Icy Driving



Vermont Ice Storm 2013 
Photo by blog.heathertimagery.com

One of those rare occurrences happened last week; we had an ice storm.  Not just some ice on the windshield in the morning or a little glazing on the stairs.  This was an ICE STORM in capital letters.  We already had some snow on the ground, but when we woke up on Saturday we had about a half inch of ice on most everything.  Trees were bent over into our driveway, limbs were cracking under the weight, people in surrounding towns lost power due to ice on the power lines.  Accidents were happening on the roads.  A close friend and his wife were in a major car accident on Saturday morning when an SUV heading in the opposite direction lost control and hit them head on.  Praise the Lord, they walked away with bruising (although the wife found out several days later that she had actually broken a bone in her wrist).  The man in the SUV had to be cut out of his vehicle through the roof.

To make matters more interesting the forecast for Saturday afternoon and night, through Sunday noon was for more of the same.  Upon learning of our friends car accident and seeing the weather reports we immediately canceled church for the next day, December 22, despite the fact that we were supposed to have our Christmas Cantata.  The safety of our people was paramount and took precedence over any other concerns.

 

Snow, despite reports to the contrary from the south, is not very hard to drive on.  Ice while similar, on the other hand, is more treacherous than snow.  One wrong move on your part, or on "the other guys" part and you can end up in trouble.  It occurred to me that churches are much the same. 

Every church is moving in some direction.  The question is whether or not it is moving in the right direction.  Most of the time you are alright in directing a church, but sometimes it can be a bit icy under the surface.  Follow a few rules and you can avoid many common problems.

 

First, there is a tendency for both cars and churches to have a bit of inertia.  Apply brakes slowly to avoid sliding.  If you know there is a turn coming, start applying the brakes slowly. 

 

Second, every action should be thought out and considered.  No sudden moves or you could lose control.  Look ahead and see what the conditions and other company on the road is doing.

 

Third, turns themselves can be slippery.  Bridges between sections of road can be more hazardous than the surround road, too.  Pay attention in these areas.

 

Fourth, weather conditions around you can result in a change in road conditions.  A sudden snow squall can reduce forward visibility, or a temperature dip in a valley can change a wet road surface to black ice. 

 

Fifth, always prepare for the worst that can happen, then pray for the best.  Carry extra supplies in your car, a full gas tank, an ice scraper, a snow brush, shovel, extra windshield spray, cell phone charger, a blanket, hat, coat and gloves.   Maybe you will never have to use these things, but do you really want to be in a ditch in a snowstorm with no hat, gloves and coat?  If you make plans for the worst, then you can handle anything that comes along.  In a church, if the church board in a period of transition figuratively 'slides off the road', what is your back-up plan?

 

Any analogy can be carried too far, and this one has gone far enough for now.  Remember, a church can be like a heavy car in a snow storm.  Use caution, watch the road ahead and make changes slowly. 

"...guard what has been entrusted to your care."  1 Tim 6:20 (NIV)

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Apologetic Debates

Recently our church has been going through spiritual warfare of epic dimensions.  One of the issues that has come up has been a relative of one of our people who has come back from seminary in Texas, enthusiastic about planting a new church in our area.  Being a churchplanter at heart and in practice I applaud the effort to bring people to Christ.  The big issue for us is that he and his wife have been pressuring this couple from our church to be part of his new house church.  A churchplanting principle I learned long ago was that you never ask someone to be part of your work who is already going to another church without first passing it by their pastor.  Which brings up the second point...this newly minted pastor is associated with a denomination that regards pretty much any other denomination as being non-Christian.  If you do not do things the way they do, then you are not following Christ in the right way, and your faith is without effect.

