How my Google Home taught me about discontentment (and how to be more content)

My smart phone was due for an upgrade recently, so when an advertisement came via email offering the newest version of my phone; I took a look.  The advertisement on that email said that if I pre-purchased the new phone—it was due to be released in a few weeks—I could also get a Google Home and a new TV.  I was ON THAT.

We didn’t need these things.  We already have a TV.  Our life is fine without a Google home.  But they were free!!!!

My new phone eventually arrived in the mail, and I got it set up, but there was no Google Home and no TV.  I started questioning.  Was I too late in signing up?  Nah, couldn’t be…I signed up literally within hours of receiving the email.  Where was the TV or Google Home?  A feeling rose up inside me.  You know what that feeling was?  Discontent.

I called my cell carrier because I wanted to know what happened.  They told me that I had to go to a separate website and register my info, sales receipt, etc., and that’s how I could redeem the offer.   I found the website for the Google Home offer and got my info registered and approved!  Yes!

Then when the email came that my Google home was being shipped, you know what I did?  I tracked that sucker five times every day till it was on my front porch.

But there didn’t seem to be a way on the promotional website to redeem the TV.  That led to more discontent!  Why did this have to be so hard?  I started feeling grumpy.  What if I had never called them?  This was horrible customer service!

I called them again.  They told me to go back to the same website.  What?  I was already there.  There was no button to redeem the TV offer like there was for the Google Home.  Oh, I needed to read the fine print…the TV offer wouldn’t go live for another week.  You know what I did?  I set up an appointment in my calendar for the day the TV offer website would go live and made sure I wouldn’t forget.  I had to get my TV.

Discontentment.  The TV still isn’t here.

Is it possible to find contentment in life?  Will I feel better when the TV arrives?  Maybe I should call again to make sure it is on its way?  Have you experienced any similar feelings in your life?

We continued our Sunday morning series through 1st Timothy this past week, and in 1 Timothy 6:3-10 we learned in verse 6 that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”  That’s a short, but loaded phrase!

What is godliness?  What is contentment?  Let’s take a closer look.

While Paul refers to godliness in verse 6, he had already referred to it in verse 5, but very differently. Look at the end of verse 5.  He says that those false teachers (he called them arrogant ignorant false teachers) thought that godliness would lead to financial gain. Paul says in verse 5 that those false teachers are robbed of truth.  They think godliness will lead to financial gain, and they are simply wrong.

So what is this godliness he is talking about? In the original language this word is defined as “appropriate beliefs and devout practice of obligations relating to supernatural persons and powers—‘religion, piety.’[1]”

We Christians tend to dislike the word “religion”.  We say that when it comes to our faith in Jesus, it is not a religion but a relationship.  Religion gives us the idea of buildings and set prayers and rules and something very fake and empty.  We say relationship is where it’s at.  Talking and walking with Jesus and having lives transformed, filled with the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control.

So what is Paul talking about here?  A religion or a relationship?  Because he says in verse 5 that the false teachers think godliness leads to financial gain, that kind godliness must be a false religion, right?  The problem is he uses the very same word in verse 6 when he says that godliness with contentment is great gain.

Look at the definition of godliness again.  It actually encompasses both religion and relationship.  Religion and piety. Religion refers to outward acts of connecting with God, while piety is inward, relational, what we would call our heart and mind connecting with God.

That means godliness is a very well-rounded word here.  You can see why Paul would use it.  So he says godliness is not a means to financial gain.  We should not be using the outward or inward elements of our connection with God to try to enrich ourselves financially.  Using God for personal gain is the stuff of the arrogant and ignorant.

Instead, Paul says godliness with contentment is great gain.  What, then, is contentment?

Contentment is “The state of being content with one’s circumstances or lot in life.”

Have you heard that you are not supposed to use the word you are defining when creating a definition of that word.  So for example, “running is when you run.”  That might be true, but we have not learned much about running in that definition.  How about “running is the act of moving your legs rapidly, starting from a standing position then allowing your body to go in motion”?

So therefore, how do we define contentment?  It can’t just be “the state of being content”. We discussed this at sermon roundtable, and one person said that “contentment is to know that we are children of the King, and he will care for us.”   Additionally, we are content when we feel an inner sense of being okay with ourselves.  One author describes it like this:

“Self–sufficiency in a good sense, sufficiency with oneself as spoken of a satisfied mind or disposition[2].”

I like that.  A satisfied mind.

There is such a thing as holy discontent.  That is when something is not right, maybe an injustice is happening, and you feel discontent about it.  Holy discontent motivates you to right what is wrong.  Paul is not talking about that.

Paul is talking about being content in life.  Contentment is a satisfied mind.  I will admit that this one is a struggle for me.  I don’t always handle stress well.  The years of 2013-2015 had some difficult elements.  And in the late summer/fall of 2015 I started experiencing strong anxiety and even a couple panic attacks.  I was not content with life.  I did not have a satisfied mind.  I couldn’t sleep well, and I needed help. And I sought out that help.

For me discontent has manifested itself emotionally.  Discontentment might also be experiential.  What I mean is that we might be very tempted by the things of this world.   We live in a culture where we are trained to be discontent. Businesses want us to be discontent.  They create advertising so that we will feel discontent and buy their products, which they promise us will make us feel good.

 

Instant gratification trains us to only be happy if we get what we want immediately.  What is the trend of the week that we have to have in order to feel satisfied? The reality is that many of us think it is completely normal, this ongoing discontentment.  We feel that if we have things to hold on to, or if we have the right clothes, gadgets, homes, then we will feel fulfilled, normal.  As if that is just the way life is.

What does this say about us?  What is going on inside us that we can be deceived into believing that these things can provide us the satisfaction we deeply desire?  It is what some have called the “empty self”.  A God-shaped hole. That’s a big hole to fill.  No amount of stuff can fill that hole.

That’s why this principle is so very important!  Godliness with contentment is great gain.  Paul’s statement is a direct judgment to those false preachers who look to godliness to achieve financial gain.

But Paul says that true gain is only found in the combination of godliness with contentment. 1 Timothy 6:6 could be translated like this:

“Religion is a source of great wealth if it is accompanied by contentment with what one has.”[3]

If you are like me, struggling with discontent, then what I say next probably sound very normal. I have literally asked God for $1,000,000 as that would pay off our mortgage, pay off small debts, and get our kids set for college.  What this prayer request shows me is that I am not content, and I believe that removing money concerns from my life will make me feel better.

How many of us think more money will help us feel content?  Paul warns us about this in verses 7-9.  We think the things of this world will be the answer to our discontentment, but what we need is to learn to be content with just a few things like food and clothing.  Contentment comes, Paul says, when we learn to be satisfied with just a few things.  And that is a battle in our society.  But it is a battle followers of Jesus must fight.

Why?  Because discontent can lead to disaster.  It’s a trap, a temptation that is too powerful for most. Paul says, “Nope.  The love of money is a root of all evil.”  To be clear, money is not the problem.  Money is neutral.  It is the love of money that is the problem.

I can’t tell you how many times you will hear the phrase “money is the root of all evil.”  That is not what Paul says.  Look at verse 10.  It is the “love of money”.  It is a heart issue.  It is greed, avarice.  Who can spot what is wrong with this picture?

Image result for in greed we

“In greed we trust”.   It should be “In God we trust.”  But money is temptress and trap.

Money shows how discontent we are.  Like this guy:

When you love money, you are greedy, you are passionate about wanting more and more.  And that is why it so often leads to evil.  Theft, crime. Though we might not be in prison because we committed a financial crime, we might have done some other things.

Did you strive to report your taxes properly?

What about the issue of being demanding when you are not treated right or given the right deal on something you purchased.  Might greed be at the root of that desire?  We might say “Well, I wasn’t treated right, and I want justice.”  Justice is quite important, but is it possible that we can use justice to mask greed?

