Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Isn’t it ironic? Thoughts on the Donnie McClurkin controversy

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Donnie McClurkinRecently, a singer had his invitation to appear at a civil rights rally revoked because he is a former homosexual. Donnie McClurkin was uninvited because he acknowledged that God delivered him from homosexuality. You can read the story here.

Isn’t it ironic that a black man gets uninvited to perform at a civil rights concert because he acknowledged his ex-gay status? I find dark humor in the fact that those who preach tolerance the loudest are often the most shrill in their intolerance.

Those in the homosexual community rightly expect society to treat them with the respect they deserve as human beings. We are asked to treat them no differently than we would treat heterosexuals. This is a legitimate request.

But in this case, the homosexual community did not reciprocate and acted on their intolerance in an appalling way.

Are they concerned that the “ex-gay” bug is catching? If Donnie touched them would they be instantly converted to heterosexuality? That would be a shame indeed because it appears that sexual preference is the center of their self identity.

There are some of us in the church that are willing to cry foul when the church is in the wrong. We openly admit that some in the church are wrong in the way they respond to the culture around them. Should not the homosexual community do the same? Are there not those in the community who know that this type of intolerance is exactly what they are fighting against?

Here the Christian has the advantage. We acknowledge and understand that all of us (homosexual and heterosexual alike) are broken and in need of repair. As Jeremiah writes, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)  We understand that there is a gap between our principles and our behavior and we look to God for the power to close that gap. It is precisely this that Jesus came to do. He came to close that gap and provide the means of becoming what God intended us to be. It is only through Jesus that we have any hope of being consistent in our word and deed.

Perhaps the intolerance of those who most loudly preach tolerance is a clue that the Christians indeed have a better understanding of the human condition.

On beauty and worship

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Westminster-AbbeyAs I write this, I am a tourist in London, England.

I have toured many of the churches and historical sites and have had opportunity to learn much about the history of this great nation. The church buildings are magnificent; even the lesser known churches are beautiful edifices. Seeing all of them, I wonder what it was like to hear the church bells ringing all throughout London on a Sunday morning a century or two ago.

While I enjoyed touring the churches, my visits were a mixed bag for me. For example, one of the more disconcerting things that I encountered was a commemorative to Charles Darwin in Westminster Abbey. I hope that I will not offend anyone when I say this, but for me Westminster Abbey was more museum than house of worship. I was awed by the rich history of England as I toured, but little about what I saw around me pointed me to worship of God.

While I do not claim any knowledge of the eternal state of Charles Darwin’s soul, I do know that his legacy is one that should not be celebrated by the church. This is not because the church cannot participate in scientific discussion, nor is it because we do not have answers to Darwin’s stance against Christianity. Instead of celebrating Darwin’s accomplishments, we should be demonstrating that his there is evidence in support of the Christian concept of creation. To see the marble slab with Charles Darwins name on it in the church seems to indicate to the church aquiesces to the scientism of the current educational establishment.

I admit that the Abbey was indeed beautiful, arguably the most beautiful building I have ever seen. It was spectacular, but seemed to be more a testimony to the skill and power of men (and women) than it was a place of worship. Or, perhaps stated more rudely, it was a place to worship man and not God. I wanted to be induced to worship God, instead I was overwhelmed by a littany of names of great men and women.

My thoughts jump to the difficult relationship between the church and the arts. It seems that too often when we set out to create beautiful things what starts out as an act of worship of God ends up being the thing worshipped.

I was encouraged by one thing in my Westminster Abbey tour. On several of the statues and monuments, I saw spider webs. The spider is not overawed by the grandure of the Abbey, he just goes about doing what he was designed to do. Perhaps those spider webs were the only object in the Abbey created as a pure act of worship.

On corruption in government

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CorruptionI recently heard a radio commentator say that according to a survey done around the world, one of the foremost concerns of people is corruption in government. I doubt that many people are shocked by this since it is not a new problem. From the beginning, human government, made up of flawed and fallen humans, has been corrupt because the men and women who make up the government have been corrupt.

Saint Augustine, writing in the early 5th Century addressed this issue when he wrote the following:

“. . . it was the business of such men as were prudent and wise to deceive the people in matters of religion, and in that very thing not only to worship, but also to imitate the demons, whose greatest lust is to deceive. For just as the demons cannot possess any but those whom they have deceived with guile, so also men in princely office, not indeed being just, but like demons, have persuaded the people in the name of religion to receive as true those things which they themselves knew to be false; in this way, as it were, binding them up more firmly in civil society, so that they might in like manner possess them as subjects. But who that was weak and unlearned could escape the deceits of both the princes of the state and the demons?”

