Gobble, Gobble

Allow me a little bragging . . .

That's only my second turkey ever and my first real Tom! He had a 9 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. Martin called him up and we actually bagged a double! Martin's bird is on the right (the small one).

I know that some of you care little about turkeys or turkey hunting, but this was a pretty big deal to me. It topped off a great b-day weekend. This is only my second year of turkey hunting, but I think I'm hooked. In the words of my wife . . . "O great, another hunting season, lucky me."

Another Year Older

I've now officially reached my mid-early 30's. Is there such a thing as mid-early? It just means that I'm now 33. Yesterday was my birthday. Birthdays are supposed to be special days but mine was fairly ordinary. I went into the office, worked on the sermon for a few hours, met with our worship leader, mowed my yard, practiced softball with the girls, gathered all my stuff for opening day of turkey season, ate a late supper, and watched Leno until the NyQuil kicked in (I'm still battling this dang virus).

The girls did bake a chocolate cake for me and I got some new fishing shorts and a cycling shirt. They worked very hard to "surprise" me with the cake, although you could smell it through the whole house. Lilly told me they were working on something for her school and Halle said they were baking supper for tomorrow night. Both are fairly proficient at story-telling. I keep prodding them for information but they stuck to their story, even as they lit the candles. When they finally gave me the cake they had huge smiles on their faces, like they just pulled off the surprise party of the century. They sang me their special birthday song (with the "cha-cha-chas" added) and I got sticky little hugs and kisses. Come to think of it . . . it was a pretty special day.

Vacation Thoughts

Snow skiing is a vacation in the same way that Disney World is a vacation. It's a lot of fun and everyone has a great time, but you work your tail off. That's ok because it was worth it today. I got to spend the day skiing with Halle Jane (4) and Lilly (7). Halle took me through the bumps on the Bunny slope. She's fearless for her first year! Then Jen and I took Lilly up to the top of the mountain. This is her second year and she's comfortable enough to do any green run, including trails and bumps. Amazing!

As she was passing people five times her age I thought, why is it that kids pick up things so much quicker than adults? You would think that those with superior intelligence and knowledge would learn new things quicker. But the opposite is true. The younger they are, the faster they learn. Could it be that knowledge is one of the greatest barriers to learning? Sounds like an oxymoron, but it often seems that the more we know the less teachable we are. And that applies to more than just skiing . . .

Mormon Country

I'm here in the heart of Mormon country this week and a lot of the news has focused on LDS people, places, and issues. Once again it has me asking . . . who are these people? Are they simply another branch of Christianity or are they a cult? What are their core doctrines and beliefs? I really have no idea. So far my knowledge of Mormons has come from three main sources . . .

1) The 30 second commercials I watched as a child. The ones with the pleasant sounding voice at the end that said "this message is brought to you by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . . . the Mormons!"
2) Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven. Not necessarily a glowing view of the faith or any faith for that matter.
3) A couple of people I know who were raised Mormon but left the church. No real in depth conversations just some general ideas about their experiences.

Not exactly a through review of the faith, so I'm still left in the dark. I'm leery of attaching the cult label because my heritage has been unfairly tagged with that same label in the past. Yet, I'm not completely comfortable with the Christian label either. There seem to be several major differences of doctrine and practice. So what do you know? Any help?

My Sob Story

Since coming to Maury Hills I've preached somewhere around 140 sermons. I've never missed a single one due to sickness. I miss four a year for vacation/other speaking engagements, but I've never had to worry about sickness. I haven't even been to a doctor in almost 2 years! But still, I occasionally wonder what I would do if I came down with something on Friday night and just wasn't able to stand up there on Sunday. I'm sure the Shepherds would cover for me, but so far I haven't even come close. However, this Sunday would be one of them, if I was in town. The good news is I already have a fill-in speaker for Sunday, the bad news is I got him because I'm on vacation.

If you haven't read through the lines yet, I'm taking the long way of telling you that I'm sick on vacation. The family is out skiing today but I'm on the couch doped up with something I got at the Urgent Care Clinic downtown this morning. You may be asking how could my family go out skiing and leave me all alone? Don't fault them. I haven't exactly been a big teddy bear. A bear maybe, but that's as far as the adjectives go. Well, Jenny could probably think a few more to go in front of bear.

