VACATION!

I'll be leaving tomorrow for two weeks of R & R. The first week we'll mainly be seeing family. The second week we'll mainly be camping at the beach. It will all culminate with me and three friends at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on September 9 to see the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the evil Tennessee Titans. I'll blog more when I get back, but don't assume I'll be posting before then.

Before we go, let me recommend another book. I just finished up Irresistible to God by Steve Gallagher. I've had this book on my shelf for some time and finally got to it. WOW. The topic of the book is pride and Steve mines that topic more than any other book I've read. God used it to show me a lot of things in my life and I can't imagine anyone reading it and not be challenged in a great way. Pick up a copy here.

Will Missouri voters make an about face on human cloning?

Lost in all of the discussion amid last fall's election cycle is the fact that voters in Missouri, by a 51-49% majority, passed a state amendment allowing for stem cell research that destroys human life. This is bad enough, but what made it worse is that the bill also legalized one particular form of human cloning. Supporters of "Amendment Two", as it was known, claimed that it actually banned cloning. The summary of the amendment that voters read in the voting booth claimed that it banned cloning. However, the bill itself was about 2,000 words long. Hidden in the amendment was an exception for "Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer" which is the particular type of cloning that was used to clone "Dolly the Sheep."

You're probably wondering, "How is it possible for voters to pass an amendment "banning cloning" but then that same amendment actually turns out to make cloning legal? How is it that an entire state could be so duped? In essence, they changed the definition of cloning. It's not cloning, they figure, if they destroy the human life before it has a chance to be born. It's only cloning, they figure, if a birth certificate is involved. They can claim that they are banning cloning, even though they are cloning humans all the day long and destroying the evidence, as if it never happened.

Make no mistake about it: Human cloning is currently legal in Missouri. Concerned citizens in every state should keep an eye on this case. "Cures Without Cloning" is an initiative in Missouri which aims to place an amendment on the ballot next fall making all human cloning illegal. Let's pray they are successful and let's remember that if human cloning can be sneaked into the Missouri constitution, it can be sneaked into the constitution of any state. Human cloning supporters lack the courage to come through the front door of the law. Expect them to always try to use the back.

Here is the web site for "Cures Without Cloning." Check it out and see for yourself.

I'm Rated "R"?

My youth pastor showed me a Christian web site the other day that had this blog "Rated R." Naturally, this was a surprise to me. How could my blog be rated "R" when there is no vulgarity or profanity whatsoever? Well, it turns out that my blog contains the word "suicide" (see the article on the so called "Right to Die" below) and the word "sex" (see the article on the treatment of homosexuality below). For that, I'm rated "R!" Who would have thunk it?

The Treatment of Homosexuality

Tim Wilkins is a good friend of mine who lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is a happily married father of three. He is also a former homosexual. Tim spoke at my church a few years ago and shared his testimony. The media got ahold of it and before you knew it, Tim was fired from his secular job, even though his travels to FBC Homestead took place during personal, not company, time. Fortunately, God is sovereign and his job's termination wound up springing him into full time ministry. He wrote an interesting article about the efforts of the American Psychological Association to ban any counseling with the goal of helping those out of homosexuality who have unwanted same sex attractions. Here it is (reprinted with permission!)...

The Church, the APA and Homosexuality

By Tim Wilkins

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently met and a task force of that organization is to determine if forms of counseling that steer interested individuals away from homosexuality should be banned.

Recently a letter was sent to the APA’s Board of Directors- representing scores of religious leaders from various denominations, churches, organizations and universities. In brief, the letter asked that the task force take into consideration the religious beliefs of counselees who have unwanted same-sex attractions. It is believed by many that the APA is left-leaning and anti-religious, particularly when the religious views support the belief that homosexual behavior is sin.

At this writing, conservative spokespersons are offering a running commentary on the task force- which is expected to present a preliminary report to the APA’s Board of Directors in December.

