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When War Takes its Turn- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 6

The sad and sometimes grim realities of life lived amongst the rubble of a ruined paradise are not lost on the Christian. Faith in Christ doesn’t mean an escape from clogged toilets and flat tires; from flu bugs, computer viruses, potholes, pickpockets, and lightning strikes. It’s a mud pit of a world we’ve made and nobody’s keeping entirely clean. But there’s a big difference between getting a pebble in your shoe and getting an officer’s handcuffs on your wrists. Sometimes we’re the nail and sometimes we’re the hammer; sometimes bad things happen to us and sometimes we do bad things. Some things are merely our problem and some things are also our fault.

So, is war in the world something that every Christian must deal with in season, just as he would deal with winter’s blizzards and autumn’s leaves? Or is war something that Christians must steadfastly oppose and withdraw from regardless of circumstance, like he must steer clear of organized crime, internet smut, and street drugs? It’s an important question, because every Christian is a citizen of some country and every country has allies and enemies. Every country faces the near constant prospect of war and funds a defense for itself. What should the American Christian’s stance be toward the defense of the homeland and the declaration of war? Are we doves or hawks, angels or knights, conscience or encouragement? Saint Augustine, one of the most influential of the early Church fathers, developed a theory of “just war” complete with criteria for action and inaction. The tenets of this theory have stood the test of time and are still in use today as leaders wrestle with the decision to take the sword from its sheath. As the sound of sabers rattling is heard across our land today with the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, I thought it would be a good idea to have us all read Augustine’s old theory and throw it in the middle of the room for discussion on Sunday morning. Follow the link to read a brief but comprehensive introduction to the theory published by the Catholic League. Please consider joining us for coffee, a baked treat, and a hearty discussion of an age-old question at 8:30am upstairs in the Family Life Center. I’m looking forward to it!

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Christianity Tomorrow- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 5

The United States has been out partying at the bar for a long time now and is really in no shape to be driving. While the U.S. can no longer be considered a Christian nation; it remains a land blessed with an awful lot of Christians and it’s the American church’s responsibility to grab the keys now and again and be the designated driver.
Having had eyes opened, ears unstopped, and minds made new, believers are full of invaluable wisdom and keen insight. A church that is silent in affairs of State, quiet in all political consideration, mum on matters of business and finance, and ciphers on the college green and at town hall; is a church that wishes to unnecessarily impoverish itself and its fellow countrymen. A nation’s believers, more than any other sector, is best positioned to ensure the peace, prosperity, and vitality of a country. Of course, many of the contributions to the national conversation springing from a biblical worldview and perspective will not be met with cheers and salutes but with boos and nasty dismissals. That’s okay– we expect to get some guff from our inebriated neighbor when we question the wisdom of his worldly ways. What’s more; we don’t live for the approval and esteem of those we share the stage with but with the Lord, our life’s sole audience.

The U.S. House of Representatives has just recently impeached President Trump and, before handing over the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial, is looking to gain support for the measure from across the fruited plain. Impeachment, we’re told, is a political process and exercise. In which case, the real jurors are you and me. Congress is loathe to overturn the people’s decision without the hearty assent of the people. So, what do you think? What do we think? What should the Church have to say? We shouldn’t be silent. Mark Galli, the outgoing editor of the top evangelical periodical, Christianity Today, caused quite a stir when he published an editorial with the imprimatur of the magazine, calling for the Senate to convict the President and remove him from office. Before long, the evangelical world formed ranks and volleys of cannon fire have been crisscrossing the twittersphere ever since. Where should we file in or should we make every effort to sit this one out? It’s a good topic for conversation! Please follow the link to read Galli’s editorial and consider joining us this Sunday morning (January 5th) at 8:30am upstairs in the Family Life Center for a roundtable discussion on Christianity Today’s call for the President’s impeachment. Should be a stimulating and eye-opening exercise. Hot coffee and a fresh-baked treat will greet you at the door!

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Quiet but Equal? Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 4

How is it that two very different things can be said to be equal? We understand that a dollar bill is equal in value to four quarters, that water in frozen crystals is equal to water in liquid droplets, and that an F-sharp is the same note whether played on stringed instrument or a woodwind. While almost no two things are exactly the same in substance, there are many things that are perfectly equal in essence. Value, therefore, shouldn’t be ascribed by comparison to another thing but in accord to its essence. Diversity doesn’t necessitate hierarchy.
Man and woman are two very different creations and yet the Apostle Paul asserts in the New Testament that they are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). The Bible affirms the equality of all human beings regardless of gender, race, nationality, or socio-economic status. The Bible also affirms the diversity present in God’s creation. God Himself is one in essence and yet there are profound differences in the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Men and women are equal in essence and yet their roles too are very different.

