Idols Old & New

Idols were a problem that plagued Israel throughout their history in the Old Testament. It was sort of like an addiction that they never could quite shake. We have not progressed much over the centuries. Idolatry is just as prevalent in our society as it was in ancient Israel. Modern idols are seldom carved wooden images we bow down too. No, they are more subtle. They resemble things that are considered acceptable, even desirable in our society. And in their proper place, they would not be idols. Just as statues of wood and gold are not inherently wrong, worshiping them as a god is. Power, fame, money, possessions, hobbies, sports, and selfishness are just a few examples of idols that we have elevated in importance to a place reserved for God. When God is relegated to a back burner in life, whatever is taking precedent over him is an idol.

Sadly, the church is too often just as impacted by idolatry as the society in which we live. Here are a few:

We tend to exalt pastors and denominational leaders to a place far above where they ought to be. How many times have you heard of large churches looking for a “celebrity pastor” that will be a draw people in? Is this not idolatry? What happened to "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32)?

Theology can become an idol as well. This is especially seen when theology becomes so narrowly defined that it calls any minute differentiation heresy. Please don’t misunderstand me. I hold to a very conservative theological viewpoint. But there are some areas of theology that are debatable, and have a lesser impact on beliefs than other doctrines that are essential. (I am not implying that there are non-essential doctrines. That’s a dangerous slope to go down and a discussion for another day.) One ridiculous example is of a church member that complained to the pastor that their Sunday School teacher was teaching heresy. What was the liberal theology he was teaching? He had made the statement that the Apostle Paul was single. This person’s contention was that because he was a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been required to be married. Is this what it takes these days to be labeled a heretic? While this borders on the ridiculous, I see too many church leaders that seem to be serving their theology more than God. This is a problem.

Ideology is just as much an idol today. In one respect, it is the opposite pole of the previous idol. This modern idol shapes spiritual life and worship practice based on how they think. When established biblical teaching is molded to fit someone’s thinking or “updated” to fit modern society, then it is idolatry. When a church is more concerned with being “all inclusive,” politically correct, or tolerant of things that the Bible clearly defines as sin than it is with following God, then it is serving an idol. Recently I read of churches in the Tuscon area that are removing references to God as Father or Lord from their worship & teaching. One of their pastors says: "We do still use the word 'Lord' on occasion, but we are suspicious of it." Have churches really gone this far? Now even the very name of God is unpalatable.

I could go on and on with other examples, but I feel that Jeremiah captures me feelings well.
O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!" "Therefore I will teach them-- this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD. Jer. 16:19-21

Running from a Fat Man

This morning I went to the gym, or as I like to call it: Pain Time with Omar. (Omar is my trainer there.) Just over a year ago I became very conscious of my health. I had been to a conference in Atlanta that was attended by a number of Christian church leaders. As I looked around the room, I noticed that the majority of these pastors & church leaders were overweight. Many of them would be classified as morbidly obese. At that time, I was not in any position to cast stones (or in this case bagels). I weighed in at about 250 – a lot for even someone 6’4”.

Shortly after this, I had a physical. My blood pressure was 140/102 and my triglycerides were double the upper limit of the normal range. The Dr. basically said that I was in Stage I hypertension, and that my blood was 50% tater tots. He gave me 6 months to fix it or else go on meds. I got motivated and began exercising again as well as being very careful about what I eat. I lost 30 pounds in about 6 months and my blood pressure dropped to 124/76. I am not where I want to be, but I am well on my way. The physical benefits are amazing.

I feel that there is a mandate for us as believers to get in better shape. Here are some direct reasons why:
1) Our body is a temple of the Living God. (I Cor. 6:20) Would we pile garbage in the sanctuary of our church? Of course not. But is it really much different than shoving Big Mac’s down our gullet?
2) Being healthy will mean we can remain active in ministry longer. I have a friend who is a brilliant communicator of the Gospel. He is terribly overweight and will die far before his time unless he makes some changes. This does not help the kingdom. Proverbs 23:20-21
3) Being healthy means less money spent on healthcare. This translates to more money being freed up to put back into ministry. Since changing my lifestyle a year ago, I have not been sick. Healthier living improves your immune system.
4) Health and nutrition are very closely tied to mood and emotions. This will aid in our ministry as well. I function better when I am eating right and working out. Daniel 1 has a great illustration of this.
5) Health & Exercise are disciplines. A disciplined life has spiritual ramifications. It helps us prioritize the things that are important so we can accomplish more for the kingdom.
Obesity is one of the biggest “specks” (Matt. 7:3) in the eye of evangelical Christians. We are lambasted for the stand we take against so many “sins” yet we ignore this one. We need to put an end to this particular hypocrisy.

Let me know what you think. I’m going for a run.

A Horrible and Shocking Thing Has Happened...

Scandals within the clergy are very disturbing to me. They seem to be happening more frequently these days. It seems that every few weeks you hear about some high profile church leader involved in some moral or ethical impropriety. It makes me sad. This has become such a common occurrence that the Dallas Morning News actually has a page dedicated to church scandals on their website. The Colorado Springs Gazette had so much coverage of the recent Ted Haggard scandal, that they dedicated a page linking all the various articles on that debacle. This does not include the dozens of other websites dedicated to pointing out clergy missteps and church malaise.

