Walking The Beat

DO YOU HAVE A JOB 42 PRAYER LIST? I DO.

I like to read Scripture in context, which means reading books of the Bible as quickly as possible. Recently I read through the book of Job. Then I read through Job again. A number of years ago I was doing research for my pastor and outlined the book of Job for him. As George Strait sings about an old girlfriend, "I wish I had that one back."

At that time, I viewed the book of Job as a book of on the problem of the suffering of the innocent. And, in some ways, it is. But I think it more a volume on the character and wisdom of God rather than solely on the suffering of the innocent.

Job 42:7-8  "After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite: "I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has. Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his [prayer] and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has." (HCSB)

WHAT IS THAT??? Chapters 39-41 are what we would call an "interrogation" the likes of which are unparalleled in Scripture. God may be giving us a preview of the Judgment in his questioning of Job - and questions for which there are no answers. Job's reply and repentance in 42:1-6 are evidence that Job really had no clue as to the depth of the majesty of God.

I am intrigued that twice God tells these "friends" (we all have some of these) they had not spoken truth about Himself. He calls their diatribes 'folly' and calls them to repentance with an intercessor (Job). It is interesting that several times in the book Job laments there is no intercessor for him.

Let's see if I have that right. Job was indeed guilty, but not of sin nor bad theology. His was a faith issue. He questioned the wisdom of God. Have you been there? I have. I wish I could honestly tell you I haven't, but I have.

But Job's friends, who said his suffering was due to his unrepentant sin, had bad theology, and God nailed them for it calling it a lie!

No doubt we need good relationships and love is very important. But these relational friends were accused by God Himself of lying about Him. God's character is important and what you and I believe about God's character is crucial, even to our witness.

Faith is a personal struggle. God help us to come to the place where we can trust the wisdom of God in all of life's reverses. They do come, and that on a fairly regular basis.

Those had spoken ill of Job and had lied about God's character were required to come to the altar and offer a burnt offering. There Job would pray for them. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to bless those who despitefully use us and to pray for our enemies. We are to pray blessing, not imprecatory prayers.

Job's restoration was accomplished after he prayed for his friends (42:10). So again, do you have a Job 42 prayer list? I do. Some who read this may be on it. If so, from the depths of my heart, God bless you!

JOB

Studying Job - will have a series outlined soon. Awesome book. The context is suffering but the theme is the character and wisdom of God. More later.

DOES INCONVENIENCE REVEAL CHARACTER?

Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men... . I don't know about the mice, but this man has had his whole week's plan skewed by the storm last night in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Sigh...

My wife and I were with friends and colleague to make a visit to a local church. No one showed. We stood in the parking lot visiting and waiting. We saw the storm approaching. The sound of a mighty rushing wind was immediate and the results obvious: Instantly a wooden sign in the lot was picked up and hurled across the hood of a westbound driver in a small BMW. Barely missed the auto and I certain all the driver saw was a blip.

The storm was to the north (where we live). We stayed south, but we spoke with a neighbor. When we returned home, the electricity was out, a huge tree limb (no trees like this one in our neighborhood) was at our driveway. We were fortunate. No fences down nor shingles off the roof.

So this a.m. we again drove into Colleyville for breakfast. A lady (recognized as the wife of a local physician) was commenting to two girls of high school age: "We've been without electricity for 14 hours. This is ridiculous." My thought was, "Lady, why don't you go get a chain saw and help these guys clear the power lines of the downed trees and limbs?"

Another conversation was overheard at our favorite coffee shop. Not quite the same tone, but a lot of frustration expressed.

Now get the picture: Two teen-age girls with fashionable rubber boots, shorts, one a Paris Hilton hair style, etc., etc.  and a lady driving a high dollar vehicle, well dressed (casually), sitting in a restaurant along with my wife and myself, eating breakfast and complaining about no electricity.

All of us had a vehicle with gasoline. We could travel. All of us had the money to eat in a nice place. We were not hungry. All of us have optional places to go temporarily for air conditioning. We did not have to be uncomfortably hot. We have beds. Most of our homes did not experience great damage and if they did, we do have some insurance.

But in this world, local world in which we live, there are people without air conditioning. There are people who cannot go to a restaurant to eat. Some with housing insufficient to withstand storms lose their homes, clothing, etc.

My wife volunteered at our church's new ministry, 6stones. Many people in the Mid-cities area of DFW have physical need and many people are sensitive to those people and their needs.

