Engaging Scripture

Why it shouldn’t matter to Christians if global warming is a hoax or not

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Last week the Chinese confronted President-elect Donald Trump about his comments four years ago that they had created the hoax global warming. Christians have been fighting among themselves and with the larger culture about global warming and other environmental concerns for much longer than four years. It is all too easy for us to be blinded by our political preconceptions. Instead, as we have been attempting to do all along in this series on Life in These United States, let’s see what God has to say in the Bible.

What are the biblical passages and theological principles that we could apply to our world, and how we live in our world?

First of all, we learn that God is creator and owner of the world. We first see this way back on page 1 of the Bible, Genesis 1. There we read that God created everything, and he says it is good! Seven times, as he creates the universe, he says it is good, including a final review of all he made and he says it was very good!

Another wonderful passage that describes God’s creation is Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.”

So the first principle we see in Scripture is that God not only created the world, and he calls it good, but also he reminds us that he is the owner of the world.

Second, God not only created, but he is still actively involved in his creation.

In Genesis 9:1-17 we see a momentous covenant that God makes between himself and his people. The story in Genesis 9 describes the aftermath of the flood that Noah and his family, and all the animals in their massive boat, survived. God approaches Noah to make a covenant. This covenant extends well beyond just one family. In this covenant you see the extremely personal way that God interacts with his creation, sustaining and preserving it.

Likewise the future picture revealed in Revelation 4:11 is also a good reminder to us: “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

In the same manner, look at Numbers 35:33-35, where God tells the nation of Israel, “Don’t pollute and defile the land.” God is speaking spiritually here, not wanting the Israelites to pollute the land with sin. Within that instruction he is also clearly saying that he lives in the land with them. Thus he wants them to behave in the land using his method, not theirs.

Let’s summarize what we have seen so far. God created the world, and it is very good. He owns the world and is deeply involved in sustaining and even living in the world. This is in contradistinction to the idea that some people have of God, an idea that after he created the world, he has been hands off. They feel he set it in motion and now is sitting back watching what we will do. But that is not what we just read. No doubt about it, God does allow us a lot of leeway. We call it free will. He does allow us to choose how we will live on this planet.

And that is where we are heading next. Yes, God created the world and continues to be very involved in it, but he also invites us to join him in caring for it.

That is the next main point. We are called to Steward Creation.

Going back to Genesis 1, remember what God said in verse 28? We are to rule over creation. But God explains this further a few verses later. Look at Genesis 2:15. In the garden, he told Adam and Eve to work it and keep it. You know that means? Piece this together with the first two points we have looked at so far.

This means that it wasn’t their garden. It was God’s garden. God created it, God created them, and he placed them in the garden to care for it according to His wishes. As owner of the garden, God has the say in how it is to be treated. Adam and Eve didn’t get the say. They were stewards and had to treat the garden like God instructed them.

That’s what a steward does. The steward doesn’t own the thing over which they steward. The owner owns it. And the owner decides how the steward is to treat it. In our case we are talking about the earth. God owns the earth, and he gets to be the one who decides how it is to be used. As Christians we need to see ourselves, then, as stewards of God’s creation. It is incredibly important that we find out how God wants his creation to be treated. Once we find out how he wants it to be treated, then we should treat his creation that way.

And if we don’t? Well Rev. 11:18 has a significant warning for us. There will be a day when God says that he will destroy the destroyers of the earth. Doesn’t sound like a situation that a person would want to be in, does it? I don’t want to be anywhere near that.

You know what this tells me loud and clear? Christians should lead the way in creation care.

We should practice creation care. We should advocate for creation care. Creation care should be a priority. In a moment we’re going to suggest some practical steps. But before we get to applying this to our lives, let’s consider one more aspect of creation care that often comes up.

If creation care is so important to God, why has there been push-back against those in our society who are not from a Christian perspective but who are also trying to care for the earth?

We need to be careful about this. We want to protect endangered species, but we don’t want to idolize them. It is great to see the resurgence of the bald eagle for example. In my childhood in the 1980s, bald eagles were endangered, super rare. Seeing them at a zoo was a big deal. Now? They’re back, and here in Lancaster County. But do we want to protect them to the point where they become a menace and start picking off free range chickens? There needs to be balance.

Take the Chesapeake Bay. We want to keep it as clean as possible. But should we put restrictions on farmers to the point where it is financially impossible for them to farm because the cost of handling run-off is too much?

What we see is that there can be complexities in the vast and varied domain of creation care. It is a huge planet. And there is much disagreement about what is the right thing to do.

I found this comic that makes a good point.

In our day and age there is no doubt that creating a better world, caring for God’s creation, is a lot of work, and it might mean that some people think we are taking it too far. But if being a good steward of God’s creation means that some people disagree with us or make fun of us, then so be it. I would rather God see me as his faithful steward even if that means taking heat from people who think that caring for creation is no big deal. I would rather work hard on making our world a better place, even if we find out that global warming is a hoax.

Furthermore, Stewardship of creation is connected to stewardship of our finances.

High mileage cars not only use less fossil fuel, but also save you on the cost of gas. My parents recently got a new car and gave us their old one. The car they gave us is a hybrid and it gets crazy good gas mileage. I love that.

Another example is solar energy. It is not only unlimited, clean, but can also save you on electric bills. When we replace the roof on the church in the next few years, wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to get solar panels? Or maybe the new Tesla solar shingles, connected to one of their batteries, so that we can run our facility on our own energy!

Another thing I am so thankful for is that we were able to put a wood stove in our house a few years ago. Wood heat is renewable, and if you’re willing to do some work, you can often get it free. Not to mention all the splitting and stacking and carrying is great exercise.

In all these examples, and many others, creation care helps not only the earth, but also your bank account. The problem is that there are plenty of ways to live cheap that might make it seem like we are being good stewards of our bank accounts, though at the same time we are not being good stewards of creation.

Can I tell you how many coffee makers Michelle and I have been through over the years? I’ve lost count. You know what we do? If the coffee maker breaks, we trash it and go buy a new one for $20. How many of you do this with phones, TVs, computers, gadgets, and clothes?

You know what they used to do years ago? Fix things. Sew clothes.

But now, we are called the disposable generation. Many industries build obsolescence into products so we need to get new ones every year. Small appliances. Fashion. I urge you to jump over and visit The Story of Stuff. Their first video of the same name is ten years old, but the message is just as powerful as it was then. Since that time, the Story of Stuff people have created numerous other videos that make a wonderful argument about how we can be good stewards of creation. Take a look at The Story of Bottled Water, for example!

Bottled water might not seem like a big deal, but where do all those bottles go? They get disposed and pile up, along with all of our other mountains of garbage. One of the ways to combat the disposable generation, and the piling up of junk and garbage on our planet is Recycling.

Have you ever wondered what actually happens to our local recycling? Does it get used again? I’d like to feature a few local companies and how they approach recycling.