Years ago I discovered that I liked the subject of apologetics, which is the art and science of defending your faith and theology.  I had many discussion with people which helped me learn about my own faith, helped me memorize scripture and gave me lots to think about.  It also gave me lots of heartburn!  After many years of ministry I have learned a few things which are not usually taught at seminary.  One of those is that apologetics is wonderful for helping you to define your faith, but it is generally not productive in changing people's minds.  It is not a "mind" thing anyway, it has to do more with your "heart", and God the Holy Spirit is the only one who can do that.  we take on the responsibility, but it is not ours to take on.  All we get is heartburn.

Does this mean that I think apologetics is fruitless?  No.  But I do think that we have to focus on things which really make us think about the important issues, not on the fine details and niceties of theology.  Over many years I have come to recognize that if you can repeat and believe the Apostle's Creed and the Nicean Creed, then I should accept you as a Christian brother or sister.  There may be other things you believe along with those that I do not, but that is something between you and God.  Your church can be fancy or plain, you can incorporate some ritual or other, you can pray standing or sitting or prostrate, but to me you are a brother or sister.  If you negate something in the Creeds, or redefine them from what the early Christians understood...then no matter how orthodox you sound you are not a Christian, period.

Along with that comes another understanding.  I may look at a person whom I regard as a brother or sister in the faith, and they may add some detail to the Creeds which makes them regard me as an unbeliever.  This is not an easy truth, but one which I have come to accept.  The fact that I believe in free will, that I believe in entire sanctification, that I don't believe that baptism is a ritual that completes salvation (rather than being symbolic), use a different translation of the Bible than they do or that I don't do communion on some set schedule may cause someone to reject my claim to Christianity and to call me a "false teacher".    My claim is based on the historical Creeds of the faith, nothing more or less, but someone else may not have come to the same conclusion I have.

All that said, I stand with the Apostle Paul when he says, "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Phil 1:15-18 NIV)  If Christ is being preached, then I am satisfied.

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Party Mouth

Last week I attended an after-work party at a co-workers home in honor of a person who is leaving our employ, and with whom I have worked very closely over the last year.  There were only two Christians there, myself included and most of the group had been working in the same office suite for several years.  We shared food and drink, laughter and conversation.  I wish it could all be positive, but it was not.  Most of the drinks were alcoholic, and though I left early enough to avoid seeing anyone drunk, people had certainly "let their hair down".  What bothered me more than anything else was the amount of "catty" behavior being displayed, the all-out gossip and the tendency to bash those who were not in attendance.  One other person who had left even before I had was also the target of some rather unkind remarks.   Frankly, it had me wondering what remarks were made about me after I left the party.

As Christians we are called to be different from the world.  Does it really take being able to gossip and verbally abuse people behind their backs in order to have a good time?  If this were a church setting I would probably be taking people aside and encouraging them to go to the altar and repent of their behavior!  As it was I was happy that I had an excuse to leave early. 

My attitude and opinion of people at work has certainly changed.  I am not as likely to be open and frank in a personal sense with these people as I was before.  It is not that I was personally attacked, but I cannot be certain that the possibility does not exist.  I cannot trust them.

Can people trust you?  Do they know that if you are friends to their face that they are friends when they are not with you?  If not, maybe you need to go to the altar and discuss the situation with God, too.


"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."     Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

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Finding the lost...

Last Monday my daughters fiance's Australian Shepherd dog ran away from his house.  Loki is a friendly but timid dog and is not prone to running away, but this is the exception.  Somehow she got it into her head that she was going to go exploring and ran off.  It has now been 4 days and Randy and my daughter are understandably very upset.  They have talked with countless people, putting together a timeline of events, finding out that she was apparently clipped by a car and a truck just down the street, but ran off limping.  She is wearing a collar, with tags, but not microchipped.  The police, animal control, the Humane Society, local vets and local business owners have all been notified and contacted each day to see if there have been any more sightings.  One person came forward to help, going door-to-door and spreading the word.  She has posted pictures throughout the area and has been very eager to help.  She says she is doing it "not for you, but for Loki", because she loves dogs.  We are grateful for the help.  There has been alot of time and effort expended looking for this little furball.  We are praying for her, praying that our eyes and ears will be opened, that God would bring us the opportunity to reach out and gather her in once again.

