What School Do You Go To?

Well, I did it again. I went walking yesterday morning and this time I was wearing my trusty Notre Dame baseball cap and a Duke University t-shirt. A weird combination I'd say. I have a number of college t-shirts. I own one from Harvard, Yale, Michigan, Air Force and of course Duke. You'll notice that there are no party schools there. Only bonafide strong academic institutions.

I haven't attended any of those fine institutions. I thought about why I wanted to own such t-shirts. Could it be that I have an inward inferiority complex and want to be associated with Ivy League or upper echelon universities? Am I trying to impress others by making them believe that I fit in with that group? After some soul-searching I concluded that I probably qualify to belong to Densa and not Mensa. It wasn't anything like that at all. I'm just cheap. I got the shirts at Steve and Barry's. A great place to get a quality t-shirt for $3.99. The hat set me back $6!

As is my nature, I look for a spiritual illustration in just about everything I read, eat and experience. You'd be surprised what you will learn if you are observant. One of my favorite theologians (Hall of famer, Yogi Berra) says that "you can see a lot things by just observing." :)

An interesting phenomenon has been noted by scholars who follow and report on such things, that the average church going American claims to have 3 church homes. I've heard of people having a home of residence and a summer home, but owning three homes, in most circumstances, seems odd to me. Christians are claiming one church for the preaching ministry, one for the music ministry and one for the youth or children's ministry. To some degree I can understand where they may feel a sense of wanting a "full-service" Christianity. But it is rare to find quality in all levels of a church ministry in one church.

Maybe we want bragging rights within our circle of friends. We want to claim the best that each of these churches have to offer. It gives a perception to others that we have it together. But in reality, are we just attending multiple churches to impress others, or is it because we are cheap? We can get a great worship, teaching and youth experience without having to pay full price. What about taking into consideration that God may want you to actually do something about strengthening the youth, or music ministry in only one church?

We may be able to get away with that with t-shirts and ball caps, but what is it costing us to practice our faith in this manner? We have a consumer culture and we are practicing it in our church life. Our churches are mirroring our culture. The bottom line is that I'm not committed to Duke, or Harvard, or Yale. But the college I attended prepared me for life and service unto the glory of God. I may not have one of their t-shirts, but even if I did, all I'd do is get it sweaty anyway.

What Game Are You Playing?

A few months ago I started getting up before breakfast to take a long walk. I did it for a variety of reasons. My weight had gotten higher than I was comfortable with. I've been told that walking is good exercise and will make me feel better. I thought this would be a great way to multi-task by spending an hour listening to good Christian music on my IPOD, and praying. It's been a very successful endeavor, although I suspect, after these past few months, the weight thing will always be a problem.

This past week, as I was preparing for my early morning walk, I realized that I had put on a White Sox World Series T-shirt, my favorite Notre Dame cap, and a pair of shorts in the University of Georgia team colors. I chuckled as I imagined what my apparel would communicate to anyone who knows anything about sports. "What team is his favorite?" "What sport is his favorite?" Does he realize that any Georgia fan would think he's out of his mind wearing a Notre Dame cap in Bulldog country! "That boy doesn't have a lick of sense when it comes to style." "Boy, is he confused!"

I like a lot of sports teams on the college and major league level. For some reason I acquired a love for Notre Dame football as a child and it has stuck to me. I love baseball on any level but if pushed for a choice I would have to say Cubs first, White Sox second, but a close second. BTW, that last statement is true and it infuriates some of my friends that I would have the audacity to claim an affinity for both Chicago teams. It's their problem, and they'll just have to deal with it. :) Actually my baseball fanaticism is simple. I want the Cubs to win every time they play. I want the White Sox to win every time they play, unless it's against the Cubs. I want the Yankees to lose no matter who they play. But hey, I digress.

During my walk, my preacher mind kicked in. I started to see the parallels of how discombobulated my sports fan testimony was compared to how confusing it must be to unbelievers who see Christians professing allegiance to more than one team. We claim that God hates divorce and yet Christians get divorced at roughly the same rate as non-Christians. We claim that materialism is a sin, but misspend our money in much the same way as the unbeliever. We say that God loves sinners and yet we show a lot of contempt toward them and the worse kind of contempt is to condemn without offering loving witness.

If it is true, that the average Christian lives pretty much the same way a non-christian lives, then how is our testimony influencing the world? It's like claiming to be on one team, but wearing the uniform of several and trying to play various sports at once. It just doesn't work. I doubt that my exercise apparel will change much. I've got a number of caps, shorts and t-shirts and the matching ones may not necessarily be clean at the same time. But I'm going to work on my witness so that there is less confusion about what team is my favorite.

"That the Man of God May be Fully Equipped. . . "

I became a Christian through reading a Gideon's Bible. I have shared my testimony many times in various Gideon's camps and from the pulpits of the churches I have pastored or had the privilege from which to speak.

The gist of the story is simply that I was given a Gideon's New Testament when I enlisted in the Air Force. During an intense period of questioning where my life was going, I was directed to reading the New Testament. I read the entire New Testament in 2 days and the entire Bible in a little less than 2 weeks. I was hooked. It seemed that every word I read had relevance for life in general and my life personally. I accepted Christ as my Savior and have devoted my life to learning as much as I can about Jesus as revealed in God's Word the Bible. On the flip side, I have followed His call on my life to tell those who have not heard The Message how they can be saved and then to follow up on them by teaching them about God's character and ways as revealed in The Holy Scriptures.

I love the Bible. I remember when I got saved, every Christian carried a Bible. A full-sized one! We would carry our Bibles everywhere looking for opportunities to open them and learn from its teachings.

As a young Christian I attended Church every chance the doors were opened. During weeks of revival, planned or spontaneous, it was not unusual to find me in a pew or at the altar. My first Pastor was a lover of Scripture. He had one of the most worn out Bibles I have ever seen, even to this day. I wanted to be like him and would spend my time listening to his fully Bible saturated messages, all the while flipping my thumb past the pages trying to wear out the gold edging so that my Bible would look like his.

Things have changed now. Many people no longer bring a Bible to church services or gatherings of Christians. Bibles are downloaded on PDA's or cellphones. Passages of Scripture are flashed on a screen. Often the messages that are heard from the pulpit only vaguely allude to Scripture. I wonder if a lot of Christians even read the Bible at all outside of the few verses they may hear at a church service?

Our culture is showing some strong signs of decay. Our society has changed so dramatically that evil is called good and good is called evil. Christians are caught up in lifestyles that correspond to those of unbelievers and their problems are similar and just as bad as the lives of their unsaved friends.

We need to get back to the Bible. To read it prayerfully, in long sections and in-depth. The Word of God, empowered by God's Spirit will give us the wisdom we need to live life in these perilous times. We need the knowledge of God as revealed in his Word. Our families will once again thrive in righteousness as we humble ourselves before its truths. Our neighborhoods and workplaces will reflect positive change as God's people live by the Word.

The very words of Scripture compel us to commit to living a life of humility and trust in the Lord:

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 (NIV)

My personal life testifies to a simple truth. When I have been diligent in studying God's will and ways through His Word, my life has experienced a heightened level of his peace, joy, wisdom and power. The times I have failed him in the most miserable ways, have been when I neglected his Word and prayer. I hope everyone who reads this simple post will make a commitment to make studying God's Word a new and first priority.