I was out jogging the other morning, following the Eagle recycling truck. I was surprised to watch the workers dump the entire contents of recycling bins into the back of a regular garbage truck and smash the recyclables together! I was especially surprised because I am an Eagle customer! I have also seen the Good’s Disposal recycling truck and it has a whole bunch of compartments that recyclables are divided into. My pessimistic, skeptical side saw that and thought “We Eagle customers are being scammed. The Good’s people are actually doing recycling!”

So I called my company, Eagle, to ask about this. I started off by asking a very general question about how they handle recyclables. Because of my detective work that other morning, I already knew what was happening in my neighborhood, and I wanted to catch them in a lie. But they told me that all my recyclables are dumped into one truck and smashed together, exactly like I had seen. “So then what?” I asked. The rep told me that those compacted recyclables are taken back to Eagle’s main facility, where they are dumped into a large truck. An 18 wheeler. They are then taken to the recycling company, owned by Penn Waste. “So what does Penn Waste do with them?” The rep didn’t know, and said I would have to contact Penn Waste.

What I found out about Penn Waste blew me away. See for yourself!

Actually, during my research, I learned that through Eagle and Penn Waste, I could be recycling a lot more than I currently do. That convicted me, and rightly so. It used to be that you could only recycle #1 -2 plastics. Now they take #1-7. And there are many more items they recycle. Please check your garbage haulers’ recycling guidelines as things have improved in the last few years. I had not been paying attention.

I also called Good’s Disposal to see how they handled recyclables. Faith Church uses Goods, and I found out they have different guidelines. On their website, they say “Our goal in PA is to recycle 33% of the waste stream. This effort will save land, trees, and materials for the next generation.” That sounds great but they only recycle #1-2 plastics. So it would seem to me that a good steward of God’s creation would choose a trash hauler that has the most recycling options available.

Another recycling option that is very convenient here in Lancaster (and many other places) is recycling your Styrofoam. Locally Dart Container has two Styrofoam drop-off sheds, one at their Leola facility, and one at the Pitney Road facility. Here at Faith Church, we have a Styrofoam recycling trashcan in the fellowship hall, the can with the hole in the lid. No other trash should go in there (but somehow it does…). The other trashcans in the fellowship hall are for other trash.

But there is more. You can save up your Styrofoam, with the #6 on it, and bring it in to the trashcan in the church fellowship hall. And our Faith Church family who work at Dart will take it to the shed for you! That’s what we do at my home. We save up our Chick-fil-a cups, and our chicken trays, and all our Styrofoam and bring it in to the church or drop it off in one of the sheds. As God’s stewards of his creation, none of us should ever have a reason throw Styrofoam in our trash!

Another way that Faith Church is caring for God’s creation is through Adopt-a-Highway. The Rock martial arts ministry that meets here on Monday nights cleans the two mile stretch of Old Philly Pike from Horseshoe Road to Mill Creek Road for us a couple times per year. Isn’t that awesome? There are so many more roadways that need to be adopted. Would you look into your group joining the effort and cleaning a road near you?

How else could a church family care for God’s creation? How can you practice being a steward of God’s creation? Protect the sanctity of parks, preserve farms. And get out into nature. Rip yourself away from the screens and see nature with your own two eyes. Go on hikes. Run. Walk. Ride bikes. Enjoy it. See God in it. Garden. But local produce and meat. There are so many ways to care for creation.

In closing, hear the amazing words of Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

Do we need to take global warming seriously?

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This weekend we finish our series about Life in These United States. We have been talking about what everyone is talking about. I’ve enjoyed this series, though it has made me squirm from time to time! But as we conclude this series, we look forward to Advent. Yes, Advent begins next week. And during Advent we will be studying five passages in the Old Testament prophetic book of Isaiah. Five passages that talk about the mission of the Messiah. Then after the new year, we will begin a series through the book of 1^st Timothy.

This weekend, though? Creation care. Creation care is just theological code for “environmentalism.” But creation care is different from environmentalism, and I think you’ll see why.

As I was preparing this week, I came across this amazing headline: “China delegate hits back at Trump’s climate change hoax claims.”

What is that all about? Four years ago, the article reports, President-elect Trump said “China had created the concept of climate change to make America’s manufacturing sector less competitive, dubbing the global phenomenon…’non-existent’.”

Now this week, the article goes on to say, “Beijing has turned the tables on US President-elect Donald Trump over his accusation that climate change is a Chinese hoax, claiming that it was the Republican’s own party that initiated global warming negotiations.”

Really? The Republicans? Can’t be. Well, it turns out it can be: “Climate change negotiations began with the UN’s International Panel for Climate Change in the 1980s, supported by the US Republican-led administrations under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.” Reagan and Bush? Did you know that?

Furthermore, “China and the US are the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases that are causing the earth’s temperatures to rise, according to UN data.”

How many of you watch the weather reports on the news that list the record high and low for each day? How many of you see how often the high for that day was recorded way back in 1894 or 1927 and think “Global warming is a crock.”? How many of you hear the reports that world-wide the last year few years have been the warmest on record? What should we think about global warming? Is it a hoax?

The article above notes that “scientists say a 2-degree Celsius rise would be dangerous for the planet. The US and China signed the Paris agreement in climate change talks last year, which involves both developed and developing countries. It aims to keep the world’s rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to create a carbon-neutral world by 2100.” But you have probably heard what President-elect Trump has said about it: “He plans to dump the agreement, which he described as a ‘bad deal’.”

Why am I bringing this up? I don’t want this to be a political sermon. I’m not trying to prove to you what science says about environment. But the environment is something that is often in the news. So how should Christians think about it?

Doesn’t the book of Revelation predict that God going to destroy the world? So what should we care about global warming? What is the big deal?

Perhaps it is a bigger deal that some people think.

Join us at Faith Church this coming Sunday 11/20/16 as we seek out biblical passages and theological principles that we could apply to our world, teaching us how we should view this planet.

How to respond to people struggling with gender

In our Life in These United States Series, we are talking about what everyone is talking about. This week we look at the topic of gender distress. Months ago Bruce Jenner announced that for years he struggled with gender and was now Caitlin, changing his gender from male to female. Then Target stores said that their customers of one gender could use their restrooms for another gender, if those customers identified with the opposite gender. The result has been a divisive and at times bitter national conversation. So today I ask, what is a Christian response to people who are struggling with gender?

First, have compassion. I urge you to work on ridding your heart of anger and disgust. Instead be filled with compassion and seek to understand, seeing people as people, loved by God and made in his image. Transgender people can draw up within us lots of strong feelings. When anger or disgust rises up inside of you, instead of assuming that it is righteous anger, ask yourself, why is that anger there? Perhaps the situation is not the problem, but the solution to the problem. Perhaps the problem is really that your heart is filled with anger and disgust.

