Truth & Repose

It’s freezing outside, making this a good time to address the polarizing subject of global warming. The idea that man has caused the earth to warm at alarming rates has few skeptics these days, even though there is mounting evidence that climate change is one thing of many that we simply cannot control.

Earlier this month it was reported that Dr. James Hansen, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and an adviser to Al Gore, made another huge blunder, leading to more doubts about whether we can trust the scientific community’s claim that man-made greenhouse gases are destroying our planet. Hansen announced that last month was the “hottest October on record.” Christopher Booker writes,

This was startling. Across the world there were reports of unseasonal snow and plummeting temperatures last month, from the American Great Plains to China, and from the Alps to New Zealand. China’s official news agency reported that Tibet had suffered its “worst snowstorm ever”. In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration registered 63 local snowfall records and 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month, and ranked it as only the 70th-warmest October in 114 years.

The anomaly was explained when it was discovered that GISS had carried over figures from September to October, which would obviously make October appear to be warmer than it really was.  A GISS spokesman explained that the reason for the error was that they were obtained from another body, and that GISS did not have resources to exercise proper quality control over the data it was supplied with.  But it is hard to interpret this as a mistake, since Hansen has been caught making similar blunders in the past.  In 2007, for example, he was forced to revise figures which had inaccurately reported the 1990s to be the hottest decade on record, changing them to show that this distinction really belongs to the 1930s.

After reading the facts, one begins to feel as if the wool is being pulled over his eyes–which isn’t half-bad, since it is so cold outside.

Although the march to correct climate change is ill-advised, some religious leaders are trying to pull Christians into the fray.  Brian McLaren, a leader in the Emerging Church Movement, spoke at a recent Hope08 conference, saying the world “is on a precipice” as it struggles to deal with the three “tremendously frightening crises” of climate change, poverty and war.

Is climate change an issue churches should be involved with?  Can Christians conscientiously cavort with environmentalists to protect the planet?  One example from China argues otherwise.  Yesterday, Chris Horner, author of Red Hot Lies, was interviewed on the Glenn Beck Show.  During the course of the interview he mentioned that China wants to sell carbon credits to Europe and the U.S.  This is curious, because China is one of the biggest polluters in the world.  Where did they get the carbon credits?  Their experts have crunched some numbers to see what effect their forced-abortion policies have had on the environment and have found that China is slowing the trend toward climate change through population control.

China’s proposals are only the tip of the iceberg.  Give environmentalism some time and see where it takes us.  Abortion won’t be the only atrocity upheld in the name of Mother Earth.  Already Christian leaders like McLaren are putting the planet ahead of spiritual matters like sin and redemption through Christ.  If more churches join the fight against climate change, there’s no telling what religion in America will look like in a decade.

The church doesn’t have any business delving into politics and environmentalism.  Leave the fiction of man-made climate change to creative people like James Hansen.  If anyone is interested in the truth, they can still find it where churches are preaching the gospel.

Alabama is beautiful this time of the year. Autumn is winding down, and we might have one or two more weeks of beautiful fall foliage—those reds, yellows, and browns. The earth has shifted on its axis like a person turning in his sleep to avoid the daylight creeping through his window, and we breathe a sigh of relief as the temperatures drop below that of the average person’s body heat. It gets hot here in the summertime. This gives Alabamians a better perspective on autumn than, say, people from Canada. Canadians don’t know what three months of 90-degree temperatures feel like. Autumn for them is a precursor to winter, which in Canada is terrifying.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti wasn’t Canadian, but he did have a pessimistic outlook on fall, as his poem, “Autumn Song,” demonstrates:

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the soul feels like a dried sheaf
Bound up at length for harvesting,
And how death seems a comely thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

Something tells me Rossetti was writing about more than the change in the seasons. Perhaps he penned these words in the autumn of his life. Life, it seemed, was over, making death “a comely thing.”

