my remarks for the national day of prayer

I don’t think Garry Guimond really knows me, so it is interesting that he picked me to talk about government, because, while I’ve never held public office, I worked for the government most of my life and I used to be really active in local politics.

When I was really young, I leaned liberal, not because I knew what that meant, exactly, but because that was where the cute girls were leaning and – can I be honest with you? – the liberals were just more fun. They were fun, but they were delusional. See, they thought the government was the savior of the world.

But after college, I was in the military, I got married, and I became a Christian, and I began to drift more and more conservative. In fact, I was a conservative editorial cartoonist for many years, I worked on many local campaigns, I was active in grass roots party politics, and I even subscribed to The National Review. I was conservative because it was patriotic, fiscally responsible, and appealed to my Christian ideas about objective truth. But my conservative friends were also deluded. They thought that the American Experiment was the savior of the world.

Now that I am in pastoral ministry, I have become more of a libertarian. I would love for the government to lean toward civil liberty. They make excellent policemen, but I would love it if they would leave the moral wrestling matches to the poets, philosophers, preachers, and parents.

What I have learned is that maybe the US government is the best in the world, maybe it DOES make a really great policeman, but government, ANY government makes a lousy God.

This world already has a savior; it doesn’t need another one, amen?

Here’s what Paul has to say about it: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2:1-5)

Our government won’t save us and neither will our ideals. What will save us is the Lord, Jesus Christ, and his reconciliation of all things to himself.  

That said, having worked for the government most of my life, I know that they need prayer every bit as much as the rest of us, maybe more so. So let’s go to the Lord…

Father, God, we thank you so much for many things, but especially today, we thank you that we were born in this great country at this very important time in its history so that we might be the ones to lift these particular servants and leaders up to you. For in your word, you tell us that, even if it seems like they are working at cross-purposes with you and your church, that YOU are in control, that they are YOUR servants even if they don’t know it, and that you have put them there for your purposes in your timing.

So, Father, we pray that you would protect and provide for the leaders of our nation, our state, our county, and our community.

Father, we pray that you would grant them wisdom, patience, discernment, and an awareness of your love and provision.

Also, Father, we pray that you would help us, as implicit members of this great representative government of ours, to pick our battles carefully. I pray that you would help us, as US citizens, agents of your son, and bearers of your image, to be chiefly concerned with exalting you among the nations, not by winning our little skirmishes, but by submitting to your authority, living lives of obedience, love, and grace amidst our circle of influence, helping to change one life at a time, starting with our own.

By this humble service to you, our fervent prayer, which you have promised will avail much, we call on all Americans everywhere, to quit abdicating our responsibility to the poor, the widow, and the alien - giving it over to our overworked and overextended government -  and put it back in the lap of the church where it belongs. We repent of paying others to do our ministry, and pray that our leaders will recognize this as YOUR sovereign will and get out of the way.

But most of all, in our government, our homes, and everywhere else in this great nation, Father, we pray your will, not ours, be done. If that prayer was good enough for your son, it is good enough for us – so we humbly ask it in HIS precious name, amen.

run, forrest, run!

Ed groaning his way into the finish line in his first competitive run since 1985. Four miles in 39:23. Not bad for an old guy. It was the Run with Your Heart in Eureka, IL. The run is a fundraiser for the Heart House shelter for victims of abuse. I have been volunteering at this race for a few years now, but this is the first time I have actually run in it.

my sermons...

http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/washington-christian-church/id298774314 This is a link to our itunes page where you can hear my most recent sermons. Mine are on the following dates (oldest to newest):

7/26/09, 9/20/09, 1/24/10, 3/21/10, 6/20/10, 6/27/10, 10/3/10, 1/16/11, 3/27/11.

Check them out and tell me what you think.

christians in the hands of an angry mob

Have you ever heard one of your Christian friends say something like this: "I can't believe anyone doesn't believe in God! The evidence is all around us. All you have to do is look"? If so, you have probably been forced, as have I, to beg the question, "Why are there still so many atheists?" Seriously, if it's so easy to prove the existence of God, why are there still so many people yelling about it? Why isn't everybody on board?

This link will point you to a really interesting article on this topic on Christianity Today's website. In it, Shawn Graves, a philosophy professor, posits that God isn't always as noisy as we say he is, and he is often drowned out by the noisiness of his followers.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/whytherearestillatheists.html?start=1

He suggests that, while there may be much more at work in the minds of atheists than "cold rationality," in other words they carry baggage to this argument (e.g., anti-establishment or anti-authoritarian attitudes, etc.), the same is true of us. We rarely come to faith, or lack thereof, on rationality alone, but rather with a slew of psycho-social influences that predispose us to lean one way or the other.

