Over-Saved

I've met these kind of folks but never knew what to call them...

Wading into Controversy

In the wide world of Christianity there's few subjects as controversial as baptism. Every church practices it, but every church practices it differently. Some immerse, some pour, some sprinkle. Some only baptize babies, others only baptize adults. Some baptize for repentance, others baptize for obedience. Some say "I'm baptized therefore I'm saved," others say "I'm saved therefore I'm baptized." It's enough to make your head spin.

The kicker is that everyone firmly believes that their way is the right way, perhaps the only way. Two completely different sides both argue that anyone can plainly see how the Bible supports their position. Many times they even use to the same verses to support their differing practices. For example, I once attended the infant baptism of a family member. The pastor read from Romans 6. That's the same passage I use whenever we immerse adults.

My question is this...what should we do with those who understand and practice baptism differently than us? Traditionally we've argued with them, debated them, rejected them or outright condemned them. None of which have been too effective at helping them see our side of things. A better way starts with the acceptance of a simple truth...we're both good-hearted people who are sincerely seeking to obey God's Word. If we start with that understanding there's usually room for dialogue and discussion. And who knows, maybe we'll both learn something.

Great Quote

Matthew White had a great quote Wednesday night while teaching our Bible study. He was teaching on Jesus' calling of Levi the tax collector (Mt 9:9ff). The basic story is this...Jesus went to Levi and said "Follow me." So Levi went. Later that night Jesus and his disciples had dinner at Levi's house with with "many tax collectors and sinners." The Pharisees showed up and frowned on his actions. They asked Jesus' disciples "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

At that point Matthew quipped...nothing ruins a good party like a Pharisee. :)

Discipleship Opportunity

Yesterday was another message on the Great Commission. It was about the call to "go and make disciples." At some point I said "the best way to make disciples is to be disciples." That simply being disciples in our everyday life influences more people than all the evangelism programs in the world. As an example I said that whenever I ask someone what lead them to become a disciple they rarely answer "it was this gospel tract that was anonymously left on my windshield or it was this stranger who knocked on my door and invited me to a revival." Instead they say "it was this good friend of mine who is always so kind or this co-worker who has such integrity or my spouse and her patience." It's people, not progams. So the challenge was to "go and be disciples." Be honest in your business dealings, be satisfied with your possessions, be kind to your neighbors, be patient with your spouse, treat others the way you want to be treated, etc. Look for opportunities to practice discipleship! Today one came my way...

On my way to the shepherd's meeting I stopped at a c-store for a Gatorade and bag of cashews (otherwise known as supper). My total came to $3.57. I handed the clerk four dollars. She was distracted by something her manager was telling her and punched $40.00 into the register. It tallied up my change at $36.43. I figured she'd catch it when she started counting out the change, but she didn't. She quickly passed me the handful of bills and started helping the next customer. I hesitated just a moment. After all that was my last four dollars and Sonic was just around the corner. But I slide the dollars back and whispered "I only gave you $4.00." Her eyes got wide and she mouthed back "thank you!"

So I got the opportunity to practice two acts of discipleship. I was honest about the extra change and I was kind enough to discreetly return it. After all, the manager was standing right there and they tend to frown on employees handing out free cash.

Grace to All?

A hypothetical for you...it's come out of great conversation I'm having with someone at our church about other religions. What if on Judgment Day God says "I don't want anyone to perish. I've changed my mind. Grace to all. Everyone gets in!"

What's your gut reaction to that scenario? It's not fair? It's not right? It's great? Hallelujah?

Authority

Yesterday I delivered the second message in my series on discipleship (to give proper credit, it's actually my adaptation of Brian McLaren's series on discipleship). The message was on Jesus' teaching that "all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me." My main point was disciples are people who trust in the authority of Jesus. The basic thought flow was this...

• By definition a disciple is a follower.
• Our culture doesn't place a high value on following, we value leading.
• Why? Because we like to be in control in of our own lives.
• Of course the irony is almost none of us are ever truly in control (think parents, bosses, spouses, government, etc.).
• So since we're all following someone's authority anyway, shouldn't we chose to follow the ultimate authority?

It was a logical argument to me but my brother took a little issue with the word "authority." He said some people have been so abused by those in authority (think of the recent scandals with priests, teachers, etc.) they can't get past the word. They may be willing to follow Jesus but when you cast him as an "authority figure" it pushes them away. I explained that I didn't mean to cast him in that light, instead I was using authority in the sense that Jesus knew what he was talking about. For example, I'm a disciple of Dave Ramesy because I believe he's an authority on money management. In the same way, I'm a disciple of Jesus because I believe he's an authority on life. Therefore, I trust what he has to say and try to follow his principles. He agreed that made more sense, but still the word "authority" is a big obstacle for those who've been abused by it.

I see his point and he added a tint of gray to my black & white presentation. When you say "follow Jesus because he has authority" some people hear "run away from Jesus because he has authority." I realize that's not everyone, probably not even the majority, but some probably do think that. I wish I'd have spent a little less time on the point that Jesus has authority and a little more time talking about why I think Jesus is trustworthy.

Do You Believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

That's the question my uncle asked me before he baptized me at age 12. It's the same question I've asked every person I've had the privilege of baptizing. It's the same question I've heard asked at every baptism I've witnessed. The old saying is "familiarity breeds contempt." I think more often familiarity breeds apathy, or maybe ignorance. For example, do we really grasp the significance of someone saying "Yes" to that question?

I used to worry that just asking if I believed was too easy a question. Shouldn't we be asking something about commitment to Jesus instead of just belief in Jesus? But when you stop to think about what it really means to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, it changes things. Here's why an answer to that question is significant...

If I believe that Jesus is the actual Son of God then I believe...

1. He has the authority to forgive sins. At the cross he paid my debt and cleansed my past.

2. He has the power to defeat death. His tomb was found empty and mine will be too one day.

3. What he says is right and true. His teaching has bearing on my life, both now and for eternity.

Can you think of any more?

Thank You, God, Thank You!

Last Thursday night it was raining and the temperature was dropping. The local news said there was a slight chance of snow by morning. Lilly (my 8 year old) went to bed full of anticipation. She prayed that God would send the snow. Friday morning I woke up and looked at the window, no snow. I check the internet just to make sure that school was still on, it was.

I trudged up the stairs to wake Lilly. She couldn't believe it hadn't snowed. She actually thought I was kidding her until I opened the shades. She moped around the house the rest of the morning getting ready. At 7:50 we walked out the door and got in my truck. I noticed it was starting to spit a little snow but didn't say anything. By the time we got to the end of our road it was snowing pretty hard. Lilly was looking down fiddling with her backpack and I said, "You might want to look outside." She looked out the window and then threw her head back, did a fist-pump with both hands and shouted "thank you, God, thank you!" (in her best TV preacher voice).

We both started laughing and still were when I dropped her off. As I drove away from the school it still snowing and I started thinking about her response. When she saw the snow she immediately thought of God. She didn't think of luck or coincidence or weather patterns. She thought of God. And she thanked him. I wondered if I have the same type of faith. How many times have I prayed for something to happen and when it did I never gave God the credit or the thanks? Maybe Jesus was on to something with that teaching about having faith like a child.