I am just as disturbed with the directions I see churches going these days as I am with the moral and ethical failings. Liberalism seems to be hailed as progressive and forward-thinking. Many churches are embracing ideas as doctrine that a generation ago we would have called sin. Too many churches have softened their positions on calling sin what it is in the quest for inclusiveness. Others are seeking to emerge from the establishment of denominationalism under the piety of getting back to true religion when the reality is that they just want to be rid of someone telling them what to do. Who could blame them? The denominations are too often so caught up with their internal fights and political agendas that they have neglected the ministry they have been called to do. I could go on and on, but that would just be depressing.

Jeremiah 5:30-31 "A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

The last line says it all.

Drinking from the Fountain

Bottled water is somewhat of a new phenomenon. A generation ago, people would have laughed at you for trying to market something you can get for free (sort-of) out of the faucet. Yet today it is commonplace. Successful bottled water banks on its purity. We envision the best bottled water coming from some high altitude mountain spring – pure, refreshing, and thirst-quenching. I have at time drank from artesian fountains much like this. The water is incredibly satisfying.

Growing up I remember another water source that is still common in much of the world. On my grandparent’s farm, they had a cistern that collected runoff water from their rooftop. When you compare this water to the crystal clear bottled water, there is no question as to of which I would rather drink.

This same metaphor is used in Jeremiah 2:13 – “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water. (NKJV)

We seek satisfaction in so many areas of our life through means that are doomed to disappoint. We try to be self-sufficient relying on our own ingenuity to only find that our best efforts fall miserably short. How many broken cisterns have be build for ourselves? Have we traded the glory of the Lord for what does not profit? (2:11) Desire water that satisfies.

Time to Break out the Protest Signs?

There was an interesting article on the web yesterday about my kids favorite place - Disney World. It seems that Disney is now allowing same-sex couples to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle. Heterosexual couples have been able to do this for some time. One thing that struck me as odd was the last line of this article:
In 2005, Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. for violating "moral righteousness and traditional family values."
What does this have to do with this article? Are they anticipating Baptists to reinstate the "mouse ban"? Personally this tag ending made me more sad than does the choice Disney is making. Too often we are know for "what we are against" than what we are for. Too often people see Christians as 'cosmic joy-killers' instead of messengers of love and redemption.

Personally I do not like the decision Disney has made. Will I protest or boycott Disney? No. That would punish my children far more than it would Disney. We must never compromise what we believe to better fit with changing society. But at the same time we must speak the truth in love and with respect if we expect anyone to listen.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13b What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. (NIV)

(One other question... As the article stated, in heterosexual weddings, Mickey & Minnie attend in formalwear. Who attends in a same-sex wedding? Mickey & Donald? Walt may roll over.)

The Pursuit of Happiness

Yesterday I rented the latest Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happiness. This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. It is truly an inspiring story about human determination and basically the refusal to give up. There are so many themes in this movie that are worth exploring. Here are a few.

There is no substitute for hard work. This theme permeates the film. It is an inspiration to everyone to improve their work ethic.

He refused to quit even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Most of us would give up under far less pressure.

He had a dream of making a better life for himself. Nearly half of all workers in America are unhappy with their jobs. He refused to remain where he was.

He was focused on a goal for achieving this better life. He saw a way out and let nothing get in his way of it. We are too easily distracted with TV, surfing the net, and occupying our time with things that don’t really matter, or that take our focus off the goal.

Family was his first priority. Providing a better life for his son was a not so subtle underlying theme of this movie. Too many people today neglect family in their career pursuits.

He refused to let anyone tell him that “he couldn’t do that.”

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (NIV)

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)

Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (NIV)

What is God leading you to accomplish? What is keeping you from doing that? When we seek Him earnestly he will give us the desires of our heart. This is the goal in each of our pursuit of happiness.

Is Church Discipline Dead?

Today I read through 1 Corinthians 5. Paul is telling the church in Corinth to expel a sexually immoral member from their midst. This sort of church discipline is rarely practiced in the church today. Why is that? Certainly it is counter to the seeker-friendly mentality of most evangelical churches today. Tolerance is fashionable in society and it had undoubtedly had an impact on church life as well. It may be that sin is so pervasive in the church today that we would not know where to start. I also see a lot of church leadership trying to avoid "issues" or controversies that might interrupt the regular life of the church. Whatever the prevailing reason for not practicing it, it is clear that is a dying or dead practice in the church today.

There are some distinctions in this passage worth noting.

1. This was someone sinning openly and egregiously while maintaining active membership in the church. It damaged the witness of the church body, and threatened the church members from being dragged into sin as well.
2. The purpose for the discipline was to help the offender to see the seriousness of his sin. Much like we discipline our children for their own protection, the goal of church discipline should be restoration of the brother. In the past, church discipline has looked more like "church judgment". This has not helped it reputation.
3. This should be an action of "last resort". There are some direct references to Matthew 18:15-18 in this passage. Again, the goal is repentance from sin and the brother becoming stronger in his faith as a result.
4. We cannot judge non-believers by the same standard as the unrepentant believer. The church gets a bad rap for being judgmental of people's sin. Some of that is well deserved. We should expect people without Christ to behave as such. Our place is not to judge them, but to show them Christ. We need to show people that there is a difference in the way we live. We need to not be so separate from the world that we have no influence upon it. If people are going to come to a saving knowledge of faith in Christ, then they must see it lived out in us. Sometimes this means we have to practice disciplines that are unpleasant to maintain our integrity in the eyes of the world.