Speak up for peace! (2 Samuel 2.1ff)

The division with Israel that followed David's sin mirrors the division that occurs within churches. Paul described this in 1 Corinthians, "..one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Appolos...'" Where does it start? Usually with people who lose sight of their relationship with God and one another in pursuit of some selfish end. When Abner, Saul's military commander, mobilized his supporters in opposition to the new King, David, the battle was on! Never mind that Saul had long since been deposed by God Himself (1 Samuel 16), Abner pursues his goal of keeping alive the House of Saul and makes Ishbosheth its king.

The consequences of such selfishness is always the undoing of God's plan for His people: peace, fellowship and life. In place of these, Israel witnessed war, enmity and death. We read that the battle raged that day ("the battle was very fierce that day") until Abner, the original perpertrator, had the sense to call for an end to it all: "Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of your brothers?"

"Blessed are the peacemakers," Jesus said - and He was talking to His disciples! Sometimes it only takes one person to shame many into the truth. Sometimes one voice can silence an angry crowd bent on destruction. Blessed is the peacemaker! Even Abner's arch-enemy, Joab, acknowledged this: "If you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until morning."

Which of us has the courage to stand against division within our churches? It only takes one of us to make peace.

Access

You could argue we have way too much "access" these days. The technology of computers has gone mobile and, especially in the city, it is a wonder most people don't wander into traffic while their heads are tilted downward at their I-Phones, Blackberries, etc.

Nevertheless, the gospel is all about access. The writer of Hebrews exalts, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..." Jesus gave us access to the Father is a new way. We should embrace new ways of connecting people to Jesus.

My morning stroll in downtown Boston led me to Park Street Church, where I had worshiped as a college student and which has a proud history of missions and evangelical witness. It boasts the first Sunday School and the first church to send a missionary to Hawaii. The children of Park Street Church first sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee." A nice young lady, a volunteer at the church, explained to me that at a certain point in the 1800's, the city forbid Park Street's open air preaching in the nearby Boston Commons. To restore access to the gospel, a wrought iron balcony (look carefully in the center of the 3 columns) was erected and the Word fell out into the streets. The place came to be known as "Brimstone Corner" for the fiery sermons that were delivered (and for the gunpowder that was stored in the basement during the War of 1812).

Some thing don't grow old. One of them is the need of people to hear the good news of the gospel. Technology supplies new "balconies" for its message. Let's pray that God would show us how to use it wisely for His glory.

Charles River Run

It snakes for 80 miles through 22 Massachusetts communities before it empties out into the Atlantic Ocean at Boston Harbor. Fortunately for me, it's a ten minute walk from our hotel and there is a beautiful running path along the Charles River which has been my route to the downtown for the last two mornings.

None other than Capt. John Smith mapped the river, naming it, appropriately, the Massachusetts River. When he presented the map to Charles I he suggested the king should feel free to change the name to that of any other English river. Guess what name he chose?

But I digress. The idea of a river running through a city reminds me that God's living water is poured out on every city and town where His people live, worship and witness. We are, in a spiritual sense, the cleansing water that brings salvation and refreshment to the soul. People are like the woman of Samaria, who sought other sources, but was reminded by the man speaking with her, "I am the living water." It is both our privilege and duty to be that river that runs through our city.

On Staying Awake

Wakefulness can be frustrating, especially when you want to sleep. In ministry, however, it is essential. "Awake O sleeper and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." A strong cup of coffee works for some (not me), but staying awake in the spirit is not so easy.

They say "The city never sleeps," and spiritually that's true. We know that God never sleeps (Psalm 121.3,4) but neither does the devil. He is pictured as "going to and fro in the earth" (Job 1.7) "seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5.8). This is the essence of spiritual warfare: a God who never sleeps, opposed by the enemy who waits for an opportunity to attack.

Tonight we traveled 52 floors above Boston to the top of the Prudential Tower - the 2nd tallest building in Boston, the 26th tallest building in the United States... OK, not too impressive. But the view was. From the "Sky Walk" you can see 360 degrees for miles. From that bird's-eye view, you gain a perspective that God has, looking down on His world. Yet Satan is the "prince of the power of the air" and has, for a time, the same perspective.

