Long-winded Preachers

We've all had nightmares of being stuck in a church service where the preacher started his message and proceeded to cover everything from Genesis to Revelation with a couple of visits to the the apocrypha and pseudipigrapha to boot. Help!

Well this preacher couldn't stop himself from communicating everything that came to his head so he started writing it down. 3.5 million words later, he is still going!

I'm a preacher. I am sure that there have been times when I wore my audience out. Not every message can be a barn burner. But this has to rank as the ultimate extreme.

I often wonder what goes through the mind of a listener when the message goes long. What has gone through your head? Do you daydream about your consummate vacation? Are you planning your work week? Maybe you won't want to say. But the next time I'm accused of speaking too long, I am going to refer my critics to this guy and tell them to thank God they weren't a part of his congregation. :)

How Being Old is Cool to the Young

I don't know if there are too many things that aren't more pathetic than a bald-headed old guy driving a Mazda Miata while sporting a ponytail. There is just something about getting older and denying it that just isn't cool. But there is a time when being old is cool.

Over at Reformation21, one of my many favorite blogs, you'll find this little essay reminding us that old isn't necessarily old-fashioned. Interspersed with some humorous observations are some timeless spiritual insights.

I recently visited a church where the average age was 25. It's a booming church, growing by leaps and bounds. It is listed as one of the top 100 fastest growing churches in the U.S. I felt antiquated as I took in the sound (loud), the music (edgy), the use of video (I think I had a seizure in the middle of the service), and the preacher's vocabulary (there were words there that had the opposite meaning of what they meant a generation ago).

But then I caught myself. I had something that most of the audience didn't have. Experience. And good experience to boot. My faith had been forged by the crucible of life and my understanding of grace, mercy, justice and redemption were as deep as the ocean. I could make my home in this church and offer a valuable service.

I loved the energy in that church. I would recommend that church to anyone. Their vision and passion is second to none. Many churches grow in intellectual understanding of the will and plan of God, but lose their excitement of serving the Savior. I hope they maintain their zeal as they mature so that they won't be spiritual bald-headed men, sporting pony-tails and driving Mazda Miatas.

Quote of the Week

This week's quote: “57% of all statistics are made up on the spot.”

In other words, don’t believe everything you see in print and/or hear. One needs to retain a healthy measure of skepticism without become a cynic. Sometimes a person wants to add some credibility to her opinion so she makes up a “fact.” Sometimes the “fact” is rooted in truth but the one making the statement can’t remember the source so they approximate. But just as they may be approximately correct, they can be approximately wrong.

Facts don’t lie. Facts may be misinterpreted, but they don’t lie. Take the time to get the facts. Interpret them carefully and be open to the idea that you may inadvertently make an error in interpreting the facts. Be open to correction.

When in doubt, don’t make up a statistic. If you don’t make up a statistic, there will be a 63% chance that you’ll be right.

What the #$%@*& is Going On!

Is the above caption offensive to you? Even though actual words weren't used? I guess we don't have enough swearing in the home, on television, during traffic jams and golf games. Now it seems that we are being given permission to swear at work.

I don't think it's my imagination, but language in the public square has gotten more guttural. It is not unusual to hear children cussing in front of adults, and even their parents. What used to be reserved for the locker room has now become mainstream.

With a language as rich as English, I find swearing to be a lazy man's shortcut to expressing himself. I have long admired the British legislators who are able to cut down their opponent in Parliament without using a single off color word. Now that is verbal craftsmanship!

I have heard of tests being done where people carried around tape recorders for a full day. These people were amazed and some actually ashamed to find out just how much swearing they do. It has become so normal, that many don't even realize they are engaging in it.

Jesus reminds us that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." He also said, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." There must be an abundance of really bad stuff in a lot of hearts.

How about it? Would you be willing to carry a tape recorder in your pocket for a full day to find out whether you have a problem with coarse language?

The Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

We no longer have teenagers in our home, and believe it or not, we miss them. Children grow up and get their own lives. Christian parents want to pass on their spiritual values to their children. Committed believers are elated when they are successful.

George Barna has done some very interesting research about teenagers and their spirituality. I think you'll be surprised when you look at the data. According to your experiences, are the spiritual lives of the teenagers you know as vibrant as the evidence would suggest? How much of this spiritual vitality, in your opinion is real?