But too many others reveal attitudes where"entitlement" and cool" seem to be prized above all else. If a small inconvenience of an electrical outage brings out this kind of attitude, then what happens if real tragedy strikes? And can we suffer in community as did our parents and grandparents during the Great Depression and WW2?

I have a friend who recently lost her 8 year old grandson to a brain tumor. I suspect they would gladly burn a lamp if they could exchange electricity for that child's life. Others have lost jobs, retirement benefits, etc., etc., etc.

Do we have the collective character to suffer together, if necessary? Or are we so fractured that many only look out for themselves?

As others have said, "I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet, and I work for a non-profit." But here goes. The face of the globe is changing. The face of this nation is changing. I do believe we are in the end times. This does not require fear on the part of believers. Rather, it will call for every ounce of true Christian character we possess. It is time to seek the Lord and reflect His image in all we do and say.

YES - I am back to blogging! :)

OOPS!

My apologies to those of you who have commented recently. I only this day received notification of one comment. When I opened the comment file, there were five that had not been approved for publication.

I have checked my settings and should have received notification via email of all five, but did not. I have approved them, apologize to you for the delay and thank you for commenting.

I will re-think my previous post.

Again, thanks for reading and commenting.

REALLY DEBATING THIS

Blogging is fun sometimes. And then there is the long pause due to busyness and other reasons. I have come to admire those in the news print business who meet deadlines with articles and those bloggers who blog on very frequent basis. Give all of them a big "Attaboy". If you just must be pc, then "attaperson". Somehow it loses something.

I am finding that I really enjoy Facebook. I connect with friends, find out what they are doing, and sometimes even post a sentence or two and even a question that gets some comment. The comments are brief and interesting.

That format is better for me at this time. So, my blogging will not stop, but it likely won't be long or more frequent than weekly (which in itself would be improvement).

Why? I spend a lot of time and thought to most posts. Most of the readers are personal friends who are on Facebook. And, I do not generate a lot of comments. My desire was to use this as a ministry avenue, but perhaps that was just a good idea and not reality. I am not one to lay out my life for the eternity of the internet and I refuse to call names and get into that. I've no desire to get into the denominational blogging. Perhaps I am old, archaic, boring, or all of the above. Consumer demand dictates a lot. Just ask Chrysler and GM (now Government Motors, so one friend says). So, no chapter 11, but somewhat of a different tactic until I can get my thoughts and other half of my life more together.

If you are not on Facebook, find me there. And, I will be back here from time to time. If you are reading this, I sincerely thank you.

LIKE A ROLLING STONE

Is there a redemptive value in blogging? Why is it worth one's time to blog? And why should anyone read my blog or anyone else's?

Blogging is a fad for some. Some who at one time blogged now post notes on Facebook instead of blogging. No problem. To each his own. Others are up-to-date on every nuance of technology. I really do admire these folk, but I am not one of them. I'm still trying to learn how to prevent spam from coming through on my Blackberry.

Bloggers differ in their approaches. Whether informational, marketing, focusing on issues, preaching, or a simple comment or homily (I do that from time to time), each blog distinguishes itself by the thread of posts and comments. Think of a genre and there is likely a blog somewhere that fits it. Some say things well, others not so well. And some, who view themselves as "prophetic" (to be certain, some are) can also really get under the skin of those people and/or practices against whom they blog. But consider this.

In the Scriptures, prophets of truth seldom if ever got a second invitation and most of them didn't get the first. They were sent by God to deliver a message of truth to people who did not want to face their own sin. Sometimes sin is individual. Sometimes it is within the structures of society. Read Walter Wink's books on spiritual warfare. I do not agree with all of his exegesis and conclusions, but he is worth the read when dealing with the demonic in its relationship to structures of society, both religious and secular.

Prophets of old used the communication tools of their day. Those today do the same, which is inclusive of blogging. Some do go overboard in their criticism of personality rather than issues. Some prophets (and bloggers) might walk into a room and see a snake. Instead of taking a hoe, a rake, or some other tool and excising the snake, some simply dynamite the room! 

But for everyone serious about following Christ, the real question is how shall we live in such a way as to extend God's kingdom and not our own or another's agenda?

Speak truth. If you are reading a blog, ask the truth question. Relationships are important, but far too long truth has been sacrificed on the altar of relationship. Without truth, there is no authenticity and without authenticity we cannot achieve biblical community. Relationships can be utilitarian. Perhaps that is why much of the church in the West today is indeed, utilitarian, refusing to deal with real issues and encouraging constituents to just move on or fit in for the sake of the organization or some other larger-than-life entity that crushes all in its proud way.