The doc says its probably a virus meaning it has to run its course. I'm in the 2nd day so he's estimating another 3-4 days. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. That would get me well somewhere around Wednesday (the day we fly out). He did say I couldn't hurt anything by skiing a half day if I felt like it, but according to how I feel today I think I would hurt everything. Oh well, at least I have the NCAA tourney to keep me company.

Christianity & Science

Last Sunday I preached on the Lost Tomb of Jesus. It wasn't a detailed critique of the film, just some thoughts about its implications for the Christian faith. You can listen here if you wish. On Monday I got an email from someone who was there that discussed something I didn't explore in the sermon. Here's part of what it had to say . . .

On today, the shame of it is I really like the beret-wearing, accented Canadian filmmaker in the Jesus family tomb documentary. He has his own show called "The Naked Archaeologist" on History International that is usually pretty good. He always acts that way, getting excited over some thesis in biblical archaeology that the experts are all supposedly ignoring. He is almost always stretching his evidence to make a more exciting point. I watched him make a decent argument the other night that the temple in Jerusalem is in a different spot than the dome of the rock. . .

A special like that one hits at least one faultline you didn't get to explore this morning: Christians and science. I applaud you for standing up and saying that your faith is falsifiable. Not falsified, but at least at dependent on historical events. The danger of some of the folks around me this morning who seemed downright offended that such a TV special even has to be acknowledged is that it may give more fuel to the very unfortunate anti-science streak in modern evangelical Christianity. The Naked Archaeologist, even if he may be pushing his thesis past the breaking point in the name of ratings, is not doing a bad thing digging up dirt, as I have a feeling many Christians might say he is. CS Lewis said something to the effect that when debate is on the grounds of science, mathematics, and truth, or just plain logic and reasoning, Christians have little to fear. I think that many people avoid rational debate because they believe scientists (or journalists) can or will twist any argument against Christians. This in turn gives fuel to people like Richard Dawkins. I believe much of what I read in Discover magazine and read for what I must believe in the Bible. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Science is organized skepticism, and good skepticism is to a faith as a chisel is to a statue.

Some really good thoughts . . . with people like this in the audience I really have to be on my toes!

Vacation

I'm headed out tomorrow for the mountains of Utah! I'm taking the laptop and hope to find some Wi-Fi access somewhere. I may post a couple of blogs...but we'll see. I fear I'll be distracted by all the great skiing. At least I'm hoping to be distracted. The ski rental place said the conditions were perfect right now but what else would they you?

The Worst Mistake of His Career?

Mark Martin has been racing NASCAR for 25 years. He's finished in the top 5 in standings for 12 of the last 16 seasons, including four 2nd place finishes. But he's never won the championship. This year he's sitting at number one in the standings after the first 4 races, but he won't be racing on Sunday. It's a move that will certainly drop him out of the points race and wipe out any chance at a run for the championship. Why is he sitting out? He made a commitment to his family to only run a partial race schedule this year and he plans on keeping it.

This morning ESPN called it "the worst mistake of his career." They said his legacy in NASCAR will be the "best driver who never won a championship." I'm so tired of that label. Sports analysts are too hung up on championships. Dan Marino is one of the best quarterbacks of all time regardless of whether or not he won the big one. The same can be said for Martin. I applaud him for sticking to his word and hope he has the perseverance to resist the media pressure. That's the type of legacy that all of us can appreciate.

I have no doubt that all of us are good at our chosen careers, but few of us will make it to the very top. Does that mean we're the "best businessman to never be CEO" or the "best surgeon to never be chief of surgery?" If we chose family over success are we making the "worst mistake of our careers?" I don't think so. Ultimately our legacy won't be judged by our career or how far up the ladder we climb. It will be judged by our integrity, our commitment, our character. That's the kind of legacy that matters. I don't remember my grandfather for his job. I remember him for his kind words, his gentle spirit, his life-long marriage. Those are the kind of things that real legacies are made of.

I've Got Friends That Do

Lyrics alone rarely do a song justice . . . but these are pretty good. They're from Tim McGraw's song I've Got Friends That Do . . .