If it is true that Christianity is always only one generation away from extinction, how would you rate the future of the church in America?

Couldn't Have Done it Without You

Happy Anniversary! We are completing one year of the new and improved JawboneofaPastor blogsite. I couldn't have done it without the help of two really great and talented guys. People behind the scenes often don't get the credit they deserve if at all.

I want to give a shout out to the designer of the website Scott S. He created the graphic, which after a year I still think is cool! He is a great graphic designer with his own business and he does some really good work.

I also want to say thanks to another Scott. Scott B. often bailed me out on some of the more complicated techy stuff. He helped me understand how to write certain basic codes in the template to get the results I needed.

Between these two, they helped me to learn how to embed graphics, links and some of the other stuff that doesn't come easy for a guy who has 10 thumbs. They encouraged me to keep blogging when I hit a creative snag or when I wondered if people were even reading some of this stuff.

I am no longer working directly with them as I have relocated, but from time to time I email them with a problem and they continue to come through for me. Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you.

Big Mac or the Big Guy

I was amused and saddened at the same time. It seems that more people know the ingredients of a Big Mac than know the 10 commandments. You can make the case that there are only 7 ingredients that make up a Big Mac versus 10 commandments, but you are checkmated by the importance of knowing the latter over the former.

It's amazing what one can remember because of a good commercial jingle. Advertisers and merchants count on it. Bumper stickers, talking points and sound bytes make up a lot of our social dialogue. If it can't be put on the front side of a t-shirt, then it's probably too complicated. But we are paying the price of shallowness instead of reaping the benefits of depth.

But a snippet created for an easy sell hasn't been lost on the Christian world. After all, Calvinists have created TULIP as an anagram for a very complicated theology. And who can forget the "4 Spiritual Laws" for sharing the faith. It isn't a sin to create a memorable advertising campaign if you believe in your product and want to sell a lot of it. Maybe we need a few more gifted people handling God's PR?

By the way, I forgot the jingle for the Big Mac, but I also have to confess that it took me a few minutes to jog the memory of all 10 commandments again. :)

The Pro-life Issue in the Next Presidential Election

This is a long post, but stick with it. Justin Taylor over at Between Two Worlds hits the nail on the head for the upcoming election if the scenario ends up being Hillary against Rudy. I've copied the whole text of his post here.

Denny Burk explains why he will not vote for Rudy Giuliani if Giuliani receives the Republican nomination.

And while John Piper hasn't specifically addressed the Giuliani issue, it's clear from this article that Piper is a one-issue voter (abortion) who would never vote for a pro-choice candidate.

Also advocating the single-issue voter model and specifically applying it to Giuliani is Joe Carter. Joe is "an unabashed single-issue voter -- and that issue is justice." In response to the notion that the "perfect can become the enemy of the good," Carter responds: "Indeed this has often been all too true. Politics is the art of the possible, which sometimes requires the sacrifice of the ideal. But we must not compromise too easily or too willingly, lest we forget that the 'good' can become the enemy of the 'just.'"

On the other hand, John Podhoretz (a Jewish conservative commentator) has recently written, "A third-party candidacy on the Right undertaken by even a minimally serious person will, it is true, almost certainly doom any GOP chances in November 2008." Podhoretz goes on:

The purifiers really do face a very stark reality going forward — if they pull the trigger against the GOP and the Democrats win by not much, they will bear the responsibility for the election of someone who will be worse for their issues. Therefore, it should stand to reason at this point that conservatives fearful of a Giuliani candidacy should be rallying behind Thompson. And yet James Dobson has spoken insultingly of Fred and others don't seem particularly excited by him either. The conduct of Religious Right leaders has been entirely baffling. They've have several candidates they could have rallied around as a matter of principle — Huckabee and Brownback in particular. But they haven't done so. It's almost as though they're paralyzed."

As someone who is passionate about the cause of justice for the unborn, I frankly admit that I am conflicted on the issue of what to do if it comes down to two pro-choice candidates in the general election. I think there are compelling arguments on both sides.

I'm inclined toward Melinda Penner's football analogy:

A pro-life candidate gives us the touchdown option. But given the possible scenario of the two main parties having pro-choice nominees, the touchdown is off the table. Pro-lifers can only choose between tying with a field goal or losing the game. A third party candidate doesn't offer the chance for a touchdown . . . .