Before I launch in a different, though I would argue, biblical direction, let me say I added my name to that letter. While I believe it crucial that counselors maintain the right to assist persons with unwanted same-sex attractions, I must remind my Christian brothers and sisters that God has not empowered the APA to deal with homosexuality; that righteous responsibility belongs to the Church.

Many Americans have long lamented the outsourcing of labor to other countries. Why? Of the reasons given, one is ‘cheap labor’. Another reason is that some people from foreign countries gladly accept ‘menial work’ while many Americans detest it.

It may be that outsourcing is legitimate in today’s global climate, but the work of God can never be outsourced.

I believe evangelicals long to see God work; we want to see a miracle, but few of us want to be a miracle. Being a miracle means investing oneself in another person who needs to know Christ and experience forgiveness. Jesus called this process “making disciples” and evangelicals have, for all time, labeled Jesus’ pronouncement “The Great Commission.”

In its May 2003 edition, Christianity Today featured Larry Crabb. Crabb has a Ph. D. in clinical psychology and yet he eventually “turned his back on diagnostic counseling methods in order to care for people’s souls in an unpredictable, unprofessional, fickle, and, in his opinion, most useful context: caring relationships.”

Crabb believes healing of non-organic disorders “should not be in the hands of specialists-it should be in the hands of the church.” People needing relational healing have had to turn to psychotherapists. “The therapeutic revolution has been an indictment of the church” said Crabb. “The deepest longings for significance and security going on inside my clients are needs that God actually intended to meet through the community of believers.” “I believe that God has ordained the local church to be his primary instrument to his people’s aches and pains.”

You may agree with Crabb as he addressed hurting people in general, but question whether the Church has a biblical precedent as it relates to homosexuals in particular. Indeed, it does!

This precedent is based on a simple reading of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (Emphasis added)

Individuals who were previously homosexual were no longer homosexual according to this text. We should ask “what was the dynamic of this church in which people were finding freedom from homosexuality?” Was this a perfect congregation? Was it characterized by unity? Did this church model Christ flawlessly? The answer is “No - on all counts.”

The “First Church of Corinth” exhibited factions and gossip. Believers were suing each other in court. A man was having an affair with his step-mother. Members argued over who had the “prestigious” spiritual gifts.

The Corinthian church, like most churches today, was similar to Noah's ark. “If it weren't for the storm outside, you couldn't stand the smell inside.” And yet something powerful was at work in this church. The APA did not exist. Cross Ministry, which this writer directs, had not been established. Cognitive therapy had not yet been fashioned.

The Corinthian church had something most current churches apparently do not have—a “hands-on/no outsourcing” attitude to sin. If we attempt to rationalize “that was then, this is now” we make ourselves to be cessasionists on this issue and in so doing, imply “once a homosexual - always a homosexual.”

Two churches which appear to have caught what the Corinthian congregation was doing (or being) are Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, NY and First Baptist in Woodstock, GA. I am sure there are others.

Maybe the remedy to today’s plateaued and declining churches is a more “hands-on approach.” Such an approach, if taken seriously and steadfastly, could rejuvenate churches across the country - and while ‘farming out’ menial labor may be appropriate in the secular world, helping people out of sin is neither “menial” nor contrary to the work of the body of Christ.

However, such an approach must be motivated, not by as one church member groaned “we need more members”, but by the fact that people need the Lord.

In a 2004 article on homosexuality the passionate and compassionate Dr. R. Al Mohler wrote “Evangelical Christians must ask ourselves some very hard questions, but the hardest may be this: Why is it that we have been so ineffective in reaching persons trapped in this particular pattern of sin?”

It may be that the Church’s real or perceived lean toward outsourcing is one answer to Mohler’s piercing question.

A Disturbing Trend

OK, I've got to get this off my chest. Technology both helps and hurts us as the church to accomplish our mission. It hurts us when church members use the internet to broadcast their complaints about the church before the world.

This has been a disturbing trend as of late. Some of the finest and largest churches in the SBC have recently been in the news because a handful of disgruntled members started web sites for the purpose of attacking their own church or its leaders. Three "flagship" churches in the SBC are currently dealing with this issue. I will not name them, but most of you will know these churches and their pastors well.

