Civil Religion

We are all too aware these days of the lawsuit pending against the Cheatham County School System. Were I a lawyer I might be able to discuss with some benefit the nature of the charges and the legal precedents involved in this case, but I am a pastor, not a lawyer. As a pastor, I tend to think of the ethical dimensions of things because as someone has said, “Ethics are the fruit of our theology.”

So, what does it ethically say about our society that we are growing increasingly secular? Make no mistake about it, this lawsuit is just one bristle in the broom that intends to sweep America clean of any form of civil religion. Note that I said “civil religion” not “evangelical Christianity.” It would be a great misunderstanding on the part of the secularist to assume that having a Cross on the classroom wall, a Bible on the teacher’s desk, or even granting the Gideons access to give away copies of the Bible is an effort to coerce conversion. Rather, that Cross might cause a student to think twice before cheating on a test, that Bible may demonstrate a concern on the part of the teacher that transcends academics, and those Gideons are giving students a free copy of the best selling and most influential book ever written. What I am saying is that “civil religion” has many positive aspects, not the least of which is to produce better citizens.

Sir Frederick Catherwood, a Christian and a member of the European Parliament once wrote, “To try to improve society is not worldliness but love. To wash your hands of society is not love but worldliness.” This is no time for Christian people to retreat to their sanctuaries and decry the world outside. We must be engaged with the society and that will mean using the tools that our democratic republic affords. Foremost among these is freedom of speech. We must express our opinion, in as convincing a manner as possible, to those in power. We must not forget the power of the ballot and be willing to vote both for those who share our convictions, and against those who oppose them. Lastly, there must be engagement on the judicial level. This is, after all, the way most of these things come to pass. This is not the time to be “washing our hands” of it all.

G. K. Chesterton wrote that, “America is a nation with the soul of a church.” I am convinced that cleansing our school system of any vestige of civil religion would be an abandonment of what we as a nation really are. Let it never be that our national motto is emptied of all its meaning. In God We Trust.

Revival

This past week we had our Fall Revival at Bethlehem. Our attendance was better than usual and a good spirit seemed to pervade the services. We received a record love offering for our evangelist and that seemed to me to say that he was a wise pick. We had some of the best special music that we have had on such an occasion. Now, I feel that if I were to run a poll of the church they would say we had a good revival, and I'm thankful for that. I say all that with an old saying rattling around in my mind, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." It can look good, smell good, and have a great reputation but the only way to really know is to take a bite. How does that apply to Revival? I would have to say it is a bit more subjective, but I think everything I have said about our Revival earlier was like bragging on a bowl of pudding. We need to take a bite, i.e. we need to see Christians drawn closer to the Lord. What does that look like, or to keep with the analogy, taste like?

Revived Christians are people who have renewed an old friendship. Typically we rejoice in that and are eager to share it with others. In terms of a revived spirituality it will be "sloshing out all over."

Revived Christians are eager to catch up on that relationship. I think the manifestation of that is really twofold. First, there is a keener interest in the Bible and second, there is a greater desire to pray. If you think about it, that really is what we do when we catch up on an old friendship, we talk with and listen to our friend.

Finally, revived Christians are people who enjoy being around other revived Christians. Like the saying "birds of a feather, flock together." We want to sustain and build upon this deepening relationship. That is best done in a group setting.

So, did we have a good revival? I think so, but I'm also going to be evaluating it by the criteria above.

Online

For about a year now I have had an interesting part time job. I am one of the facilitators for an online class offered by my alma mater, FWBBC. I have guided two classes through the "Introduction To Biblical Studies" class and I am currently working with a group in a class entitled "Christian Ethics."

I think the great value of the virtual classroom is the level of interaction students are required to have to get a good grade. I have spent a number of years in both college and seminary and I know it is possible to be present without really being present. Let me explain what I mean. You don't have to ask any questions and if you are lucky you won't be asked any directly. It may even be possible to borrow someone else's notes or get with a study group of more diligent students before the exams thus allowing you to be present without being present. This kind of hiding in plain view is not possible in an online class. The students have to give their answers or opinions on each issue we bring up. What's more, they are expected to interact with one another as the discussion progresses.

Now, is this better than the traditional classroom setting? The answer to that question is both yes and no. As I have already stated, it does have some positive elements, but can you really know the other members of your class or your instructor in a virtual classroom? I do believe it is a solution for many who can't relocate to a traditional campus and yet want the intellectual discipline of serious study.

All that being said, I would like to meet all of the folks who have gone through the classes I have been the facilitator for. If they stay with the program through graduation and actually receive their diplomas at FWBBC, I want to be there. Online interaction is a good thing, but it does not quite measure up to the real thing, at least in my mind.