The challenge for you and me is to grasp the power of prayer which moves the Hand that moves the world. Those disciples who fell asleep in the Garden did not realize they were sleeping through an historical moment in human history when the eternal plan of God would be fulfilled. Who knows, if we stay awake, what plans we may be part of?

God of This City

As I write this I am in a Starbucks (shocking) across from the Prudential Center, overlooking the streaming masses that have already at 6 in the morning begun to fill the streets. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the challenge of winning a city to Christ, or a town. My morning readings from McCheyne reveal two important principles to guide our ministry among them.

Psalm 127.1 includes the words, "Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." The best of intentions, involvement and carefully planned programs cannot compensate for the lack of prayer and dependence upon God. But prayer and dependence upon God will compensate for the lack of those. I have always liked the picture of Nehemiah's warriors, on the wall, working with one hand and holding a weapon in the other (Nehemiah 4.17). This is the balance we must strike in ministry to the city.

In Matthew 11, Jesus denounces the cities that had rejected His message. He thanked His father, "that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will." We should not be surprised when our gospel is rejected, and we should prayerfully consider how to reach our cities, but ultimately it is the responsibility of unbelievers to repent.
God alone is able to transform individuals and cities. Our part is staying awake, as the disciples in Gethsemane.

The Birthmarks of True Faith

We often dismiss the question of someone's relationship with Christ by saying, "God only knows." While that's true, and we ought to be careful about judging someone's faith, still there are real birthmarks that we can look for. Consider 1 John 4.13,14. John tells us that there are three realities to a faith relationship: First, the Spirit - The Holy Spirit seals the deal, so to speak, when we confess our sins and embrace Christ. "By this we know...He has given us his spirit..."

A second birthmark is Jesus. "We have seen and testify that God has sent his son to be the savior of the world." When our eyes and hearts are opened to Jesus and our lives testify to His work in our lives, we merit the name, "Christian." A third mark is the love of God the Father. "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

The first place to look for these is in ourselves. Being led by the Spirit, living like Jesus and loving unconditionally with the Father's love - these are the birthmarks of faith.

Go for the Gold

Michael Phelps wanted to do what no one else had done. His goal was not to be an Olympic swimmer or to win a medal or even a Gold, worthy goals indeed. But Phelps was looking higher. He said in an interview, "I want to do what no one else has done." In the post-Mark Spitz era, that can only mean one thing: to win the Gold medal in all eight aquatic events. Spitz achieved a paltry seven Golds in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Who dares to be the best? "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9.24,25). "Strict training" for the Christian involves the painful loss of self and the tedious attention to thought, word and deed. This is impossible when we lose sight of the eternal. Lord, give me the drive to excel in things that matter.

In Memoriam

We’re standing here in a place where Tim would have felt comfortable. The outdoors, a place not only of re-creation but a reminder of God’s creation.

It’s true that even if you never entered a church, or held a Bible in your hand, there is much you could learn about God from being here. The Bible tells us that God’s power and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has made. So hunters and fishermen who love the outdoors, as Tim did, have a great responsibility: to know the God who created all of this.

Nature holds many lessons for us, but there is a lot that this forest and stream does not tell you. It does not speak of the Son of God who came to die in your place. God created all things for you to enjoy but reserved His only son, Jesus, for His greatest creation. That creation takes place when we recognize our sin and believe that Jesus gave Himself to be punished for it – that’s right, His life for ours, a substitute.

The Apostle Paul wrote that “If any man is in Christ He is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5.17). This means that the moment you believe in Jesus as your Savior, something new is born inside of you, the ability to know God, to learn about Him, to have a relationship with Him and live a life full of purpose and meaning – in short, to know what this stream and every beautiful thing around it cannot teach you.

Strange as it might seem, death is the closest we come to this new life, for it reminds us that this earthly life is short and that another life, eternal life, is available as a gift from God. So while we grieve the loss of a loved one, we take this opportunity from God to believe, so that when our time comes, we will not fear death, but instead look forward to eternal life in the presence of God.