What C. Peter Wagner and others identified as one descriptive principle of church growth called the "homogeneous principle" has now become prescriptive in many places. Translation: "We only want our kind here."

A number of years ago a young pastor had scheduled me for a revival meeting. He wanted to check me out. The Conservative Resurgence was in full swing in Southern Baptist life. He said, "I am Baptist born and Baptist bred, and when I die, I will be Baptist dead." Cute, but really stupid and utilitarian. And I am a Southern Baptist!! You see, it does not matter who you are in terms of denominational identity, if you are that sold out to anything other than Almighty God, His Word, your spouse and children, you are already dead as far as usefulness in the Kingdom of God is concerned.

Speak truth in love. The love chapter is still in 1 Cor. 13 and still inerrant, inspired, God-breathed. Think of it - the breath of God is His word (2 Tim. 3:16, "inspired by God" is literally, "God-breathed"). I often hear, "I just love you." Really? Read Paul's definition then talk to me.

Practice Matthew 18 in your relationships and stay out of that which you do not know and is not your business. Whether you are a leader, a wannabe, or like so many of us - just one of the common folk seeking to live and serve Christ, these words from Proverbs are helpful in determining character.

"A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends." Prov. 16:28, NASB

"Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease." Prov. 22:10, ESV
"Drive out he scoffer, and contentions will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease." NASB

"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down." Prov. 26:20

These are indeed words for all of us. But it seems there are some these days who are ready to destroy other people's lives. I have been on the receiving end of such activity. One's dignity and honor can be destroyed because congregations typically hear a word of criticism and seldom check it out for its truthfulness. Unfortunately, there are too many "friends" in low places who are unwilling to simply let people "be" and get on with their lives.

There is another verse from Proverbs.

"He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him." Prov. 26:27

I am praying and waiting. I determined long ago I would not call out people on my blog. I trust the Spirit to use whatever I may do or say to open hearts. Closed hearts will never be opened by man...only by the Spirit of God. And I am far from He. I do not know all that goes on inside someone else, and really struggle with all that inside myself (Jer. 17:9).

What I do know is "He who rolls a stone....". As my friend Freddie Gage has said, "There are no qualified stone throwers."

DOES YOUR 'INSIDE CULTURE' COMMUNICATE LOVE?

It has been some time since my last post, so I suppose it is time. I have and am active on both Facebook and Twitter, and those are good connections with friends. But the blog has a different purpose, so I am back.

And I want to follow up on the issues discussed. I have been asked to help a congregation develop a small group ministry. This is a very good congregation with a long and admired history. They have recently relocated to a different community. The issue at hand is that they are getting many visitors to the Sunday worship service but these are not being assimilated into the Sunday School or other areas in the life of the church. I am working with two staff members and met with a total of 15 people interested in small groups.

Some want to drive small group with curriculum. Huge mistake. No doubt nothing should be taught outside the parameters of the Apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42), but small group is a method of developing Community, and Community is about relationships

Which brings me to the point. Why the Church? Why the "called out ones"? Often in discussions such as this some want to push every word to extremes. For example, if I asked "Do you go to "church" or are you the church? Some would take one extreme or another and shape the conversation to be about whether or not one should attend public worship. That is missing the point.

The point is about identity as a follower of Jesus. We are called out, transformed, and sent with the gospel message. And that new community of which we are a part is a relational community.

Within the biblical parameter, there is mutual accountability and accountability can only be positive in an environment of loving relationships. In the context of evangelism, no one is won to Christ by someone they do not like. In the context of the church, no one will submit to accountability or discipline unless they believe the church or the other person genuinely loves them.

Love does not gloss over sin or bad behavior. Confrontation is sometimes necessary and almost always painful. The Bible uses a phrase that we sometimes over-use and by doing so we can negate its impact: "But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head - Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

I confess my own guilt in using this verse as an excuse for sometimes blurting out words that are indeed truth, but not said in a way or with the intent of helping the hearer 'grow in every way into Him'.

Many churches have what I call an "inside culture". These are wonderful people who are very out of touch with the desires of the culture around them. In order to be part of that church, one must first learn the "inside culture" and adapt their life to it. That will happen less and less.

Does not love teach us to take proactive steps to develop biblical community in such a way as to break down the walls in order for us to develop healthy relationships and become catalysts for the transformation of soul that only Christ can bring?

Do you see an "inside culture" that is prohibitive in reaching people? How do you deal with it in your context?

IT IS BEST...

