for marriage is quaint and seemingly archaic in our culture, though God’s standards of confining sex to the marriage relationship has never changed. Whenever a celebrity or athlete acknowledges he or she is a virgin, it becomes news (generally mocked and ridiculed).

I’ve actually heard supposedly Christian ministers advocate the practice of living together before marriage. Some suggest that this is the best way to really get to know your partner before you make a lifetime commitment. If that were true, then the rate of divorce among those who lived together before marriage would logically be lower than that of the general population, but multiple studies have indicated that is not the case. In fact, those who live together before marriage divorce at the same or perhaps even slightly higher rates than those who don’t live together before marriage. Of course, this practice of co-habitation has become so common that it’s increasingly difficult to find a couple who didn’t live together before they were married. This is even true for many couples within the evangelical church.

While the practice of extramarital sex is still ostensibly frowned upon in our society, it really doesn’t cause many raised eyebrows when someone admits to such a relationship. Especially among men, there is a sense that “boys will be boys”, and thus a fact of life to which we must become accustomed.

While divorce rates for committed Christians (as opposed to those who define themselves as “Christian” because they’re not Jewish, Muslim, etc) is lower than the general population, it is still exceedingly high. Many Christians feel no compulsion to save their marriages through counseling and intense effort. As one man told me a few years ago (a former pastor, no less), he wasn’t happy in his marriage and simply wanted out.  We grow bored. We grow restless. We grow weary. We want out.

I was watching a show recently that is set in the 1960’s, and they referred to the child of a divorced couple as coming from a “broken home”. When I heard that phrase, I thought to myself, when was the last time I heard a divorced family referred to as a “broken home”?  That is exactly what it is, but we don’t use that terminology any more.

And of course, this doesn’t even take into account the countless joyless marriages in which people muddle through for one reason or another, including religious convictions. Unfortunately, those religious convictions are not strong enough to motivate them to practice love and submission in accordance with the standards of Scripture. They’re going through the motions, but in the process, they are hardly glorifying Christ through their loveless, joyless marriages.

I mention all of this because I think we Christians need to understand that there are a lot of practices, beliefs and attitudes that threaten the institution of marriage every bit as much as same-sex marriage. We get all bent out of shape because of the declining morals in our society, but we need to acknowledge that these morals go far beyond just the fairly recent acceptance (“tolerance” as society refers to it) of homosexual marriage.

Maybe we shouldn’t get on our high horses to decry the way “the liberals” are harming marriage until we take a long hard look at the damage we conservative Christians have already done to what God intended to be a holy and consecrated institution for the welfare of mankind.

Summer Vacations

Every Summer when I was growing up, I could be sure that I'd hear at least two or three sermons about the heathens who forsook the church for a week or two in order to take a summer vacation. Pastors would rail against these pagans who would abandon God for a little R&R. Of course, I never understood why pastors would take it out on me--I was IN church. Shouldn't they be shouting at those who weren't there?

When I became a minister of the Gospel more than 20 years ago, I vowed that I would never take that approach to those who had the good fortune to be able to get some time away to be with family or to enjoy a little down time. I think that I have honored that vow throughout my ministry, because I truly do not begrudge people some time away. As a family, we always made it a priority to take a week or two off for summer vacations. Even now that Kacie is grown and out of the house, Kim & I purpose to take time away together periodically. And with a more flexible schedule, it doesn't always have to be in the Summer.

I don't think there's a thing in the world wrong with getting away for a while, and if that means missing church for a few weeks, so be it. However, what I do have a problem with is taking a vacation from God. That is a recipe for disaster. So while you enjoy your summer and take some time for a change of pace, let me encourage you not to take a vacation from God in five vital areas.

Don't take a vacation from God's Word. You need to maintain a time each day that you are in God's Word. There are all kinds of devotionals available online, and great resources like The Daily Bread, Table Talk  and other daily devotionals to assist you in your study of God's Word.

Don't take a vacation from prayer. Just as you need to hear from God on a regular basis, He wants to hear from you.

Don't take a vacation from worship.  You don't need to be in a church service to worship. Listen to Christian music and take time each week just to give praise and honor and glory to God. You can listen to sermons from great preachers online. Or you can listen to mine.

Don't take a vacation from serving. Look for opportunities to serve others, either through church-sponsored service projects or just as you come across needs where you live, work and play.

Don't take a vacation from giving. The expenses of God's church go on whether you are present or not, so be faithful in your support of the Lord's work. Life Spring offers online giving options that are secure and easy to use. 

Enjoy your summer and all that comes with it. Longer daylight hours, warmer days, swimming pools, grilling out and vacations--these all are gifts from above. Enjoy them in a guilt-free manner. But don't take a vacation from your relationship with God.