When we recently visited our son who completed Army Basic Training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, we arrived at our hotel to find they had given our party of four a room that slept two.  There were literally no rooms left in the hotel.  None in their sister hotel.  None in two other hotels nearby.  It was 1:30am.  I slept on the floor.  The next day, thankfully, a room opened up in their sister hotel next door and we moved over.  But that day I spent some time talking with management about this.  My internal question was how far should we go in getting a refund for the inconvenience?  I had the confirmation email which clearly stated the type of room we paid for.  The hotel was wrong.  They gave our room to someone else, and they took the blame for their mistake.  Were we not due a refund or discount for our troubles?

Or maybe that sense of what was due us was motivated at least in part by greed? Maybe “godliness with contentment” could help us to view this situation from another angle?  Maybe we could take the hit and show grace?  Just like Jesus did for us?  At what point do I just allow myself to be content and avoid the nagging feeling of greed that wants more and more.  As Paul said in Corinthians “why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be faulted?”

So what does it mean to live a content life?

Evaluate your life.  Get someone who will provide a real honest assessment to evaluate you.

Seek examples to emulate.  Who is an easily recognizable person or example of someone who demonstrates contentment in life?

Contentment is possible.  Not in money.  Not in material things.  But only in Christ.  So pursue godliness.

 

[1] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains 1996 : 530. Print.
[2] Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 2000 : n. pag. Print.
[3] Louw & Nida, 298.

How I found out I owned 62 slaves (and what I’m doing about it)

Does the Bible affirm slavery?  The guy in the video below sure thinks so.

No doubt this man’s methodology was really insensitive and hurtful.  Inexcusable.  But take a look at his argument.  He claims the Bible supports slavery.  Is he right.  On the billboard, he lists a Bible verse that seems to endorse slavery.  At Faith Church two weeks ago, we continued our series through the biblical letter of 1st Timothy, this time looking at just two verses about slavery: 1 Timothy 6:1-2.

In their The Genesis of Liberation, authors Powery and Sadler note that the problem with passages like 1 Timothy 6:1-2 is that Southern slave-owners used passages like this one to retain their stranglehold on their slaves and promote the culture of slavery.  Were the slave-owners right?  Does a passage like this justify slavery?

In the years of 1820-1860 slaves and Northern freed blacks were reading these same passages coming to a very different conclusion.  Many of us today would say “No Way! The Bible doesn’t support slavery.” Who is right?  Let’s take a closer look.

What we find when we survey the New Testament approach to slavery is that the NT writers did not endorse the system of slavery.  They never say “Slavery is a just and good system, and we should promote it and affirm it.” Instead Paul taught Christians how to live in the reality of their slave culture.

First up are Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22-4:1.  Paul says essentially the same thing in both passages.  Here is what he says in Ephesians 6:5-9:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.  And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”

We have to see that in a context where slavery was the norm, where slaves outnumbered free people, what Paul is teaching here is radical.  He is teaching Christian slave-owners to remember that they themselves also have a Master in heaven. Therefore they should treat their slaves well.

This was very unexpected teaching.  But maybe you think Paul should have been more radical than that. Take a look at Titus 2:9-10.  What Paul says here is similar to Ephesians and Colossians, but he adds some detail:

“Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.”

Sounds very similar to the Ephesians/Colossians passage, doesn’t it?  Paul wants slaves to see their masters as people who need salvation from Jesus.  Paul wants them to see how their lives can make teaching about Jesus attractive or repulsive.  If slave owners can become followers of Jesus, then maybe something more radical can happen.

And that is exactly what he says to a slave owner by the name of Philemon.

Are you familiar with the story Philemon?  Philemon was a genuinely great Christian man who owned a slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus, we think, had stolen from Philemon and ran away.  Under Roman Law, this was punishable by death.  Somehow, Onesimus and Paul crossed paths, and Onesimus became a Christian under Paul’s teaching.  So now Paul’s letter to Philemon is a plea to Philemon saying “I’m sending Philemon back to you and I want you to treat him right when he returns.”

Listen to how Paul words it:

“Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good—no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.”

Paul is demonstrating clearly the transformation that can take place.  A slave can become a brother!  Now that is radical.  That is pretty much another way of saying “set your slaves free”.  In fact, it is better than saying “set your slaves free.”  It saying “Slave-owner: followers of Jesus have transformed relationships, to the point where your slaves are no longer your property, they are your family.  You don’t’ just set them free, they are your dear brothers and sisters.”

What we see, then, is that Paul, writing in a society that was dominated by slavery, injected his writing with a view to a better future of equality!  This new picture of the future is clear in what Paul says in Galatians 3:26-28

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is launching a brand new theological understanding of humanity for that culture.  In Christ he says, we are all the same.  We know this from the very beginning of Creation where God says in Genesis 1 that he made all humans in his image.  We are all the same in Christ.  There are different ethnicities, yes, but we are all equal in Christ.  Because of that, there should be no slave, no free.  All are one in Christ.

This theological foundation that Paul taught was the very thing that led to the eradication of slavery in years to come.  Timothy did not live in a world where slavery was eradicated.  The application of Christian theology clearly leads to the eradication of slavery though.  Because we do live in a society where slavery is no more, we should press on to remove even the last vestiges of slavery, including racial bias and injustice, human trafficking and the like.

Slavery does still exist in various forms in the world.  And this is where it impacts us.  Our inexpensive products often come from places across the globe that utilize slave labor in order to keep our prices low.

What if the coffee you bought this morning on your way to work was harvested by farmers that were not paid a fair wage?

What if the chocolate you ate this week was made by slaves?

What if the shirt and pants you are wearing right now are made by child laborers?

In James 5, James the brother of Jesus says this:

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. … You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.”

James is speaking to us as well.  Think about it.  The reason we get such cheap coffee is often because the workers used to farm and harvest the coffee were not paid a fair wage.  Some of our products are made by outright slave labor.

Wouldn’t you want to know if you are part of the system that keeps people enslaved even today?  As Christians we should want to know and do something about it.

Here’s something shocking I found out as I was preparing this sermon.  I own slaves.  You read that right.

Here’s the kicker: You, too, might be a slave owner! Visit slaveryfootprint.org and you can find out for yourself.  This organization has created a website and app with a quick survey you fill out in which you describe your life.  How many rooms does your house have?  How many cars do you have?  How much clothing do you have?  You enter basic info on your eating habits, sports, technology, etc.  Then it gives you a result.  Based on your lifestyle, and what researchers have found about where our products come from, you will get a number of how many slaves you own.

I was appalled to find out my number.  62 slaves.  How many slaves do you own?  This is a reality check.

I know, I know, I don’t actually own any slaves, and neither do you.  But what James says applies to us.  We might not be the slave-owners, but we buy the products those slave-owners enslave people to make!  And thus we are just as culpable, James says.  The unpaid wages of the workers cry out, and James tells us that cry is heard by God!  We should be very concerned about that.

So what can we do?

When I preached this sermon, one person came up to me afterwards frustrated.  It seems like we are trapped in a consumer system where ethical consumption isn’t realistic.  Can the church, for example, realistically purchase a new HVAC unit for $20,000 when a foreign-made unit, one possibly made by workers not paid fairly, will only cost $6000?  The reality is that we’re not just talking about big ticket items like HVAC units.  Nearly everything we purchase from food to clothing to gadgets just might be part of this system.  If we were to restrict ourselves to only ethical purchases, it seems like our lives would shut down and we wouldn’t be able to exist.

So let me encourage you to start somehow, somewhere.  If this is new to you, perhaps you might start with coffee.

It is very possible and accessible to purchase fair trade coffee.  It will be more expensive than the cheap brands.  But that is kinda the point isn’t it?  You pay more for the coffee because the workers who harvested it were paid fair wages.  So consider visiting Equal Exchange.  They sell fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, bananas and other ethically-produced foods.  I was so proud a few years ago when Faith Church made the switch to fair trade coffee.  It cost us more, but it was the right thing to do.

Consider ethical clothing companies like Imagine Goods.  The employed formerly enslaved women, paying them a fair wage, empowering them through employment, lifting them out of poverty.  I’ll admit it, I’m biased. My wife and her partner started Imagine Goods, but if you’ll read their story and see their vision and how they are accomplishing it, I think you’ll see why I’m so excited about them.