Job took a different approach to this period of his life. While defending himself to his friends, those “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2), he said, “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent” (Job 29:2-4). The word “prime” can also be translated “my autumn days.” Evidently, Job’s sorrows came upon him in the period of his life when he was ready to harvest the fruits of all his labors. He was wealthy in possessions, family, and friends. Of course, we know that all of this was cut short by Satan’s evil schemes, but Job incidentally makes an important point in his perspective on old age. Life can be good at the fall of the leaf, as long as a person has lived his life so as to have something to harvest in that time.

Life is a gift at any age, but our days are short. Job described it as a “breath” (Job 7:7). And James famously asked, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (Jas. 4:14). If we are not careful, we’ll take our lives for granted and become bitter about the struggles we have to endure. Endure the trials, but don’t forget the blessings. Life is good, especially when the friendship of God is on your tent. That’s true at any age, whether it’s winter, spring, summer, or fall.

When I got home last night after teaching a class at the little college just over the mountain from my home, a glance at the television set told me that the votes had been counted and that Barack Obama would be the 44th president of the United States.

I didn’t vote for Barack Obama.  I couldn’t in good conscience pull the lever for a man that advocates abortion and promotes homosexual lifestyles.  I disagree with the idea that the answer to America’s economic woes is to spread the wealth around.  I’m nervous about Mr. Obama’s lack of experience and the path that he took to get to where he is today.

However, I believe in democracy.  America voted yesterday, and a transfer of power is coming January 20th not by force or tyranny, but by the will of the people.  That is the way it ought to be.

John Adams said, “Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.”  I’m not sure what he meant by that, but perhaps he feared that America would forget what life was like under Great Britain when they were not free.  A democracy commits suicide when it quits believing in itself and refuses to accept the results of a general election.  If we let that happen, America dies.

Even Christians who are opposed to the liberal social agenda can find something to appreciate in an Obama presidency.  Barack Obama is this country’s first black president.  Forty years ago the idea of a black president was unthinkable.  Obama’s presidency is a sign that we’ve entered a post-racial age.  This has come not a day too early.  Christians worship a God who does not respect persons, one who created all men equal, as the Declaration of Independence explains.  Barack Obama may not end the sin of abortion or homosexuality, but maybe he symbolizes the end of a great sin that is often overlooked in our churches–the sin of racism.

This morning I was driving along, enjoying the beautiful fall foliage, when my eye caught a McCain-Palin sign, above which someone had posted another, larger sign with bold black lettering that read, “Don’t Blame Me!”  I don’t know who lives in the house where this sign is posted, but whoever he is, he needs to step back from politics and take a deep breath.

I’m reminded of a poem by Yeats:

How can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?

There’s more to life than politics.  We may have a new president come January, and he will certainly wield an influence over this country, but our lives will continue for the most part the way they always have.  We still have our careers and the bills and the kids’ homework and errands to run.  There will be weekends with friends, holidays with family, and church services with brothers and sisters in Christ.

For Christians there is a higher mission.  Obama ran on change, but the political arena changes little.  The gospel is God’s power for change.  Now that the election is over, let’s refocus and do our work as ambassadors for Christ.

By tonight we will know which presidential candidate will be leading our nation for the next four years.  Every presidential election is a pivotal moment in American history, and this one is no exception.  No matter who wins, we will be breaking new ground, either with America’s first black president or her first female vice president.  On top of that, America is facing multiple crises–a bad economy and a global war against terrorism to name two of them.

I have been talking to Christians about the election for several months now, and what I have learned has been surprising.  Not everybody is voting based on the candidates’ positions on abortion and homosexuality.  Many Christians, several of them young voters, feel that war, poverty, immigration, and discrimination are moral issues on an equal level with abortion and homosexuality.  In the past, Christians have voted Republican for the most part, but this year a number of Christians will be pulling the lever for Barack Obama.

I’m not shy about my opposition to Obama.  I have some serious ideological problems with him on a number of issues like abortion and homosexuality.  John McCain, on the other hand, is a staunch advocate for the unborn.  When that is included with his long years of service to our country, his courage in the face of grave challenges, and his proven leadership, he emerges as the better candidate in my opinion.