Graves also suggests that some who claim Christ have ugly ulterior motives that drive a deeper wedge between the camps of belief and unbelief. Those who use religion to justify oppression, discompassion, judgment, or exclusion not only misrepresent our God but, by their behavior, bring him dishonor (Graves presents US slavery and Manifest Destiny as examples). To be sure, the atheist might be guilty of the same motives, but at least he doesn't drag God through the mud in the process.

I've also included a fun link in case you've never heard Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers play "Atheists Don't Have No Songs." It is awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFWA1A9XFi8&feature=related

Have you ever been guilty of dismissing the atheist as foolish or characterizing him as self-absorbed? If so, check this article out and tell me what you think...

hipostacy

In this post, I am summarizing a really interesting article from Christianity Today by researcher and author of Generation Ex-Christian, Drew Dyck. You can read the entire article and see a video interview with Dyck at the following link:

http://christianitytoday.imirus.com/Mpowered/book/vctrc11/i1/p12

In the past two decades, the number of Americans claiming "no religion" has nearly doubled, from 8.1% to about 15%. This can be attributed, primarily, to 20- and 30-somethings drifting away from the faith of their youth, numbering closer to 22%. The problem is less, "Who is unchristian?" than, "Who is EX-Christian?" What is behind this drift, and what can we do about it?

Some say this happens every generation, but the numbers are 5-6 times the historic rate for young Christians who stray from the church in their late teens and early twenties. Plus, young people are delaying the factors that usually bring them back to the church (namely, marriage and children). If they are away a decade rather than a couple years, the estrangement is considerably more problematic. So the problem remains - why?

Does it revolve around moral compromise? Is the disconnect between their upbringing and their behavior too great to accommodate? Perhaps, but it appears to be much more complicated than that. New Atheist literature may be involved. They may have been hurt by the church. They may have been enticed by other spiritual pursuits (Buddhism, Wicca, etc.). But Dyck's research indicated that, almost invariably, it had more to do with their experiences INSIDE rather than OUTSIDE the church.

His research seems to point toward a superficial theology taught (or at least implied) in many churches - what sociologist Christian Smith calls "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." This is a theology that revolves around a distant deity that rewards people for being "good, nice, and fair" and focuses on helping its followers "be happy and feel good about themselves." Understandably, this inauthentic, surface-only faith holds little attraction to a young person (or anyone else, for that matter) who is trying to make sense of the world and maintain their faith in the midst of the very real struggles of life in a broken world.

So maybe this is the why, but the question remains - what do we do about it? We can do only so much to "fix" the culture, and we have little control over those that hope to seduce us away from the faith, but what we CAN control is our response to it all. For example...

First, try not to get hysterical.

Second, avoid the two typical responses, which are (1) going on the offensive with our most compelling "arguments" and unintentionally judgmental sermons, and (2) disengaging completely.

Third, engage ex-Christians (or those who express doubts while still in the fold) and their doubts with love and compassion rather than trite platitudes or criticism for asking "insolent questions." Dyck relates that nearly every person he interviewed expressed unchristian push-back from their Christian "friends" (one was actually slapped on the face!).

So, basically there is no substitute for thoughtful and prayerful engagement of those with questions and doubts, whether inside or outside the church. Can I go out on a limb here and suggest that the perfect solution for helping the average Christ follower engage the doubter is Q Place? If you are unfamiliar with Q Place, you can learn more at http://www.qplace.com/ or you can email me, but basically Q Place groups are groups intended to meet people where they are and engage them in spiritual questions without telling them what to believe or judging them for disagreeing with us. Sounds like just about the perfect solution.

I will finish with a quote from Drew Dyck: "This means viewing their skepticism for what it often is: the tortured language of spiritual longing. And once we've listened long and hard to their stories, and built bridges of trust, we will be ready to light the way back home."

Amen, and amen.

FRANCO FUN

Since his painfully disappointing turn as Oscar host, James Franco has not been on my list of favorite people. But as of yesterday, he is officially redeemed.

The teaming of visionary, genre-bending director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later) and Mr. Franco was a match made in heaven. I have watched 127 Hours twice in the last two days, and I am still reeling. It recounts the true story of Aron Ralston, rock climber and thrill seeker, who was trapped at the bottom of a rocky crevasse for over five days before freeing himself. It is a powerful and moving tale of the triumph of the human spirit and a brilliant bit of filmmaking, and Franco was completely invested from the first frame to the last.

See it and tell me what you think, but I will warn you - there are three or four minutes near the end of the film that are among the most visceral and graphic I have ever seen. This segment was essential but challenging. And even though I was physically uncomfortable, it was worth it.

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Long time, no posts. I am going to try to be more diligent about posting stuff here. Since my last post, much has changed in my life. My son is still at Columbia College Chicago studying film, my daughter is getting ready to cut her first demo CD, my wife is studying public relations at Bradley, and I have lost over 70 pounds and have become an avid runner. Stay tuned for more interesting stuff (I hope).