When I was in college, a group of students would lead worship services from time to time at Water Street Rescue Mission. Or we would just attend worship there. One evening I remember walking out of the chapel, headed to our vehicle to return to campus. As we stepped into the parking lot a man to our right was there. He was older than us, maybe in his 60s, and he was dressed in women’s clothing. A feeling of disgust raged inside me. All I wanted to do was get out of there. Yet he was clearly hurting, possibly drunk. He turned, heaved, and vomited. He needed help. We kept walking. It was a grand failure on my part.

When we respond to people who are different from us, we first need to be honest about our inner short-comings like prejudice, disgust, anger and rage. All people are created by God, loved by God, just as we are.

Then avoid condemnation. Take yourself to the stories of Jesus. Remember the story when the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus? They wanted Jesus to condemn her. His response? In John 8:1-11, he said, “Is anyone left to condemn you?”

“No” she said.

Amazing, the words of Jesus: “Neither do I condemn you. So go and sin no more.”

He chose not to condemn, but in the same breath he says what “Go and sin no more.” Jesus was always for truth and righteousness. He called sin “sin”. And we should do the same.

But I want you to notice something else about Jesus here. Jesus’ pattern was that he was harsh with the Pharisees who thought they had God figured out and were not gracious about their relationship with God. Jesus was also sometimes harsh with the disciples who should have been further along than they already were. But Jesus was compassionate to those who were struggling with sin.

What we learn from Jesus is this: no matter what view you hold, hold it with grace and humility. Lancaster County has a heritage of definitive thinking. We don’t want to be wishy-washy, but we need to express love to toward those who disagree.

Encourage contentment. Once you have assessed your own heart, and you are filled with loving compassion, the third way we can respond is to apply the biblical principle of contentment to gender distress.

We need to be content with how God made us. He made us in his image, and said “it is good!” He loves us. Therefore followers of Jesus should be exceedingly cautious about allowing thoughts of discontentment with ourselves to creep in. This could relate to much more than just gender distress. There are many ways in which we can grow discontent and have distress about our bodies. Think of plastic surgery, excessive working out, excessive dieting, pills, trying to get a perfect body, constantly purchasing the newest trends in clothing. Even curating our Facebook and social media accounts so that we look better than we really are.

That is not to say that we can let our bodies go. The principle of 1 Corinthians 6, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, enters here. Paul said, “Honor God with your body.” That means caring for it in a healthy way. Healthy eating, exercise and healthy medicine are important, but as with all things, they must be done in moderation.

I would urge anyone who wants to change anything about their body and life, to take that before the Lord and examine the motivation of your heart. If God is enough for us, that means he made us this way, and he can be sufficient for us, despite the very real struggle that we feel inside. I would encourage anyone who feels distress about their gender, about their body, to first ask the question, “Is God really enough for me?” Do you remember that God loves you so deeply?

Finally, practice community. All people need community, and our final response should be one of welcoming all.

Here in the Family of Faith Church we want to be a community where anyone will feel they belong, for the church is, after all, a community of broken people saved by grace.

Mark Yarhouse in a wonderful article in Christianity Today mentions that “A few years ago, my research team at the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity conducted the first study of its kind on transgender Christians. We collected information on 32 biological males who to varying degrees had transitioned to or presented as women. We asked many questions about issues they faced in their home, workplace, and church, such as, “What kind of support would you have liked from the church?” One person answered, “Someone to cry with me rather than just denounce me. Hey, it is scary to see God not rescue someone from cancer or schizophrenia or [gender dysphoria]…but learn to allow your compassion to overcome your fear and repulsion.”

He goes on to talk about the Gospel in his article, and I think this is important for us to here, so I’m going to quote his words at length. He says, “Most centrally, the Christian community is a witness to the message of redemption. We are witnesses to redemption through Jesus’ presence in our lives. Redemption is not found by measuring how well a person’s gender identity aligns with their biological sex, but by drawing them to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and to the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into his image.

“As Christians speak to this redemption, we will be tempted to join in the culture wars about sex and gender that fall closely on the heels of the wars about sexual behavior and marriage. But in most cases, the church is called to rise above those wars and present a witness to redemption.

“Let’s say Sara walks into your church. She looks like a man dressed as a woman. One question she will be asking is, “Am I welcome here?” In the spirit of a redemptive witness, I hope to communicate to her through my actions: “Yes, you are in the right place. We want you here.”

“If I am drawn to a conversation or relationship with her, I hope to approach her not as a project, but as a person seeking real and sustained relationship, which is characterized by empathy as well as encouragement to walk faithfully with Christ. But I should not try to “fix” her, because unless I’m her professional therapist, I’m not privy to the best way to resolve her gender dysphoria. Rather, Christians are to foster the kinds of relationships that will help us know and love and obey Jesus better than we did yesterday. That is redemption.”

So how are you responding? Do you have people in your life that have some kind of gender distress? Will you respond to them like Jesus would?

Can we talk about Gender on Sunday?

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Can we talk about gender on Sunday without coming across as condemning?

Mark Yarhouse, in a Christianity Today article from a year ago, talks about a person he worked with who had gender reassignment surgery:

“Sara opened our first meeting by saying, ‘I may have sinned in the decisions I made; I’m not sure I did the right thing. At the time, I felt excruciating distress. I thought I would take my life. What would you have me do?’ The exchange was disarming.”

As I think about what this sermon on gender should include, Sara’s comments remind me of something very important we need to remember: we’re talking about people. An absolutely vital principle that we need to remember when we talk about people is that they are all made in the image of God. Furthermore, God loves every single one of us.

We have to start there. And that love God has for every single person must consume us. We can’t talk about people without making sure that God’s love for all people dominates our conversation.

With that in mind, we need to talk about gender. Our series on Life in These United States has only two more sessions. One on gender, and one on creation care (theological code for “the environment”). In this sermon series we’re talking about what everyone is talking about, and today that is gender.

I think it is quite timely to bring up gender at this time considering that our election featured the first major party female candidate for president, Hillary Clinton. But in addition to the traditional approach to gender, that of male and female, the topic of transgender has become a feature in our national conversation.

When one of our American Olympic heroes, Bruce Jenner, decided to come out as a women, using the name Caitlyn, he took the spotlight for a news cycle. Around that time, the retail chain Target, joined the conversation by announcing that their stores’ bathrooms would be open and affirming to those who identify with a different gender.

How should Christians think and act about gender? If people like Sara are struggling with their gender, how should we respond?

Join us at Faith Church on Sunday, November 13, 2016, to learn more!

How to eat media

Last week I said that a college Shakespeare class and the movie Dumb & Dumber helped me change my mind about media. I thought I had this media thing all figured out when I was a teen. I was confident that there was no way it was affecting me. But as an adult I have personally experienced media shaping my life.

But this begs the question: What is media?

The News? In days gone by, it was the paper. Then the radio. Then television. But now we would say that the news is only one slice of the media. When we say the word “media” that does include the news media, but it is so much more.

Actually the word “media” is plural. It is “more than one medium.” Medium? A size for a t-shirt? A person to help you communicate with the dead? No, not those kinds of mediums. The medium I am referring to is a “means of cultivation, conveyance, or expression.” Another way to define medium is “any source of information that influences us.” That could be a lot of things.