Here’s an article featuring three apps that can help you make ethical purchases.  This one features six apps.  Another very easy option is to consider purchasing your clothing at Goodwill or consignment shops.  That way you are supporting an unethical industry, you are supporting local businesses.

It will take some work, but it can be done!

How you might be a slave-owner without knowing it (or…does the Bible condone slavery?)

How are you treating your slaves?  You don’t have any, you say?  Wrong.  You almost certainly do.  You just don’t know it.

Are you a good slave master?  How many of you benefit from slaves?  You’re thinking, “I don’t have slaves!  That was a thing of the past.”

I thought you might say that. Would you be surprised to hear that your answer is wrong?

You might not own slaves.  But it is almost certain that just about all of us benefit from slaves.

Here’s a little test you can do right now.  Read the tag on your shirt.  Where was your shirt made?

Do you know who made your shirt?  How were they treated?  How much were they paid?  What kind of working conditions were they in?  Do they get any benefits, like health insurance?

You’re wearing the shirt they made.  Wouldn’t you want to know who they are, and especially how they were treated?  Or would you prefer not to know, not to have to wonder if you are connected to slavery?

Slavery?  Yes, slavery.  Garment workers around the globe produce our clothing, doing so in conditions that amount to slavery.  Take a look at this article for example.  Or this one.  And how about this one?

My shirt was made in Cambodia.  But there is something special about my shirt.  I can guarantee you that it was not made by slaves.  Here’s why.

Yours though?

Slavery is real, and though we might not own slaves, our consumer choices enable slavery around the world.

Tomorrow at Faith Church, we continue our series through the biblical letter of 1st Timothy, this time looking at just two verses about slavery.  You can read them at 1 Timothy 6:1-2.

You might wonder if this is a passage we don’t need to study because we don’t have slavery in our culture?  Maybe we should just skip it?  I think you’ll find that even though our country got rid of slavery long ago, this is a passage that is still very important to study, especially given the prevalence of slavery around the world today and how slavery is still connected to America through the many products we can purchase that are slave made.

The problem with 1st Timothy 6:1-2 is that it seems to be okay with slavery.  But is it?

For the last two years, I have been participating in a program for pastors called the Clergy Leadership Program of Central Pennsylvania, based out of Messiah College.  We meet up 5-6 times every year for retreats and seminars to help us learn about the intersection between faith and the many spheres of life. It has been a wonderful leadership training opportunity.  One aspect that has been so helpful is that it has put us in touch with other leaders, authors, thinkers.   The program directors have given us books to read, one of which was written by a Messiah College professor, Emerson Powery, who is also one of the program directors.

Powery, and his co-author, Rodney Sadler, wrote the The Genesis of Liberation, an excellent study about how formerly enslaved peoples in the United States South read and interpreted the Bible in the 40 years or so leading up to the Civil War.  Powery and Sadler note that the problem with passages like 1 Timothy 6:1-2 is that Southern slave-owners used passages like this one to retain their stranglehold on their slaves and promote the culture of slavery.  Were the slave-owners right?  Does a passage like this justify slavery?  It seems a little like it does.  Does the Bible affirm slavery?

Join us Sunday, April 23, at Faith Church to learn what the Bible says about slavery, how we might still be culpable of slavery, and what we can do about it.

How to access God’s power for your life

Image result for the power of godDon’t you hate it when the batteries are dead?  I pull out my cordless drill to work on something, and there is no power.  Thankfully, my drill came with a second battery, so I swap them out, and I find that they second one is dead too.

Ever dealt with that? So frustrating, right?  Powerlessness.

Power tools or other gadgets are one thing.  You can buy new batteries, or charge the ones you’ve got.  It just requires a little wait or money.

But when you are dealing with power for life, that’s another story.

What do you do if you are trying to kick a bad habit, and you feel like you have no power?  What about fixing a broken relationship?

What about dealing with a difficult health problem or job loss or lots of bills?

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt powerless?

Sometimes in life we feel totally powerless about the situations we get into.  And that is not a fun feeling.  We hate it!  I hate it.

In Ephesians 1:15-20, Paul talks about power that is available in those difficult situations.  Paul prays that they may know, in verse 19, “[God’s] incomparably great power, for us who believe; that power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead.”

This reality is ours.  You can know God’s resurrection power at work in your life now!  What an amazing promise.

And yet some of you hear that, and it sounds so far-fetched, so unbelievable. How do you feel about that?

On Easter Sunday I have found that while we often look backward in thanks and joy remembering Jesus’ victory over death, and while we look forward to the day when we will experience that resurrection ourselves and be with him, we often neglect to think about the implications of the resurrection right now. Does the resurrection matter today?

Paul is saying that we can experience that resurrection power in our lives right now.  He is not talking about some distant future.  As followers of Jesus, we should expect that working of his mighty power in our lives right now.

Evaluate your own life.  Have you become defeated?  Have you forgotten that his power is available to you now?

That power that God wielded to raise Jesus from the dead is available to us!  Or as another translation puts it “how tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.”  New life is available to us now.  Power for victory over our on sin.  Power to be changed.

But you might be thinking “wait a minute…I have been asking for that power to be at work in my life for 20 years, and I feel like I haven’t seen it.”  Or “I have been praying for a loved one to experience that power, or for that power to heal a broken relationship…and I have been praying for a long time, and I haven’t seen it!  What gives?”  Know that many people feel this way.

Some things to remember:

  1. We are in a battle with an enemy who has not given up.
  2. We have free will, and God rarely, extremely rarely overrules us.
  3. We might have a misconception about our part in the process. Paul is not saying here that we need to just do nothing and wait for God to rain down his power in us.   We have a responsibility.

Know that God is alive and well, and his resurrection power is at work changing lives.

A couple weeks ago at Family Night, a former Faith Church member shared the heart-wrenching story of her husband’s arrest, conviction and incarceration for child pornography.  She also shared how the power of God has been very evident in their family’s life, and especially in her husband’s life, as during his 20 month-long house arrest he started following Christ.  He lost his job, they had to declare bankruptcy, and their neighborhood rejected them because of his sinful choices.  Through this, God’s transforming power was at work, and her husband, though he is in prison, is a changed man, and is even ministering to other inmates in prison.

Those of us here for the CV Community Good Friday worship service heard the amazing story of how one of the top gang leaders in Lancaster City came to Christ.  He went to a presentation at Clipper Stadium where Nicky Cruz spoke.  Cruz was a big time gang leader in New York City whose life was transformed by Jesus, and has been sharing the story of the power of God for decades.  So this Lancaster City gang leader was listening to Cruz.  He didn’t respond to Cruz’s sermon, to the invitation or to the prayer.  But as he walked out of the stadium into the parking lot, he broke down and gave his life to Christ.  Since that time, he has now led 13 of his gang members to Christ!

On Thursday night at our Maundy Thursday Passover Seder, a Jewish Christian shared his story.  He grew up in a Jewish household, and though he heard about Jesus, he never read the New Testament.  He was always taught that Christians were violent cult members.  Later in life he started reading the New Testament, and he was absolutely astounded at what he read.  He learned about a thoroughly Jewish man that was truly the Messiah, the Savior, the Promised One, and this Jewish man gave his life to Christ.

God’s power is at work in so many ways!

And that power is available to us.  If you have a problem with complaining, God’s power is available to you.  If you have lustful thoughts, God’s power is available to you.  If you have anger issues, God’s power is available to you.  That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you to transform your life now.

But what about the people who are Christians who feel distant from God?  What if they are thinking “I wish I could experience some of God’s power in my life! But I don’t feel like I do.”

We need to first of all realize that his amazing power is available to us!  That alone might be a new concept for you.  God is not distant. His power is available to us.

Second, we should ask him for his power.  That’s what Paul is doing in this prayer in Ephesians 1.  Paul is praying that those Christians in the Roman city of Ephesus would know God’s power like never before. Start asking God to give you his power to transform you life.

The hard part of this is that some of us are not experiencing this amazing manifestation of power, and we wonder if something is wrong with us.

“Where is this power you are promising, God?”

God can and does manifest himself in radical ways.  But his incredible power is also available and flowing to us in many ways, sometimes quiet ways, sometimes in ways that don’t seem like power.

