Miles To Go

Today I gave a message on spiritual warfare and the tactics that Satan uses against us.  His number one tactic is lying and intimidation is his fallback plan.  I’m not going to repeat the message here, but I want to expand on it by listing some of the many lies and threats I have experienced in my life:

1. You are too young to be effective in ministry.
2. You are too old to think about planting a church.
3. That haircut you had in High School was cool
4. It is okay to look at any skin a woman reveals.
5. You will never be able to run a marathon.
6. If your wife leaves then your family and ministry will be destroyed.
7. You need to re-invent the Church.
8. You don’t watch too much TV.
9. If you talk about money your church will hate you.
10. Your children don’t care if you occasionally break your word.
11. You can dance without looking like a dork.
12. You don’t need to memorize Scripture.
13. If you worry about church doctrine you will alienate good people.
14. You pray enough already.
15. People truly care about your FB posts.
16. This dog will only grow to be 55 lbs.
17. Your brother doesn’t care if you call or not.
18. You do not need to forgive him.
19. You should buy a pipe.
20. That story about the water buffalo never gets old.
21. You don’t have an accent.
22. Your reputation can’t survive false accusations.
23. If you drink that beer then you will become a drunk.
24. People will be impressed with two graduate degrees.
25. You will never struggle with pride.

Perhaps the greatest piece of music ever written is Bach’s Mass in B minor.  I am awed by the intricate polyphony and structural genius. 

Interestingly, Bach never heard a performance of this great work.  When writing the mass, Bach pandered neither to the Protestant Lutherans nor the Roman Catholics.  He included liturgical elements that offended both sides.  Therefore neither denomination provided a house of worship for his composition during his lifetime.

I often think about Bach when I study the theology of baptism.  My personal convictions on this topic are too Catholic for the Protestants and too Protestant for the Catholics.  Fortunately, in the Christian Churches I have found a place where those kinds of dilemmas are not an issue.   I have found a home for my faith and a place to worship.

The reason this is not an issue in the Christian Churches is not because people do not care.  It is because neither Luther nor the Pope has an authoritative voice in them.  Final authority is reserved for the Word of God.  If following the Scriptures means I agree with the Catholics on an issue then so be it.  If it means that I agree with the Protestants on another then that is okay too.

I am haunted by statistics that compare Christians to the general population in areas of morality.  See article.  It has seemed to me for some time that whatever the world accepts as normal becomes the norm for Christians ten or twenty years later. 

I am haunted by this because my greatest fear as a pastor is not that I will fail.  My greatest fear is not that my church will close its doors.  My greatest fear is not that I will one day face persecution for my faith.  My greatest fear as a pastor is that I will preach and spread a diluted and distorted faith that appears attractive but saves no one.

I am haunted by these statistics because Christ called us to be a light in the darkness, a city on a hill, and it seems that we are happy being a row home in northeast Philly (love my Mayfair friends). 

Should I just take an Ambien and get over it?  Should I turn the other way the next time that reckless and rampant immorality presents itself in the church?  Who am I to judge anyway? 

He tells me that German, being the efficient language that it is, has many meanings for his last name, Sonntag.  I’ve taken to calling him “Sunday.”  He is a friend of a friend (which has a way of making people friends) and we play Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday evenings.  I’m the old guy in the group and he is the guy just about to get married. 

Last night we were taking the “walk of shame” associated with the team who just got scored on when Sunday said, “I’ve got a question for you.  So who in the world are Luke and Mark and why do I care?”   

Sunday is beginning a self-motivated journey through the Scriptures and, recognizing the apostolic names of the other two gospel writers, wondered why the Church recognizes two canonical biographies of Christ authored by these “non-apostles.” 

Experience has taught me that I have perhaps two sentences or twenty seconds (whichever comes first) to answer this question or entice another question before eyes begin to glaze over. 

I cannot suggest boring people with long details about Pauline sidekicks and first-century historians in order to win friends and influence people.  And besides, the other team was about to pull (kickoff), so I needed to finish before my lungs had no air available for talking. 

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season,” was the Apostle Paul’s instruction to his protégé.  This was definitely one of those “out of season” moments. 

I have two goals in these situations: first – make the person glad they asked me a question (because they will leave with valuable information), second – cultivate an environment that will make future questions an attractive option.  If you think about it, it is kind of like the way you would talk to a friend . . .  

What have been some of your “out of season” moments?  When have people come to you with questions about life, faith, or the Scriptures?  Did you feel prepared?  Did you answer them well?  Did their eyes glaze over?  Did you talk like a friend?