For the last fifty years or so, the question of what role, if any, women should have in the leadership ministry of the church has been a source of a lot of discussion and division. Most recently, John MacArthur (a prominent evangelical pastor in California) re-fired the debate when he admonished Beth Moore and other women preachers to give up their ministries and “go home”. A video of MacArthur’s comments went viral on the internet and created brush fires on social media and in the blogosphere. That being the case, I thought it would be a good time for us to talk about this issue and see if we can’t benefit some from the exercise. I’m not confident that we’ll be able to resolve something that has kept Christians of good conscience apart for decades now, but I’m confident we can learn from the Bible and one another. As a basis for our discussion, I’ve chosen a thoughtful and scholarly piece by Robert Hart. While it may be in the deep end of the pool and you won’t be able to keep your head above water without doing some swimming, you can always just hang on to the side! Give it a shot and then come prepared to share in the conversation Sunday morning at 8:30, upstairs in the Family Life Center. Coffee and a home-baked treat will greet you at the door! Hope to see you there!

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Attitude Before Altitude- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 3

Air-traffic controllers are sometimes forced to ground a plane. Sometimes there’s a problem with the
tower, sometimes it’s the plane’s systems that are malfunctioning, and sometimes the skies are just not safe. Something sure to keep a plane at the gate is the forecast of weather perfect for icing. Should a plane attempt to take off and ascend through twenty thousand feet of freezing rain, enough ice could form on the wings and on the air-intake system, causing the engines to stall and the craft to roll or pitch uncontrollably, leading to a fiery crash.

Churches long to see lift in their life and ministry. Bodies of believers don’t want to waste away at the gate or taxi anxiously year after year after year. We want to be moving in an upward trajectory and travel to our destination, fulfilling our commission. But sometimes it seems as though air-traffic control has grounded our jet and delayed our flight. Something’s wrong and we’re left to wait on the Lord for a resolution to the problem. Because as much as we dislike having to wait; it would be far worse to lose everything in a crash.

A worldly perspective and a culture rooted in wrong thinking can be very much like freezing rain falling on a church’s life and efforts. Should the church attempt to take off in any direction in these conditions, the prospects for a successful flight are quite dim. Until the “weather” changes, everything’s grounded. One of the prevailing problems for the church in the West is its perception of itself. When a Western Evangelical Christian thinks of church, what is it that he conceives in his heart? What image comes to mind? Is the church a place or is it a people? Is the church a construction or a living thing? Is the church a meeting or a way of life? These and other questions like them are key in the work of assessing whether or not any church is ready for takeoff or doomed to twiddle its thumbs. The growth of the house church movement here in the United States and around the world has been the catalyst for some important conversation and introspection by those of us in the traditional church. One of those spurring the church on in this consideration is Wolfgang Simson. Some time ago, he published fifteen theses on the subject and I’d love to consider his thoughts together with you. Please take a moment to read these very provocative and stimulating ideas and come ready to share what you think. We’ll have a pot of coffee on and some baked goods set out to greet you at the door. Join us this Sunday at 8:30am, upstairs in the Family Life Center – God bless your reading!

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Is Godliness a Warm Gun? Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 2

Overcorrecting makes for a lot of car wrecks. The right-side tires get off in the gravel, you feel the car
tugging into the ditch, and in a moment of panic you jerk the wheel and roll the car. Our
absentmindedness often has us panicking over dangers in many areas of our lives. We lose our focus
and drift outside the lines that God has painted for us. In our zeal to get back on track, we often lose
our way altogether.
For some time now, the Church has lost its muscle tone in its defense of the weak, in its pursuit of
justice, and in its willingness to stand up against violence and cruelty. The perception of the Church has
become that of a wimpy, emasculated, lips-zipped consoler. Now that’s not the biblical Jesus and that’s
not the Christians who are His namesake.
There’s a growing movement among church leaders in the West that is intent on showing that God’s
people are not pushovers. Christians, especially believing men, are finding their voice again and
stiffening against a lot of the rot and erosion all around. This is a good thing. But, in this revival of
muscle, there is the dangerous possibility of an overcorrection. In an attempt to show that we’re not
the lightweights that popular culture portrays us to be, are we jerking the wheel? One hot button issue
that seems to be a flashpoint in all of this is the matter of guns and self-defense. Would Jesus
encourage Billy Joe to take his guns to town or would he encourage him to listen to his mom and ride
without? Jon Piper has written a thought-provoking article on this very topic and, while none of us will
agree with it entirely, I think it forms a good basis for a much-needed conversation. So; God, guns, the
gospel, and our 2nd Amendment rights and responsibilities. We probably won’t need any coffee or baked
goods to fuel the conversation but it can’t hurt. I hope you’ll consider joining us Sunday morning,
September 15th at 8:30am in room 208 in the Family Life Center as we eat, fellowship, and work on this
together. See you then and there!

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