I wonder at this, thinking about Loki.  So much time and effort.  I have only met her personally once or twice, yet have walked the fields and roads looking for her, leaving no culvert unchecked, no possible sheltering bush missed.  I know a little bit now about how Jesus must view His lost lambs, the ones who ran away from contact with Him for the sake of a bit of adventure.  They are out there now in the cold and dark, possibly injured, frightened, not knowing the way back home.  Jesus asked for our help in retrieving His lost children.  Are we willing to put forth as much time and effort in reaching them as we are in looking for a lost dog?  We love Loki, but do we love those around us enough to be the hands and feet of Christ and bring them back into the fold?


"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?"  Luke 15:4 (NIV)

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The Boston Bombings

(Note: This was written as a devotional for our prayer night at the church the day after the bombings at the Boston Marathon)

 

After an incident like yesterday’s bombing in Boston we are forced to ask, “How could a good and loving God allow such things?” and “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  How could God allow a little eight year old boy to be blown to bits.  How could a beautiful 29-year old woman from Medford be killed.  How could God let over a hundred people suffer injury, some of them changed for life, like the two brothers who each lost a leg? 

I do not want to sugar coat this or offer platitudes.  Pat answers and theological niceties are not what we are looking for at a time like this.  If all we have is some lukewarm answer then Christianity is not worth the effort.  On Sunday I will address this further, but I want you to know now that God does have a plan and He is in control.  He says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  He has given us a beautiful gift, but one that has a sharp edge, and that is the gift of free will.  Some people use their free will to help others and to love people.  Some use it to strike out and hurt people.  God’s desire is that we would choose love, that we would choose light.  But simply having the ability to choose means that some will choose hate and darkness.  This is the human condition. 

God however, offers us two more gifts.  The first is that He promises to walk through the valleys of life with us.  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”   (Ps 23:4)  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will weep with us, as His son Jesus Christ wept with Mary and Martha.  But He has the power to change things, and this is where we hold our ultimate hope. 

His third gift is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God”.  God can change things.  He can use them, no matter how bad things seem to be, He can use them.  This is His ultimate gift to us. I am not going to lie to you, sometimes I look at events in life and I wonder how God could ever bring anything good out of those things.   Sometimes it might be a long time before we can see anything good.  Sometimes it comes in very unexpected ways.  But I have seen it with my own eyes…I know it happens.  So when life throws me a curve ball I can confidently expect that somehow, some way, God is going to bring good out of it.

It is not wrong to ask God “why”.  It is not wrong even to yell and scream at God.  He has big shoulders; He can take it.  And He WILL answer.  That is all part of prayer.  That is why we come here tonight, to tell God we don’t understand what has happened, to ask ‘why’, maybe even to be frustrated with it all.  But in doing so, we know He will answer.  And in the asking, and in the answering, it will all be changed and given significance.   

 

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I Am A Vermonter

I read a book a few years ago which stated quite emphatically that it was impossible to be a 'Mainer' unless you had not only been born in Maine, but that you could claim to have lived there all your life and have at least 3 generations of ancestors who had also been born in and lived in Maine.  Even so, the people along Rt. 1 in southern Maine were suspect, since they had been tainted by the proximity of New Hampshire and Massachusetts!

 

With the mobility of our society it has become harder and harder to find people who fit these qualifications anywhere, even here in Vermont.  There are a few people, don't get me wrong, but people move around all the time for the sake of school, jobs and relationships.  I myself have a hard time claiming any one place as having 'grown up there'.  An Air Force Brat, we lived in Maine, North Carolina, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  My dad retired to Massachusetts and that is where I graduated from High School, went to college and met my wife.  Both of my children were born there.  But to each of those places I was, as we say in Vermont, a 'foreigner'.  I always felt out of place.

