Today I’m doing something that I’m really not comfortable with. I’m speaking briefly to a group of about 25 or so folks about taking steps to battle racial prejudice. Doing any sort of speaking outside the pulpit can be quite scary for a pastor.

After all, they’ve not come into my world (church); I’ve come into their world. Its kind of like when people get into the water with sharks. They always say, “We’re in their world now.” Of course those nestling within the confines of a cozy cage, have nothing to worry about (that’s why I refuse to watch the “Shark Week” episodes when they’re in cages-their not risking anything), but when they step out of the cage-that’s when they really risk their lives.

My partner (a fellow black pastor) was kind of my cage. He’s not going to make it now, so I’m cageless; I’ve got nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide-or something like that.

Back to the sharks. Despite the initial fear, and perhaps fear throughout their dives, they always seem to come up excited. Even overwhelmed at the opportunity they just had.

Yet I don’t think that only happens while free diving with Great White Sharks. I think it happens any time we truly step out in faith. Along with fear comes great excitement. But that fear often proves too great a hurdle, and we settle for a safe and boring spirituality. However, interestingly enough, neither words are used to describe the Christian life in the bible. I’ve looked.

I’m hosting a neighborhood cookout this Saturday. My neighborhood is a small one, with only about 21 houses in it. Getting people to commit to come has been fairly hard. Some sound interested, others actually disinterested.

As I drove out of my neighborhood yesterday afternoon I passed by several houses which I assumed would simply not come. And it made me very angry. I took that anger with me to work out, and it continued until one of my friends at the gym said he was coming to play Paintball this Saturday.

Then I began to realize that God was doing His work whether I realized it or not. By the time I got home, I had forgotten this, and was angry about all of the households which I assumed would not be coming. Amy reminded me that I had done all that I could in personally passing out flyers door to door, and praying. If its just several houses that come, then that’s who God wants to be here. Just one family at a time. Sometimes I want more though.
But I’m thankful for those near neighbors who are coming. And we’ll pour ourselves into the relationships God grants us and get to know them better.

One of the communities I’ve enjoyed being a part of is the paddle-fishing web forum. Sure there are inside jokes that I don’t get, and people can be picky about using certain types of lures (smelly one’s that don’t take much skill to use), and disdain the use of boats, but I was impressed by the bunch two Saturday’s ago for their semi-regular tournament series.

I generally stayed away from any type of web forums, because they are often used as a cyber-community in place of actual human community. But this community was not the case. Most were very friendly, and saw the fishing tournament like I did: a chance to meet some new people, and fellowship with old friends.

It was scary going into a new place and really not knowing many folks at all (I had previously fished with two different lads before), but meeting people was fairly easy. The first question after you meet someone is “What’s your screen name?” And then go from there.

Instead of people fishing alone (which was nearly impossible due to the fact there were like 60 kayaks in a small fishable area, and on an extremely low tide-even less water), many folks went off in pairs, some in groups of four-five. Some folks even asked to fish with me because I knew the area better. Of course one of them got the largest snook of the day, and 100 bucks for my guiding skills (I just said let’s head south and didn’t seem him for a while).

At the end of the tournament everyone went back to the “weigh-in” (just pictures of the fish) at a restaraunt to eat, drink, and of course BS. It just goes to show that people really do crave community. Perhaps even as much as fishing. One of the guys told me, “I’m never fishing alone again.” Even if some do fish alone, they immediately post the report with pictures on the forum. It just goes to show that we are created for community. And when people aren’t part of a church, they’ll just find a replacement.

The final part of the Rwandan trilogy. In case you’re not familiar with the movie, the main character Paul takes in many refugees to stay at the hotel he manages, thus Hotel Rwanda.
So the Hotel becomes like an Oasis in the desert of death and destruction. The question I have is what similarities/differences exist betwixt the Hotel and the Church? The question is not rhetorical, and please feel free to comment. But do please allow me to go first, seeing as it is my question.