Personally, I believe that members who use the internet to voice complaints rather than voice them internally are subject to church discipline. When Jesus prayed for future believers prior to the cross, his one prayer was for our unity. He said that the world will know that we are his disciples by our love. It is unbiblical, divisive and unnecessary to use the internet in this way. That being said, our churches had better have ways to allow members to voice their concerns so they don't think they have to do this. But perhaps we should also be more proactive in communicating what a serious offense this is...before it ever happens. Fortunately, our church has never had to deal with this problem. I pray we never do.

What's Wrong with the "Right to Die?"

Albert Mohler wrote a great article about the "Right to Die" movement and why, as Christians, we should oppose it. While he makes many excellent points, perhaps the best is that history has shown us that the "Right to Die" is always followed by the "Duty to Die."

Here is the article...

The state of Oregon legalized a form of assisted suicide in 1994, but its neighbor to the south, the nation's most populous state, has no such provision. Efforts in California to pass legislation allowing assisted suicide have failed five times over the past fifteen years. California has adopted liberal legislation on any number of controversial issues, but not this one. Why? Assisted suicide proposals have been thwarted by disability rights activists.

The logic of the disability rights movement is easy to understand. Once a society adopts a right to die as a matter of policy, a duty to die cannot be far behind. This logic is already evident when it comes to babies born with Down syndrome. Among many doctors and ethicists, the question has shifted from the right of parents to abort a baby diagnosed with Down syndrome to a duty to abort.

These doctors and ethicists frame the question this way: What right do you have to bring such a child into this world when we already face huge social costs of health care and face scarce resources? This is the logic of the Culture of Death, but it is a logic now argued rather openly.

Disability rights activists understand that this same logic threatens persons with disabilities. When does the argument for a right to die morph into an argument for a duty to die? The question is not merely a matter of intellectual interest. It is a question of life or death.

"Many disability rights activists contend that the increasingly cost-conscious healthcare system, especially health maintenance organizations, inevitably would respond to legalized suicide by withholding expensive care from the disabled and terminally ill until they chose to end their lives."

Paul Longmore, a history professor at San Francisco State University, argued that assisted suicide would lead to inequities and would not be limited to those with a terminal illness. "Our concern is not just how this will affect us. Given the way the U.S. healthcare system is getting increasingly unjust and even savage, I don't think this system could be trusted to implement such a system equitably, or confine it to people who are immediately terminally ill."

His concerns are clearly justified. These patterns are already clear in countries such as the Netherlands, where the so-called "Dutch cure" now includes policies for infanticide when a baby is born with severe abnormalities. Professor Longmore is also right when he asserts that the grounds for assisted suicide will be broadened beyond what is sold to the public when the legislation is adopted. A look just to the north will be sufficient to prove that point.

Even if legislation could protect those with disabilities from the threat of involuntary elimination, how long will it be before the disabled, the elderly, and others requiring extra care begin to wonder if their loved ones would not be better off with them gone?

Calls for assisted suicide arise at the intersection of human despair and political opportunity. The absence of a Christian worldview leaves personal autonomy as the foundation of ethical choice. Death becomes, of all things, a matter of individual rights.

The only real alternative to this logic is the framework of the biblical worldview -- a worldview that understands every single human life to be sacred, every individual to possess full human dignity, all life to be a stewardship, and death to be a matter for God, not we ourselves, to decide.

Make no mistake. When death is claimed as a right, it will soon become a duty. You don't have to be in a wheelchair to see where that leads.

Did Dan curse the Jaguars?

January 15, 2000 is a day that will live in infamy for Dolphins fans. On that day, Dan Marino played in his final professional football game in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The result? A 62-7 shellacking. Not the way a hall of fame quarterback ought to go out. It was such a bad day, the Jags were leading 41-0 in the second quarter when Marino hit Orande Gadsden for his final TD and only score of the game.