 

So, what place can I claim affiliation with? New England, certainly. Except for four years in North Carolina...a little slice of Hades for me...I have lived somewhere in New England.   (New England for me, being a true Yankee, the western and southern edges are defined by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont!)  I have, however, found my true home in Vermont.  This is not a home defined by birth, since I was born in Maine.  I did not graduate from a High School in Vermont, nor did I go to college in Vermont.  From the first days we lived here my wife and I felt, somehow, that we had finally come home.

 

I do have one overriding claim to Vermont that people born and raised here may not have.  I CHOSE to live here.  I made a conscious decision to live here.  Even in the hard times...I have been laid off three times while living here...I did not move away.  I love the people here.  Not the 'foreigners' whose 'foreign-ness' is defined by the high-handed assumption of city-fied superiority and who would move away at the first chance for a warmer climate or a better job, but those people who have worked hard to stay here despite the challenges.  Many of those old-time Vermonters are being priced out of the housing market because  'out of staters' are driving prices up.  But still they stay and struggle on.

I love these people who know what a 'deer camp' is, and first day of deer season is practically a state holiday.  These are the same people who still speak in local metaphors which we the locals all understand but sound like gibberish to out-of-staters.  They have a huge sense of being very independent; Vermont was, along with Texas and Hawaii, an actual sovereign country before becoming a state.

Vermonters are those people who, like one of my brand-new neighbors in late 2000, stopped his pickup truck and pulled me and my UHaul trailer out of a ditch and refused to even talk about me giving him a twenty-dollar bill.  Why?  Because we were neighbors.  People like the guy who gave us a gallon of freshly boiled maple syrup, just 'because'.  Like my next-door neighbor who gave me his friendship from the very first day, and who I was honored to be asked to perform his funeral when he died of cancer.  People like the wonderful sixth-generation former dairy farmer in my church, who along with his wife would give you the shirt off his back if he could help you.  Or the 'new' Vermonter who along with his wife recently became American citizens, and came over with another friend  to help me cut down and limb several hazardous trees in my yard...and wouldn't even stay for lunch.  We all need more friends and neighbors like this.

 

Abraham was promised a land to be his, and Moses led his people to a land 'flowing with milk and honey'. 

 

So, I am a Vermonter.  This is my 'promised land'. I chose to live here.  And that makes all the difference.

“The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’"  Gen 24:7 (NIV)

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The Church and the world

As I grow older there are more and more things that I see changing.  Some are for the better, and others not so much.  This week, for instance, the Supreme Court of the United States is reviewing two cases which may change the face of America.   Those two cases have to do with the California Prop 8 ban of same-sex marriage and the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  With a wide range of possible outcomes depending on individual rulings, there is a pretty good likelihood that the Court will strike down at least some of the restrictions put into place.  It is even possible that a ruling will strike down all state bans and make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.  So, what does this mean to Christians, and to the Church in particular?

• First, my personal opinion is that I do not care who, what or how many you sleep with, within limits of course...such as being of the age of consent. 

• Second, if you are a Christian, I expect you to hold to God's Word.  Period. 

These statements are going to be offensive to perhaps everyone on some level, which I consider good.  I think it is time to stand up and be offensive.  For the typical Christian, to say, "I don't care who you sleep with" is tantamount to saying "I agree with same-sex marriage".  To be perfectly frank I do NOT agree with it, but I believe our government has backed itself into a corner and has become stupid in the extreme.  Think of it as taking a laudable but flawed premise to the logical conclusion. I believe it is inevitable that same-sex marriage will become the law of the land. 

What no one seems to see is the landslide that will follow.  When marriage ceases to be based on biology and historical norms, the door is opened to define marriage any way one chooses.  Why not define marriage as encompassing unions between multiple partners (polygamy/polyandry/group marriage), between currently proscribed ages (adult-child marriages), interspecies marriages (bestiality) or between animate and inanimate (objectisexuality).  The problem lies in that the SAME arguments made for same-sex marriage can be made for each of these different 'lifestyles'.  In fact, it is already happening.  In the Netherlands one can form a cohabitation agreement called a 'samenlevingscontract' between multiple partners, and others have broken down the prohibition of bigamy through the court system using the same arguments used for same-sex marriage.  The United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and Saskatchewan, Canada recognize polygamous marriages formed elsewhere.  On TV here in the US we have a popular television show called 'Sister Wives' in which a man showcases his life with four wives and their families.  In Paris, a woman performs a marriage ceremony with the Eiffel Tower. An organization in the USA has actively advocated relationships of adult men with underage boys.  