Similarities:

• The Church is to be a place where needy people come to find refuge, shelter, protection. It is not for the well, but for the sick. People can only become a member of the Church by recognizing their need for a Savior.
• In the movie, some of the refugees actually served and helped out at the place. It was probably like the 10%/90% rule, where 10 % of the people do 90% percent of the work. Another point for similarity! Regardless, those who come out of great need to the Church, are then called to serve within it.
• Hotel Rwanda was a place concerned with issues of social justice. The Church today should be concerned and do all it can to seek justice for the oppressed.
• The Hotel Rwanda was constantly under attack from its enemies. Physically or spiritually, Satan is not a fan of the Church and will do what he can to stop, disrupt, cause dissension. Sometimes its small like someone stealing our roadside banners on Halloween. Sometimes its with more forceful entry.

Differences

• Hotel Rwanda was primarily a place to which people simply arrived. They were not invited; they simply came. In the OT we see a vision of people flocking to Zion (an idealized/’souped up’ Jerusalem), but that vision never really materialized for reasons I don’t have time to write about. But in the NT, we see very clearly that Jesus calls the church to GO forth. The Church has to be both defensive and offensive. We are sent forth.
• Some people did drop refugees off at Hotel Rwanda-but these ‘rescuers’ were not part of the Hotel itself. The Church consists of people who have been rescued. So it’s different in that we the rescued, now become involved in the rescue operation. Different mentality. A beggar showing another beggar where to find bread.
• The Hotel Rwanda was only a temporary refuge. All who lived there knew it could not last but so long. With the Church, Jesus promises that He will build it and the gates of Hell will not overtake it. Pretty cool, I think.

Just some final thoughts on the movie. Definitely see it if you haven’t.

Continuing the thoughts on Hotel Rwanda. This is the 2nd part in the trilogy, destined to become as famous or nearly as famous as Lord of the Rings. In the movie, the main character and hero Paul, regularly makes use of bribes. But these bribes actually turn out to help save both his family and those staying at the Hotel.

So the question was raised in our movie discussion about what God might have thought about these bribes to save the lives innocent folks. In other words, can we do things like lie in such desperate times of war and cataclysms? The unanimous answer was “Yes,” and people were quick to point out the scripture passages which included people lying to save God’s people such as Rahab and the Hebrew midwives. There are several other similar instances which need not be pointed out.

Probably none of us would have a problem lying to the Nazi’s in denying we knew of any Jews hiding in our guest rooms or lanais. We wouldn’t think twice about it, and we really shouldn’t. In times of Holy War and attempted genocide, we see that lying sometimes becomes the righteous decision. We are to uphold life before truth in certain times when God’s commands are pit against each other.

However, in the NT we don’t see ANY examples of righteous lying of which I’m aware. And even in the OT, we see righteous folk lying to save their own butts. And there is no sense of approval from the writers. Abraham passed his wife off as his sister to save his own tail. The purpose of his lie was primarily self preservation.

In the NT we see that we are supposed to speak truthfully to our neighbors (which may be enemies-Eph 4:25). Since I’m not involved in war (I would have NO problem lying to a Taliban man to save my fellow soldier’s lives) or in any genocidal activity, I don’t know that I’ve ever had the right to lie. I’m not sure that any of us have been in that situation.

Most lying is simply a case of self preservation. It wasn’t wise for Abraham, and it still isn’t wise for today except in VERY few circumstances. But I doubt that any of us have ever been in one. If you think you have, feel free to post a response. You can literally remain anonymous when you do so by clicking that box.

As any good morning show would do, today CBS had a Halloween related segment. A psychologist was analyzing why so many people are drawn to scary movies. After all, Saw IV was number one at the box office last week. How crazy is that?

He explained something that we probably already knew about fear and excitement. The adrenaline of fear invokes that fight-or-flight response in us, and gives some sort of high. So this kind of fear makes people actually feel good, in addition to being entertained. I don’t get it, because I hate scary movies, because well, they scare the Hellsinki-Finland out of me. They really do. But there’s no entertainment involved.

And of course many Christians see such horror movies as well, and on that I shall not comment. But I know for a fact that some of them go for the same reasons mentioned by the psychologist.
If fear truly is of entertainment value, then why not do something even more scary than going to a scary movie.

