“HE’S IN A BETTER PLACE:” FACTORS CHRISTIANS NEED TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE SPEAKING

Immediately after he passed away, a nurse came in and made an empty attempt at comfort, “He’s in a better place” she said. As soon as the words were uttered they seemed to bounce around the room with nowhere to comfortably land. For the sake of context, this was spoken to a dear woman, only nanoseconds removed from the loss of her husband and best friend of forty-eight years. Better place? Really? Is it wise to tell a woman who has just lost the closest of human relationships that your husband is better off because he’s no longer here with you? Regardless of intentions and whatever this might mean, I’m convinced that Christians can do better.

Now this is not to open a discussion on the nature of heaven. I believe that “heaven is for real,” not because some four year old has an out of body experience and lives to tell about it. Heaven, like hell, is real because the Bible assumes the veracity of both. Christians are often easily duped into throwing out the Bible and taking up second-hand experiences as proof of this and that. We should remember that the Bible is sufficient reason enough to believe that after our earthly existence, our souls will be immediately present with Christ and will await a future resurrection of our bodies in which the ultimate destination (i.e., place) becomes a new heaven a new earth. This I know because the Bible tells me so.

Could this be what that poor nurse was getting at? Was she attempting to emphasize that, “he’s in a better place”? If so, it would seem that the weight of scripture would be on her side. The great Apostle surely indicates as much, stating that to be absent from the body is “to be at home with the Lord” (emphasis mine, 2 Cor 5:8). Also, we believe in the immortality of the soul so if it’s not here then it has to be somewhere. So if this were her intention she would be theologically correct on a number of points. However, I don’t think this is what she was aiming for.

Should Christians Not be Known for What They are Against?

You’ve heard it said. “I don’t want to be known for what I am against, but what I am for.” “Christians should be known for what they are for, not against.”

It sounds good and noble. After all, a ministry or person that only speaks of what they are against is missing out on much of the content and emphasis of the Bible. Often these are self-proclaimed discernment ministries who do little more than step on others as they stand higher. In so doing, they have veered from Scripture. Pastors are to preach the inspired, inerrant text of Scripture. We will have to twist, avoid, and misinterpret much Scripture if we only speak in terms of opposition.

But more to the point. Should Christians avoid being known for what they are against? Here are a few thoughts for consideration.

1) That’s not the way to wisely approach life in general.

Imagine a mom who takes this ideology. “Yeah, kids, I don’t want to be known in my mothering for what I’m against. So, you know that Twinkie-Koolaid-Cheetos diet you keep mentioning? I don’t want to be known as against that anymore. Go for it. Oh, and I don’t want to be known for being against you running out into the street, having to come home before dark, and taking indiscretionary time on the internet, so, go ahead.”

Consider a salesman who did not want to be known for what he was against in his job. “Hi Mr. Client. I don’t want to be known for what I’m against, so, honestly, all of the inferior products out there are excellent too. Just invest in whatever one. I am for all of them.”

Imagine an oncologist who did not want to be known for what they were against. “Well, I don’t want to be known for what I am against, Mr. Patient. So, I’m not going to take a firm stance against tumors, metastasis, and cancerous growths. I want to be among the oncologists who, instead, are known for what they are for.”

A post Genesis 2 society requires that we be known for what we are against. Faithfulness, generally in life, requires being against things. To be faithful, a mom will need to be against things. To be a faithful salesman requires being against things. Faithfulness as an oncologist necessitates being known for being against things. In every sphere of life, the goal is faithfulness. That is generally how we seek to operate. That will mean sometimes being forthings, sometimes being against things, and always faithfulness to God and love for people in the task.

2. To construct and conduct a good, stable society, we must be known for being against things.

To promote and propagate a loving, flourishing society, we must be against things. And it should be known that we are against things, as a society.

Biblical Discipleship and Counseling Requires Wisdom

"Not every person in every situation should be ministered to in the exact same fashion, and not every sermon preached in every place should emphasize the exact same truths. Take, for instance, Paul’s instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:14: “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” These instructions provide an invaluable manual for ministry in the Body of Christ. Paul provides three different categories of people that need the truth of God’s Word applied to their life in distinct ways.

First, Paul says to “admonish the idle.” The idle are those who know the truth but refuse to respond to it. Much like a car that is stuck in idle, these individuals remain unresponsive to the truth of God in their spiritual lives. How do we minister to such people? We admonish them. These individuals have spurned the comfort of gospel truth and now need the conviction of reproach in their life. In fact, to comfort such a person in their disobedience would be a detriment to their growth. To put it bluntly, they need a brotherly “kick in the pants” to get them started.