Even traditional psychology and biology are under attack, now.  Current gender theory points to either ONE gender, differentiated, or many gender flavors defined by physical, psychological and other factors.  Neither theory believes there are two distinct genders, male and female.

So, tell me again...why should we not allow two men, one dog and three women to marry?  On what basis do you make that decision, if not biology or Western definition?  Eventually, in the current environment, marriage itself will become meaningless in the eyes of the world.

The second assertion that will irritate people is I expect Christians to hold to the Word of God.  In effect, this means we are going to be out of step with the world...and in my opinion this is a very good thing.  We ARE different from the world.  If we were not different, then what is the point of our faith?  It also means the world is likely to become even more critical of the Church.  For one thing, although we may recognize that the world has given legal authority to same-sex marriage, the Church cannot give God's blessing to something that is outside His Word.  Despite the efforts of some theologians to legitimize so-called 'Gay Theology', the Bible is very clear that this is not a correct interpretation. In the Church of the Nazarene in particular we are forbidden from performing same-sex marriage blessings or ceremonies.  Even if this were not so, any local church which I pastor will never perform such a ceremony...I will resign first. Gays and lesbians are welcome in my church, but they must realize that our church is not, and will not ever be, 'open and affirming'.

During the Civil Union legislation passed in Vermont in the early 2000's, the legislation was narrowly modified, largely due to the efforts of one of our Vermont pastors, to exclude religious organizations from having to cater to same-sex couples.  For instance, if a local church refused to perform a wedding or host a reception on it's grounds which it felt was inappropriate, then it would not be allowed to do so for anyone at all under the guise of 'equal public accomodation'. Eventually that situation might change.  It might even become defined as 'hate speech' for a pastor to say any of this.  If so, the church might be driven underground. 

The idea behind this post is simple.  I want to point out that no matter what the world does, the Church cannot expect Christian behavior out of people who are not Christians. Our standards are not the standards of the world.  We are held to a higher standard.  Paul says all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial or constructive.   We are called to do that which builds up, that which is good for people and what God has told us is beneficial.   No matter what the issue is...abortion, same-sex marriage, pornography, theft of intellectual property, terrorism...we don't expect non-believers to act like believers and we do expect believers to act as God wants them.  Maybe we need to be less concerned with the world's outrageous behavior and more concerned with doing God's will.


“ 'I have the right to do anything,' you say—but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything'—but not everything is constructive."  1 Cor 10:23 (NIV)

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Why do bad things happen to good people?

In 1981 a book was published which asked a hard question.  "When Bad Things Happen To Good People", by Harold Kushner, addressed the question implicit in the title and was on the New York Times Bestsellers list for quite some time.  Rabbi Kushner touched on an issue that everyone asks sometime during their life.  Events of the last few months caused people to ask this very question once again...the school shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Hurricane Sandy  and several smaller shootings have once again shaken people.  In my personal and church ministry I have faced that same question from people who have been diagnosed with various diseases, people who have dealt with accidents resulting in death and serious injury and people grieving a loss.  Why do bad things happen to good people? 

 

There is a tendency for us, as Christians, to come up with a pat answer for this hard question.  Recently a song was published by Sanctus Real whose lyrics say, in part, "Sometimes it's hard to keep believing / In what you can't see / That everything happens for a reason / Even the worst life brings / If you're reaching for an answer / And you don't know what to pray / Just open up the pages /
Let His word be your strength". 

