Years ago as a young pastor in Oakland, California, I was preaching a sermon series focusing on the Kingdom of God. I had recently read some books from E. Stanley Jones, the famous Methodist missionary, some exceptional Baptist dispensational writers, as well as some reformed Presbyterian authors. All of these camps, despite being polar opposites on numerous theological subjects, had some fascinating thoughts concerning the Kingdom of God. I decided to dig into the Scripture and determine where I was going to land on this important topic. Anyone who knows me knows how meticulous and precise I can be with such things. After much serious study I shared my findings and my conclusions in this sermon series. It was no “private” interpretation I can assure you. It was not only orthodox Christianity, but it was ruthlessly Scriptural. I would have it no other way.
Contemporary Church Issues
Legislating Courage
Our soon to be President, Donald Trump, made a campaign promise to evangelical pastors of repealing the Johnson Amendment (JA) to the IRS Code 501(c)3. For those of you unfamiliar with this amendment you may recognize it as the prohibition for churches (and by extension pastors) of participating in and influencing elections and “endorsement” of specific candidates. It has been the “stick” the government has used on occasion to attempt to keep the church disengaged and pastors silent on crucial public policy questions and legislation.
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I Can’t Fight the Santa War
I am diving into the controversy of the ages…a place even angels fear to tread…you guessed it…the Santa-war.
I am reading about a dozen different sites which appear every holiday season concerning the Santa dilemma. Should we or shouldn’t we? Is it harmless or evil? Will kids have fun or be ultimately harmed?
Silly me…
I have decided to jump in…
Short version…Santa is not the problem…at least not the main one…and I can’t fight this war.
Long version…
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Camping On Quicksand
The 2016 election is mercifully over. It is now President-elect Donald Trump. I extend genuine congratulations to both the President-elect and all his passionate voters. As I have consistently said, God is sovereign and as mysterious as sovereignty and man’s liberty can be on occasion, I accept the fact that the Lord will perform His Will according to Romans 8:28, in the life of His people. Whether it be judgment or blessing, His Will be done. Like most of you, there is no disappointment watching the amoral and criminal Clinton machine sent to the political junkyard. And while I am still highly skeptical that Trump will be that “Cyrus, Jehu, Samson, or David”, it costs me nothing to be optimistic and pray that the Lord will indeed direct Mr. Trump’s heart as a river and turn it as He (the Lord) pleases (Proverbs 21:1).
The Slippery Slope of Suspending Scripture
I will instantly stipulate that there is probably no Christian alive (or dead for that matter) that hasn’t at some moment played fast and loose with the Scriptures with regards to its interpretation and application. We know that we all “see through a glass darkly” and tend to venerate our “private interpretations” as THE interpretation. Most of the time and for most honest students of the Word, this is done unconsciously. We are not willfully twisting the Word. We may be unskilled or immature in rightly dividing the Word, but we are honestly wrestling with its contents. Unless you are a fully deceived cult leader my hope would be that for the vast majority of Christians a humility would exist that could say, “I had never thought of that before”, or, “I have never seen that in Scripture just like that”. I will be the first to confess that in my 38 years of following Jesus and my 32 years of preaching the Gospel, I have stood up on several occasions and changed my views based on the Scripture. What I believed those early years preaching are not exactly in line with what I uphold in these later years. And let me be crystal clear on this point…my “morphing” has happened because of the Scripture, the Holy Spirit’s enlightening, and the discipling of other ministers who helped me connect many dots. I suspect my journey is not unlike many other sincere Christians.