Not everybody agrees.  In fact, the polls say that most people disagree with me.  As a Christian, what should I do if my candidate does not win, and a new man moves into the Oval Office with extremely liberal positions on social and political issues?  Here are some suggestions:

1.  I should be thankful for the privilege of casting my vote. I’ve been shocked by the number of Christians who have told me, “Neither candidate impresses me, so I’m staying home.”  Many people have become disillusioned by politics and have taken their freedoms for granted.

I wonder what the people of Burma would say about that attitude.  Burma was a democracy until 1962, when a coup de etat turned the government into a military junta.  Any protests since then have been met with violent governmental force.  In September of 2007, hundreds of Buddhist monks staged a protest and were confronted by a vicious military crackdown that led to several deaths.  Internet access was cut off, and journalists were warned not to report on the protests.  The following month the military forced the people to march in a government rally.  Factories were told to produce at least 50 marchers for the rally or suffer a fine.

Voting is a privilege and a duty.  I may only have one voice, but at least I have that.  America is still an amazing place.  No other nation enjoys such radical and yet peaceful transfers of power.  This is possible because it is in the hands of the people.

2.  I should respect the President, whoever he may be.  Throughout the Bible, we find examples of God’s people submitting to cruel tyrants in leadership positions.  As Esther prepared to confront King Ahasuerus about Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, she was ready to accept whatever fate he decided: “If I perish, I perish” (Est. 4:16).  Nebuchadnezzar was a vilent, bloodthirsty ruler who was filled with pride and worshiped idols.  Yet before Daniel interpreted a dream to the king which foretold a certain disaster that would befall him, Daniel said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies” (Dan. 4:19).  Over and above all these examples, we see the picture of Jesus standing silent in the halls of Pilate.

Paul tells us to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings “for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Tim. 2:1-2).  His reason for this is “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”  Anarchy is good for nobody.  Peace and order are impossible without a civilized government in charge.

In another place, Paul urged submission to the government, calling it an institution appointed by God that bears the sword to punish evildoers and reward those who do good (Rom. 13:1-4).

Peter also gave this advice, telling his readers to “honor the emperor” (1 Pet. 2:13-17).  The emperor at this time was the insane demagogue Nero, who was especially notorious for his wickedness and his cruelty to Christians.  Nero would send Christians to fight the lions in the coliseum or use them for fuel to light his gardens.  Yet Peter said to honor him.  His reasoning is clear: “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”  When he wrote those words, many unfair rumors circulated around Rome about Christians.  Peter’s point was the Christians should not invite criticism but dispel it with their good behavior.

Of course, there is a biblical principle that says Christians must rebel when the government interferes with their religion and seeks to destroy their faith (Acts 5:29).  But we live in a country that allows us to do that while maintaining our respect for the highest office.

3.  I should know that politics will not change the world. Many Christians get worked up about an election and give into despair if their candidate does not win.  They needn’t worry.  Politics do not change the world.

The gospel is God’s power to change the world (Rom. 1:16).  Christians are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13), the light of the world (Mt. 5:14-16), and the leaven in the lump (Mt. 13:33).  The gospel is change we can believe in because it transforms people from the inside.

In the words of Charles Swindoll, “The believer was not put on earth to overthrow governments but to establish in the human heart a kingdom not of this world.”

It is not certain who will be our next president.  What is certain is that the next president will be someone that a lot of Americans did not vote for.  Christians will support, pray for, and respect him, whoever he is.

Every year Outreach Magazine releases a list of the fastest growing churches in America.  This year, the #1 slot belonged to a church right in my backyard: The Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama.

Last year a friend and I visited Highlands’ campus to hear John Maxwell lecture on leadership.  It wasn’t a religious service, but we were able to see from the church’s facilities one reason, at least, that so many people flock to Highlands for worship every Sunday.  I have never seen a church building like the one located on Highlands’ Grants Mill campus.  Large, flat panel television monitors decorated every wall, a bright, well-equipped children’s center was visible, there was a Starbuck’s in the lobby, and the auditorium featured comfortable seating and a first-rate P.A. system.  Every comfort imaginable was provided.