It is not just the news media, but now also social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and more. Add to that all the entertainment media: TV, Music, Film, Print, Internet, Gaming. There is also the expansive world of advertising. These are all examples of media.

Media surrounds us doesn’t it? In fact, there is a verb that is often used to describe our interaction with media. It is the verb “consume”. We consume media. We eat it. We take it into our lives. That happens by listening with our ears and watching with our eyes. In our culture, we are media consumers.

Should we just eat it all up? It’s like a smorgasbord out there; the media food just keeps coming with option after option of enticing choices. How do we know what media food we should consume, and which ones we should avoid?

Are there biblical principles for consuming media? It’s a question we’ve been asking all through this series. Can an ancient 2000 year-old book relate to our world? Some people say it’s not possible. But we have found week after week that God’s Word is just what it says it is, living and active, and very applicable to our world. It is loaded with principles that we can apply to many situations. And it has some great principles for how we should interact with media.

First, God teaches us to be aware of the power of ideas. Thoughts and ideas have changed the world. Philosophers have said that the Vietnam War was started by two men discussing ideas in a coffee shop in Paris a hundred years before. Thoughts and ideas ripple their way through the months and years, making an impact in one person’s life, then another, and another, and sometimes the results are massive.

So Paul says in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” This could be translated “see to it that no one gains control over you by human wisdom.” Paul isn’t talking about physical captivity. He is talking about when we allow ideas and deceptive philosophy to so captivate our thinking that they gain control over us.

In other words, media communicates lots of ideas to us, and we would be wise to be cautious consumers of it. That’s why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

See the reversal? Instead of allowing ideas and thoughts to have control over us, we turn the tables and allow God to control our thinking.

So how do we do this when it comes to media?

Run away? Maybe. I think about the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. When his master’s wife tempted Joseph to sin with her, he ran away. That is an option. But running away from a problem is not always a good choice, and in some cases, like living in a society surrounded by media, we don’t have a choice to run away.

Last year I toured the Ephrata Cloisters. It is a fascinating tour, and I urge you to go visit. It is one of the many wonderful historical places that we have here in Lancaster County. The Cloisters tried hard to get away from society. But as I listened to the tour guide tell us what went on there, an eerie feeling grew inside me. The Cloisters and their leader seemed like a cult, fleeing the harsh realities of the world, only to create more of their own. And though they talked about being Christian, they clearly missed the heart of God’s mission.

When people talk about feeling from the world, from media, it is usually because they don’t want to be affected negatively by it. They want to remain pure and holy, which is good.

But that doesn’t mean we have to get off the grid. In fact, the second principle we learn in the Bible is that we are to engage the world. Jesus said in his prayer in John 17:15, the night of the Last Supper: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

Paul in Acts 17:16-34 shows that he, too, did not run away from the world. In fact he used the media of his world. He was knowledgeable about it, and used it to share the Gospel to the leading thinkers in the city of Athens. Athens in the day of Paul was not the intellectual and philosophical powerhouse it had once been when Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were there. But it was still an important intellectual center. Look at verse 28, and we see Paul quoting famous poets. He is using media of his day. He didn’t run from it. He knew it and used it. Look what happens in verse 32-34. Some sneered at him, but some believed!

So turn media off? There will certainly be times when we need to turn media off. But like I said before there are times when it comes to us, and we have to be able to respond. It is best that we follow the prayer of Jesus and the example of Paul, and not run away from the world, but engage it, interact with it and learn to take every thought captive.

Would you like to practice this second principle of engaging media?

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding is maybe the best Christian organization working in the area of helping Christians engage media. They have a resource called their 3-D guide, and I urge you to order and use them. Buy a 10-pack and hand them out to anyone you know who works with or is a parent of teens.

On the front of the guide it says “How to use your head to guard your heart, a guide for making responsible media choices.” The three Ds are: Discover, Discern, Decide.

Recently the president of CPYU, Walt Mueller, demonstrated how to use the 3-D Guide with the song “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots? Take a look at how Walt uses the 3-D guide, watch the music video for the song, print out the lyrics, and work your way through Walt’s discussion guide linked earlier in this sentence. Here is a summary of the questions.

Question 1 – Discover – What is the message/worldview of the song?
Question 2 – Discern – How does this song hold up in light of the biblical worldview?
Question 3 – Decide – What should I do with this song?

We had a great mini-discussion about the song during the sermon yesterday. And then the song was in my head all day. I even heard my daughter singing it in the afternoon! During the sermon I mentioned that the song was new to me. When I caught her singing the song in the afternoon, I asked “So you know that song?” She replied, “Dad, I can’t believe you said in the sermon that you never heard that song…it’s like a year old.” I guess I need to engage with media a bit better!

A third principle we find in Scripture is to guard our hearts, as the title of the 3-D guide suggests. In Proverbs 4:23 we read “above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Another way to describe this principle is to look at what Paul says Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

We are called to be holy. We should desire purity in our life, and the simple fact is that there is plenty of media that is less than holy. We should not allow it in our ears and eyes. Pornography is one clear example. There are other examples, too. But it can be hard to know what media we should eat, and what media we should avoid. As I think about this choice, one of the difficulties for Christians is to find balance between Legalism and Libertinism? There are extremes either way. How do we know what to do?

Legalism is when we make a rule out of something that God did not. For example, if we said “Christians must not watch any sporting event that has cheerleaders because of they dress and dance inappropriately,” that is legalism. The Bible doesn’t say that.

But there is also Libertinism. That is when we have too few rules. People say that we are free in Christ, and so we can do anything we want. Or people say that God forgives sin, so we’re fine. The Bible says we should not have that attitude either.

It can be very hard to find the right balance. And Christians disagree about where that balance is.

When our older boys were young, Michelle and I would be appalled when they came home from Kindergarten and First Grade telling us about PG-13 movies that their friends were allowed to watch. We had self-righteous anger thinking that these parents are libertine and going to damage their kids.

Well the years went by and we mellowed out. By the time our younger two were in Kindergarten and First Grade, other families were probably complaining about us and what we let our younger two watch.

Each family is going to need to decide before the Lord what is appropriate for them. That means your family may come to a different conclusion than mine. And that is OK. We need to be able to love one another and be in relationship with one another while still maintaining differences of opinion about how we handle media.

If you hear yourself thinking or saying absolute statements about media, statements in which you are proclaiming that you have the one right way to eat media and everyone should follow your way, please keep that to yourself.

But as we engage media, we should use the principle of holiness to guide us. We must take every thought captive.

There is at least one more important principle that the Bible teaches that relates to eating media. How many of you have heard the following phrases in your house: “Just one more level!” Or “Just let me finish this level”?

Know that media is a powerful force. Games are designed to keep you playing. TV shows want you to keep coming watching. Books are written so you’ll buy the next one in the series. There is a very strong pull to media.

