What happens when you wait on the past to return

I’m sure you’ve been here too, so try to guess where I am. When I walked in the room I saw a large welcoming fireplace of to my left. On one wall, there’s a set of wooden golf clubs hung next to an old accordion with yellowed keys. The are sepia colored portraits scattered around the room. Most of the memorabilia hanging on these walls are like the metal advertising signs too, they are from a generation or two ago and refer to items which are no longer manufactured or sold. I see an old crosscut saw near an old washboard, all next to old vinyl albums recorded many years ago by artists who are long gone. I really like the tin potato chip container; I can remember those from my childhood. I take all of this in before the waitress even asks for my breakfast order.

We don’t live in Mayberry, Floyd isn’t our barber, and sadly, the world isn’t like Cracker Barrel. There’s nothing wrong with watching Andy Griffith or with sitting down to eat while you’re surrounded by old Seed signs and oil cans. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful emotional experiences known to us, so beware of its appeal.

The dangers of living in the past are legion. The old days we are so fond to remember, well they probably aren’t as well polished as we tend to think. And, even though we know we can’t go back in time, you might not know that walking into some of our sanctuaries. I’m not referring to our architecture as much as our nomenclature and methods.

The Gospel is eternal, but how we deliver it and how we meet each generation isn’t. The crippling shackles of legalism constricts us into a certain form, and soon that form becomes more important than the function. The results? Well, just like in biology, that which never changes dies.

Raising an awareness of the sway the past holds over our churches can be costly. For example, I knew a preacher back in the Midwest who wanted to demonstrate to his congregation they were “stuck in their ways.” One Sunday morning, to make his point, before communion, he switched the purple Welch's grape juice to white grape juice. Before anyone in that congregation ate their fried chicken that day, the Elders let him know it was time for a change in the pulpit and sent him packing.

Part of the “problem” people had with Jesus was His style. His content made people uncomfortable, but His style and His approach raised eyebrows everywhere He went. You can’t change the message of the Cross and save the world, but you have to change your methods and your language to reach different people. Sadly, some of us holding the life-preservers missed the boat on this one.

So to be clear, we need to quit living in the past, like Eccl 7:10 says, “Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Also, introduce a few new songs occasionally -- music is the heart-language for many young people, i.e., the next generation. You do realize even the oldest classics like Amazing Grace were once new songs. It wouldn’t hurt to switch up your Bible translation every once in a while too, there’s a good reason we have newer translations; words change their meaning over time. The Bible is inspired, not your translation. And finally, try seeing “church” from an outsider’s perspective. If we aren’t careful and purposeful, everything we do becomes about us and can seem dated, antiquated, and out of touch -- not because Jesus will ever lose His relevance but because you don’t find good news in a time-capsule.

Until Christians "Wow!" the rest of the world...

It’s interesting that Jesus, as far as I can remember, never told the crowds, “I’m a big deal, in fact I’m the real deal. Now, watch as I amaze you and I’ll prove it to you.” Instead, it seems like most often, Jesus told the people about who He was in response to being questioned about how/why He did what He did. In other words, people were curious about what they saw -- His actions elicited an interest in Him, which caused people to ask more about Him.

These days, we’ve approached people differently. We have the habit of saying, “We are Christians, I’ll prove it to you...” which usually entails unpacking a long list of doctrines of which we are correct about, while having very little to do with our ability to “practice what we preach.” Rarely do our actions proceed our explanation, unless we are caught in a mistake...

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the impression Jesus left on people. I doubt many people of His day walked away from encountering Jesus feeling merely indifferent about Him. I think most all of the people knew from the way Jesus carried Himself and how He acted, He was the real deal.

It has occurred to me, people (probably quite frequently) used some culturally-relevant form of “Wow!” after interacting with Jesus. And I wonder how this world would be, if we too left this type of impression. Would churches even need to advertise? Would we have to invite people to visit our churches? What could happen if we wowed the world...?

Not all of the people were wowed by Jesus, obviously. He was crucified after all. Still, there is something in Jesus’ example for us to consider implementing. People said “Wow!” or something to its equivalent, because was Jesus so special.

Guess what, you are special! Sadly, I think we forget this. I’m not writing about Jesus’ wow-factor to make you feel guilty or to discourage you, no it’s quite the opposite. I want to encourage you. I want you to rethink how you approach people (or rethink how we respond to our difficulties in front of others), and how you can lead others to a better understanding of you really are and what God is really like.

Remember: We have been raised to a new life by God, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and we are set free from sin and death! People will recognize our christianity when we live out what is within. We won’t have to “prove” our faith to them -- it will be evident. Hopefully as we face life’s challenges and sufferings people will ask, “How do you do it?” based on how we respond to our circumstances.

Life isn’t easy, and in fact for some of us it’s quite hard at times. What are you facing today, what are you going through? I can imagine it feels like you are the only one who has to deal with the problems you have, and maybe you are. This much I know, people are watching you, they are observing, and they will draw conclusions about you and your God as they watch.