It would be much better if one of the main candidates is pro-life and offers the winning option. Go for the touchdown, of course. But if our alternatives are lose or draw, I'd prefer to go for the field goal and stay in the game. Stay on the field rather than stand on the sidelines and watch a pro-choicer nominate the next Supreme Court justice.'

Here are a few thoughts I have in trying to work through the issues:

1. I do not want Giuliani to be nominated for the Republican ticket. For those who are convictionally pro-life and want to see justice for the unborn prevail and Roe v. Wade overturned, it seems difficult to support Giuliani's candidacy at this stage when there are other viable pro-life candidates.


2. The ballgame changes if the race comes down to a pro-choice Republican vs. a pro-choice Democrat.


3. One has to ask whether or not it can be reasonably ascertained if one pro-choice candidate would be better than the other in terms of the cause of life. The key word, I think, is reasonable. We're not talking infallibility here.


4. The next president will undoubtedly get to nominate justices to the Supreme Court. No one doubts that Hillary Clinton will nominate judges with a judicial philosophy at odds with constructionalism and originalism.


5. I think there are good reasons to believe that Giuliani would appoint constructionalists and originalists, as he has promised to do--in part because I think he will want to placate the Republican base. (Even if he does this for only one term in order to win reelection, which I think is doubtful, then the next point still stands.)


6. One must recognize that if it comes down to Guiliani vs. Clinton, a vote for a third-party candidate will undoubtedly guarantee a Clinton presidency (likely for the next eight years). Read that sentence again. Now read it one more time. I think it's incontrovertible, and I'm not sure some pro-lifers have sufficiently recognized this.


7. The irony, then, is that being a single-issue voter on the cause of justice for the unborn can actually lead to increased injustice for the unborn.


8. At the end of the day, perhaps we can categorize the two positions as (1) principled pro-life purity and (2) principled pro-life pragmatism.


9. It seems that the Religious Right (by which I mean the James Dobson Republicans--the elite evangelical political influencers of soccer moms and the like) are in a pickle: Mitt Romney is a Mormon, Fred Thompson doesn't seem like a Christian, and Mike Huckabee doesn't seem electable. From my seat in the bleachers, it seems like they should pick one and stick with him.


10. It is a valid, legitimate point that if the Republicans nominate a pro-choice candidate, then this precedence opens the door for the nomination of pro-choice Republican candidates in the future.

What do you think?

If you've never visited Justin's blog, you're in for a treat. His is one of the most insightful blogs out there.

The Church as Comedy

I enjoy a good joke, some wry sarcasm, and funny irony. I have used humor in my preaching and for that matter, I look for humorous things in every aspect of life. But I draw the line at sacrificing the sacred for a cheap laugh. I have seen "funny" videos of a kid doing a cannonball into the baptismal tank, and there are enough "jokes" about getting drunk on the communion wine to baffle the mind.

What happens when the line is crossed. Christianity Today has published a good article to make you think about goofiness and the gospel. Here is a sample of what you will find in the article:

"When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a comedy show, then a nation finds itself at risk."

Do you take offense at jokes using Jesus as a punchline? If not, why not? While some funny conclusions can be reached about some of the things that happened in Jesus' ministry, have you felt uncomfortable over some of the ways he is protrayed by comedians?

I love to listen to good preaching that includes humor, but I draw the line at cheap laughs at the expense of my Savior.

What is the Church?

Evangelicalism is being challenged by the emerging church. Actually the challenge is to what the Evangelical church has become rather than its premise when it started. Evangelicalism was born through rediscovering the truth that the gospel had to be applied personally before it could address and transform the culture. Unfortunately the emphasis on "personal" salvation has created a hybrid of the gospel that sounds and is practiced as more of a self-help, self-realization, self-transforming message, rather than being seen as a call to become part of God's plan for changing the world through reconciliation.

Over at Out of Ur, David Fitch takes and makes this fascinating and insightful quote:

"The term missional asks this question: what is the purpose of the church? To enfold and warehouse Christians for heaven, protecting them from damage and spoilage until they reach their destination? Or to recruit and train people to be transforming agents of the kingdom of God in our culture? The missional church understands itself to be blessed not to the exclusion of the world, but for the benefit of the world. It is a church that seeks to bring benefits to its nonadherents through its adherents." (Brian McLaren)

It seems that too many of our churches are becoming warehouses for the redeemed rather than training camps for world changers. The goal seems to be to insulate believers from cradle to grave with Christian programming and facilities dedicated to making them comfortable and entertained. This approach funnels too much of the kingdom's resources to non-essential activities while those who need to hear the gospel are left with their noses pressed up against the panes of our Christian country clubs.