Empowered youth ministry

Ten minutes before worship Ethel hands me a yellowed newspaper article taped onto the back of a flyer. The article features a picture of me at 17, standing with Mike Johnson the founder of Shekinah, a 70's Christian band. The flyer announces the "First Annual Festival of Joy - a Christian Woodstock."

The Festival of Joy did not become an annual event, but it is forever remembered by the four teenagers who organized it, me included. It was poorly organized, poorly attended and I think we wound up in debt. But nothing empowered us more than having an idea and being allowed to run with it.

One mistake we adults make in ministering to teens (emerging adults, I call them), is not seeing nor helping them to see the enormous potential they have. I remember saying one last goodbye to the couple that had hosted our weekly youth group meeting for years. I was off to college, and Mrs. Ferguson stopped me at the door to say, "You will succeed in anything you do."

I've forgotten most of what was shared during those meetings, but I have always remembered that last encouragement. And while I haven't always been successful, it has been enough to know that someone thought that I could be.

Prayer Changes Nothing!

These were the words with which Donald Grey Barnhouse greeted his congregation on one occasion. No doubt he had their attention! His purpose was to remind them that their zeal for prayer must leave room for the sovereignty of God.

I remember, as a young Christian, being encouraged reading C.S. Lewis's essay, "Petitionary Prayer: A Problem without An Answer" (in Christian Reflections). In it he admits to being confused by the two charges of scripture: to pray in faith, believing... and to pray with Jesus, "Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done." Lewis concludes with a question: "How am I to pray this very night?"

Over the years I have become less troubled and more comforted by this question. I know that as I pray in faith, believing, I can trust God as the Arbiter of my petition. Sometimes we know we are praying the will of God, and those times we are uncertain belong to Him.

The Essential Church

A recent Pew Research poll reveals that 57% of Evangelicals do not believe that there is only one way to salvation. This should concern all of us in the Church, especially parents whose children are awash in a culture where tolerance and diversity are the controlling values.

In our rush to be relevant, the Church has become too much like the culture around it. Like Icarus who, in his joy of flying, soared too close to the sun and fell into the sea, so believers are in danger of becoming powerless witnesses. (Check out Charles Colson's The Faith).

The time has come to recommit to the essentials of the Faith - the authority of the Bible, the divine person of Jesus Christ, salvation only through Him - these will help keep us grounded and provide the spiritual energy necessary for us to transform the culture around us.

The Zacchaeus Factor

"...he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him... When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.'"

Our sixth annual Family Block Party outreach drew a large crowd as always. But as always we wonder how to measure the success. Gospel literature was distributed, our people mingled and shared their stories, we prayed before and after that families would see in us the love of Jesus. In the end we trust that God sees what we cannot. Like Zacchaeus in the tree, lost in the crowd, the needy soul does not depend on our meager efforts, but on God's omniscient presence.

Parachurch Ministries

The trend toward new church models is both encouraging and disturbing. Encouraging because there is the need in every generation to adapt our message to reach the culture; disturbing when that adaptation competes with the Church for time, talent and treasure - or worse, becomes a substitute for the Church.

"Para-churches" exist to minister where churches don't. Bill Bright's Campus Crusade set out to reach college students, overseas mission organizations formed to reach the lost in areas of the world for which the Church had no vision. In the last forty years para-church ministries have exploded, specializing in everything from men, to teens and addicts.

The goal of every such ministry should be to go out of business, for they should exist to equip the Church to do the work that it is not doing. Unfortunately, many have taken on a life of their own, tapping the resources of churches and functioning as parasites rather than partners.

It's hard to conceive that Jesus would have approved of what we see today. I am thankful for Christian organizations that have intentionally come alongside the church to equip it, but cautious toward those who seem to have become churches in themselves.

