#MeToo Hits the SBC

To our First Family:

We are Southern Baptist. I recognize that for many of you, that doesn't really register. You love our church, agree with our statements of faith, and have probably even given to the Christmas and Easter mission offerings. Beyond that, the Southern Baptist Convention doesn't mean much to you.

I'll be heading next week to our annual convention in Dallas, June 12-13. As the largest non-Catholic denomination in the country, our meetings tend to make the news. Usually that news is for our stand on biblical truth, but unfortunately there is a bigger story I'd like to make you aware of.

Our #MeToo Moment
Dr. Paige Patterson has been a hero of our denomination as part of a movement in the 70's to steer the SBC to a place of firm commitment to the authority of scripture. However, it has been revealed that while President of two of our seminaries, Dr. Patterson used his authority to silence women who had been raped on those campuses. In addition, indefensible statements during sermons from Dr. Patterson have come to light regarding domestic violence and describing a teenage girl's appearance.

Dr. Patterson has been removed as President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but is still in line to preach the sermon at the end of this year's annual meeting. Being voted into that position last year, before any of these details were known, he can only be removed if he resigns (unlikely at this point) or if messengers like myself vote to have him removed. I anticipate the later solution to be the first motion from the floor and to pass overwhelmingly.

You may still hear scattered voices in support of Dr Patterson because of his past service, but no level of service can discount the abuses of authority Dr. Patterson is guilty of. Please know the overwhelming voices in our denominational leadership and mainstream have firmly denounced Dr. Patterson in the strongest of terms. As a husband, father, brother, and son to some incredible women in my own life, I am heartbroken for this situation in our denomination. Men must NEVER be permitted to use spiritual authority for spiritually bullying.

The Good News

I've been part of Southern Baptist Churches for over 20 years. I don't believe we're infallible as a denomination, but in regards to mission and message, I believe the SBC is a great place of partnership for our church. 

The positive impact of the SBC is on the rise! In a time where denominations are dying, we gained 272 churches last year and saw worship attendance grow by an extra 100,000 each Sunday! 

Our own church has seen growth through a second worship service and leadership transitions to build upon and strengthen our worship and discipleship ministries. People are responding to our efforts of biblical worship and discipleship.

As a member of FBC you are a Southern Baptist. That doesn't make you responsible for every difficult moment we experience as a denomination. But as a part of this faith family, let us pray together and use these moments to own our imperfections for the declaration of the Gospel. Let's tell them about our Jesus!

Condemning Comfort

How do I comfort someone whose deceased loved one was an unbeliever? 

Recently the Pope was faced with a heart-wrenching question from a young boy. The child's repeated attempts to voice his question were quickly overcome by tears. Finally, Pope Francis called the child forward and encouraged him to whisper the question in his ear as the boy hugged him tight. After a few private moments Pope Francis shared the question:

"My dad was an atheist. Is He in Heaven?" (Here is the video link: https://usat.ly/2r209qa)

The boy shared that his dad was a good man and even had all four of his children baptized. Pope Francis agreed the boy's father had been a good man and then answered his question:

"God, faced with a dad who was an unbeliever but had his four children baptized, do you think that God would be capable of leaving that man far from Him? No."

A large crowd was present and was encouraged by Pope Francis to also shout, "NO!" The video has gone viral, allowing every viewer to be condemned by an act of comfort. Thousands have heard of salvation not through Jesus, but through personal goodness. 

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17

John 3:17 is my favorite verse because people usually respond, "Don't you mean John 3:16?" I appreciate that it pushes back against those who say salvation only through Jesus excludes people. Listen:
Without Jesus there was NO WAY to Heaven. 
With Jesus there is ONE WAY to Heaven. 
I prefer the second option. Telling people that Jesus is the only way IS a loving act.

I empathize with this difficult question Pope Francis faced. I've performed many funerals for people who had no testimony of Christ, and yet their families spoke of them as if they were clearly in Heaven. How does a Christian approach this?

1) Don't presume.
Max Lucado encourages us to remember that in the same way the thief on the cross accepted at the very end of his life, so may have this seemingly lost family member. Perhaps they cried out to Jesus in their final moments. We don't treat all people as saved, but we don't presume to absolutely know.

2) Display the love of God. 
Jesus wept with people who were hurting. Regardless of their beliefs, we can still encourage people to hold to those good memories and even be ready to share those stories with family they never had the chance to meet.