On the other hand, Paul says to “encourage the fainthearted.” The fainthearted is someone who knows the truth and is struggling to respond. They are discouraged by the battle for spiritual growth, but they are still engaged with God’s truth. Whether because of their weakness, immaturities, trials, persecution, or afflictions, they are deflated in their spiritual life. This person does not need admonishment, he needs encouragement. He does not need to be held accountable to God’s requirements; he is well aware of his obligation before God. What he needs is a reminder of the grace God has supplied for him as he seeks to move forward in imperfect obedience. He needs someone to walk with him as he pursues the means of grace and strives for obedience when he doesn’t feel like obeying. He is neither ignorant nor indifferent to God’s truth—he is struggling to live by God’s truth and needs a brotherly embrace.

Shepherding Souls to have All Wisdom

"When Paul instructs Timothy in Colossians 1:28-29 on the job description of a pastor, he makes an important qualifying comment that we often overlook. He says that—as you are admonishing and teaching every man to be mature in Christ—you must achieve this in the sphere of “all wisdom.” Plainly stated, wisdom is the wise application of truth in a variety of circumstances. And any time wisdom is brought up in Scripture, God is assuming we imbed the concept of fearing God in that statement (Prov 1:7). Any true wisdom we have flows out of a God-fearing heart (Jer 32:40). You might ask, why is biblical wisdom so closely connected with fearing God? Because wisdom is not merely an intellectual category, but more importantly, it takes shape in the moral realm. Someone can be very smart, but exceedingly unwise.

To walk in the fear of the Lord means that at every moment of the day you are considering what your God would want you do and then obeying Him rather than your flesh (Rom 6:16). And the only way we know the mind of God, and what we are to obey, is through his Word (Ps 119:9-11). Therefore a wise God-fearing man slows down as he considers every word he speaks and action he takes by saying, “What would my God want me to say or do right now based on what His Word says?” Therefore, to shepherd souls to become mature in Christ “with all wisdom” requires nuanced discussion on the implications of truth for a variety of scenarios. People need us to help them consider their various circumstances, motives, tendencies, past experiences, and current spiritual state (whether mature or immature, weak, faint hearted or unruly). They need help considering what it would look like to most fear God in every decision (Prov 14:16). Then, through careful shepherding, we must show them how to apply the truth with “all wisdom” based on the providential variables.

In our “Gospel-centered” language today, sometimes we’re afraid to just consider moral and ethical principles of wisdom. We’re so fearful of creating moralists that we forget that the Bible wants our people in moral conformity to His will (Luke 17:10).

Protecting Your Church from Sexual Predators

Protecting Your Church from Sexual Predators.  Article by Jim Newheiser

We are blessed to have a very vigilant "security team" and a very intentional security process in place at Lake Country Bible Church.  I very much appreciate Mike Umland's intentional leadership in this area of ministry. One can never be too careful when addressing sexual abuse issues with precious children.  Having said that, we walk by faith and not by fear so biblical balance is needed in parenting and when implementing safety checks in the life of the church.

I. Lessons learned from unthinkable Sexual abuse. 2 Sam. 13:1-22

A. Sexual predators are incredibly deceitful. 2 Sam. 13:1-6 Jude 1:4

1. Sexual predators are self-deceived – they call it “love”. 2 Sam. 13:1,15 1 Co. 13:4-7

2. Sexual offenders abuse trust. 2 Sam. 13:1-6 Jude 1:4

3. Predators invest significant time and effort into manipulating others. 2 Sa. 13:3-5

4. Those in spiritual authority who become sexually involved with people under their care
are guilty of abusing their power, even if a crime has not been committed. Ezek. 34:4ff

B. Potential victims need to be taught to cry out. 2 Sam. 13:7-14 Deut. 22:23-24

1. Because sexual predators are masters of manipulation, boys and girls need to be
prepared to know exactly what to do if someone tries to take advantage of them.

2. Tamar, to her credit, did not hide what had happened to her. 13:19

C. We need to protect and help victims. 2 Sam. 13:15-22

1. One of the saddest parts of Tamar’s tragic story is the failure of others to protect her
both before and after she was raped. 13:7,19-21 Prov. 31:8-9 Ps. 82

2. If you suspect that abuse has taken place, ask. 2 Sam. 13:20a

Biblical Worship Helps Us Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing

It's the Lord's Day.  We need to be in the Lord's House with the Lord's People listening to the Lord's Book.  Why?  In part, because God-centered worship helps us to keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing.  Spirit-filled saints also encourage us to prioritize what truly matters and to live in light of eternity.  The best is yet to come.

"None of us want to come to the end of our lives having made the secondary things primary."

Pastoral Transitions 101: Starting Strong and Ending Well

Pastoral Transitions 101

Long before I knew that the Lord had plans to transition our family to a new ministry context I came across an article that made a huge impression on me.  The blog was titled, "How Pastors Accidentally Ruin Their Church."  Flowers opened with these haunting words: Most pastors really love their church. They understand their calling as under-shepherds tasked with guarding the bride of Christ. Caring for the thing that Jesus died for is a heavy responsibility. Pastors will endure stress and criticism, they will work long hours, and they will sacrifice to protect the church.