It would be naive, though, to think that comfortable facilities is all that it took to make the Church of the Highlands the fastest growing church in the country.  In fact, a quick glance at Outreach’s list for 2008 suggests another possibility.  Only one of the churches in the top ten is ostensibly affiliated with a denomination.  The rest of the churches wear names like “Elevation Church,” “Triumph Church,” or “The Rock.”  The community church movement has not been shy about its objective of removing the “barrier” of denominational affiliations from the names of their churches.  The strategy seems to be working.

I have made references before to a recent study showing that Americans are losing interest in denominational affiliations. Forty-four percent of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another. The demographic benefiting the most is the one that carries people who claim no religious affiliation. People moving into that category outnumber those moving out of it by a three-to-one margin. These changes in affiliation are swelling the ranks of nondenominational churches, while Baptist and Methodist traditions are showing net losses.

The churches of Christ once grew and thrived because of a nondenominational spirit.  It is my conviction that the public’s distaste for denominationalism is nothing new.  The success of these community churches once belonged to the churches of Christ.  The reason they are growing faster than we are today is because they are promoting this spirit, while we are talking about something else.

This is tragic because the churches of Christ have a unique approach to Christianity, combining doctrinal purity with a nondenominational appeal.  The community churches may have the nondenominational appeal, but they cannot claim doctrinal purity.  They would rather draw from cultural mandates than scriptural authority.  But the churches of Christ seek to restore the New Testament church, which was neither unscriptural nor denominational.

Take a lesson from the fastest growing churches in America.  People don’t want division.  They’re seeking unity.  Let’s show them what true unity is all about and build churches on the solid foundation of God’s Word.  Growth is sure to follow.

The men of the Ashville Road Church of Christ, where I preach, just attended a Men’s Retreat in Mentone, Alabama.  Our speaker was Dale Jenkins.  We had a wonderful time with Dale and grew from his well-organized, thoughtful lessons.  Here are a just a few of my favorite quotes from Dale’s lessons:

“The world needs men who are leaders.  The first mistake man ever made was that he didn’t lead.”

“You have a right to choose, but you cannot choose the consequences of your choices.”

“Most men between the ages of 35 and 45 start drifting through life because they have no real purpose.  As long as your horizon is expanding, you’re healthy.”

“If you have faith, you don’t have to worry about what you don’t have.  If you’ve got faith, you don’t need anything else, and if you have everything, you don’t need anything.”

“There are three kinds of people in life: excusers, accusers, and choosers.”

“The power in a Christian’s life always comes after testing, not before.”

Three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate have concluded, and the pundits are in unanimous agreement over the results. For the most part, if you were in support of Obama before the debates, you are supporting Obama now.  And if you were a McCain supporter prior to the debates, you are probably still supporting McCain.

What is true of the presidential debates applies to any question, whether it involves movies, music, philosophy, or fashion.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  People read the world around them through the lens of the attitudes and convictions that lie deep within them.

Knowing the importance of inward factors, Paul reminded the Ephesians of the lessons they had been taught when they became Christians:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:20-24).

Something radical had occurred in their conversion—something as deliberate and noticeable as changing clothes.  They had put off the “old self,” those worldly passions that kept them enslaved to sin, and had put on the “new self,” which was molded after God himself in “true righteousness and holiness.”

Paul knew that in addition to the conversion experience Christians must continue to grow.  That is why he encouraged his readers to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.”  This “spirit” is the “spirit that directs the mind,” the inner man who exercises control over his entire being.  This is to be renewed continuously.  It is significant that the action related to the conversion experience—“put on” and “put off”—are in the aorist tense, which denotes activity occurring at a specific time in the past.  Over against this is the verb “be renewed,” which is in the present tense, denoting continuous action.  The believer must devote himself to the study of God’s word, meditation, prayer, and an appreciation of righteous role models so that his inward man stays fresh and new.  As Paul said in another place, “Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Why is it that every church contains two basic types of members?  There are the enthusiastic contributors, who are present at every service and serve as the backbone of the congregation.  And then there are the members who struggle to make one service a week.  These are not very involved; many of them are unhappy and critical of the work.  These two types exist in every church, whether it is large and thriving, moderately growing, or small and struggling.  How can two radically different perspectives coexist in the same congregation?  The difference lies within.