The rain is cold and very wet. It is also much needed. And, perhaps the cold and wet day has also dampened other things.

Hopefully I can be vague enough to not reveal identities and yet specific enough to speak to the issue. God himself knows that there are certainly enough examples, so protecting identities may not be all that difficult. But I heard it again today.

"It is probably best he leave the church." That statement has been uttered about men and women who (1) have failed; (2) who have alienated someone; (3) who have disagreed with leadership or someone who thinks they are a leader; (4) who are different; (5) who are hurting and having difficulty working through the hurt, the loss, and the faith questions raised; (6) etc., etc.

I intentionally ended on 6 because that is the number of man, and 666 is the number of the anti-Christ. I did that because I believe none of the above to be the biblical response.

I last heard the statement uttered about a pastor having some difficulty. I am aware that there are certain situations, especially in willful and unrepentant sin, where the church must discipline. That is indeed biblical. And, there are situations where a leader (whether staff or otherwise) may need to step aside for a period of time or even find other employment in order to refresh, heal, deal with issues, etc.

But "it is probably best he leave the church"??? For Christ's sake, what is the church for? No, not at all taking the name of the Lord in vain. Seriously...For Christ's sake! What is the church here for?

Again, I am not talking of one living in willful and unrepentant sin. I am speaking of those who find themselves in situations not of their choosing and having difficulty working through it. I am speaking of those who just don't fit. They may not be "cool, man!" Or maybe they don't answer to "Hey dude!" They may have different tastes in music, they may or may not reflect your favorite worship pose, raise hands, close eyes, or shake their heads. And if a woman, she just may not be able to wiggle her backside in beat with the latest 4/4 hot worship song.

Now for those of you just offended, unscrew your halo a notch and think. By the way, each of those are real examples encountered more than once.

One elderly friend of mine whom I regard as a true hero said to me a few years ago, "we are worse than I have ever seen us." He is right. It is very popular in some places for new member classes to require the signing of a document that you will (1) tithe (2) attend, and (3)not cause trouble. I've not seen an example of one that asks people to sign that they will be great parents, share the gospel on a regular basis, pray, etc. But we sure do want them to sit up, shut up, and ante up.

Just when someone needs the people of God most, it is best they leave! And we seriously are having conferences on why church attendance is declining in America? You've got to be kidding me!

This thing we call "church" is messy. It is dirty. The church is a light and all lights attract bugs. And some days, we are all a bug.

Galatians 6:1 says "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you are are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

At what point will the church wake up and although it may have to make difficult leadership decisions or it may have to discipline members, it will not push people out but will say to them, "we love you enough to walk with you through this situation to the glory of God." When? Who?

I was reading in 1 Peter this morning. I highly recommend 1 Peter 3:8-4:11 in the NIV. I was reminded that my prayer life is connected to my attitude and behavior. A few years ago when our world had cratered we reached out to a couple. Instead of love, we got firehosed in a lecture that basically said, "Get over it!" I listened, then asked, "can you tell me how?" The answer? "I have no idea." The antithesis of Gal. 6:1. Well, we did get over it and we learned valuable lessons and the most important is that God is very, very faithful and our validation is from him, not people.

My pastor friend, I love you. This post has largely been related to how people in ministry are treated by others when they themselves have issues. But it was broadened to apply to other situations.

I quote an old E. Tennessee mountain preacher who said, "The reason most of these churches are so cold is because they have a polar bear in the pulpit." He was right. Let's us look in the mirror. Are we simply seeking to have trouble free congregations or are we about the ministry of Jesus? You ain't leadin' where you ain't been, dude! (See, I do know a few hip words).

I recommend something. Find a place of privacy, get on your knees, open your Bible to Psalm 51 and pray through it verse by verse. We often speak of preaching verse by verse. I also recommend praying verse by verse. Let God speak to you. Then go do what He speaks.

THE SPIRITUAL CLONE WARS

"Many of them just copy a letter from Rick Warren's book and send it out" was the summary sentence one pastor gave me when asked about church starts in his metropolitan area. Yes, he did mention some exceptions that are thriving.

Those words set me to reflecting. Last Sunday in our Sunday School class (yes, for now we are back in Sunday School) we had some discussion regarding the faith of the global church and what appears to be a lack of faith in the Western church. I'm not so sure it is lack of faith. I rather think we are in a straight jacket of sameness and we dare not risk moving out of that. "Flowers Are Red" is our theme song.

If you are a Star Wars fan you are aware of the Clone Wars. If not, check out the dvd's and watch it. It is filled with great metaphors and you just might enjoy the movie.