What is the inner impulse or inclination that creators of media tap into? What is happening internally that makes it so easy for us to be attracted to the various forms of media? For the vast majority of media outlets their number one priority is to make money. If a piece of media is not making money, it will be discontinued. Media offerings must tap into the human soul, so that the media is consumed. If the media is consumed it will make money.

Think about your personal practice of media consumption. How much time are you spending on it? What kinds of media are you consuming?

This, then, is the Fourth Principle: remember when Jesus said “Where your treasure it there your heart will be also.” Your heart follows your treasure. It is kind of a confusing statement. What Jesus is saying is that what you give your time and energy and money and investment to, your heart grows very fond of that.

A lady in our church told the story about Gone With the Wind and how reading it impacted her. Scarlett had to be tough to get by. As the lady from our church read the story, more and more she started to think “I’m going to be tough like Scarlett.” The lady was not tough like that, and she admired Scarlett and desired to be like her. This media was shaping her heart.

Is your heart being transformed by the media you eat? Are you able to make an honest evaluation of your life? Would you be willing to enter into an accountability relationship with someone, maybe a spiritual director, who can be frank with you?

How are you doing in parenting the young media consumers in your house? How much media are you allowing them to eat? What kind of media is entering their minds? How are their hearts being changed?

How Shakespeare and Dumb & Dumber transformed my life

Though I went to Bible college, I can say without hesitation that the Shakespeare class I took during my junior year is in my top 5 classes of my undergrad career. A couple factors made the class so good. First, it was the prof, Dr. Joan Tompkins, who presented Shakespeare to us in an infectious and intelligent way. Second, she crafted a class that was filled with variety and practical interaction. We read and discussed at least 5 of Shakespeare’s greatest works. We watched film versions of others. The Strand Theater in York was giving a performance of Othello, so our class went to see it. Finally, Dr. Tompkins divided us into groups which were responsible for reading, researching and dramatizing another one of Shakespeare’s works. My group did Henry the 5th, and had a blast. It was such a great class.

What surprised me, though, was that something really interesting happened in my life during that class. Little by little through the semester, things in my life started to relate to Shakespeare plays. Whether it was in a conversation with a friend, an event on campus, or something going on in the world, I found myself thinking, “that was just like sneaky Iago in Othello” or I would say, “No way, in Macbeth, that was just like the witches…”. Shakespeare even started infecting my friends. One day as my roommate (who was not in the Shakespeare class) and I were walking to the academic building, we bumped into another friend. My roommate, Dan, ever quick on the uptake, greeted our friend by saying, “How art thou?”

I will also admit to being impacted like this by the movie Dumb & Dumber featuring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, who play two bumbling friends that get into many ridiculous situations. There was a period of about six months in the late 90s when I watched the movie over and over, thinking it was the most hilarious thing ever. I rewatched Dumb & Dumber a couple years ago, and somehow it had grown…well…dumber. But back then, just like Shakespeare class, so many things in life started relating to Dumb & Dumber.

What is going on in these kinds of media associations? Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been so into a book or TV series, or some other media, that it seemed to pop up everywhere in your life?

We are surrounded by media in our culture. Images, sounds, messages, and videos are pumped into our lives incessantly. Right now as I type, I am listening to music on Pandora, and with a couple clicks on my internet browser, I can be reading the news, watching music videos, or I can turn on my Netflix app and continue the episode of Sherlock that I started the other day. These excursions into media are by my own choice. There are also plenty of times in our world where media comes to us whether we like it or not. Billboards, advertisements that interrupt a game of Two Dots on our phones or tablets, and commercials on TV, are a few examples. Media is all around us. How is it affecting us?

I remember when I was a teenager exploring the wide world of contemporary music, and my mom would suggest that this music would affect me negatively. I thought my mom’s concern was unnecessary; to me it was just great-sounding music. Made me feel good listening to it. But influence me? Nah.

Now as I consider my Shakespeare class and Dumb & Dumber, I realize my seminary professor Dave Dorsey was wise when he said, “I know less now than I did then.” I thought I had this media thing all figured out when I was a teen. I was confident that there was no way it was affecting me. But now? I’m not so sure. I have personally experienced media shaping my life.

We hear a lot, actually, from people decrying the evils of media, about a conspiracy by the media to run our lives by sending electromagnetic waves into our brains. The tinfoil hat people, we call them, using images of covering our heads with foil to block the incoming waves.

How influential is media, really? And what should Christians do about it? Avoid it? Engage it? Parents these days, and I am one of them, can tell you the frustrations they have with kids spending too much time on screens, on social media, or watching TV and listening to music. It seems addictive, but is it? What should parents do about media and their kids? “Throw that iPad out the window”? (A phrase that may or may not have been uttered in my house.)

At Faith Church, for our sermons the last few months, we have been looking at Life in These United States, and we’re talking about what everyone is talking about. This coming Sunday, our focus is on media. What is media? How influential is it? And what is a distinctly Christian approach to media?

Join us at Faith Church this coming Sunday November 6th to find out! Thanks to our friends at The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, we’re going to have a lot of fun!

Unmasking Halloween

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Last week, I asked “What could be wrong with Halloween?”

Well…maybe this:

The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that Halloween has “its origins in Samhain, one of the most-sinister festivals on the Celtic calendar. The ancient Celts believed that on November 1 the souls of those who had died returned to visit their homes or to journey to the otherworld. People set fires to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by ghosts.”

Almost all of our Christian holidays are responses to pagan holidays. For example, Jesus was almost certainly not born on December 25^th. Most scholars believe it is much more likely he was born in the spring. But we celebrate his birth on December 25^th because centuries ago the church wanted to have a Christian holiday in response to Winter Solstice which is on December 21st. The same exact thing happened with Halloween. All Saints Day was always in spring, and still is for the Eastern Church.

Again, the Britannica tells us that “In the 8th century…the Roman Catholic Church—perhaps in an effort to end the pagan holiday of Samhain—moved All Saints’ Day to November 1. The evening before became a holy, or hallowed, eve and thus Halloween. While the day was celebrated by some Christians, many of the Samhain traditions persisted, and Halloween eventually became more commonly known as a secular holiday.”

So it is that out of these ancient traditions grew Halloween. Samhain’s focus on evil and witchcraft and demons and ghosts, and the current iteration in Halloween, has caused many people to wonder if it is something that Christians should steer clear of.

It is a concern Christians should take seriously. What do we do about the spirit world? Is it possible that participation in Halloween could mean that we Christians are in league with the devil? Are we being tricked into something?

In 1st Corinthians 10:14-22 Paul talks about this in a letter he wrote to Christians living in the city of Corinth in the first century AD.

In their day and age, idol worship was a daily occurrence. Pagan temples abounded in their cities. Paul tells them to flee from idolatry. The idols? They’re nothing he says. Just some carvings made from wood or stone. The meat sacrificed to idols? No big deal. It’s just food.