I believe that a person could wither away spiritually in the most enthusiastic church in the brotherhood.  The reason is, as Solomon said, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7, NKJV).  Likewise, it is possible for a Christian to grow and remain enthusiastic for the Lord in a small church with few opportunities.

Most of the time, spiritual failure occurs under the hood.  Many spiritual problems could be resolved by learning what Paul taught the Ephesians: that there is no life in Christ without inner renewal.

Earlier this summer a man from Knoxville, Tennessee, filed a claim with his church’s insurance company, saying he was so consumed by the Holy Spirit during a worship service that he fell and hit his head. The insurance company denied his claim, so now he is suing the church for $2.5 million to cover his medical bills, lost income, and the pain and suffering he has had to endure.

Maybe the church should argue that he’s suing the wrong defendant. This is obviously a charismatic group where manic behavior is interpreted as the Spirit’s presence. How could the church be held responsible for something that God did? And who is this man to judge God for making him fall down and bump his head?

This fundamental problem has always haunted charismatic groups. They specialize in highly subjective experiences interpreted as miracles endowed by the Spirit. These experiences cannot be scientifically documented or authenticated. Their proof is their sincerity: “I know what happened. Are you calling me a liar?” But these so-called miracles often clash with other “holy occurrences” and inspired truth. Somebody’s not being honest.

In Lakeland, Florida, this summer Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries held a four month long revival meeting. People came from all over the southeast, hoping that Bentley had a connection with God and that he could heal their diseases. He ran from one person to the next, yelling, “Bam! Bam! Bam!” Covered in tattoos and facial piercings he looked more like a circus sideshow act than a preacher. Several charismatic leaders were disconcerted by his rough manner. On one occasion he dropkicked a cancer patient in the stomach, bringing him to his knees.

Bentley is taking some time off now after it was revealed that he had an extramarital affair with a member of his staff. Most of his charismatic counterparts are calling him a charlatan. But if his miracles were not real, who is to say that any of them are?

God put his revealed will in written form 2,000 years ago so that we would not have to rely upon spiritual gifts for direction in life. There are no modern-day miracles. The Bible teaches that these gifts were meant to be temporary from the beginning (cf. 1 Cor. 13:10-13), but believers don’t have to go to the Bible to see that today’s charismatic movement is false. All they have to do is open the newspapers and read about them.

There have been a number of statements made by liberal politicians lately that suggest that the religious world is still struggling with the issue of abortion. Barack Obama’s projected confusion was reported on Truth and Repose last week. And now Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a devout Catholic, states that after 2,000 years her church has not been able to come up with a definition of when life begins.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl strongly disagreed:

This week we’re having a gospel meeting with Lonnie Jones. Below there is an excerpt from one of his lessons where he is addressing the problem of selfishness. It will give you a taste of the good preaching we’re hearing this week.

The common denominator behind all sin is selfishness. Regardless of what your sin is—and we talk about big sins and little sins and we talk about public sins and private sins—but the bottom line is your sin, whatever it is that you do, whatever it is that I do, is the manifestation of selfishness in my life. John 3:16—“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son”—that’s the ultimate selfless verse. James 3:16 says, “For where you have selfish ambition, you have every evil thing”—the ultimate verse on selfishness.

If you want a formula for creating any kind of evil, all you got to do is come up with a good dose of selfishness, because selfishness is the opposite of Christianity. You can’t be a Christian until you do what? “If anyone will come after me let him deny self, take up his cross, and follow me.” You can’t pick up a cross until you get rid of self. The opposite of love is not hate, the opposite of love is selfishness. Xavier Anton LaVey, who was the minister for the Church of Satan, said the ultimate practice of Satanism is the worship of self.