This is for the nobody
The one in the crowd who's got a
Lost look on his face
This is for the down-trodden
The one that the worlds forgotten
Waitin' on a better day
Well I'm in no position to judge 'em
Heaven knows they're just like me

And I'm not alone
In knowing what it's like
To wonder where you're going in this crazy life
I'm not alone
Knowing how it feels
To pray to God and sometimes wonder if he's real
'Cause I got friends that do
Yeah I got friends that do

This is for the lost junkie
Who spends all his hard earned money on something he hates
And this is for the found guilty
Who ain't getting out until he pays his debt to the state
I'm in no position to judge 'em
Heaven knows it could have been me

And I may not know what it's like
To lose your job 'cause a habits got you gripped too tight
And I may not know how it feels
To lay your head down on a prison bed in a world of steel
But I got friends that do
Yeah, I got friends that do

This is for yours truly
Just a little verse to remind me
We all got somewhere to turn

And I may not know what its like
To send my only son to save the world and watch him die
And I may not know how it feels
To hang there on the cross to prove that love is real
But I got friends that do
Yeah I got friends that do
You know we all got friends that do

Go Vols & Dores!!

The title sounds like an oxymoron but its the way I'm feeling after Tennessee and Vanderbilt made the sweet 16 this weekend! Both teams made me sweat it out. Vandy won in double OT and the Vols needed a second half run and some big free throws to seal the win. I'm not normally a huge b-ball fan--more of a football guy--but this year's tourney has me hooked! Wouldn't it be awesome if college football had something like this?

March Madness

I had a hard time getting any work done yesterday. That's usually the day I finalize my message for Sunday, but for some reason the Holy Spirit kept putting basketball on my heart. I have a feeling he'll do it again today around 1:35 pm when the Vols tip off. That "live TV" option on cbssportsline doesn't help anything either! The best game so far . . . VCU over Duke.

Another Quote of Old

Speaking of quotes from our early Restoration leaders, how many of you have seen this one? This is Alexander Campbell's response to a letter written to him in 1837. The writer of the letter was a unnamed woman who was surprised by an earlier article of Campbell's where he said that Christians could be found in all the Protestant parties. Her main concern was the status of their baptism. "What makes someone a Christian?" she asked, "Does the name of Christ or Christian belong to any but those who believe, repent, and are buried by baptism into the death of Christ?" Here's part of Campbell's reply . . .

But who is a Christian? I answer, Every one that believes in his heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the son of God; repents of his sins, and obeys him in all things according to his measure of knowledge of his will. . . . It is possible for Christians to be imperfect in some respects without an absolute forfeiture of the Christian state and character.

I cannot make any one duty the standard of Christian state or character, not even immersion into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and in my heart regard all that have been sprinkled in infancy without their own knowledge and consent, as aliens from Christ and the well-grounded hope of heaven.

There is no occasion, then, for making immersion, on a profession of the faith, absolutely essential to a Christian—though it may be greatly essential to his sanctification and comfort. My right hand and my right eye are greatly essential to my usefulness and happiness, but not to my life; and as I could not be a perfect man without them, so I cannot be a perfect Christian without a right understanding and a cordial reception of immersion in its true and Scriptural meaning and design. But he who thence infers that none are Christians but the immersed, as greatly errs as he who affirms that none are alive but those of full and clear vision.

Should I find a Pedobaptist more intelligent in the Christian Scriptures, more spiritually-minded and more devoted to the Lord than a Baptist, or one immersed on a profession of the ancient faith, I could not hesitate a moment in giving the preference of my heart to him that loveth most. Did I act otherwise, I would be a pure sectarian, a Pharisee among Christians. And should I see a sectarian Baptist or a Pedobaptist more spiritually-minded, more generally conformed to the requisitions of the Messiah, than one who precisely acquiesces with me in the theory or practice of immersion as I teach, doubtless the former, rather than the latter, would have my cordial approbation and love as a Christian. So I judge, and so I feel.

I don't think Campbell was downplaying the importance of baptism, he was simply suggesting that perhaps the kingdom of God is a little broader than what she was thinking.

Here's What I'm Talking About

T.B. Larimore (1843-1929) was a preacher in our heritage around the time of the split over instrumental music. He refused to make it an issue (i.e. was silent where the Bible is silent). Throughout his ministry he continued preaching in both instrumental and non-instrumental churches. Naturally, he was criticized sharply. In 1897 someone wrote an article in the Christian Standard demanding that Larimore take a side in the debate. Here's part of Larimore's response:

Never, publicly or privately, have I expressed opinion or preference relative to any of these "matters"...over which brethren are wrangling and disputing and dividing the church of Christ--NEVER. Rather, I am for Christ and I believe I can do for him, his cause and humanity without meddling in these "matters"; hence I let them alone, and just simply "preach the Word," "the gospel of Christ," the power of God unto salvation."