At this moment may I suggest something? How about sharing the gospel with someone? How scary is that? It still scares me today-what if I forget something, what if they think I’m weird, what will this do to the relationship? It is scary, but along with that fear comes some excitement. There is adrenaline rush, particularly when it is uncharted waters.

Or inviting those you already know to church? Or how about stepping outside your comfort zone and meeting new non-Christians? That is hard. It’s hard for me. Sometimes I hate it. Sometimes I wish I could just work out at the gym, and not talk to anybody. But as I extend myself, submitting myself to Christ’s Lordship, there is fear mixed with excitement.

And as I look back on each new relationship that starts (not knowing where the Lord will take it-I’m scared to even think about it sometimes), I’m always glad I took that step. Always. And it never costs me 8 dollars, or 2 dollars if I wait for the other theater.

Even if you share the gospel/meet new folks/invite friends to church to get a fear-high, you would still be getting encouragement from Paul. He wrote that even if Christ were preached out of envy or to cause problems to him in prison, he was glad that Christ was preached(Phil 1:15-18). I think he would probably look at this fear-high in the same light.

During our Christian Ed hour this past Sunday, we had a delightful discussion on a not so delightful (although extremely well done) movie on a not so delightful subject. The movie was Hotel Rwanda, and it told the story through the eyes of a dude named Paul.

Particularly appropriate in the movie were scenes which revealed his reluctance to help (which made him seem more genuine, not flawless). Now this was at the beginning of the movie, and his heart obviously changed very quickly when a bunch of Tutsi refugees showed up in his living room!

But one of the excuses given to not help his neighbors was, “They’re not family.” Clearly there is an obligation in scripture to honor your father and mother, be gentle with your children, and to provide for them (one who doesn’t is worse than an unbeliever and has denied the faith-according to I Tim 5:8). Ouch. So I would admit there is a special primacy to the immediate family. But there is NOT an exclusion to those outside, is there? That’s often what happens.

Is there any explicit command or obligation to help those outside your own nuclear/atomic/whatever you call it these days family? Since many Americans (especially Christians-because this seems less heinous than drugs or sex) hold their family, or their children as their number one idol, I think this is an extremely appropriate question. An issue which I shall some day have to deal with as well.

In Deuteronomy 16, Moses gave specific instructions for families to invite aliens (outside covenant), fatherless and widows (outside family) to the Feast of Weeks. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the neighbor whom we are supposed to love becomes everyone-even enemies. And Jesus described those who obey his commands as his brothers and sisters (Matt 12:47-50).
Do you realize how offensive this would have sounded to his conservative Family First Jewish audience? Seriously offensive.

While your immediate family certainly takes priority (and I understand many have given themselves to jobs, ministry, hobbies first), those within the family of God take a close second, Even those outside the covenant, take a close third. Like it or not, in Christ, “We are fa-mi-ly!”and that obligates us to love, help, serve, and paddle the extra mile for each other. Thanks for reminding us Sister Sledge.

A week or two ago I heard an amazing rescue story. I really love rescue stories, particularly when folks are rescued from the sea. But land rescues/survival stories are still pretty cool.

A 76 year old woman had been lost in the woods while hunting (which probably goes to show they should stick to driving in the left lane for their sense of excitement!), and the main search party had been called off after 10 days. Her daughters had already finished planning her memorial service when she was found. Talk about emotional roller coaster.

The interesting thing about her discovery was in the how: ravens. Ravens were circling overhead, and the rescue party simply followed those ravens. God is sovereign (in control) over all of the earth and everything in it. This time he used ravens, but He is free to use whatever means He deems fit.

Seeing God use these ravens reminds me that He is still involved in our every day affairs. And to quote Gandalf, “You were meant to find the ring, and that is a comforting thought indeed.”

If you want to check out the article, click here.

You may or may not have heard of some loose entity known as the “emerging” or “emergent church.” Mark Driscoll, pastor of a mega-church in Seattle called Mars Hill, gave a lecture at Southeastern Seminary on the main three streams of thought out there in this non-denominational lumping. At one time he was connected with some folks as part of this “emerging” whatever-you-want-to-call it. So he speaks as a former ‘insider’ and does so quite honestly, and difficultly, since some of the men are/were his friends and he knows their families and vice versa. This would no doubt be a difficult lecture to give.

