Living in an Abusive World

Last week I was reading various sports articles and came across an article on Ray Rice getting a 2 game suspension. Players are getting suspended all the time in the NFL, but what stood out to me was what he was suspended for.  He received a 2 game suspension for knocking out his then fiancé (now wife). To put that in perspective, Terrelle Pryor was suspended for 5 games for signing autographs for money while he was in college. Simple math says he could have knocked out 2 women and still got a shorter suspension.

The point of this blog post isn't to rail on the NFL. It is to simply point out that we live in a messed up world. A world where it is worse to sign some objects than it is to knock out your fiancé. This messed up thinking has over time found its way into the church.

In an abusive world, the abusers blame the victims. This shouldn't surprise us in any way, but what should surprise us is how often that mentality filters into the church. Our world is full of people who have been abused either verbally, physically or sexually and the church should be the place of safety for them. But often it becomes a place of stigma and shame. A place where not only are they not welcomed and loved, but they are shunned and marginalized.

A few simple thoughts on how a church can be a safe haven for the abused.

1.      Be trustworthy- abuse victims have trust issues, recognize that and embrace them anyway

2.      Be their advocate- often victims fall into the cracks. Either people don’t believe them, or people don’t report the abuse. As Christians we need to believe and report issues.

3.      Be patient- the church needs to be ready to listen when a victim is ready to speak, but they also need to realize that it takes time for them to do that.

4.      Be willing to deal with sin even if it is costly- one of the major reason abusers are dealt so lightly with, is that most organizations don’t want a black eye. They are more worried about PR than the victim, the abuser, or the Gospel.

We need to be churches that are willing to stand in the gap for people who have been abused. We need to be willing to love those who have been traumatized and may not love back. We need to be willing to stand against abusers no matter how popular or important they are. We need daily grace so that we can show daily grace to others.

Leadership Is All About Character

Once again I have been challenged by the book we are working through as board here at Mountain Home Bible Church. "The Conviction to Lead" by Albert Mohler has been a great choice for us. Last Friday we discussed 2 chapters in the book, chapters 9 & 10.  

Here are two of things that stood out to me from chapter 9.

Page 79- paragraph 1-"As a community of character, Christians are to reflect the moral commitments to which we are called. As Jesus made clear, the moral credibility of the gospel depends on those who have been transformed by the grace and mercy of God demonstrating that transformation in every dimension of life. Within the church, leadership falls on those whose light shines with integrity and power."

I am reminded of Missionary Ron Goossen and what he said to our church this Spring. "if we are the light of this world, what wattage is your bulb?" Has the Gospel so transformed us that we are different in every area of our life. Is our character demonstrating that transformation?

Page 80- paragraph 3 & 4 -"We are not perfect, and claims of perfection will only serve to undermine our leadership. We will fail, and we must be answerable for those failures. Our sin will show up in our leadership, usually without delay. Character is indispensable to credibility, and credibility is essential to leadership. The great warning to every leader is that certain sins and scandals can spell the end of our leadership. We can forfeit our role as leader and the stewardship of leadership can be taken from us."

How credible are we? Maybe as Christians we should ask the question, how credible is the church? In a day filled with scandals, failures, and celebrity pastors, has the message of the Gospel lost its credibility because the representatives of that Gospel have lost theirs? As a pastor I am graciously reminded by God that my position is based on my character and credibility. I don't need to be perfect (good thing!) but I do need to be growing and striving. 

Without character, we don't have credibility, and without credibility we don't have leadership. May we be known as a people of character. People who not only say we love God and His Word, but people who live like we love them! 

The Biggest Freedom No One Is Talking About

It is the month of July, a time when Americans in particular celebrate freedom. We celebrate the freedom of speech, press, religion, guns, etc. To make sure everyone know how excited we are about those freedoms we host fireworks displays, parades, and festivals.

Over the last few years there has been an increase in talking about standing up for freedoms, Christians have lined up at Chic-fil-a to buy a sandwich to support the owners right to free speech, they have rallied around Hobby Lobby and the right to not deny their religious conscience in their business. More generally, churches today have lined up behind the view of personal liberty. Nothing is really off limits as long as you are ok with it. I am one of the first to admit that culture is rapid changing and the church needs to minister to the culture we live in, but the best form of ministry isn't imitation.

The biggest freedom Christians have is one that no one seems to be talking about. We have been given the freedom to NOT sin!  Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” As a pastor, father, man, and Christian I cannot explain why people get saved and then celebrate the ability to go back into the same sins God saved them from in the first place. It isn't spiritual maturity that gives you the freedom do whatever, spiritual maturity gives you the freedom to give everything up for Christ.

One of the greatest lies the modern church in America has accepted is that we are free to live on the edge of obedience, on the edge of worldliness, on the edge of truth, on the edge of sin. We have become used to hearing statements like these:

“I can drink as long as I don't get drunk”

“I can listen to music about sex, drugs, etc. as long as I don't do that myself”

“I can attend church when I feel like it as long as I say that I love attending”

“I can watch any movie I want, regardless how many times they curse, the amount of nudity, supporting homosexuality, and the open mocking of God as long as it is funny or popular.”

“I can wear whatever I want, you can't tell me what is modest. If people struggle with my attire it is their heart issue, not my fault.”

We may not always say these out loud, but we say them with our actions. Why is that we are so willing to cite personal freedom as permission to live more like the world, and we never want to cite biblical freedom to live less like it? I would contend that our heart is more wicked than we would like to admit. No matter your religious training or how long you have been saved, our heart tends to fall back into pride and self-reliance with great ease.   

Today let me encourage you to give up the world for Jesus. Celebrate freedom by celebrating the ability to not sin. Stand firm because Christ has made you free!

Is Anyone Else Tired?

Yesterday I read this verse as part of studying- 2 Thessalonians 3:13 “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” I happened to be pretty weary as I read it.

We have just finished a major remodeling job in our sanctuary, had a week of VBS, and still managed to complete the other tasks that fall on a Pastor during those times: preaching, hospital visits, board meetings, etc. It has been awesome to see God work through our church! The auditorium looks amazing and VBS was great! We had more kids come out than we planned for, the workers were a big help, and the Gospel was given clearly each night.

After the craziness of June, both ministry and personally, I am worn out. As I read that verse my first thought was almost a complaint. “Lord, there is so much more to be done, why am I so tired? Give me some more energy to get this stuff done!” As if somehow the Lord owed it to me to give me more energy, or that the verse somehow offered a promise of never being fatigued. But as I thought over the verse and allowed the Lord to work it into my heart, it was a huge challenge and encouragement!

This verse is a challenge to not get tired of doing good. It isn't that we don’t get tired, we all do. It is challenge of the heart, even when you are physically exhausted, love doing right. We are saturated by a world that loves so many distractions and as they see us they should notice what we love. They should notice that even when we are tired we still do right. How many times have offered an excuse for a bad response as “I am just tired”? Tiredness often just reveals more of our selfish, prideful hearts. When the events of life press on you, love doing right.

So today, I am at work, still tired, but excited to do right (and really looking forward to vacation in a little over a week!).