But what he says in verse 20 is quite important. Though idols and the meat sacrifices are nothing, who the people are actually worshiping is something. He says the people are actually participating with demons. Paul is very concerned, then, that the Christians should not have involvement in pagan worship because it was actually demonic. Don’t make God jealous, he says.

Samhain, the root of Halloween, was once a pagan holiday. So many Christians feel we should not participate in Halloween.

Before we address Halloween in particular, let’s talk about the spirit world a bit. We do need to heed Paul’s teaching that we Christians are not to get involved in the spirit world. The spirit world and demons are real and powerful.

How many of you have had experiences in which you felt you were directly interacting with the spirit world or that spirit world was interacting with you? At Faith Church we have had missionaries tell us about interactions they’ve had with the spirit world oppressing their families and ministries.

During the summer I did my college missionary internship in Guyana, I had two such instances, and when we were missionaries in Jamaica there was a time when we, along with other missionaries, prayed through a family’s home as they were experiencing some demonic manifestation.

But those are all examples of foreign places. We hear about the spirit world and demons in foreign lands, especially related to missionary work. But what about here? I personally have had very little experience with the demonic in the USA. But there have been a couple times.

When I was Faith Church’s youth pastor our youth group did work camp mission trips, and one year we went to Gloversville, New York. The project I was on included minor repairs and painting at the home of a family in need. As we got to know the family, the mother divulged to us that she was a witch. She went on to describe what kinds of magic she did, as if it was all totally normal. My work team I led, about 8 middle and high schoolers, found her stories to be disconcerting.

She then showed us a cabinet in her dining room. It looked like a really big spice rack, and the containers had more than just spices. She explained that they were ingredients for her magic potions. The family also had a tree in their yard that she said they performed magic on, and somehow used it in her spells. Some of the team members heard this and started looking at one another nervously. They had been climbing in that tree. Near the end of the week the lady told us that she was going to make us BBQ chicken as a thank you for the work we were doing. When we got in the van after work that day, the team immediately started questioning me about the chicken. Should they eat it?

Then there was the woman living in one of the apartment complexes near our church property. She had started attending Faith Church. I was the youth pastor at the time, and she stopped by the office one day to tell the senior pastor that there were demonic manifestations in her home. She wanted us to come over to her house and pray. So we went over and prayed through her house.

What have you experienced?

And what do I mean by “demonic manifestation”? I am not talking about just being scared. Growing up I was often afraid of the dark. My regular chore was to take out the trash, and I hated collecting the trash from the wastebaskets downstairs. If no one else was down there, as soon as I was done with the trash, I would turn off last light and bolt up the dark stairs, imagining evil things nipping at my heels. I also can get freaked out at scary movies. The Sixth Sense did me in for a few days. I often have vivid scary dreams. Are these examples of intersection with the spirit world?

I recently heard a psychology professor talk, and he was saying that there needs to be balance. Some people want to say that anything that was once called a demonic manifestation is actually just the brain and our bodies misfiring. Emotion that is too strong. Out of control. There is no spirit world, they say. It is all in our minds. This psychologist counters, “Wait a minute…not so fast. It is a both-and.” The spirit world is real, and likewise our minds and bodies can create situations that are not true. The movie A Beautiful Mind is an example of how schizophrenia can impact a person. In years gone by, a real condition like schizophrenia would have been considered demon possession. Now we know that it is not so.

Look at the stories of Jesus, though, or look at the vast accounts of the spirit realm throughout the ages, and in our own day, and we need to conclude that the spirit realm is real.

My first encouragement to you today is that you do not underestimate the power of the dark side. Ok, that was a little Star Wars reference for you. But the point is true. Satan is powerful. Demons are no joke. Remember our series through Luke and all the times that Jesus interacted with demons? Those demons had lots of power to wreck, totally wreck, people’s lives. So don’t toy with them. Don’t experiment. Don’t think that you’ll be fine. Don’t think you are strong enough to handle it. Be teachable, be self-aware. Know that you are not capable of defeating the spirit world should spirits interact with you.

Don’t invite the battle.

But aren’t Christians safe because of Jesus? Safe from possession, yes, but not oppression. As we often saw in the Gospel of Luke earlier this year and last year, Jesus regularly interacted with the spirit world. Whether it was Satan himself or the many demons who confronted him, there was always one thing that was the same:

There was no contest. Those demons ran scared. Even Satan couldn’t tempt him.

Jesus either outsmarted them or he overpowered them. It wasn’t even a question. Each time it was no contest. He would win.

If the battle would be between us and the powers of darkness, it would also be no contest, but we would lose! We need to humble ourselves and admit that. The problem is that we often think we can do battle.

In Ephesians 6:10-20, we read about the Armor of God. I’ve heard people talk like all we need to do is strap on that armor and go do battle with spirits. But if you look closely at how Paul actually describes the armor of God, you see a very different picture.

When you put on the armor of God, you are actually depending on God and obeying him so that his power is at work in us and through us. It is not our power. It is all him.

Be truthful, faithful, righteous, study God’s word, and pray. These might not sound like typical weapons in a battle, but in God’s Kingdom they are powerful, because they rely on his power. By doing these things we stay humble, we stay dependent on God’s ability and power.

So whether it is real interaction with ghosts or Ouija boards or any form of sorcery or witchcraft, anything having to do with demons I encourage you to stay away from it.

But if the spiritual realm comes to you, and it might, I urge you not to assume that you can fight it and win. Instead go to God in prayer. Plead for him to save you, plead for him to have victory.

I have heard of formulaic prayers that are supposed to be able defeat demons. Pray a “hedge of protection.” “Pray the blood of Jesus”. Claim victory in Jesus name. As if these are magical incantations. I’m not so sure about that. I don’t see any Scripture that gives clear instructions about that. They are based on Scripture, which is good, but in no way should we consider them to be formulaic prayers that will automatically defeat evil.

Instead, we are to put on the armor of God!

And what of Halloween? Same goes there. Put on the full armor of God and you’ll be fine.

Let me be a bit more specific. Halloween in our day is not the same as the ancient Samhaim. Samhaim involved direct interaction with the spirit realm.

When you are participating in a costume party or trick-or-treating, are you involved in direct interaction with the spiritual realm? I highly doubt it. For most, Halloween is a bunch of kids in costumes, followed by their parents, as the kids run from door to door in friendly neighborhoods getting candy. Whatever connection to the spirit world trick or treating once had, it is long, long gone.

The spirit world is active in many other ways. And those other ways are where we need to be on alert. Demonic possession and oppression. Methods used for directly trying to interact with spirits. Methods used for trying to access the power of spirits. Steer clear of them.

Fortune tellers, mediums who claim to be able to contact the dead, Ouija boards. Interaction with ghosts. Sacrificing of animals. Magical potions and incantations. These are no joke.

I urge you to stay away from direct involvement in the spirit world. And if that Spirit world should come to you, remember that Jesus is greater! Remember that Jesus won the victory. Pray for him to intervene! If it keeps happening, talk with your pastor or a trusted, mature Christian friend for help. And remember that our God is greater.