While thousands have stood before me, hand in mine, and made the "good confession" I have never questioned one of them about these "matters." Shall I now renounce and disfellowship all of these who do not understand these things exactly as I understand them? They may refuse to recognize or fellowship or affiliate with me; but I will never refuse to recognize or fellowship or affiliate with them--NEVER.

Wise and good people stand on both sides and they often criticize, accuse, and condemn each other. They call each other "antis," "disgressives," "mossbacks," and other terms of opprobrium. They easily assume that the good is all on one side and the bad all on the other. But it isn't. I am as apt to be wrong as my brother, neither of us is infallible. For this reason, I must love my brethren, and never refuse to fellowship them--ANY OF THEM--simply because we do not always understand all questions exactly alike.

More Thoughts on Silence

I was raised with the idea that Biblical silence was always restrictive. The phrase "we are silent where the Bible is silent" meant that our church didn't employ any practice that was not specifically mentioned in the New Testament. Of course we were fairly inconsistent in our application of that principle, but that's besides the point. The point was that silence primarily forbids rather than permits. There's nothing wrong with that approach. What's wrong is demanding that all other churches take the same approach, and if they don't, branding them as people that don't really care about God's Word.

When we had our combined worship with the Christian church their pastor talked about great sayings from our heritage (we both come from the Restoration movement). He included the saying "we are silent where the Bible is silent." That might have surprised some of our folks. How could he use that phrase? Wouldn't it mean he should give up the instrument? Not necessarily. He gave me a different understanding of the quote.

If the Bible is silent on something we shouldn't take that issue and make it an essential doctrine. Instead we should also be silent on it and not allow our opinions to divide us. In other words, regardless of how you view silence, you shouldn't make it a matter of fellowship or salvation. We shouldn't draw lines in the sand based on what God has not said. If He didn't feel the need to comment on it then why do we? I think the exact words were "where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we shut up."

Silent where the Bible is silent

Last night at small group someone briefly mentioned the saying "we should be silent where the Bible is silent." If you're not familiar with the churches of Christ, that's a popular saying from our past. It was typically used as rationale for everything from not having instruments in worship to not eating in the church building. However, as someone correctly pointed out last night, the saying itself is not the Bible! So it's the ultimate paradox . . . in order to be faithful to the statement we must stop using it because the Bible is silent on it.

Easter Bunny PSAs

Yesterday our worship leader and I were doing some planning for Easter Sunday. While looking for videos we ran across these Easter Bunny PSAs. We couldn't stop laughing. Although I'm not sure the congregation is ready for our brand of humor . . .

The Death of the 4th Meal

Tonight I'm killing off an old friend of mine, the infamous 4th meal. Or maybe I should I say trying to kill it off. What is the 4th meal you ask? Simple. It's the meal that comes after breakfast, lunch, and supper. Usually around 9:00 pm for me. Taco Bell has started advertising the 4th meal, but I've been practicing it long before they thought of it.

Since December its been a regular part of my life. Here's why . . . I have meetings every Monday and Wednesday night that put me home after 9:00. During b-ball season I was the "voice of the Eagles" meaning that on Tuesdays and Fridays I also got home after 9:00. My regular habit on M,T,W,F was to grab a quick meal before the meetings/games and then eat another meal after I got home. I'm now starting to think that has something to do with my inability to lose weight. That and the Mexicans and the Chinese.

But tonight it's no more! A new rule is born. Nothing to eat after 8:00 pm. That will give me a good 12 hour fast before breakfast. I'm anxious, but motivated. I would write more but its now 7:00 pm and I only have an hour left to stuff my face.

What If It's True?

My friend Shump had a good question about The Lost Tomb of Jesus--what if they really were able to prove that Jesus was not resurrected? Would it affect your faith?