Marriage in the Mirror

It’s funny the things you remember. I recall meeting some of my wife’s family for the first time, an aunt and uncle and her grandfather, Paul. Paul was a towering giant of a man, a semi-pro baseball catcher in the days of Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson. I sat on a sofa opposite him while the others were chatting in the kitchen nearby. Over years his sight had deteriorated and he walked with a cane. He knew all about me from my fiancée, and I thought her report would cushion my visit. I was wrong. We sat silent for a time, and then, leaning toward me, he pointed his cane to my feet, made eye contact and said, “You take care of her. She’s something special.”

Gramps, who passed away several years ago, was not a believer. But he instinctively understood that marriage works when the husband takes care of the wife, in the same way, with the same care that Christ takes care of His Church. We do well to point couples in our churches to this working model of a successful marriage, helping them understand how the love of Christ and the devotion of His Church translates into the roles of husband and wife.

As shepherds we’re trained to keep watch over our flocks. That’s who we are, that’s what we do. The danger is that, in the good-hearted quest to rescue others, we lose sight of ourselves and of our own marriages. I am thankful for what God has shown me in the mirror.

The Culture War

I went to college with the guy who revived the term "culture war." Jim Hunter is a gentle warrior who spent more time than he should have playing guitar with me in Room 107 at Evans Hall. It didn't affect his grades. It did mine.

Anyway, we went our separate ways, he to Academia, I to the pastoral ministry. As a pastor I have been a reluctant culture warrior. I was one of the little group who formed the NH Christian Coalition back in the day (early 90's) because I felt Christians needed to make their presence felt in the political arena. Unfortunately too many, in my view, invested too much in a political solution to social problems and too little in the Church.

While I still am interested and occasionally active in political things, I believe that the Church is God's primary agent of change in the world. Government - at its best - creates an atmosphere in which the family and Church can flourish. Long-term change in our culture depends upon Christians growing in their faith and sharing it in the world. In this election cycle, as people clamor for "Change," let's show them the change that only Christ can bring.

The Preaching Moment

For years now I have breathed a two-word prayer before stepping up to a pulpit: "Help me." I don't know when I started that practice but I'm not inclined to stop it or even add to it.

When the moment comes to preach, I suddenly realize that my work is done, and the only thing needed is the help of God's Spirit for me and those who listen. At that moment I join the congregation to witness the truth of those words in Hebrews, "..the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

At that moment, we stand before God for what we say and what we hear.

Shepherding Between Sundays

Shepherding between Sundays

Just a touch…

A shepherd need only touch the sheep with his staff. Just a touch is sufficient to lead, to discipline or to comfort. The same is true in the Church. Those who are new attendees have come for different reasons, but all are looking for relationships, both with God and with His people. As shepherds, we are responsible for the touch that will lead them further down that road. The first touch might be a smile, a cordial welcome, helpful instructions about the facility or the service. Subsequent “touches” require some knowledge of their background, family situation, interests and abilities. This usually doesn’t happen on Sunday mornings, but it must happen.

A culture of caring…

Unfortunately we have been conditioned to take a Sunday morning approach to church life. The Sabbath should be the high point of the week for Christians: the celebration of the Supper, the teaching of God’s Word and the corporate worship of the local Body. But Sunday morning is no substitute for the other six days that comprise the challenges of work and family, the temptations of the devil and the opportunities for spiritual growth. Life is lived Monday through Saturday and if we are to create the culture of caring that Jesus intended, we must model a concern for our people that extends beyond Sunday. Plurality demands that all of us see our shepherding role as the single most important responsibility we have. Of course that role begins with our personal walk with Christ and ministry to our families. After these our focus should be on caring for people and teaching others to do the same.

Paul’s example…

All of our excuses for neglecting the flock seem hollow when we consider the Apostle Paul’s care for the church in Rome (Romans 16). Although he was responsible for all of the Gentile churches, he concludes his letter to the Romans with a personal touch that demonstrates his care for individuals— twenty-eight by name! Others by relation or by church affiliation were well known to Paul and were not “lost through the cracks.” Shame on us when we learn of someone’s suffering weeks after it has occurred or of someone’s struggle only after the victory or defeat is past! We missed an opportunity to shepherd and, perhaps, to lead them further down the road of spiritual growth and church involvement.