Halloween and Horror…should we be concerned?

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What kinds of commercials are you seeing on TV in the very few spots that are not already taken by election commercials?

This time of year there are always lots of commercials advertising the latest horror movies. It’s Halloween season, and they’re trying to scare you. But why at Halloween? Have you ever thought about that? What is the deal with scary things and horror movies at Halloween?

In Christian circles over the years this connection between scary things and Halloween has actually been the cause of controversy surrounding Halloween.

How many of you were not allowed to trick or treat? How many of you were not allowed to wear costumes? Or how many of you were not permitted to wear costumes of witches or wizards or demons? How many of you had Harvest parties instead of Halloween parties?

And why? Why are some families or churches opposed to Halloween?

When we lived in the City of Lancaster, Trick or Treat night was an amazing night. It was like a block party that never ended. It just went on and on, street after street, block after block. Tons of people out walking around, conversing on their porches, giving out candy. It was awesome. Neighbors talking, laughing, getting to know one another.

What could be wrong with that?

And yet some people are totally opposed to it. I would guess that in most churches you’ll find people that agree with either perspective. That’s pretty normal in church families, to have people who disagree with one another.

We invite you to join us at Faith Church on Sunday. We are going to be looking at why there has been concern about Halloween. Do you know?

You have to go way back in history. And it starts with the word “Halloween” itself. It is actually two words “Hallow” and “eve”. At some point those two words were contracted together to make “Halloween.” But that should make us ask, what is the connection between “Hallow” and “eve”? What “eve” are we talking about, and what is a “Hallow”?

Hope to see you Sunday!

What Christians should do on election day (and a Christian approach to government)

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What should Christians do on voting day?

Vote.

That may seem simple. But before we assume that is the only obvious answer, let’s ask another question: to vote or not to vote? Is it ever wrong to not vote? Many frustrated people have said that they are not going to vote. Many do not.

This comic tells a great story. Image result for majority doesn't vote

But in recent years, this comic is actually wrong. Look at the comic and you get the impression that voter turnout is less than 50%. The actual percentage in the last four elections is 58.6%. And in none of the four has voter turnout been less than 50%. But there is still a really good point to be made. An average of more than 40% of eligible voters in our nation have not voted in recent elections! Is it possible that the 40% could make an impact on the election? You bet!

So we need to see voting as an amazing privilege of every citizen. It is a way, an important way, that we can influence our nation. And as Christians we should want to influence our nation based on the principles of the Kingdom of God.

If we are to vote based on the principles of the Kingdom of God, who are we to vote for? Before we answer the question of “Who?”, though, we need to ask “How should I vote?” When we ask the question “How should I vote?” we are really asking what principles should I use when I vote?

I’d like to share a number of principles that I’m going to ask you to consider and apply to all of the candidates. Before a Christian goes to the voting booth, we should first consider these principles and spend time trying to apply them to the candidates.

Obviously, the United States and our voting system came into existence millennia after the Bible was completed. That means these principles apply to many different cultures and situations. They relate to a lot more than just the USA Presidential election in 2016. I say that because I want it to be clear that my goal is teach biblical principles, not promote a certain candidate or party. You will likely find that one principle leads you in the direction of voting for one candidate, and another principle leads you in the direction of another!

That’s why the first principle is so important.

Voting principle #1 – First and foremost, Pray for wisdom.

In James 1:5 we read “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” I know so many of you are frustrated like me. You just want God to intervene, do a miracle, and give us all new candidates. Surely there has to be better options than this, right? Well, that miraculous intervention might not happen, and so we need to pray for wisdom. Or maybe you have had your candidate picked out long ago, and you haven’t prayed for wisdom. Maybe you haven’t sought to apply the values of God’s Kingdom to the election.

A very legitimate concern some Christian thinkers have suggested is that Christians place their political values ahead of the values of God’s Kingdom. In other words, those Christians are so committed to a certain political party that they don’t seek wisdom from God.

Have you been praying for God to give you wisdom as you vote?

Voting principle #2a – Vote for the candidate who will be the best leader.

When you consider this principle you are considering which candidate could govern American the best. Who will be the best leader for the good of the nation and the world? Jesus once told his disciples in Mark 10:42 “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

There are different kinds of leaders, right? Some with little experience, some with lots, and they lead with different styles and different personalities. Jesus is saying that leaders should be humble, teachable, servant leaders. Obviously, he is speaking to his disciples about leadership in his Kingdom, not leadership in a nation. But an important principle is embedded in his teaching. Who will be a good leader? Who will govern the best?

Voting Principle #2b – Pick the candidate who is, in their personal and professional life, the most in line with Christ-like character.

Where 2a focuses outwardly, on who can do the best job as president, 2b focuses inwardly, on who has the best character. I brought this up in the sermon on ethnicity recently and it applies here too. When God asked Samuel to pick the next king of Israel, he told Samuel that he should focus on the heart. Who is the leader that best displays ethical character?

Voting Principle #3 – Vote for the candidate who policies are most in line with Kingdom values.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to seek first his Kingdom. We can apply that by asking: Which candidate’s policies are most attempting to promote the good things of God’s Kingdom?

There will never be a candidate from any party in any election that people agree with 100%. But this principle suggests that Christians should vote for the candidate who will enact policies that are the most in line with the Kingdom of God. I admit that it is very hard to determine, which candidates this most applies to. But have you considered It? Which candidate will most support policies that would advance the Kingdom of God? You might find that each candidate is 50/50 on this one.

Voting Principle #4 – Vote systemic change against injustice.

One of the things this election is teaching us is that elements of our electoral system might need to change because the system is not just. So a final principle to consider then, is to use your vote to try to encourage change in the future so that the system becomes more just. God’s heart for justice is abundantly clear, in hundreds of places in the Bible. Take Amos 5:24 for example, “Let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” We Christians should strive to promote God’s heart for justice. But how do we do this by voting?

One way is that you might pick a third party to support larger political change in the life of our nation, moving us away from two major parties, even if it takes decades. If you believe that there should be more serious choices than just two, then perhaps you want to vote for a third party candidate. But, some ask, won’t a vote for a third party vote take away a vote from one of the major parties? Obviously, it will. If you prefer the lesser of evils approach, you will likely disagree with principle #4. But if you are frustrated enough with our current system, you might say that it is worth it for the major party you most closely align with to lose, in order for a third party which you align with even more, to have your vote. Even if just a little, you are strengthening that third party by one vote.

These are some principles to consider when you vote. I encourage you especially to focus on that first one, pray for wisdom. Then you might also make a list of the candidates, detailing their pros and cons based on these biblical principles. Remember that there is no perfect candidate. I see the posts on Facebook that say “Vote for Jesus”. Well, in the event that he doesn’t come again before November 8^th, we’ll have to vote for one of the imperfect candidates. I hope these principles can help you a bit.