It should be seen as a partnership.

I have heard people say “God took away my desire for cigarettes” and it was miraculous.  But more often than not, it will be hard work.  God empowering us to work hard, to be creative, diligent, determined.

Should we think “God will supply food for my family while I do nothing.”?  No, most often God’s power will enable you to get out there and work.

I am an adjunct professor for Lancaster Bible College.  I teach online course.  Back in the fall, I was looking ahead to the winter/spring, and I hadn’t heard anything from the college about teaching.  So I contacted them, and asked if they needed me to teach. The one course I teach is for adult learners who are going back to school later in life to finish off an uncompleted bachelor’s degree.  That course has been on a standard schedule, and they responded that would continue as normal.  But I also teach regular semester courses in the traditional undergrad program.  I asked about that, and they told there were none.

Two weeks later, surprise, my name was on the list for one of those regular semester courses.  I thought Okay, great!  That extra income would be a wonderful help.  Then two weeks after that, I got an email from the guy who originally told me there were none available, and this time he offered me to teach another course!

I had to ask, I had to work, but clearly it was God who provided.  And what amazing is that this winter/spring we needed extra income to be able to go visit our son who graduated from Army boot camp in Oklahoma.

God’s power is available for the powerless. Remind yourself that God’s resurrection power is available to you.  Believe it. Ask for it.  And then strive for it.

Advice to a new young pastor (and what all of us can learn from it)

Image result for advice

On July 1, 2008 I became the senior pastor of Faith Church.  I was scared.  What had I gotten myself into?  I had been youth/associate pastor at the church for the previous six years.  The youth group was awesome, and I had a ministry umbrella over me, deflecting the rain of difficulty, responsibility, and leadership.  That umbrella was the senior pastor.  On July 1st, 2008, I learned what it was like when that umbrella was gone.

Actually, I was surprised to discover the umbrella wasn’t gone.  I became the new umbrella.  I was the responsible one.  In the months leading up to that day, I was excited, I had dreams and looked forward to becoming the pastor.  I also held secret fears and anxieties.  Was I cut out for this?  I had a really good gig as youth pastor! Was I stupid for making the change?  So I read and listened to one passage of Scripture over and over.  It is a good one for young or new pastors.  If you’re not a young or new pastor or leader in the church, I think you’ll find that it is very important for you as well.

Take a look at 1st Timothy 4:11-16, and see if you can find out why this passage was meaningful to me.

I identified with Timothy because in verse 12 Paul says to Timothy, “don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.”

I wonder who was looking down on Timothy?  When Paul goes on to ask Timothy to set an example for the believers, it is best to understand that it was people in Timothy’s church looking down on him because he was young.

But how young was he?  We don’t know.  The word Paul uses could refer to someone as old as 40.  Some feel Timothy was maybe in his mid-30s.  I was 33 in July 2008, so this verse seemed like it was written to me!  Most scholars tell us that at the time Paul wrote this, Timothy could be anywhere from 25-40 years old.  The point, though, is not his specific age but that culturally it was not normal for a young person to have a position of authority.

Furthermore, Timothy is trying to fill some big shoes.  This church was started by Paul, one of the most respected leaders in the entire Christian church, from Jerusalem to Rome.  These Ephesian Christians could easily be talking to the Christians down the road in a town like Colossae, saying with chests puffed out, “Yeah, Paul is OUR pastor.  You should have heard the other day the discussion we were having in the lecture hall of Tyrannus with some Greek philosophers.  He schooled them!  It was awesome.  It rocks having Paul as your pastor.”

After a few years Paul leaves, and he installs Timothy as leader.  Timothy was young, and because of what Paul says to Timothy in his letters, we wonder if Timothy also had a much more timid style than Paul.

What a difference from older respected Paul to younger timid Timothy!

Over the years I have heard of pastoral transitions gone bad.  A new pastor follows the tenure of a well-loved leader, and the new pastor struggles in the shadow of that leader.  Maybe you’ve heard of a church like that. It happens regularly, truth be told. Anecdotal evidence suggests that 25% of a congregation will leave a church when there is a pastoral transition, and if true, that is sad.  From July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2010, we experienced something like that at Faith Church. Some of the attrition was the result of poor decisions on my part.  Some was death.  But a number of people left because I was different from the previous pastor.  I suspect some moved on simply because I was young, about half the age of the previous pastor, and young enough to be the grandson of many of the senior members of the congregation. I know there was a lot of talk going on during those years.  Some of it made it to me, much didn’t.

You can bet that kind of talk is going on there in Ephesus.  And you can bet Paul has heard about!  “Man, Paul, are you sure about Timothy?  He’s…well…young.  Are you sure he’s ready?  I’m mean, have you heard him preach?”

It is possible that Timothy’s authority, gifts, and abilities for leading the church are being called into question.  I have a feeling that not only has Paul heard about it, but so has Timothy.  It might have been Timothy who contacted Paul saying, “Are you sure about this?  Are you sure I’m ready?  These people aren’t always responding so well.  I’m getting push-back about being young. I don’t know that they will respect me.”

And so Paul says “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.”  What does looking down on mean?  It is defined as “to feel contempt for someone or something because it is thought to be bad or without value.”[1]

“Don’t allow people to look down on you, Timothy,” Paul says.  But I think to myself, how is Timothy actually to deal with this?  If people start disrespecting him, is he going to step in and say, “I do not allow you to do this anymore.”  You can hear the snickering if he would try that.  Now if it got to a point, yes, he could make it a matter of church discipline and confront the poor behavior head on. Maybe he had to. If so, that would have been really difficult.

Disrespect of a leader in the church is always wrong.  No matter how old or young they are, we should respect our leaders.  We might disagree, but we can disagree in a respectful way.  If there is contempt going on, it must stop.  Disrespect and contempt is sinful.  Timothy would be well within his right to confront sin.

When Paul says “don’t let anyone look down on you”, I suspect he is saying to Timothy “you need to deal with the contempt and disrespect, Timothy.  You can’t let it happen. I know it is hard, but if people are behaving poorly, you need to intervene and make sure it stops.”

That is not all Paul says though.  He also makes a very different second suggestion.  I suspect Paul knows that the root of the problem is the age difference.  People that are older do not always have a hard time submitting to and respecting younger people.  Sometimes it goes well.  But let’s face it, the general tendency is for younger people to have older leaders.

How many of you have gotten a new boss that is younger than you, and you have found it hard to respect them?  I’ve heard the stories.  The new young boss comes to the company with energy and new ideas and starts making changes, and it can be very difficult.  They don’t know the culture.  They don’t know the people.  They don’t know what you’ve been through.  And as much as you complained about the old boss, you now find yourself wishing you had the old boss back.

Think it is any different in the church?  It’s not.

Paul has situation on his hands.  He spent so much time with the Christians at Ephesus.  He loves them.  But he has left them in the hands of his young associate Timothy who he also loves. Paul knows exactly who the people in the church are.  He knows their ages.  He knows by name who is probably struggling with Timothy, and as I said above, Paul might already have been hearing from those people: “Can’t you just come back, Paul?  This isn’t going well with Timothy.  Come back!”

So Paul knows Timothy needs to grow up fast.  He gives Timothy a very interesting suggestion.  He says “set an example for the believers.”  Paul could go on and on telling Timothy to confront and discipline.  But he doesn’t.  He says one line about not letting the people despise Timothy, but he moves quickly into a suggestion that is far more powerful: set an example.

“Timothy,” I can hear Paul saying, “I want your life to shine so brightly, that those people have no reason to look down on you.  Set an example for them.  Let your life do the talking.”

When I was in high school at Warwick in Lititz, PA, we had a pretty good basketball program.  We were always a contender for playoffs, and some years went very deep into them.  We also had a very rowdy student section, which I loved.  Cheering for our guys in the overheated old gym is still one of the highlights of my life.  One of my favorite student section cheers was only one word.  Repeated over and over.  Can you guess it?