As Augustine points out, the result is that those who rule are likely to espouse positions that they do not believe so that they can remain in power. Whether or not religion is involved, deception remains.

Now, you might argue that in 21st Century America, we do not have a state religion. But is this true? Are we not moving into a period where there is indeed a new state religion, that of evolving morality and tolerance?

The dirty little secret of the tolerance movement is that they themselves are intolerant of anyone who disagrees with them. I have yet to meet the man (or woman) who lives as though all opinions on any subject are equally valid. Yet, this is the mantra of what appears to be the new state religion of the United States, a religion that is forced upon us despite the establishment clause.

What is the Christian supposed to do in response to this? A few thoughts come to mind.

  1. God remains in control, even when governments are corrupt and antithetical to Christian belief. The power of the gospel to change lives cannot be thwarted by any human government, religious or irreligious.
  2. We should not be dismayed when we learn of corruption because our ultimate hope is in God alone. Neither should we be surprised, when we understand that each of us carries the taint of Adam’s sin and corruption lies within our hearts (see Matthew 5 – 8).
  3. We should use whatever power we are given to help reform government and fight corruption when it is found. This power may be limited to the right to vote. Some are called to participate in government as elected officials and have a higher responsibility for their response to corruption.

How to keep Chreasters coming back

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Like many of my high school term papers, this post is about two weeks late. My timing isn’t great, but recent discussion about Chreasters has kept this topic is on my mind.

Chreaster Dads
Used by permission – www.insertimg.com – Click to enlarge

We joke about Chreasters, those who show up for church on Christmas and Easter. A recent Christian Post article about how to keep them coming back gave some ideas as to how to deal with a surge of people who decide to visit church on Easter. While Christmas and Easter are two seasons where the church is more likely to encounter visitors, we should be prepared to welcome visitors on any Sunday throughout the year.

The article makes the point that we should not rely on gimmicks to get visitors interested in coming back to the church. We should be prepared to minister to those who are curious or those who are brought to church by a family member. If we are relying on gimmicks and entertainment, eventually we will run out of stuff to keep them interested. So caged lions and special music are not the answer.

One question that should be considered is why are they Chreasters in the first place. Ask yourself “who are these people and how would Jesus minister to them?”

As I see it, the reason that people do not attend church is because they do not perceive a need for it. They have not yet considered the big questions in life, or they have considered them and do not see a need for God to be a factor in determining their response to those questions. Church is not a priority because there is no perceived benefit.

When I read the gospels, I see that Jesus often raised questions to get his hearers to consider ideas that were previously ignored. In John 4:16, Jesus suggested to a woman that she call her husband to the well. This led to a discussion of the woman’s marital history and her need for the Messiah. One chapter earlier, Jesus told a Pharisee that he must be born again. Jesus cut right to the heart. In both cases Jesus challenged both the object and the means of worship.

We don’t need church, we need Jesus. Church is a place where we should see Jesus in others and be encouraged in our own relationship with Him. Attending church is a need for me, but it is a secondary need, my primary need is for Jesus. We must challenge visitors toward an eternal perspective. We must, like Jesus, bring people face-to-face with their ultimate needs. We have to offer more than coping skills.

As the article points out, there are things we can do to make guests feel welcome and comfortable. Ed Stetzer reminds us in the article that it is a little like getting ready for house guests. When we have house guests, we tell them where the towels are, which bathroom to use and all of the other information required to make them comfortable.

We should do the same at church. When guests see members walking around with coffee cups, it would be a good thing to show visitors where to get coffee. Having a clearly identified place for them to ask questions is also helpful. The goal in all of this is to remove barriers that prevent people from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.

On Christmas and Easter, the church should be doing what it should be doing every Sunday which is point people to Jesus as their primary need. Visitors don’t need the music to be perfect. Not every sermon is going to be a pinnacle of oratory. Visitors will encounter flawed people because that is what we are. But they should encounter flawed people who have learned how to love and who radiate the joy that can be found in Christ.

If people see Jesus in us, if they hear Jesus proclaimed in the sermon, if they hear Jesus worshiped in the music, God can use that visit to stir up their hearts to recognize their hunger that only Jesus can fill.

People don’t need church, they need Jesus. Church is the delivery vehicle, not the cargo.

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