But the question has since been asked...Did Marino put a curse on the Jags in repayment for such a disgraceful exit? Consider the facts:

* The worst defeat in the history of the Jaguars franchise, the one that to this day causes Jag fans like myself to awaken at night screaming in cold sweats, was the FOLLOWING weekend when the evil Tennessee Titans won the AFC title game on our turf and went on to the super bowl.

* The 62-7 victory spun the Jaguars into a tailspin of defeat. In the four years following they went 24-40. (They went 45-19 during the 4 years before Marino's last game!)

* The Jaguars have not won a playoff game since emasculating Dan.

* Dan's number was #13, which of course is an unlucky number. Thus, one could argue that his bad luck was being transferred to the Jaguars on that January day, cleverly disguised as good fortune.

* Perhaps here is the most convincing evidence that the Jaguars have been cursed by Dan: Marino rhymes with Bambino.

There you have it, folks. If the Jags have any hopes of winning the Super Bowl, they must find a way to get back in Dan's good graces. Offer him a job. Pay him off. Buy him a new Jaguar. Whatever it takes. He must be pacified.

Who wins when a 200 pound Jaguar fights a 300 pound Anaconda?

It's time for the annual Jags/Dolphins game. Although the game itself is meaningless (preseason), I have to hype it up somehow. So for all you Dolphin fans who think you're tough, check out the link below and watch what happens when a black Jaguar takes on an anaconda. You might wanna remember that when my Jags take the field at Dolphins stadium this Saturday night.

http://www.maniacworld.com/Jaguar-vs-Anaconda.html

Big news from Brenda and Jesse

We need names! We had a girl name (Brenda Ellen) but used it. We had a boy name (Jesse William) but used it. Now we don't know what to do! So send us your suggestions or we're gonna wind up with a Belshazzar Elaine on our hands.

Can we please stop beating up Calvinists?

Every Southern Baptist pastor in the state of Florida recently got a four part video series preached by Jerry Vines called "Baptist Battles." In one of those messages, he preached against the "danger" of Calvinism. The Florida Baptist Convention sent this out, using I presume, Cooperative Program dollars. As a result, a number of pastors raised the necessary $20,000 to mail a rebuttal DVD called "Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism" to every SBC pastor in Florida.

While the cheap side of me can appreciate someone sending me free CD's/DVD's, I fail to see the benefit of this kind of infighting. Calvinism/predestination does not fall in what Baptists would call the "essentials" of the faith. This is a secondary issue. We can agree to disagree. I'm not a 5 point Calvinist. However, I pastor alongside my Spanish pastor who is. We have often shared the gospel together with a lost person, side by side. We have gone on mission trips together. There has never been an issue. He has preached in my pulpit.

Actually, I believe that both "Baptist Battles" and "Amazing Grace" are well done and make for a good summary of both positions on this issue. I recommend them both. I just hate that money is being spent by Baptists in order to fight one another when that money could have gone to evangelism or missions.

What would revival look like in America?

I listened to a great message by Voddie Baucham recently which he preached at the Founders Fellowship Breakfast at the Southern Baptist Convention. In it, he talked about what revival would look like and what it would not look like if it oocurred in our churches across America. Ask most people about revival and they say it involves full church buildings filled weekly with passion and excitement. However, all of these things are true of a typical football game. Yet, we wouldn't call that revival. Voddie's message got me re-thinking about revival. I began to consider the possibility that revival would initially result in a decline in our churches across the SBC.

Initially...

1. SBC denominational numers would plummet because we'd eliminate the millions of so-called "members" who couldn't be found by the FBI.
2. We might practice church discipline, causing our numbers to decline even further.
3. In some churches, revival would result in the whole counsel of the Word of God being taught, including the parts that are not popular. Preaching would be more than a self help pep talk. Those who come to hear those pep talks would leave and our numbers would decline even further.
4. Worship would become something more than a weekly concert that precedes weekly theater. This would result in the entertainment seekers leaving and thus, our numbers would decline even further.