The game scenario in which we would use this cheer was when my team was leading, and other team would start rallying.  They would be scoring points, catching up, gaining momentum.  That would fire their student section up, and from the other side of the gym they would get louder and louder. Back on our side, we would be feeling nervous.  We didn’t want them to catch up!  Our guys on the floor needed a boost, and we would say one word: Scoreboard. Scoreboard.  Scoreboard.  It was a great cheer.  We would really draw out the word “Scoooooorebooooooard”.  We wanted it to be a sobering reminder to everyone there that though the other team was rallying, we were still ahead.  We were winning.  In that moment, the scoreboard did all the talking.  We didn’t have to say anything, except to point to the truth.

The absolute worst, though, was if the other came back and won the game.  You know what the student section from the other school would start chanting back at us? “Scoreboard…scoreboard.”  Whew was that painful.  But the point was made.  The scoreboard still did the talking.  We might be walking out of the gym dejected, angry, thinking “we are a better team than that. We are way better than that.  We should not have lost.”  But the scoreboard told the truth about what was really going on.

Paul, in other words, is saying here to Timothy, “Let your life example tell the truth about who you really are.  Those people might be saying all kinds of stuff about you.  That you are too young.  You are an inexperienced leader.  That you are not as good a teacher as me.  That you are not as smart as me.  That you are not me. But let your life be the scoreboard.  You won’t have to say a thing, Timothy.  Let your life do the talking.”

How should he set the example?  In five ways: speech, life, love, faith and purity.  These are crucial areas.  Imagine if you were setting the example in these five?

  • Speech obviously is how you talk. No surprise to me that Paul lists it first.  Our mouths get us in trouble!  What would it be like for people to look at you as someone who sets an example in how you talk?  You would be gracious.  You would be kind.  Your words would be gentle, self-controlled.
  • Life is your conduct, your way of life. What would it look like for you to set the example in how you live your life?
  • Love is the word agape. Would people say of you that you are a loving person?
  • Faith, it is important to note, is not just believing the right things. This is best understand as faithful.  Having faithfulness.  Can people say of you: “There is a person who is faithful”?  Not because you know the Bible through and through.  Not because you know a lot of theology.  Faith is primarily not about knowing and believing the right things.  It is that.  But it is much more a choice to live them out.  I recently heard Richard Rohr put it this way “you don’t think your way into a changed life, you live your way into changed thinking.”
  • Paul is kinda saying the same thing over and over here, isn’t he? Be pure.  Be holy.  It’s not easy to do this in our world.  But pursue it. Set an example of purity.

Clearly this passage is not just for young Timothy.  This can apply to everyone.  So review it those five categories, all of us.  Are we setting an example in them?  Might there be one category that you sense God is speaking to you to work on?

[1] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996 : 762. Print.

Do you need a spiritual HIIT trainer?

Image result for spiritual training

Have you heard of HIIT?  High Intensity Interval Training.  This winter my workout partners and I have done some HIIT workouts.  They’re really tiring.  You exercise hard for 20 secs, take a 10 sec rest, and then exercise again, rest again, etc.  We’ve done a variety of exercises and work/rest patterns, and every time we finish, I’m wiped out.  Then at night, I’m sore.

So you might like to know that we did a HIIT workout at the beginning of my sermon this past Sunday! We did 8 rounds of 20 sec exercise and 10 rest.  4 minutes.  It was great!  I invited anyone from the congregation who wanted to come up front and do the workout.  About ten people of all ages came up front, while one lady from our congregation who is a HIIT trainer led us in exercises.  That 4 minutes is all it took for me to start sweating.  When it was over, I tried to continue with the sermon, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

You do a 4 minute HIIT workout and then try to read the Bible out loud!!!  It’s hard!!!

So why would I have our congregation do a HIIT workout in a worship service?  Read the passage I was struggling to read, and see if you can find out.  It is 1 Timothy 4:6-10.

In that passage Paul teaches Timothy to do two things: Stop and Start.

Stop anyone who is involved in telling false stories.  Start training yourselves for godliness.  The word “train” where we get our English word Gymnasium. It is the Greek word “Gymnadzo” and the scholars tells us that it means “to control oneself by thorough discipline…In a number of languages the equivalent of ‘to discipline oneself’ is literally ‘to make oneself obey.’ This may sometimes be expressed as ‘to command one’s heart.”[1]

Before we look at explaining what spiritual discipline toward godliness is all about, look at what Paul says in verse 8. He says that bodily discipline does have value, but he describes it as some/little value. Godliness, though, has value for all things.  It has promise, Paul says, for the present life and for the life to come. So physical training is good.  But its value is of comparatively small value to spiritual training. Physical training benefits us for the here and now, whereas spiritual training benefits us here, now and for eternity.

Paul is saying that spiritual training, then, should be given more time and priority. How about you?

I spend a lot of time in physical training, and I do not look at my time spent running or working out as wasted time.  Not one second of it.  I think it is really important.  The question I need to ask is whether or not I give spiritual training an ample amount of time.

Let’s talk about spiritual training, then.  What does Paul mean in verse 7 when he says “train yourself to be godly”?  To try to answer that, let me first ask you: What does it take to be physically fit?

If you ask me how to train to be physically fit, that is a pretty easy question to answer.  Look at a show like The Biggest Loser, and they have it all worked out.  It involves exercising, a trainer, and healthy eating.  Then take those components and implement them consistently in your life.  What happens?  The pounds fall off your body, and your build muscle.  Ailments start to fade.  A person moves from sickness to health.   I love that show.  I love to see the transformation take place in people’s lives.

Probably because I personally experienced a bit of that myself.

You don’t have to get on The Biggest Loser to train yourself physically.  There are tons of local gyms with trainers and there are training apps.  For me it was Joe Yu.  Joe was an LBC student and pastoral intern here at Faith Church back in 2008-2009.  He also had a background in being an exercise trainer.  He was regularly asking me to work out.  I was in seminary then and never thought I had time.  Then my wife Michelle also started saying I should work out.  I knew I had gained weight over the years, but nothing out of control.  Had some back problems.

One day after Thanksgiving 2009 Joe was at our house, and he and Michelle were both saying I should starting working out.  I said “Ok, ok…but the only time I could meet is early in the morning.”  Joe was a part-time security guard late at night, and I figured it wouldn’t work for him.  So he shocked me when he said “Great! Let’s do it!”  Joe is a very enthusiastic guy.  So that next week, we met up at the gym at 5:30am.  Joe brought one of his friends along, Matt, who was a professor at LBC and also very into training.

I’ll never forget that first day.  And especially that first night.  Those guys put me through a beginning training workout that morning.  At night, I was SO sore.  I woke up in pain, and then put muscle cream on.  But I put too much cream on, and it stunk up the room.  I couldn’t sleep because of the pain.  Michelle couldn’t sleep because of the smell!

Little by little, though, through Joe and Matt training me, leading me, encouraging me, my weight came off.  I started working out four times per week, and eating less, cutting out sugar.  In about six months, I figure I lost 50 pounds.

The running started that spring when Brandon Hershey, Matt Marvin and I ran my first 5K, the Race Against Racism in the city. Now years later at Faith Church we have an informal running group that has completed 3 half marathons and 2 full marathons, and a slew of other events.  We do quite a bit to help each other out.  Accountability during training.  Entering events to give us motivation to achieve a goal.

For me it was personal, and it was communal.  I wasn’t shocked by any of the methodology it took to get fit.  And I think most of us have a pretty good idea of what getting physically fit will entail.  We might not do it, but we at least know how.

But what about training for godliness?  How do we do that?

Spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible, praying, deeply participating in a church family, are all wonderful steps to take.  But I have to admit, those are all standard answers.  Good answers, but they bring to my mind some questions:

Do you do these things on a regular basis?  More time than you give to physical exercise?  More time than you give to TV, phone, etc.

If you don’t do them, why?

And if you do them, have you found them to be helpful in training you to become more godly?

If not, what else do you need to do to train yourself to be godly?

Could it be that something more is needed?  As I think about how I’ve experienced physical fitness, it has always been best accomplished with other people.  Especially when I’ve had people training me, leading, me, helping me see the way forward, encouraging me, holding me accountable.  So when it comes to your spiritual life, maybe you need a trainer?  Spiritual Director.