We can’t expect people to react with amazement when we merely do something nice or good. Why? Simply put, because that is an expected behavior. For example, last week a cashier at the grocery store overpaid me when he gave me back my change. I mentioned he might want to recount the change as I handed him a $20 bill back. He didn’t say a word. No, he didn’t even fall to his knees asking how to find salvation. He didn’t ask me why was I so kind. If he had shortchanged me instead and I respond that politely, then he might have wondered to himself. Who knows, but I think you get the point.

I want to live my life, going forward, helping people to say “Wow!” and that might happen when I do good things. More than likely, I think it will happen as a result of how I control myself when the typical response for most people might be a display of hatred, anger, or revenge.

The world doesn’t need another Messiah, Jesus already died on a cross. The world needs more people who die to themselves daily and who reflect the image of their Risen Savior in every and all circumstances.

Until we “wow” the world on a more consistent basis, I don’t expect much to improve. I think the news will continue to be filled with mass-shootings, rampant crime, and gross inequality -- until that day comes. In the meanwhile, as I think of the potential of the wow-factor, I can’t help but think of the old saying, “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

Will we be worse off because of 2015 -- "the year of victimization"

It used to be said whenever we gather together with friends and family around the holidays, to be polite, we should avoid talking about religion and politics.  Nowadays it seems it’s nearly impossible for us to talk about anything, at anytime, without offending others.

Lately, as a culture, we bristle at the very idea of being offended.  I’m not just talking about reactions from sharing the good news either, though I wonder about future implications when it comes to sharing the gospel.  We’ve been impacted negatively by a prominent cultural shift that has weakened our caliber of character & temperament -- we’ve reached a point where we collectively collapse into a blubbering puddle whenever someone disagrees with us -- or heaven forbid, they offend us.

Have we forgotten Christmas and Easter are offensive?  Simply put, the idea that God would have to enter our world as a baby and then grow up, to die to save us (which implies we need rescuing) can be a slap in the face.  Most of us recognize we are far from perfect, but we like to think we are basically good people at heart.  Therefore, some people ask, “How dare God insinuate we are sinful, weak, broken, and lost without Him?”

God can communicate all of this and more, not only because it’s true, but because He is in the process of redeeming all things (for an example, read Col 1:19-23).  Yes, the gospel is offensive to humanity, but it’s not insulting.  The gospel offends, but it isn’t degrading either -- it’s uplifting once the message gets past our defenses.  Remember, the gospel can be foolishness to some or an intellectual/religious obstacle to others, just like Paul writes about in I Cor 1:20-25.

Jesus was Crucified because He offended the religious establishment.  And, remember Peter clarified Jesus was the “rock of offence,” “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  (1 Peter 2:6-8 ESV)

If I’ve recognized a single theme which epitomizes this year, I’d say we could encapsulate the sentiment of 2015 as a year where people have become so hypersensitive and inflexible in their thinking, that people are too easily offended.  And, we can’t “offend” anyone without risking retaliation or being labeled as an intolerant hate-monger.  This all smacks of an immature smokescreen that has hijacked mature dialogue.

From the red cups at Starbucks to college professors telling students to wear whatever Halloween costume they want, and from fights over Confederate flags to stores who say “Happy Holidays,” to the latest PC trend, to the need for gender-neutral language on college campuses, in 2015 it has become the year where offending others is now the Cardinal sin of all times.  Sadly, it’s become chic to feign victimhood and claim you are offended.  This current trend will not end until we’ve become a society that embraces complete censorship of any divergent ideas.     

Which is why we need to embrace being offended.  I’m not saying people should ever be indecent, crude, rude, belligerent, hateful, ugly, or mean.  I’m NOT endorsing racism, ethnocentrism, discrimination, or bigotry.  I am saying it’s necessary to experience being offended in order to grow.

Believers need to embrace this truth, there’s nothing inherently malicious about delivering a message that offends others.  And further yet, at times it’s necessary to be offended if we are to reach maturity.  The Apostle Paul wrestled with this, as we read in Gal 4:16, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

Emotionally, we are handicapping an entire generation of young people when we neglect this fact: Tolerance, which our culture highly values (rightly so) requires by definition that there are opposing views being expressed.  

We have to get to the place where we no longer dismiss someone because they offend us, and we can no longer shelter people who might be offended by the beliefs of others.  In reality, none of us are always right 100% of the time, and, our personal opinions aren’t always the most important perspectives in the room.  As I look around and see how much we’ve empowered this position of weakness which can’t tolerate being offended, this whole situation where we’ve been culturally hijacked by the fear of offending others, it reminds me of the “Emperor's new clothes.”

If we can’t offend people because we are intimidated by their reactions, then sharing the most offensive message will become nearly impossible to articulate -- in fact, evangelism will probably become illegal hate speech if we allow this pattern to continue.