My friend Andrew Jones posted this morning on the house church movement in India and lessons Europe could learn. So could we in the USA. He links to an article he wrote, "What Did You Go Out To See". You can read the article here. 

In his introduction to the question (taken from Matthew 11:7) Jones says "We seek out sameness. We go to a foreign city to eat noodles, and end up with a hamburger and fries. We know that global church growth is largely happening in the margins, among ordinary people, without big budgets or impressive credentials. But when we go out to worship with the "indigenous" church in Colombia or Malaysia or Italy, we end up sitting on a pew singing expat choruses with a national pastor who has colonized himself for our approval. To be discovered. To be seen by people who do not have eyes to see."

It is a lengthy quote, but necessary in context. You see, my observation is that is true of the church in the USA and is one of the huge reasons we are not experiencing the spiritual awakening for which we pray.

We prefer clones to authentic life. The language is there, but the reality isn't. In the 1990's I was part of an organization that had set as its goal to take the gospel to every person in Texas by 2000. Yes, every Christian organization had similar 2000 goals. It was as if the world would end in 2000. It didn't but many efforts did.

I shall never forget one staff meeting in which a well respected educator looked at the "new" parts of the vision and said "this is what we have been doing." So, the meeting became one of wordsmithing in which we took the old and re-phrased it to appear as the new. Nothing of essence was changed and most walked out of the meeting feeling pretty good about a good day's work. I was saddened.

My wife and I are good little church members. We filled out the Reveal form, attend worship when in town, attend Sunday School (even the party), and even attend a Wednesday night study. Now please understand. This is a good church with wonderful people who love Jesus and are seeking to serve him. No issue with them at all. We are blessed to be with them.

Here is the issue. It hit me driving home last evening. Everything we have attended has been a clone of the larger worship service. The people come, sit at one end of the room and listen to the leaders at the other end of the room. If really spiritual, we take notes. No exception. Discussion is minimal and often reduced to "any questions?". The praying is done by the leaders for everyone else and in many meetings prayer is the signal to begin and end. Poor God. Somebody should buy him a watch for Christmas so he will know when the meeting begin and ends...just in case he shows up.

Those last sentences are no more ridiculous than the spiritual vacuum into which we have fallen. Vacuums are dangerous. Ask any organization about leadership vacuums. Someone or some group will step in to fill the vacuum.

For whatever the reasons, much of my denomination has continued to speak the right words, but somewhere somehow (and the diagnosticians provide more reasons than we have people) we the people of God allowed a spiritual vacuum to exist and we have tried to fill it with spiritual clones.

Clones (at least in the movies) can do many things. But the one thing true of every clone is this: they are absent of life. And it is life which we seek. It is life Jesus came to give. One cannot clone authentic spiritual life. Emotion, cognitive reasoning, choices to make - all of those can be cloned. But life cannot. And ultimately a spiritual entity without spiritual life will become the deadest, most boring piece of activity on the face of the planet. Crowds and activity do not make for life. Anybody visited a prison lately?

"We seek out sameness" was the precept of Andrew Jones. He is right. God seeks to give freshness and creativity.

Is there a people out there willing to risk what is in their buckets to simply take an open Bible, read it, and seek to obey it? Is our God one of creativity? When God created he didn't market. He made something that did not previously exist and filled it with life. Do not err...this is not to say everything old is wrong. Not at all. It is to say that when we are risking all for God, his creativity will fill whatever he uses with His life.

Are you a clone of someone else seeking out sameness, or are you a living being filled with the living God expressing His creativity and life and trusting Him to use you in fresh and new ways?

TOO LONG, SOON BACK

It has been an incredibly busy and productive 2009 thus far, so too much space between blog posts. Some things had to settle.

Yes, I am working part time with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. I'll tell that story later.

Last evening was the kick-off of the Evangelism conference. Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder were great (he is a Baptists described by friends in his church as "the real deal"); speakers were Robert Jeffress and Jerry Vines, and Charles Billingsley led worship. This man is so very gifted and were led into the presence of God. About 3,000 in attendance and a warmth of Christian spirit I have not sensed in a large Baptist meeting in many, many, way tooooo many years. Lots of connections with old friends who actually care.

I'm reminded of what a friend of mine once related as the best advice he had ever gotten: "Find a hole and fish." I'm fishing again and it is just great. Thank God for grace and good friends who loved in spite of differences. Others talk about it, these folks live it. I'll blog about that some day as well.

So, it is early and I have a long day. You have a good one.