When we have done marathons and half-marathons, we have done 18 or 12 week training programs.  You run 4 or 5 times per week.  And you follow the plan.  You don’t want to get to race day unprepared.  Race day is going to be hard enough.  But if you don’t train, it might mean either the race will be super painful, or unfinishable.  So we faithfully follow the training plan, and little by little it builds you up to run 26.2 miles.

But do we give anything close to that amount of time and energy to allowing a spiritual director to train us?

Keep that question in mind.  If you know a trainer at the gym could help you get physically fit, then how much time have you spent with a spiritual trainer to get spiritual fit?

This makes me think again of discipleship.  We all should be training ourselves to be godly.  We don’t have to hire a professional spiritual director, though I suspect that for most of us hiring a spiritual director would be a good thing.

During my upcoming sabbatical one activity that I am going to seek out is a spiritual director.  There is a Jesuit retreat center that offers spiritual direction retreats for 5, 7, and even 30 days.

And here in our church family we should also focus on discipleship relationships that emphasize helping one another train for godliness. Who is helping to train you for godliness? And then after you answer the question about who is training you for godliness, the next question to answer is “Who are you training for godliness?”

Paul will say to Timothy in his next letter, in 2 Timothy 2:2, “the things you’ve heard me say, teach other also, so they can teach.”  Paul trained Timothy, and then he wanted Timothy to train others, so that others could train even more!

Have a trainer, be a trainer!

 

Go out and get a book that will coach you on how to train for godliness:  Spiritual Discipline for the Christian Life – Donald Whitney.  This is a book that is like a trainer.

I urge you to read that book, and then pick one spiritual discipline to work on this year.  But don’t do it alone.  Get a trainer to help you.  Talk with someone who is better at this spiritual discipline and have them train you!

 

Next, who is your spiritual trainer?

Who are you training?

Have a trainer, be a trainer!

 

 

[1] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996 : 751. Print.

Is it weird to preach a sermon about leadership that is mostly for those who aren’t leaders?

Have you ever been asked to lead something in the church and thought “What? Me? No way!!!”

The thought of being a leader can raise a number of feelings.  Here a few that I have heard:

  1. It’s too much responsibility. What if I make a bad decision?  I don’t want to have to deal with the consequences.  What if I have to weigh in on a difficult situation?  What if I don’t know what to do?  I don’t want to know about the dark underbelly of the church.
  2. It would be too hard.  I don’t think I’m leader material.  I don’t like to be up front or in charge.
  3. I don’t think I’m called to be a leader. God never told me that I was to be a leader.
  4. I’ve never been a leader before, so I can’t be one.  I don’t know what to do!
  5. I’m too shy, too quiet.  I don’t like to speak up, and I certainly don’t want to be up in front of a crowd.  I hate public speaking.
  6. I don’t know the Bible well enough.

Have you heard these before?  Maybe you have heard them coming out of your mouth!  Are there other reasons that you have heard, or that you have used, to suggest that a person shouldn’t be a leader?

And most importantly of all, should these concerns invalidate a person from becoming a leader in the church?

As we continue our series through 1st Timothy, we have arrived at chapter 3, and it is all about leaders.  Who should be a leader?  How should they become a leader?  At Faith Church we have wrestled with these questions numerous times.  In 2014 we updated our approach to leadership, and we said we made these changes based on biblical principles. For those of you a part of Faith Church, read what Paul says to Timothy, and then answer: how well do you think we did?

Check out 1 Timothy 3.  Read the selection, then continue reading below.

Paul gives Timothy quite a long list of qualifications for leaders, doesn’t he?  One of my concerns as I prepare this sermon is that at Faith Church we currently have 9 people on our Leadership Team.  Maybe the rest of the church will hear the topic and think “Oh, this sermon is just for those 9 people on the Leadership Team.  So I don’t have to listen in.”   If you’re thinking something like that, I encourage you to still listen in. Here’s why:

This sermon is mostly for those who are not leaders yet.  It is for the rest of the congregation, those who might become leaders, and even those who won’t.  Why?  Because those 9 current leaders have already achieved these qualities in large measure or else there is no way they could have been considered for our Leadership Team.  Our current leaders can hear these words from Paul as an important reminder, for sure.  But it is best for all the rest of us to see Paul as speaking primarily to us. Everyone can and should see these qualities as describing how a disciple of Jesus should live.  Therefore, Paul’s words are for all of us.  Let’s all pay close attention to the life that Paul describes here.  Let’s all ask God to speak to us through his word, as perhaps there is something in these descriptions of overseers and deacons that we need to hear.

Why we’re installing modesty scanners in our church lobby

 

whatismodesty

What is modesty???  Who gets to make the call?  What centrally recognized authority do women have so that all can go to that authority to answer the question “Is this outfit modest?”

There isn’t one!  There is no centrally recognized Christian modesty panel that we can refer to.  Men, we really have little idea how tough it is for women.  One author, Rachel Held Evans, describes the struggle this way:

“What I’ve only just begun to realize is that these two extremes represent different sides of the same coin. While popular culture tends to disempower women by telling them they must dress to get men to look at them, the modesty culture tends to disempower women by telling them they must dress to keep men from looking at them. In both cases, the impetus is placed on the woman to accommodate her clothing or her body to the (varied and culturally relative) expectations of men. In both cases, it becomes the woman’s job to manage the sexual desires of men, and thus it is seen as her fault if a man ignores her on the one hand or objectifies her on the other. Often, these two cultures combine to send out a pulse of confusing messages: “Look cute … but not too cute! Be modest … but not frumpy! Make yourself attractive … but not too attractive!” Women are left feeling ashamed of their bodies as they try desperately to contort around a bunch of vague, ever-changing ideals. It’s exhausting, really, dressing for other people.”

That’s the culture we live in.  Other people live in other cultures which approach modesty quite differently.  Tribal women dress  in ways that our culture would find quite immodest.  So let’s start off investigating modesty by trying to become culturally aware.

Take a look at these photos.  What assumption do you make about a person who dresses like this?amish

 

That they are Amish, right?  When you first saw this picture, did the thought jump into your mind that these ladies might be headed to a Halloween costume party?

Or did you immediately think, “Amish”? Did you assume something about these ladies because of their dress?”

What about this guy?cowboy

 

What kind of music does this guy probably like?  Country!  But how do you know he doesn’t like opera or gansta rap?  Are you assuming something about this person because of his outer appearance?

Let’s do a couple more:

goths

 

What style are these people dressed like?  Goth.  What are some general tendencies of someone who dresses like this?  They like heavy metal music with rebellious themes.  But how do you know they aren’t having a Bible study?interview

One more.  Which clothing style is more likely to get this guy hired at a job interview?

 

The suit, right?  Why?  We believe that when a person puts on a suit, it says something about them. But what if the interview is for a tattoo parlor?

So what do all these questions and pictures help us learn?

It is a societal norm to make assumptions about people based on their appearance.  We know that God does not look at the outward appearance.  He looks at the heart.  And we also should strive to look at people God’s way.

But we should be extremely conscious of the fact that many people do not look at things the way God does.  Instead many people in our society judge you based on how you look, and even more, they treat you differently based on how you look.

Perhaps you rightly feel a sense of injustice about that.  People shouldn’t treat you differently based on how you look!  God’s way of looking at the heart is the right way.  But it would be extremely short-sighted for any of us to fail to take into account how some people still look at and judge others based on outward appearance.

I am not excusing bad behavior.  Not in the least.  If a person lusts against another, that is wrong in Jesus’ teaching.  If they rape another, or if they do anything in between, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  Sin is sin.

Hear me on this: I am not saying that sin is OK, or that it is OK to view people differently based on their appearance.  I am saying we live in a world where people commit sin against other people based on their outward appearance!  Therefore, when you live in a world where people do not have self-control, you should prepare for it.  You would be wise, very wise, not to invite sin in your life.  There is a great wisdom, therefore, to modesty.