The Ghost Of Pastors Past

I am now serving the fourth church of my career. I have been here since February 1995 and when you consider that I began my pastoral ministry in 1982 it means that better than half of the time I have been Pastor Corn it has been here at Bethlehem. Still, I have fond memories of the places I served before I landed in Ashland City. I have been thinking a lot about that in the past few months since one of the churches that I served is seeking a new pastor. I didn't really know their pastor, but he had called me to come for a Homecoming service a couple of years back and I was very impressed with him. It seemed to me that he was a good fit and the future looked brighter than it had for that church in some time. Now, the church is casting about for a new pastor. I have wondered if I could be of any help to them. After all, I do know a bunch of the preacher brethren and I do know some of the people in that church fairly well. I was just about convinced that I ought to call up some of the guys on the board when I stopped myself. Do I really want to recommend someone? What if that person is a colossal flop? I might end up hurting the church far more than I might help them. In the final analysis I decided I could not risk it. Now, if they call me and ask about someone that they are considering that might be different, but I'm not even sure about that.

Pastors seeking churches usually don't have keen perception of what churches really are like. What's more they will put their best foot forward in the interview process. Churches often don't know what questions to ask. It is something of a minor miracle that good pastoral fits ever occur. So, what can be done? I can pray for my former charge. It is the least that I can do and perhaps the most as well.

Reading

I have always loved books. I think it began with my Mom buying the complete set of Dr. Seuss books for me. From that beginning I have vivid memories of sitting down with our brand new set of The 1965 World Book Encyclopedia and thinking how great it would be to read all of them. No, I didn't do that but I think it says something about my personality that I would value such and undertaking.

Well, it has been a long time since then. Through Bible College and three different seminaries I have come to amass some 4000 volumes. More than once I have had church people ask me if I have read all of them and a few have questioned the sense of having so many. I always think of that question in terms of my older brother. He is now retired from a career at Ford Glass Plant where he had been promoted up to doing "tool and dye" work. Over the years he began to collect tools and now he has a workshop that is literally crammed with everything from a metal lathe to a belt sander, to two different sorts of table saws, and hundreds if not thousands of other tools. He enjoys making knives, all sorts of wood working, and compound bows. I have told him he ought to go into making golf clubs, but there just isn't the interest.

Now, here is my point. Some of the same folks who would question my book collecting would admire my brothers arsenal of tools. What they ought to understand is that my books are my tools. Preachers work in words and those books help me in the process. I have all of my books cataloged in one fashion or another and everyone of the volumes of sermons is indexed by text, author, and title. I bring the content of perhaps a dozen books to bear on the production of every sermon. I think that makes me a better preacher. Some might argue that I could get by with less and that is probably true. But, let me ask you, have you ever been doing something for which you knew there was an ideal tool and you didn't have one? You might be able to improvise but the finished product may not be as good as it could have been if you had that tool. There is also a strong possibility that your improvisation will take longer than the same task done with the right tool.

So, have a sold everyone who might ever read this blog on the value of reading? Probably not, but I do hope that I have made my "biblio-mania" seem a little more normal.

Lingering Over Leviticus

This morning I completed reading through the book of Leviticus. I have been pursuing a plan for a number of years which keeps me on track to read through the whole Bible about twice in each year. Sometimes I do more than that, sometimes less.

I always have a hard time with Leviticus. I suppose the initial reason for that was that it seemed so remote from my experience. After all, I have never sacrificed an animal or been involved in any sort of religious service that was nearly so liturgical as what the OT Jews went through. The book became a bit more understandable when I realized that it was essentially an outline of the proper way to approach God. My Presbyterian friends use something they call the "Regulatory Principle" to guide their worship, which I believe originated in the Westminster Confession. Leviticus is something of an expansion of that idea.

Even knowing that, I was still a bit uncomfortable with the book. Then I decided to highlight the times that the word "holy" occurs. It is amazing how often Moses returns to that word. It is easily the key word to the book, and perhaps it is the major reason that I have a hard time getting through Leviticus. While the books speaks of holiness in all sorts of ways I am increasingly convicted about how unholy I am.

I want that realization to do more than slow down my reading. I want it to change my nature. I don't know who first said it, but I remember reading the analysis of one Christian writer that the world is made up of only two groups of people; there are sinners who think themselves saints, and saints who think themselves sinners. If being part of that latter group is the first step toward holiness, then I have made it. I have a feeling I will be lingering over Leviticus more in the future.

The Paramore Principle

In my sophomore year at FWBBC I met Sterl Dixon Paramore, Jr. Little did I realize that he and I would develop a friendship that would last from then till now. There is just something about our senses of humor that resonate off of one another. We have jokes that we have been laughing about for better than 30 years.