I don't want to be misunderstood. I love beautiful facilities built to the glory of God. I believe that there needs to be extensive numbers of groups, classes, workshops and other opportunities offered for equipping believers to live like Christians. But somewhere along the way the trained army must be deployed. We are saved to serve. Not saved to sit or saved to be satisfied. Ultimately all of our energy in discipleship, mentoring, equipping or whatever new buzzword is being used, must result in engaging in the work of reconciling the world to Jesus. That is the essence of being a church

Quote of the Week:

This week's quote: "Just because you’re necessary doesn’t mean you’re important." or "Just because you’re important doesn’t mean you’re necessary."

Most of us have met someone who is "full of themselves." These are people who are impressed with a sense of their own importance. Some are like this because they are egotistic, others because they really believe that their world wouldn't be able to make it without them.
But history tells a different story.

Churches with charismatic and competent leaders have had those same leaders leave, fall from grace, or pass away and the church continues to exist. Families lose their matriarch and adjustments are made. Employers lose a key employee and in a matter of time a replacement is found. That's not to say that the key player isn't missed, it simply states that "life goes on."

I've held many positions where people thought I was "irreplaceable." I've never felt that way personally and proved it by leaving those positions and watching the work continue on, and in many cases thrive. It is humbling to know, that just because I was important, it didn't mean that I was necessary or vice-versa.

The next time you cancel your vacation because you think the place will fall apart without you, get over yourself. If your vacation turned into your demise, they'd figure out a way to make it.

Trying to Understand Divorce Biblically

When I was a young Christian I was very dogmatic about many issues. I saw them primarily in black or white. As I matured I learned that there are a number of gray areas that don't easily fit into black or white understandings. As I've matured even further I am convinced of two things: there are a lot more gray issues than I initially calculated, and there is a movement in our culture to reconstruct truth, which is always black or white, into palatable shades of gray.

Divorce is one of those issues. Christianity Today has published an article available here that attempts to shed some light on the tricky issue of divorce. While some may immediately jump to the conclusion that it is a capitulation to the culture, others will be just as quick to accept much of our divorce culture in a pragmatic attempt to be biblically relevant.

There are two basic principles of Bible interpretation that most, if not all, scholars agree on. Rule number one is that we must try to determine what the original authors actually said, and the second rule is that there is only one interpretation of scripture although there may be many applications. Scripture cannot be made to say today what it didn't say when it was written. And that is where we find the sticky wicket.

There is 2,000 years of history separating us from the original writers and message. Add to that a foreign language and culture and the difficult task of properly interpreting scripture is easily understood. But that doesn't mean that one has to be a scholar in order to grasp the truth of God. It simply means that we must approach the text with humility saturated with grace.

We must do our necessary homework before we pronounce something as true or untrue. We then live in the light as we understand it with an open heart and mind seeking further illumination. Until then, we can live with a clean conscience. Sloppy interpretation may lead us to live in the bliss of ignorance, but only knowing the truth can keep us free indeed.

I am grieved by the number of divorces that happen whether to Christians or non-Christians. The subsequent brokenness and pain to the persons involved takes years, and often decades, to work through. Add to that the dysfunction that often exists in the lives of children caught up as innocent parties, the poverty that often exists in single-parent families and that alone would make me want to take a strong stance against divorce.

But once the divorce has happened, I am motivated by wanting to bring healing to those same broken people in need of God's grace and mercy. Read the article and share your experience or thoughts. This is a topic that has many sociological as well as theological ramifications.

The Boomer Generation, Pastors and Technology

If you are over 50 and still afraid of the internet, you are missing out on a great opportunity to reach the next generation with the Gospel. This simple little article will help you to find ways to bridge the cyber gap that may exist in your ministry.

I consider myself somewhat computer savvy. The speed of the changes that occur in the world of technology make me feel like I am getting hopelessly behind. And yet, I find that growing at least in one area at a time can reap generous rewards.