So once again I ask, What is modesty?  As the pictures above remind us, our view of what is modest, decent and proper is socially conditioned.  You might not like the way someone dresses.  But that doesn’t mean that your opinion is the only valid one.  We simply must have humility about that.

And that brings me to passages like 1 Cor 8-10 or Romans 14-15 where Paul talks about what to do when Christians disagree with one another.   We are not going to come up with a universally agreed upon Christian standard of modest dress.  Even if we took a vote and agreed on a Christian dress code, we might have a majority opinion, but there would still be many who disagree with it.  So what do we do when we disagree?  First and foremost, we love one another.  We can and must exist together, especially in a local congregational setting, where there are differences of opinion about modesty.  We must fight the urge to judge one another.  Here what Paul says:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

So with that spirit of love and unity in mind, I refer to my mini-sermons that I mentioned last week. I believe they speak valid points from both gender!  Let’s start with what some women have said:

Dear brothers in Christ, we women are ogled at in our hypersexualized culture.  It is hard. We get weary.  The last thing we want is to have you checking us out.  So help a girl out. Please look up.

Men, you are responsible for your own thoughts and actions.  It is not the women’s fault if you cannot control yourself.  It is your fault.  You need to take ownership of your own lust.  You should not be objectifying women, checking them out, etc.  Do not blame the women for lust.  So do the hard work of opening yourself up to an honest appraisal of yourself.  Men, none of us wants to admit that we have a problem with lust, or a porn addiction, or a self-control issue.  But if we do, we need to know it and admit it, because it is only from the place of honest confession that we can begin to see transformation.  I encourage you to have an accountability partner or group.  Men, you should almost certainly have content filtering and accountability software on your devices.

A few years ago one of my sons, who was in elementary school at the time, heard from other students on the bus about a website they were encouraging him to check out.  We didn’t have filtering software on our home computer, and he snuck on to the site.  Once we found out through the sibling grapevine, I was heartbroken.  In the safety of our home, my son had been exposed to extremely perverse images. Researches and scientists have done excellent and sobering work on the affects of porn on the brain. It create a powerful addiction, with ruinous consequences.  Men, we need to take action to guard our homes, our sons, our minds.  I had failed.  We now have filtering software on our home computer and devices.

We need to talk about sexual addiction and lust in our churches, in our small groups, and take serious action.  When Jesus brought up the topic of lust in Matthew 5, notice his approach:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Who does Jesus say should carry the burden for lust?  Not the recipient of the lust, but the purveyor. Men, when we lust, Jesus says our response should be to take drastic action.  He was speaking in hyperbole in those verses, of course.  I also believe Dallas Willard’s approach to these verses is very instructive.  It could be that when people in the crowd heard Jesus teaching this drastic action about lust, they would have been laughing.  Not at, but with him.  How could this be funny?

Consider, men, how you lust.  If you gouge out your eyes, would that remove the capability for lust? Absolutely not.  We well know that lust is a matter of the heart and of the mind.  So perhaps the drastic action that we need to take is what Willard would call the renovation of our hearts.  That might involve some serious rehabilitation, therapy.  But if work on our inner life is what we need, then let us do that work.

Does this mean that women should be free to wear whatever they want?  Not in the least.  Without question, especially in a church family, women should be free from objectification, though not necessarily free to wear whatever they want. Paul was writing to women in 1st Timothy 2:9-15.  So the second mini-sermon has some important points as well.  Here it is:

Dear sisters in Christ, we men battle lust in our hypersexualized culture.  It is hard.  We get weary. The last thing we want is to see some of you dressed immodestly.  So help a guy out. Please cover up.

Just as the men are responsible for how they think, women, you are also responsible for how you dress.  Paul said clearly that the principle you should follow is to be known for your good deeds.  Be aware of how warped our society can be, of what reputation you desire to carry and of what your message your dress sends to those who might not have self-control.  Be known for your character.  May your outerwear be an expression of your inner character.

So, Faith Church, we are installing new modesty detection scanners this week. All women must walk through the scanners before they enter the sanctuary. Men are exempt because Paul didn’t address them. The scanner will sound a buzzer if the woman is not dressed modestly, and our modesty security team will escort her to our new clothing ministry which will outfit her with proper attire. She may then enter the sanctuary.  Image result for refrigerator boxes

We will also be email you all catalogs which will enable you to order our new church uniforms.  That way no will have to face the shame of the scanners.   Except guests.  And they will get up to code quickly, we’re sure.  Here is a picture of the sample uniform.  We will provide kits for cutting out eye-holes.

Just kidding!  No church should endeavor to create a dress code.  Or install scanners.  And neither will we.  But we do ask all women to consider what Paul says in this passage.  What does it mean to dress with modesty, propriety and decency?  Please seek a faithful answer to that question before the Lord. I would recommend that women discuss this together.  Our culture has plenty of clothing styles that are considered trendy, fashionable, and attractive.  But our culture’s perspective should not be seen as the last word on the matter.  The runways in Paris, London and NYC might not be the best place to learn how to answer the question of what is modest.  Then again, they might!  They might have good options. But they also have a reputation of subtly promoting the objectification of women, based on the styles they design.

In conclusion, I return to what Paul said above in Romans.  Let us love one another.  Our love for another should be such a priority that we are willing to practice massive amounts of self-control for one another.

PS – I mentioned a bonus 4th sermon in my post last week.  I did briefly preach that on Sunday.  It was about the role of women in ministry.  My perspective was identical to what I said here.  I continue to believe that in a near-egalitarian culture, such as the USA, Paul would have preached something very different than what he said in 1st Timothy 2:9-15 about women and their role in ministry.  Look no further than how differently he taught in Romans 16, where he mentions Junias, a female apostle.  That said, and because their is a robust, faithful hermeneutic around the equality of men and women in the church, I cannot fathom why other approaches continue to exist that do not allow for total equality of men and women in the church.

 

 

Why I’m preaching 3 different sermons about modesty…at the same time…kinda…

Image result for sermon on modesty

Tomorrow I’m preaching 3 different sermons on modesty…at the same time.  Kinda.  Obviously, I can’t speak three sermon simultaneously, unless I recorded them separately and played them all at the same time.  Or maybe I could record two, playing them at the same time as I preach the third.  Imagine the cacophony.

Instead, I’m planning on speaking three sermons on modesty within the same timeframe of 30-35 minutes.  Don’t worry, Faith Church, tomorrow is a coffee break Sunday, so that means coffee and snacks come before the sermon!  You might want to bring extra with you back to your seats.

Actually, the first two sermons on modesty will be rather short.  In fact, I can summarize each of them in one paragraph for you.  Before I do that, though, you might be wondering why I am preaching on modesty at all.  Simply, it is what comes next.  I have been preaching through the biblical book of 1st Timothy, which is actually a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote, around 60AD, to his young associate named Timothy, who was pastor of the church Paul started in the Roman city of Ephesus.  Paul wanted the church to thrive, and he wanted Timothy to thrive as its pastor.  He writes Timothy, then, giving him advice and instruction about numerous matters in the church.

Last week we started chapter 2 in the letter, and we found that chapter 2 includes instructions about worship.  First up was prayer, and Paul talked with the men about raising hands in prayer.  You can read about that here and here.  This week he speaks to the women, instructing them how to dress modestly. That’s why we’re talking about it.  You can see what Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

I’ve been thinking about this sermon quite a lot this week, and I’ve decided it is going to require three sermons in one.

The first sermon on modesty is the one that some men have asked me to preach to the ladies.  Here’s a summary:

Dear sisters in Christ, we battle lust in our hypersexualized culture.  It is hard.  We get weary. The last thing we want is to see some of you dressed immodestly.  So help a guy out. Please cover up.

And now for my second sermon on modesty.  This is the one that some ladies have asked me to preach to the men.

Dear brothers in Christ, we are ogled at in our hypersexualized culture.  It is hard.  We get weary.  The last thing we want is to have you checking us out.  So help a girl out. Please look up.

But you know what?  I really don’t want to preach either of those sermons.  There is certainly truth in both of them.  And that’s why I’m still going to preach them.  But I have a third sermon on modesty as well.  It is the one I really want to preach  That one you’ll have to come to Faith Church tomorrow February 26, 2017, if you would like to hear it.  I hope you can join us!  Then stay for sermon discussion group, where we can talk further.