Of course, it has not all been laughs. Both of us have been very transparent about the hard times we have been through. In 2005 I was told that I would have to have by-pass surgery and I called Sterl, along with a number of other friends, to ask them to pray for me. Even though Sterl lives in Cookeville he drove to Nashville to see me before I was rolled out of the room a little after 6 a.m. on a Monday morning. That really meant a lot to me.

I don't really know why some friendships last and others don't. I would have told you that I had closer friends than Sterl when I was in college, but some of those are just an occasional meeting at the National or a friend request on Facebook. The older I get the more I value those who have a long track record with me. I suppose I would say the bottom line of all of this is that I thank God for all of my friends, but especially for the one that "left a good job in Memphis..."

Monday

I have been a pastor since the fall of 1982. That means I have pretty extensive experience with the let down that comes on Monday. Think about it, the whole week gears toward Sunday and then, it's over. You might think that would leave you with a sense of accomplishment, and sometimes it does, but there is always that realization that no matter how good you thought your message was you will be expected to turn out another next Sunday. Beyond that, I heard a physician on James Dobson's radio program say that most ministers will have an increase in adrenalin on Sundays and then it will crash on Monday. So, you have two strokes against you on the best of Mondays. That is a dangerous place to be.

There is a standard bit of pastoral wisdom that says, "Never resign on a Monday!" Most ministers of my acquaintance have thought about it. I know I have, but the real question is how you are looking at the situation. If it is about me, how I am treated, or if it is about results, how the church is numerically doing, then there would be lots of times to quit. What I have come to realize is that it must be about Jesus. How will He be most glorified? Now, that sounds somewhat mystical and I am no mystic. How can I know if Jesus is being glorified? I think the only thing we can do is step back from things and take a hard look. That generally means getting away from it for awhile, and then looking at the church with fresh eyes. I have done that more than once. I am sure I will be doing it again.

Up When Things Are Down

One of the things that I face from time to time is how to be up when things are down. Coming on the heels of an entry about loneliness, it may sound like things are falling apart in my world, but believe me they are not.

Today was one of those kind of Sunday services where a sizable number of folks were just not here. Some were on vacations, one family was at the hospital, another was attending a baby dedication at another church, a few were sick, and some were just backslidden. Now, what do you do in that situation? Do you get angry at the folks who are not there? Do you fall into the "slough of despond" and project that so that everyone feels equally depressed? I have tried both of those approaches and have not been all that pleased with the results. What I did today was to put as positive a spin on things as I could. I made a conscious decision that I was going to be up. My hope is that such an approach will be contagious, that the service will be, in the best sense of the word, uplifting. But, there is a down side to being up. Suppose you walk into church and see a lot fewer people than ought to be there and just about the time you are getting worried the pastor comes on like nothing is wrong, as though he is oblivious to what seem so obvious to you. Somehow, I want the church to know that we do not live or die by the statistics, that we can worship the Lord with many or with with few. I want to project a balanced concern about where we are and where we ought to be numerically, but that I refuse to allow that to rule my emotions. Maybe that is too nuanced a message to get across in the tone of a Sunday morning service. Maybe that is why I have a blog, to develop those ideas for the two or three folks in the congregation who will read them.

Loneliness

It was the great explorer, Shackelton, that said, "loneliness is the price of leadership." There are times that truth comes home to me and this week has been one such time. I doubt if anyone but another pastor would realize how much of the typical pastor's week is spent alone. Even the most compulsive "people person" sorts will spend time in an office alone, typically in an empty building. Visitation is a good outlet, but you have all the time getting to the folks, and let's be really honest here, they don't always want you to show up. Further, those visits are about ministry, not really focused on fellowship.

That is where friendship comes in. I have been blessed with some really good friends, especially in the ministry. They know where I'm coming from because they have been where I am. My hope is that I will make those friendships real "two-way streets." I enjoy getting from the relationship, but I have to give as well. The Scriptures counsel, "for a man to have friends, he must show himself friendly." I think it is a good investment. You never know when you are going to really need a friend.

Fifty Something

I was at a coffee shop with some ministerial buddies when one of the guys began to bemoan his station in life. He had served churches in many different capacities and is quite a talented guy, but can't seem to find another position. He didn't really want to "put his name out" because that just didn't feel right to him. What's more, he was sure no one was interested in hiring a fifty something guy without a full head of hair and few to many pounds.

I knew what he was saying. There have been times that I have moved from one ministry to another. I have never been all that comfortable with the system. Do you just send your resume to every church you hear is open? What is the real difference between that and calling someone like the state promotional director to serve as an intermediary? Somehow you have to get your name in front of the committee which will make a recommendation to their church. Now, just how do you do that?