When I first undertook blogging a couple of years ago, All I knew how to do was enter text. Then I learned to create links within my posts, add pictures, and add other features. I will eventually learn how to embed video and other stuff. In the meantime, I am continually amazed at how many people read my blog. While I often don't get a lot of comments, if I fail to post anything new in any given week, I'll start getting emails wondering if I quit blogging or asking if everything is all right with me.

I want to challenge those of my generation to stay current with computer technology. Just as you don't have to know all of the parts of a cars engine to enjoy driving a car, you don't have to know everything about computers to enjoy using them to communicate to friends, family and even strangers who happen to trip over you blog on the way somewhere else.

GO CUBS!

Rick Moran, over at the American Thinker, has written a nice piece about the interminably optimistic (or maybe futilistic) Cubs fans. Can you believe it! It's October and the Cubs are still playing baseball.

I love baseball. I'll watch the Toledo Mudhens play against the Brimingham Barons if that's the only game on. I grew up using a baseball mitt as a pillow at night and rising as early as my parents would let me to go play baseball, in an alley, a vacant lot, or sometimes even in an actual league with uniforms.

I was there when the Cubs blew it in 1969. I mean literally. My dad was a security guard and he was allowed 2 free passes for each game. I must have taken in 50 games that wonderful and yet dark summer. While everybody makes a case for how the Cubs blew the lead losing 17 of 25 games in September, sometimes what is forgotten was how the Mets went 21 and 10 in August and 23 and 7 in September, the stretch that overtook the Cubs. While some people take pleasure in bashing the Cubs, I make excuses for them.

Call them lovable losers, or just plain losers, but any player that has every worn the uniform and played in a packed house, even when the team is hopelessly out of the race, can tell you that there is no place like Wrigley Field, and no fans like Cubs fans.

It was exciting when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Cubs fans watched in wonder at the parades and accolades given to the Southsiders. Can you imagine what would happen in the city of Chicago if the Cubs won the big games? It's gonna happen, you watch. Either this year . . . or next year.

Keys to Successful Relationships

I'm afraid of Oprah, yet I like Oprah. I believe she is sincere in offering all of her advice and help. What scares me is that she has so much influence over so many people. Anyone with that kind of influence should be respected and feared.

The latest issue of Oprah carries an article about conventional wisdom regarding relationships and the new rules that threaten to stand that wisdom on its head. Much of this conventional wisdom is held by many as papal edict. It is unchallengeable. Or is it?

After reading some of the new rules, I have to agree with many of the points made. As an example. Men don't like it when women try to change them. As a pastor, I have counseled many couples and have made note of the resentment that grows in men as their wives make demands. Women call it constructive criticism, men call it nagging. Often the demands are very constructive and should be made by the men. The difference in the old rules versus the new rules is that women should seek change in smaller bite-sized increments. Those in the study that did were much more effective in the long run.

If the old adage is true, that "men marry women believing they won't change and women marry men believing they will change," then the concept of change is a potential war zone. How do you traverse this battlefield and survive?

There is much good advice in this article. There are biblical principles disguised as social work and psychological research. I try to get all of my life changing advice from the Bible. The truth is that many people don't read the Bible and a lot of believers don't read it either. Read this article and make a note at the biblical principles it teaches. Then ask yourself, will I get my life lessons from God or Oprah. But then again, to many Oprah is God :)

Faith and Football

It's football season. My Chicago Bears are stinking up the joint so I'll have to focus on something else besides the game.

Christian athletes have always intrigued me. How do you justify being involved in violent sports with being a follower of Christ? I guess it all has to do with the attitude you have while you play. Is it your intention to ground and pound your opponent to submission? Or are you more interested in following the rules of the sport, competing fairly all the while maintaining your joy in the Lord and testimony.

The Detroit Lions have Jon Kitna, a professing, devout Christian at quarterback. This fascinating piece is done by ESPN the Magazine, a decidedly secular sports magazine. It is a fair piece and doesn't pull any punches about Kitna's testimony on and off the field.

Many of us have children who look at sports figures as models. It is imperative that those athletes who claim Christ as Savior be excellent witnesses with such a public podium. When they exemplify a consistent vibrant walk with Christ, they will be noticed by the secular and the religious.

Have you been influenced by a Christian athlete's testimony or lack of it? What lessons have you learned as a result of this influence?