But voting is not the only way to that we Christians can make our voice be heard. Our American system includes the amazing ability to get involved in government. Those in government have the opportunity to use power for change. That word “power” can sound scary, but it doesn’t have to be.

In 2010 a group of us spent a week in Chicago serving with and learning from our sister church in Chicago, Kimball Avenue Church. It was an eye-opening, brain-twisting, impactful week. I’ll never forget sitting in a bank boardroom one day. We were there because that particular bank had a great community reputation for loaning money to low income families. Many banks won’t touch that. While we were at the bank, we heard a presentation from a lady talking about getting involved in government and the use of power. I was sitting there feeling more and more uncomfortable as her talk went on. Use of power? I’m thinking, no way, power is dangerous, I want to steer clear of that. I’ve seen how people in government abuse power. No way, not for me. So I raised my hand and said this to her.

She responded with “Well, why did you become a pastor? As pastor don’t you have a certain amount of influence to work for good?”

I sat there quietly, thinking, that got turned around pretty quick. She’s right. I want to use my role as pastor, call it “my power” if you like (not much power…but you get the idea!), for good. And I knew where she was going with this. No doubt, power is, well, powerful. That means it can be hard to control, and we have seen people use power very badly, allowing it to get out of hand and do lots of damage. But that doesn’t mean power is inherently bad. Power can and should be used for good. That is what Romans 13 is talking about.

We Christians should consider getting involved in government. Whether it is on the local school board, or the PTA at school, or running for office. We should take those opportunities seriously and consider signing up. Some of us at Faith Church regularly joke about writing each others’ names on the ballot. I regularly write in some of my Faith Church family for local offices! They haven’t won though… On a serious note, we can and should consider the various ways to get involved in government offices. How often have we complained about the people holding office? How often have we remarked that we need better people in office, people that will promote the values and principles of God’s Kingdom? Faith Church, that may be you!

That’s one reason why I’m excited that our local CV Ministerium is working on an idea to create a justice watch group in CV. You remember the babies in the water story? If you see a baby floating downriver, you rescue it! That is mercy. Mercy is needed and good. That’s why we’re involved so heavily with CVCCS, providing mercy to people in our area in need of food and clothing. But there is another question that is so often missed, and that is “why in the world would there be a baby floating down a river?” Especially when it’s not just one baby but many that keep coming down the river! The question then becomes not “How do we rescue all these babies?”, though rescuing them is needed. The question is, “What are we going to do to go upstream and stop whoever is throwing babies in the water?” That’s justice. Justice seeks to find the root of the problem and address it. Why are people in our community struggling with lack of food and housing? What is the root cause? How can we wield governmental power to help deal with the root issue? The Ministerium is working on creating a consortium with members from the police, local government, the school district, the churches, and more to address root causes. We need people, Kingdom-minded disciples of Jesus on all those levels to wield power in a God-honoring, humble way to eradicate the root causes of injustice.

A few final thoughts when it comes to politics and government. This election will be over soon.

Pray for leaders no matter who is in office. In 1 Tim 2:1-3 Paul said to Timothy, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Guess who the Roman Emperor was at this time? Nero, a maniac. He was a Christian killer. He tied Christians up to posts, stuck them in his gardens, and lit them on fire so he could see at nighttime. Pray for him? God wants him saved?

Honestly, how many of you struggle to pray for your leaders because they are so distasteful to you? We need to pray for them.

Pray that they will govern wisely.
Pray that they will surround themselves with wise counsel, and that they listen to it.
Pray that, if they are not already, they become people who seek God for wisdom.

Much of what has made this election so frustrating is the question: “What is the future of America?” I remember some people thinking that the USA would implode if Obama became President. It will be many years before we get a clearer picture of the success or failure of these past eight years, but it seems pretty clear we haven’t imploded.

When we ask the question “What is the future of America?” I suspect that underneath the question is fear. Fear that we will lose our standard of living. Fear that we might lose freedom. Fear that life will be harder than it is now. Fear that we might be persecuted.

So I want to remind you of something important: Remember that we citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven first. God’s Kingdom did just fine for centuries before America started, and God’s Kingdom will do just fine after America goes away. Seek first his Kingdom, Jesus says.

And pray for America, that we will be good. America has surely not been perfect, but we have desired for centuries to be a good nation. Pray that our leaders will lead us to be good!

Pray for revival. Pray that God’s Spirit will be unleashed in our land. Pray that people will humble themselves, repent and turn to God, and seek him. Pray that we will be a church that makes disciples.

Why I’m talking about the election this Sunday

This may be the most stupid preaching decision I’ve ever made. This coming Sunday as we continue our series, Life in These United States, I’m talking about government. And with only a few weeks left until our general election, I need to talk about politics. My tag line for the sermon series has been “We’re talking about what everyone’s talking about.” I have heard over the years, though, that we preachers need to keep politics out of the pulpit. While I think that church should be the one place where people can talk about anything, there is certainly the feeling out there that we should not talk about politics. But why?

For one thing, it is so controversial, and that is true within a church family. Perhaps you go to a church that is politically uniform. Faith Church is not. If I talk about politics in a sermon, I face a high risk of offending someone. So maybe I should just avoid it. I am not a fan of offending people.

Also, talking about politics might give some the impression that the church is in cahoots with the government. And there is a feeling out there that the church should be neutral. “Separation of Church and State,” is the cry. No doubt, when the church has gotten involved in governmental affairs throughout history, it is pretty easy to see that it hasn’t gone so well. Again, maybe I should avoid it.

But I can’t.

This might really be stupid, but I am going to talk about the election. It seems to me that not only is most everyone already talking about it, but more importantly what they say is that they are very confused about it. “Who should we vote for?” is the big question, and the answer is extremely unclear. No matter what political party you align with, the chances are you aren’t happy about the candidate your party has nominated. And that goes for the third parties too. John Oliver recently remarked that this election is not a frustrating choice between the lesser of two evils, but a choice between the lesser of four evils!

Are you frustrated by this election? What should a population do when they feel they have no good choices to vote for? Do you feel like choices for president are being forced on you, and you don’t like the options? Maybe you feel like this guy:

What are we to do? Can the Bible be of any help? The newest books in the Bible are nearly 2000 years old, and they were written in a time and place that did not include a national election for that country’s top leader, and those New Testament biblical writers were not living in a country that had a Christian majority. No, civic life was quite different then. Is it possible that we can learn principles from this old ancient book that might help us figure out what do to with this election? I think so.

For starters, I would like to suggest that the question “Who should we vote for?” is the wrong beginning point. Instead we should ask “How should we vote?” Well, on a voting machine on November 8th at our polling place, of course! Yes, obviously. But I don’t mean “How?” in that logistical sense. I mean “How?” in the sense of “What principles should we use when we vote?” And when we start with that question, the Bible is an excellent guide.

Please join us at Faith Church on Sunday October 23, as we continue looking at life in these United States, talking about what everyone is talking about: the election!