I have known a few fellahs that just said they would pray and leave it in the Lord's hands. I have generally observed they are the ones who either have a network of friends who go to work for them or they end up selling insurance and working the night shift at Walmart.

Clearly, we need a better system. I would only suggest that the preacher brotherhood become a bit more caring about one another. Point in case, I have talked to three friends about "finding" a ministry position for my unemployed acquaintance.

I really don't know how this friends situation will resolve. I do know there is a crying need for good pastors. I can only hope that our imperfect system will work for this fifty something friend.

"Turn Your Radio On"

Soon after I came to Bethlehem Church I learned about what was then called the Ashland City Ministerial Alliance, or the ACMA. It has sense changed its name to the Cheatham County Ministerial Alliance in the vain hope that if we made the name more expansive it would grow the organization. In any case, one of the things that this association did for me was to give me the opportunity to host the Monday morning edition of the "The Shepherd's Hour." I have done it almost from the beginning of my ministry in 1995. Corky Albright, the owner of WQSV, does this as a public service to the community. Each week day a different host or hosts launches out into the ether. I was actually tempted to say "hello world!" the first time I went on, but I fought back the urge.

The Shepherd's Hour really is an hour long, so I have plenty of time to play the sermon from the preceding Sunday and some good Christian music. I have also read all the way through a couple of books, one, the autobiography of Warren Wiersbe more than once!

One recent change to all this is that the radio station has gone on the internet. I actually have a member of the church I pastored in Illinois who listens in on Mondays. I sometimes joke about my "vast media empire" because while the station may saturate Cheatham County and parts of the surrounding counties, I have no way of estimating how many listen. Just about the time that I think nobody but my Mother-in-law is, I will meet someone who mentions that they enjoy the program.

I have written all of this to make an analogy. Ministry is not an easily quantifiable thing. It is possible to get to thinking no one is listening, that no one is being helped. It is just about then that the Lord moves upon someone to send a note or go out of their way to express appreciation. In other words there is a tangible proof that God is using me.

I have every intention of going down to the radio station next Monday from 9 to 10 a.m. I hope it will be a blessing to someone, but I may never know if it is. Just so, I will do my best to remain faithful to God's calling on my life. I am confident that it is doing more than I will ever know.

Editorial Revision

After I wrote my first real blog entry, I naturally wanted to show it to my wife. While she generally liked it, she expressed concern about a couple of things. First, she did not think I was positive enough about the Sunday morning service. Maybe she is right. I may have made it sound like I was just glad there were few folks asleep during the service (there are always some). My point to her was that I didn't want to "over-sell" the service. I have seen some church web sites and pastoral blogs where you would assume that Pentecost had come again, and it is happening every Sunday! I suppose what I really meant to get across was that I felt like the congregation was with me. That doesn't always happen. I am sure it is sometimes my fault when that happens, and sometimes circumstances work against us, but whatever the reason, every preacher knows the difference between a congregation that is following the sermon and one that is not. Sunday at the Bethlehem FWB Church, they were with me.

Second, my wife wondered if I might be setting a dangerous precedent by writing about the church service. Will people expect that I will offer my analysis every Sunday? What about when something doesn't go all that well? Will I bring that up for review in this blog? Well, let me just say that this blog is pretty open ended. I think it would be rare for me comment on every service, but from time to time I would imagine that it will happen. I am "Pastor Corn" after all. I am writing this to express things about my vocation.

Finally, I have no real expectations that this blog will be widely read. How many thousands of them are on the web these days? How many thousands of those are written by pastors, who at heart are frustrated writers? In fact, I doubt that a tenth of the folks who attend Bethlehem will ever look at this thing. So, why write it? I'm doing it for me as a creative outlet and perhaps as a source of inspiration to a few others. That's enough.

Sunday Night

This may be my favorite time of the week. It is Sunday night and I am back home from church. There is a sense in which Sunday is "game day" for the typical pastor. Everything builds up to Sunday and when you get to this time of the day, it is all over.

I have to say that I thought today went reasonably well. Sure, I could have wished for a better attendance in Sunday School and in the morning worship service, but I thought the service itself went well. There are times that I am the last person to ask about how a sermon went. I can on this occasion say that I felt everything went smoothly. Preaching is a spiritual activity, so you can't really quantify it, but there are just times that you know it has gone better than others. Today was such a time.

Tonight we had a fellowship supper and a presentation by Bonnie Kate Simpkins about her trip to Cuba with "E-Team." I thought she did a very good job and I was glad she had this experience. Who knows what sort of long term effect it may have on her?

This is the sample run of this blog. I have been inspired by the blogs which other Pastors have posted and decided I would give it a shot. More later.