In case you don’t feel like listening to the hour long lecture (but it goes quick because he is absolutely hilarious), I’ll briefly summarize some of his main three divisions, of which only one he really refers to as “emergent.”

1.) “Cool/hip churches.” These are churches which are completely evangelical, and are willing to consider different ways of ministering to a totally different audience than we had 50 years ago. As far as methods and what each church looks like-that will be different-but they may look a little different than your church (possibly). However, they are distinctly Evangelical and do not compromise the gospel. Such names in this stream include Donald Miller, Dan Kimball. However, they probably don’t fit into “emerging church” status.

2.) “Emergent Village”-These are churches who in seeking to win the lost, have really, in Driscoll’s opinion, lost touch with the true gospel. He calls them “revisionists”-wondering what God really meant when He said stuff about homosexuality, gender differences, and atonement/symbol of the cross. Reaction to scripture is not obedience, but dialog and conversation. Such names include Brian McClaren, Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis) and Doug Pagett. Unfortunately some of their professed influences include John Dominic Crossan (a dude from the Jesus seminar-denies Jesus’ resurrection), Marcus Borg (panentheist-no creator/creature distinction), and Ken Wilbur (wrote A brief history of everything-a Buddhist intrepretation).

Some of McClaren’s books are A Generous Orthodoxy and A New Kind of Christian (which won the Christian book award several years ago). NPR’s religion editor calls him the “new Martin Luther.” Winsome and relational, he has a strong following.

However Driscoll questions whether or not these churches are actually growing. They’ve compromised to reach people, but they really aren’t doing that.

3.) Calvinist stream-These are young, reformed (at least in regards to salvation)
pastors who see an importance in a return to expositional (verse-by-verse) preaching, usually an hour long, elders, more charismatic in worship, and have more of a connection to the historical church. They agree culture has changed, and need to think of new methods to reach the lost. Such include having night services as well (Seattle has more dogs than kids, but many singles), hosting secular concerts in a building they purchased, and more relational evangelism-specifically hospitality.

Pastors include Driscoll, CJ Maheney, Sovereign Grace folk, Matt Chandler, Acts 29 Church planting network.

They tend to be younger but are willing and to sit under older men and be taught by John Piper, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, and J.I. Packer. Those are names I trust.

Driscoll closed his lecture with some questions that folks in his camp are asking: Why are so many people into video game “World of War Craft” or Ultimate Fighting (the demographic which is least churched 18-34). Paul looked at the idols at Mars Hill and saw what they believed. His goal is to have people take a peak into these cultures and see what’s going on-then they will know how to minister to them. To be biblically faithful and culturally fruitful.

I watched a 48 Hours Mystery special (as usual) this week. In every story, it looks like a perfect family from the outside until they dig up something like porn, infidelity, drugs, or other illicit activity. And when they have Christian families, often all or some of the above have been included.

However this time, I found an interesting/wonderful/bewildering display of grace. Thanks CBS.

On the outside the family looked as though it were an all American Christian family in Sugar Land Texas. But I think 3 out of 4 actually lived out the part quite well.

Unfortunately, the oldest son, repeatedly arranged to have his family killed. His 3rd attempt was successful, and his doting mother and younger brother (who looked up to him) were killed that night. His father survived his wounds and forgave him immediately. How?

I know its not easy, but God has granted me the grace to forgive. I know my son and wife are in heaven, and I want the same for my son (who obviously didn’t believe at that point).

You bet that forgiveness only came from God. So the father pleaded for life in prison. His pleas fell on deaf ears. Texas kill that joker after some time. Could you forgive your son whom you loved, and yet spurned that love? After all, he claimed the only people he ever hated, were his family members! Repeatedly trying to kill them? He said he never felt loved or accepted by them.

I can’t verify or deny those claims, but it sure looked as if the mother and father cherished their son. And it would seem to show in the father’s willingness to forgive him! I don’t know what I would do, but if my son killed my wife and other child, would I forgive him that quickly? Would I seek the death penalty for him? Hard questions to answer. I know for sure God’s grace would allow me to forgive, but how long would it take? Long time I think. As far as the death penalty goes, wow, I don’t know.