But in the long run...

1. We’d be filled with new power and victory to live the Christian life. The world would see our walk matching our talk and it would be convicted.
2. Homes would be restored as men, women and children fulfill their Biblical roles.
3. Evangelism would come naturally to our people. You wouldn’t need to take a class to tell someone about Jesus.
4. The Sunday night attendance might rival the Sunday morning attendance, even when “just another sermon” is on the schedule.
5. Our denomination would have no problem sending out those 2,800 missionaries they’ve been praying for. They’d be flooded with prospects offering to serve and the churches would send all the money they needed since everyone would be tithing!
6. Teenagers wouldn’t abandon the faith as soon as they leave for college because they would be trained by Godly Dads and Moms who take the initiative to teach their children the Word of God. Thus we'd stop losing the next generation to the world.

I think you could argue that short term loss would probably result if revival took place, but long term growth would then follow. Feel free to share your thoughts on this matter and be sure to check out the above sermon if you have time. Either way, "Lord, send a revival!"

Responding to Criticisms

I found the following humorous tid bit on a church growth blog and thought it was worth passing along. Do any of the following criticisms sound familiar? (Not at FBCH, of course, but you know..other churches!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We, the deacons of your church, have listed the top ten criticisms we have received and have decided upon the following solutions for these complaints:

1. “I want more depth in the sermons”: For all sermons we will read the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, therefore everyone in the congregation will be required to take Hebrew and Greek classes. Since these languages require constant study and usage, each member will be required to take these classes until they die.

2. “Nobody noticed when I was gone for three weeks”: From now on, each member of the congregation will be required to have placed on their ankle a tracking device so that we will know where they are at all times, including when they are at the lake, at the golf course, hunting, etc. Also, each member will be required to bring a doctor’s note stating that the member was actually sick and had an excuse for being out of church. The church will also start to use the phone tree system to give everyone a wake-up call on Sunday mornings so that they can get to church on time.

3. “Nobody cares about how I feel”: From now on, we will have a psychiatrist/psychologist/Christian counselor (the member will choose) available on Sunday mornings to help each member understand more about their feeling that no one cares about them. In addition, each member will be required to start caring for others in the congregation.

4. “I don’t know everybody anymore”: From now on each member of the congregation will be required to memorize the names and faces of each member of the congregation, including each new member that joins hereafter. Also, each member will be required wear a photo i.d. for identification purposes.

5. “The choir doesn’t sing my kind of music”: From now on, there will be no more choir or congregational singing but each seat in the sanctuary will be equipped with an IPOD and headphones to listen to your favorite type of Christian music during the worship service.

6. “We shouldn’t let those kinds of people into the church”: Beginning next week, each member will be required to have an “extreme makeover” so that everyone will look the same. Said makeover cost will be the responsibility of each member.

7. “All the church talks about is for me to give more money”: Beginning immediately, there will be no more offerings taken up during the worship services and each member will be required to tithe ten percent of their income by enrolling in a payroll deduction plan from their place of employment or enrolling in an automatic draft of their tithe from their bank. This way we will not have to ask for money again.

8. “The preacher talks too much about sacrifice”: Beginning next week, each member of the congregation will be required to play on a church softball team and advance at least one runner per game to another base by sacrifice bunt or a sacrifice fly so that each person can say they sacrificed something during the week.

9. “The worship services are boring”: Beginning next Sunday, the baptismal pool will have a wave machine installed to make the baptisms more fun. Also, Barnum and Bailey Circus will provide us with clowns to perform during the welcome time and the Harlem Globetrotters will provide us with a demonstration of their basketball skills during the invitation.

10. “The church is not going in the right direction”: Beginning next Sunday, we will no longer have a pastor to preach and lead the church but instead each member of the congregation will be required to go before the church and “share” their feelings about which direction the church ought to going. This should work out extremely well because so many in the congregation seem to know which direction we ought to be going because they have suddenly become experts in the field of church growth and church vision.