Youth

Today I had reinforced in my thinking that I am getting older. Now, that is a note that can be heard in many different places, but this one came on the campus of Vanderbilt University. I had decided that I would drop by the Divinity Library to do a little reading and maybe check out a book or two. When I went to the counter I was informed by a very helpful librarian that my card had expired--about three years ago! "Don't worry, all you have to do is go to the Card Center in the basement of the Student Center and get a new one," she said. She made it sound so easy. Well, after going in two wrong buildings and asking twice for directions I arrived at the Card Center. Yes, they could give me a card, but there was a form that I had to get at the library which necessitated another trip across campus.

What this all meant was that I had to go through the Student Center twice, both times packed with students. It was on that second trip that I began to notice the age of the people. Sure, the big majority would have to be college age, it is after all a university, but I was struck by the fact that I didn't see one person who looked like they might be on the high side of 30. Of course, I am on the high side of 30, in fact I'm closer to 60 than I am to 30! Realizing that you are the oldest person in a crowded room had an unexpected impact on me. As much as I might covet the opportunities those young people have before them, I wouldn't change places with them. I remember all too well what that period of my life was like. I am far more at peace now at 54 than I was at 24. It would be nice if I were not afflicted with the pains and strains of moderate age, but if it takes that to gain wisdom then it is worth the trade.

Someone said that youth is wasted on the young. Maybe so, but just about any period of your life can be wasted if you fail to enjoy it. That is what I hope to do with however much time I have left on planet earth.

Unrelated And Yet Connected

The pinnacle of professional football, the Super Bowl, is just around the corner and this year it will be between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. The Colts have been to and won the Super Bowl, but the Saints never have. You would think that simple fact would be enough for a good number of folks to pull for the Saints, but I am already seeing something else looming larger.

Everyone knows that New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and that the Super Dome, the home field of the Saints, was used as a disaster relief center. Some are suggesting that the Saints "deserve" to win the Super Bowl because it would be such a psychological lift to the city that has been down for so long. I don't doubt that New Orleans feels down or that winning the Super Bowl would be a big emotional boost, but what do either of those facts have to do with the game of football? All of this reminds me of my childhood when my Mother would instruct me to let my little brother win at basketball!

New Orleans may very well win the Super Bowl this year, but I think it will have a lot more to do with the play on the field than some sort of cosmic karma that determines the final score. What's more, I cannot imagine Peyton Manning, the coaching staff, or the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, giving such thoughts a moments notice.

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.