 

We say we believe in a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, so of course it seems the logical thing to tell someone who asks this question is "We may not know why this happened, but God is still in control and He must have had a reason."  The disconnect should be obvious here...when the parent of a small child who was killed in a school shooting says, "What possible reason could a good and loving God have for taking my child in a such a horrific way?  If that is what God is like, I don't want to have anything to do with Him!"  Then we wonder why the person blames God for the event.  Of course they would blame Him, after what we just told them!

 

The real answer lies in where we put ultimate responsibility.  First of all, God is the epitome of love.  He cares for us more than we will ever know.  He sent His own Son to die on a cross for us.  Second, God has by His sovereign choice given us free will.  Along with free will, though, comes responsibility and consequences for those choices we make.  That is how and why sin entered the world.  With choice came the ability to choose to NOT follow God's will. Sin entered the picture and we became morally corrupt, physically dying and spiritually dead.  

 

To make matters worse, sometimes we reap the consequences not of our own sin, but that of other people. This is where I believe the words of that song by Sanctus Real go wrong.   Everything does NOT happen to us for a reason.  God does not bring bad things down on our heads.  He does not cloak His goodness and love in events that are dark and terrible.   He did not send that shooter into the school and place our five year old in the line of fire to teach us something, at the cost of that young and innocent life.  That act was the overflow of sin and madness from a tortured person, not God.

 

Sometimes the bad things which happen are the results of accident, the nature of the fallen world or sometimes just negligence, rather than through either our sin or the sin of another person.  Regardless of the reason behind the scenes, we cannot put the blame at God's feet unless it is to say that we wish we did not have free will which is even worse than the former prospect. 

 

Let's take it one step further, though.  Our God is a God of redemption.  We know this through the sacrificial redemption of Jesus Christ for our lives.  But by the power of the Blood, He also redeems 'situations'.  Romans 8:28 says that "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him", and that we are referred to as "more than conquerors".  If we turn the bad things that happen to us over to Him, He can bring good out of something that seems as if it has no good.  He is the God of the impossible, after all. 

 

In practical terms, what that means is the worst possible situations we face, if we turn them over to God, He can and WILL bring good out of them.  We may not know what that good is, and it may take years to work it out, but he will take the broken shards of our tragedies and reshape them into something beautiful.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

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Celebrating a heritage

Today as I came in to my office I was wearing something a little bit unusual.  My normal office attire was supplemented by my Scottish tartan 'plaid' over the left shoulder, pinned in place by a brooch, showing the crest of the Gunn clan of which the Mann family is a sept (allied).

 

Photo from "Sportkilt.com"

A great source of kilts and accessories!

 

A 'plaid', by the way, is not what we today would think of when we say something like 'a plaid shirt', a criss-cross pattern of colored lines.  'Plaid' is the word used in Scorland for 'blanket'.  It is usually done in the clan tartan, but does not have to be.  In olden days it was literally a blanket matching the kilt and thrown over the left shoulder; in VERY olden days it was attached portion of the kilt which was left over when the kilt was put on.  Modern versions are smaller and more symbolic than practical.

Why did I choose to do this today?  Today is January 25, the birthday of the national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns.  Traditionally those of Scottish lineage would celebrate the day by a special dinner in the evening, and oftentimes would wear their kilt or other Scottish attire during the day.  My plaid and brooch are my nod to my Scottish roots.

This nod to my roots is something which we as Christians should take to heart.  There are many days we could celebrate as Christians and in a Christian manner.  There is obviously Chrismas, and Easter.  Thanksgiving, along with some lesser known days such as Reformation Sunday, Pentecost Sunday and Ash Wednesday. 

Perhaps, even more so today, we should focus on celebrating our Christian faith and our history on the ordinary days.  This last Christmas my wife gave me a ring for my right hand which  features a prominent cross on a shield.  That ring sets me apart, reminds me of my heritage and inspires questions from people around me.

What heritage are you celebrating?  Do you celebrate Jesus Christ as your Saviour every day, or just on special days?

"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance."  Exodus 12:14 (NIV)

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