3) Point the person to Jesus. 
I know one thing is true of every person who dies: If they were standing before their loved ones they would say, "Eternity is real." We can't do anything for the soul that is gone, but we still have a chance with the soul that stands before us. So share the love of Jesus and salvation of Jesus that is available to every person.

When people are hurting, be a comfort. But don't condemn someone by false comfort that fails to share the truth. Be a person who expresses truth and love side-by-side. 

How Fast or How Well?

Seth: "I'm the new manager."
Jerry: "But you were a bank executive. This is fast food!"
Seth: "Not fast food, good food quickly."

The American experience is a constant trade-in of quality for speed. This issue was recently driven home during my morning workout. The Nike Training App has been my go-to for a while, and I appreciate each exercise is accompanied by video and audio reminders as you progress.

Today's routine included 30-second increments of the "Crab Reach", a move I've done umpteen times. However, a line in the audio immediately changed my approach to this move as well to the remaining sets in my workout:

"Focus on good form over speed"

In my desire to do something good (exercising my body), I'd been emphasizing speed over quality. I emphasized how fast I could perform the move instead of how well I could perform it. 

I think you may see where I'm going with this.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17 (NIV)

Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, the man working to establish an unstable people. Israel was coming out of Egypt and anxious to settle into their permanent homeland, but Moses fought that mindset. Moses prayer wasn't for a quick build, but a quality build. Throughout the Psalm he uses words like everlasting and steadfast. These are words that are willing to take time with the Lord to do things well.

Are you?  

Whether in our devotional time, family time, or work efforts, we must have a desire for God to establish our work as works of quality. Reading the Bible in a year isn't more valuable than studying the Bible for a year. One advances your reading plan, while the other advances your sanctification (becoming more like Jesus).

There's a lot to do everyday: For God, for others, for yourself. Don't focus on how fast you can accomplish these tasks, but on how well you can do them. You just may find the end of each day is more satisfying than it's ever been. 

OMG...Pardon Me?

I think we're doing that 3rd commandment wrong. 

Like me, you may have grown up in a household that didn't allow for phrases like...

OMG

Jeez

Gosh Darn

For those of you who just survived the PG-13 part of this blog, let's continue. If I may be so bold, I believe the commandment our parents tried to keep us in line with goes much deeper than a word spoken in anger or frustration. 

My seminary president once had the honor of teaching an Old Testament study to a group of rabbis. Afterwards, they repeatedly thanked him for not using the proper name of God, Yahweh, during his teaching. Many Christians who'd been invited to teach had used the name, causing extreme offense to their audience. 

If you've ever noticed in your Bible, the word LORD is often capitalized throughout the Old Testament portions. This is actually a substitution by the Hebrew scribes for the name Yahweh that for them was too holy and special to even be written down. The Jews have always treated God's name with a deep reverence, but it goes far beyond the understanding you may have grown up with. 

How do we use God's name in vain.

1) Profanity. Ok, so let's get this out of the way. If you're using the English expression for God as a curse word, then you clearly are speaking it vainly. However, for those with no relationship with Him, "God" is simply a word. We need to be careful about demanding lost people use the name of God properly. Lost people gonna lost. 

2) Prayers of Unbelief. James 1:5-7 says that when we pray we should do so, "...in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord" What is the issue with this prayer? It called upon God in vain, doubting His ability. We recognize God may answer differently from our preference, but in faith we pray trusting He will answer. 

3) False Oaths. Some people "swear to God" in proving their sincerity, mainly because they've been found insincere in the past. Numerous people swear before God to love "until death do us part", but step away long before. James 5:12 challenges us, "Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple "Yes" or "No."

So now what?

Obviously, we just say OMG all we want....NOT! My purpose isn't to be flippant about our attempts at honoring God, but to simply think a bit deeper on how we go about it. Idol worship in America looks differently than it did in biblical times, but we have recognized how to think deeper on the temptation to idolize fame, fortune, etc. 

In the same way, let's approach the name of God our Father and Friend with the complete reverence He deserves. Using the name of God with purpose in front of our kids or co-workers will speak louder than simply avoiding random utterances of His name at all. 

Presently Absent

"I take shame to myself for my unprofitable attendance"
-Valley of Vision

Teacher: Susan?
Susan: Here.
Teacher: Billy?
Billy: PRESENT!!!!

Everyone had a Billy in their class...physically present, but mentally absent. Many of us nabbed a perfect attendance award sometime during our school years, but those awards said nothing of our effort. When you're six, Mom's gonna put you on the bus every chance she gets!