PS – There might even be a bonus 4th sermon. 

Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?

Related image

Last week I mentioned the massive investment Christians have made in building-centered, staff/program-heavy, Sunday worship.  I wondered if God might evaluate us concluding, “I wish you would have done something different.” But how do we know what God would say?  Most of us involved in leading church worship do want to know God’s evaluation of our worship.  Is it possible to get such an evaluation?

At Faith Church, we’ve been studying the biblical letter of 1st Timothy, and the section we came to on Sunday brought us face to face with an evaluation of our worship.  Read 1 Timothy 2:1-8 to see for yourself.

In verse 3 where Paul says that “this is good and pleases God our savior.” What is good?  What pleases him?  To be a praying people!  “This” refers to verses 1-3 in which Paul is urging them to be a praying people.

You would be hard-pressed to use Scripture to support the investment most church makes in buildings, worship services, and staff (including pastors) that lead programs.  I am not saying that Scripture says those things are wrong and we should stop doing them.  Instead, we need to see Paul here teaching us that Christians demonstrate a commitment to being a praying people.  When it comes to worship, being a praying people is good and pleases God our Savior.

So what will it look like for us to increase our quantity of prayer?

An attempt to answer that question brings to mind the Jim Cymbala quote I put at the top of every Faith Church Wednesday evening prayer meeting guide:

“From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church.  What happens on Wednesday night will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us.”

Think about that quote.  Is it possible that if we are prayer-less or don’t pray enough, we will not access the blessing and power that God offers us?  Is it possible that we emphasize Sunday morning worship too much, and Wednesday evening prayer not enough?

Paul says a few other things about prayer in this passage as well.  But I’d like to jump to his conclusion in verse 8, where he says, “Therefore I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”

Based on everything he has said to Timothy about prayer, Paul wants men everywhere to lift up hands in prayer.  Paul has made his case.  He has argued that prayer is vital. He spends time describing what prayer is, who to pray for, what to pray for, and now his conclusion?  Lift up your hands.

I have to admit that I got to that part and thought to myself, “Huh?  Really?  Why does he care about lifting up of hands?”  And to some degree I still think that.  In fact, I often think that hand-raising can be so contrived.  Like in this video:

Then I think, I’m at least a bit used to the idea of raising hands during the musical part of our worship service.  So why would Paul ask them to raise hands in prayer?  And why does he pinpoint the men?  Notice that in verse 9, which we’ll get to next week, he is going to talk specifically to the women.  If there he is clearly talking to the women, here in verse 8 we know he is specifically talking to the men.  I bring that up because sometimes “men” can be a generic way to speak of both genders.  “Peace to all men, or all mankind”.  Not here though.

Paul wants the men to lift up hands in prayer.

Men at Faith Church, including me, barely ever do this.  Is that cool, in God’s evaluation, or not cool? We have some people, including men, that lift up hands during singing.  Is that the same as what Paul is talking about?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Let’s approach it from another angle: why do people not lift their hands during prayer?  Should we? Investigate this with me a bit further.

Paul is possibly speaking figuratively here.  It could be that he just wants people to pray, and he is using the words “lift up holy hands” as way of describing prayer.  I grew up in a culture that taught Sunday School children to “bow your heads, fold your hands, and close your eyes”.  Some Christian speakers, before leading a congregation in prayer, say “Would you bow your heads with me?”  They don’t even use the word “prayer” but we all know what they mean.  They don’t really want people to physically bow, do they?  No, they want people to pray.  But the act of bowing has become synonymous with the act of praying.  “Bow your heads in prayer.”  Paul could easily be doing something similar here.  We’re not used to it because raising hands in prayer is not a part of our worship culture.  But it was for them.  Look through the Old Testament and raising hands in prayer is all over the place.  So it could just be cultural.

But let’s not just assume that Paul is speaking figuratively.  What if he does want Christians, and especially men, to raise their hands when they pray?

When I was a student at Bible college, we had chapel service every day in the morning.  At some point a group of students started lifting their hands during worship.  A few weeks went by, and one day the President at the time started off chapel with an announcement.  “There will be no raising of hands here.”  Why not?  Was the president of a Bible college going against the Bible?  It seems so, because here we have Paul specifically telling the men to raise up holy hands in prayer.

Frankly, I read this verse and I don’t like it.   I must admit within me, I rebel emotionally at the idea of raising hands.  Why, Paul, why?  It seems so stupid.  Really, Paul, no one cares whether or not I raise hands in prayer!

I think there are a few ways to respond to that.

First, I need to remember that God is not interested in rituals.  We read that many places as well.  He was regularly upset with the Israelites when they practiced the rituals of worship, especially the vast sacrificial system, but didn’t give their hearts in worship.  God says “I want your hearts, not sacrifices.”   Hand-raising could easily become a ritual.  I start praying and raise my hands just to check it off the list.  Or what if, at the end of each sermon when I normally close in prayer, I say, “OK, men, I’m going to start praying now, so up with your hands!”?  Our God is not into that kind of ritual.  He wants our hearts!

And that is where I think we would do well to examine why we do or do not raise hands.  If done with the right heart motivation, raising hands can show a submissiveness to God. Look at the physical difference between the posture of open hands raised and that of crossed arms.  Open vs. Closed.  Symbolically that says something.  Raised hands can be a plea to God for help, a humility before God.

Paul is not saying that you need to go to Tim Hawkins’ hand-raising class to learn how to do it right.  But we all should look at our inner attitude and motivation when we do raise our hands.  Examine your heart.  Why do you do this?  To draw attention to yourself?  Or because you think you have to?  Or because you are filled with gratitude to God, because you want to show humility and praise to God?

At Faith Church, we have a lot more of us that never raise hands, as compared to those that do.  We have some that want to raise their hands, but are shy.  Or we wonder what people will think if we raise our hands.  Yours truly is in this category.  When we’re singing songs, I have all kinds of thoughts going through my head.  I want to raise my hands, but I don’t want to be showy.  But then I think, maybe I should raise my hands because I’m the pastor.  No, I think, that’s not what God wants.  Not ritual, but heart.  Then I think, yeah, but remember how excited you get at Connor’s soccer games, and your hands are in the air a lot!  And you don’t care what anyone else in the crowd thinks of you.  Michelle is embarrassed at how loud you get.  Why can’t you do that during worship?  True, I tell myself, true.  My fear takes over though.  I rationalize: I don’t need to raise hands, do I?  I mean, God doesn’t really care, right?  He wants my heart, right?  And I usually don’t raise them.

And that is a peak into my heart and mind almost every Sunday.  It can feel like inner turmoil rather than the worshipful, thankful attitude I want to have during singing praise to God.

If that at all resonates with you, are you allowing fear to grip you and control you, more than your desire to lift up your hands as act of praise and prayer showing your submissiveness to God?  I can’t answer that for you.  It could be that a lot more of us do need to raise our hands.  But none of us should judge.  Whether we see people raising hands a lot and think they should less, or whether we don’t see people raising hands much and think they should more, let us not be a people of judging one another.  What is important is the heart!

Let us also, Christian brothers and sisters, be a people of prayer.  I love that during most Faith Church worship services, we have an open mic sharing and prayer time.  But I also love that we have Wednesday evening 7-8pm focused on prayer. There are many other ways and places that we can pray.  Sunday School classes, small groups, Bible studies, one on one, before meals or before bed time.  I encourage all those things.

But let me ask, family of Faith Church: what is your schedule like on Wednesday at 7pm?  Seriously.  Will you consider making Wednesday evening prayer meeting a priority?  We won’t force you to pray out loud.  We don’t require long, eloquent prayers.  We have a short Bible study, right now we’re going through the book of Joshua, and then we pray.  We have a time for requests, we pray through the bulletin prayer list, we pray for any requests that are submitted via the connection cards, email, or otherwise, and then we start praying for our church and ministry.  I find the time usually flies by!  Will you join us so that we can become more the praying people that God wants us to be?