My answer . . . if they could prove it, then yes, it would definitely affect my faith. If there is no resurrection, then there is no Christian faith. We would all have to convert to Judaism (those still waiting on the promised Messiah). Because without the resurrection there is no fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy. There is no Christ. If the tomb was not found empty than Jesus was just another teacher and the cross was just another method of execution. We might still follow Jesus and his teachings, but we would see him as a Jewish rabbi rather than the Son of God. The cross would have certainly been a cruel way to die, but it would not have the power for free us from our sins.

Paul said it this way in 1st Cor 15 . . .

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead...if Christ has not be raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins...If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

Re-read that last sentence. It's powerful.

The Lost Tomb of Jesus

This morning in Bible study we talked about the dangers of "proof-texting." That's the flawed interpretation process where you begin with a pre-determined conclusion and then seek to prove that conclusion. It's basically research in reverse. As I sit here watching The Lost Tomb of Jesus I can't help but think I'm seeing a prime example. It seems the writers started with the conclusion that this is the tomb of Jesus and now they are working to prove it. The most convincing evidence for me so far has been the curator of the Israel Museum, David Mevorah. He said that any theory that this tomb was a tomb of the family of Jesus "is a far fetched suggestion and we need to be very careful with that." Here's what others are saying about the film . . . note that it's not just Christians who are questioning its accuracy.

About: Documentaries Is James Cameron's 'The Lost Tomb of Jesus' Pure Sensationalism?
National Geographic Jesus' Tomb Claim Slammed By Scholars
MSNBC Experts Blast Suggestions That His Bones Were Found in 1980
CNN Archaeologists, scholars dispute Jesus documentary
New York Times Leaning on Theory, Colliding with Faith
Dr. Gary Habermas A Response to the Discovery Channel Documentary
Extreme Theology Podcast & Articles

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Post Script . . . interestingly enough at the end of the film they ran a disclaimer. Best I can recall it said something to the effect of "Scientists and theologians have not reached agreement on this discovery. Therefore we encourage people to use their own interpretative skills and reach their own conclusions."

My conclusion . . . this film does a good job of raising questions and casting doubt but falls far short of providing convincing evidence. My faith in the resurrection remains intact.

The Power of Make-Believe

Wow. That was my reaction after seeing Bridge to Terabithia tonight. I thought it was just another "kid's movie," but I was wrong. The story is about two misfit kids who become best friends. To escape the pressures of Jr. High they use their imagination to create a magical kingdom. The kingdom is full of adventure and it's right in their own back yard, accessible simply by swinging across the creek on an old rope.

There are many themes in the movie but the one I found myself drawn to was the power of keeping an open mind. The kingdom existed only to the extent that they allowed it. Several events try to push them back into the "real world," but they persist and the kingdom lives on. Driving home I was reminded of the words of Jesus . . . "unless you have the faith of a little child you will not enter the kingdom."

We always speculate about what it means to have the faith of child. We talk about things like trust, innocence, humility, etc. But what about imagination? What if having the faith of a child is having the faith to believe in a kingdom that exists right in our own back yards. One that's magical and wonderful and more magnificent than we can ever imagine. I believe such a kingdom exists and its not make-believe. It's real and alive and eternal. And we can enter it if we're only willing to accept it.

Go see the movie.

Easy Money

While ironing my shirt this morning I caught about 10 minutes of an infomerical about getting rich through real estate. I've seen several of these programs. They usually come with the promise of "earning thousands of dollars a month just by following this proven and effective program!" They also promise that you can do it "in your free time, with little effort, no money down, 100% financing, and bad credit." All of which sound like a recipe for financial disaster. Oh, and all you have to do is buy the "program" which will tell you how to do it and it's now available for only 3 installments of $39.95. Don't wait, buy today!

As I was watching the "founder" of the program explain how easy it was to earn money this way a thought came to mind . . . If this works so well why is he not out there buying and selling real estate instead of spending his time hawking books? Perhaps its because there's more profit in the books than the system itself.

Hard work brings prosperity, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgement. Prov 12:11

Truth From the Past

Concerning instrumental music, and other minor yet divisive issues, consider this quote . . .

Many of the opinions which are now dividing the church, had they been left alone, would have been long since dead and gone: but the constant insisting upon them, as articles of faith and terms of salvation, have so beaten them into the minds of men that in many instances, they would as soon deny the Bible itself as give up one of those opinions.

It was written by Thomas Campbell in 1809 and it still rings true.