Whether kids or adults, we have all been presently absent at some point. We might get credit from others for being in class, at work, or even in church. But are we getting any credit in Heaven?

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Col 3:23 (NLT)

God doesn't tell us to work. He tells us to work well! Christians are placed as ambassadors to a watching world. Sometimes those watchers are less evident than at other times, which is why we must always work as though we're doing it for God rather than people.

Where are you present physically yet mentally absent?

• Your job is paying you, but your extended breaks and slack hands rob your employer.
• Your teacher invests their expertise in you, but you ignore their wisdom and preparation.
• Your church prepares a worship environment for you, but you fail to prepare spiritually

God's not handing out attendance awards. God rewards diligent hearts that fully invest themselves in whatever they're doing. If you have to be there, why not put in your best effort to glorify your Father in Heaven?

The Responsibility of Readiness

Our community has endured an incredibly tough run the last few weeks. Two of our local schools had students who made threats against the safety of their fellow students. Then we were further shaken by the horrific loss of two teenage brothers at the hands of their own father.

I’ve spent a lot of time around one of those schools in support, and noticed various encouraging messages like this one all over the building.

Other local schools followed suit, encouraging students to look for opportunities to stand ready for moments of support to outcast and downcast classmates. I’m inspired to see these administrators, teachers, and students respond positively to such tragedy.

I'm hopeful that this response to tragedy will remain in the future.
I'm hopeful also that Christians will assume greater responsibility to be pre-tragedy. 

We don’t need more nice people at school. We need more ambassadors for Christ at school.

We don’t need school-sanctioned prayer, but student-sparked prayer by students for students.

The world will remain sick with sin until the eternal reign of Jesus, so Christians have a responsibility of readiness. When faith in Christ is displayed prominently, our focus moves from arguing issues to sharing Jesus. As my evangelism professor said in seminary, "You'll never argue anyone into the kingdom of Heaven."

Are you available to the lonely person at school, work, or even church? It's more comfortable to stick with your clique, but our responsibility as Christians calls us to a higher standard.

So don't cast anyone away! When we see the outcast and downcast, let our hearts and minds be prepared to gather in and lift up! Not everyone will come to a full or immediate acceptance of Jesus, but when Christians live kindness, we reveal the hope of Jesus to people who have bought Satan's hopeless lies.

Biblical Racism

I wonder if I would have owned slaves?

American Christianity today cries loudly against slavery, but the voices were muted in the earlier days of our nation. Many pastors, like Richard Fuller, used the Bible to justify the enslavement of blacks by white Christians, who themselves had been freed from the chains of sin by Jesus.

Of course I find black slavery and Jim Crow laws reprehensible today...but what if I had lived back then?

Recently I watched the Jackie Robinson biopic "42". Film critic Richard Roeper's called it an "unexceptional film about a most extraordinary man." Having read many firsthand accounts of Robinson's life, I would agree. However, one scene left me very unsettled. A young white boy sits next to his father who, upon seeing Robinson take the field, begins using that most infamous of black insults. The boy is initially rattled by his father's behavior, but soon emulates it and I wondered, "Would I have been that boy?"

This settles me on a hypothesis for Christians: When we fail to base our personal convictions on the basis of scripture, we form them on the basis of man. Today, we read scripture in light of our society where slavery isn't the norm. 18th century Christians read scripture in a different society and allowed what was normal to overwhelm what was true. 

I suppose it's possible I could have found myself justifying slavery and oppression of black men, women, and children while quoting scriptures. But perhaps I would have read scripture for myself and come to a different conclusion.

Like Wilberforce, whose conversion to Christianity led him to fight diligently for abolition.
Like the Quakers whose movement made slavery a central topic of discussion in Christianity.
Like Francis Wayland, the Brown University president who directly opposed the claims of Pastor Fuller.

Why did I write this? Mainly because I don't want us to take our beliefs for granted. Are your beliefs about the sanctity and value of human life based on biblical convictions or human teachings? Even if the teachings are true, responsible Christians must take the time to understand these truths themselves. Do not merely adopt the beliefs of those who seem trustworthy, but dig and discover the truth of God from the Word of God.

Christians are confronted with an ever-changing society, and it's critical that we be diligent disciples of God's never-changing Word. Finally, Here is an excellent article that more clearly details how Fuller and Wayland, each using scripture, reached their positions.  I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read it.