Yet, I’ve seen these same men inadvertently bring their church to the brink of ruin. They are good preachers, caring counselors, and men of prayer, yet their church suffered. These pastors followed the play book, but their church nearly closed the doors. It wasn’t on purpose. They never meant any harm to come. But they sat and watched as the church they loved crumbled.  The weakness was not in how they served the church, but how they left the church.

Having witnessed the negative impact of a very selfish pastoral transition before I resolved to do everything I could to never "ruin a congregation" by leaving in a less than exemplary manner; (On a more positive and happy note, having recently experienced the benefits of another Senior Pastor's graciousness to me I am striving to follow "the golden rule.")

Here are a few things I have done in effort to try and help maintain the spiritual momentum here.  Our desire should be to do everything we can to help set up the next guy to succeed (whoever that may be):

1) Write a personal letter to each member and regular attendee.  In this note identify evidences of grace and thank them for their commitment.  Share your heart, highlight the path forward, and encourage them to fix their eyes on Christ.  Remind them that God is faithful and can always be trusted.  Keep reminding them and yourself that Jesus cares about His Church more than every believer combined.

2) Continue to shepherd the flock faithfully and to preach the Word diligently all the way until your very last day.  If you are getting paid for what you do and love the people in your flock, how could you do any less?  This isn't rocket science: 1) start strong- 2) run the race with endurance- 3) and finish well (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Is it evil to vote for "the lesser of two evils?"

A Ralph Nader bumper sticker that many evangelicals agree with...

I generally keep my personal political convictions private as the ministry of the gospel is my primary duty as a disciple and as a pastor/theologian.  However, I have read so many respected Christian leaders take such hard line positions concerning what Bible believing Christians "must do" come November that I have felt compelled to express a slightly different (biblical) point of view.  Almost all of these "Trump Donald" articles suggest that to vote for the "best of the worst" is to make yourself "culpable" in the process (as Dr. Moore's article stated today). Is that the gospel truth?  Friends, I understand how someone could choose not to vote for Trump or Clinton/Sanders and to fill in John Piper come November. However, we should tell our brothers and sisters in Christ that good and godly Christians hold different perspectives on this important issue. Last week I wrote four articles in effort to spotlight what I believe are some neglected points in this whole debate.

In this vein, another article was posted today by a respected Christian leader concerning the following issue: Should American believers vote for the lesser of two "evils" in the election of a public official? A number of theologians (agreeing with Ralph Nader) say ABSOLUTELY NOT.  I am not convinced that Dr. Moore's logic here is airtight. When it comes to electing unsaved officials to public office (Rom. 13) who defines whether a candidate is "EVIL" or "GOOD?" If both candidates have character flaws and policies that you disagree with must one abstain from voting for the best of the worst (lest they choose evil)? Is this the only valid "Christian" point of view? (Mormon conservative Glen Beck and others say yes; while Rush Limbaugh, Ben Carson, and other non-Christian conservatives disagree). I remember hearing John MacArthur say in 2012 that believer's need to realize that they are not selecting a local church pastor when they vote (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 for God's non-negotiable qualifications for church leaders).

Lucado, Trump, "Evangelicals" and the 2016 Election

Photo Credit: http://www.christianitytoday.com/

An earlier post provided a brief overview  of Homespun Gospel: The Triumph of Sentimentality in Contemporary American Evangelicalism.   This new book demonstrates how Max Lucado, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen have been leading advocates of a hyper-sentimental gospel that has been widely accepted by a large number of religious consumers.   I'll showcase more of the highlights of Homespun Gospel in future articles.

Today's post is devoted to Lucado, Trump, Evangelicals and the 2016 Election (if nothing else consider my 10 takeaways at the conclusion of this article).

What spurred me on to write today's post?  I decided to write this article after I saw how many Christians reposted a "Anti-Trump" blog article written by Pastor Max Lucado.  In the past two months I have never read more critical pieces of a Republican candidate written by conservative and/or Christian authors.  In a follow up interview "America's Pastor"said that he does not normally inject politics into his pastoral ministry.  Lucado noted that "I don’t even put a candidate’s bumper sticker on my car. People don’t attend church to hear my views on a presidential candidate."

Though I do not agree with Lucado's theology on a number of points, (or his philosophy of ministry- see Homespun Gospel), I think his default position on politics and the pulpit is wise.  The centrality of Christ, the gospel, and the core doctrines of Scripture can be unintentionally eclipsed when Christian preachers become political commentators on Sunday morning instead of 'mouthpieces' of God (to use the language of 1 Peter 4:10).   Having said that, if a cultural/political issue is addressed in the Scriptures, the man of God (2 Tim. 2:15) should faithfully communicate God's position on X, Y, or Z (Acts 20:27-35).  (Examples include: the sacredness of life (at conception), God's view of marriage, gender, and human sexuality, a theology of work in relation to welfare, the role of government, the sinfulness of racism and genuine bigotry, etc).

If a minister of the gospel decides to address a controversial, hot-topic issue from the pulpit (such as race relations and the police, the Ferguson riots, social justice, immigration, Israel, welfare and poverty, gender equality, Roe vs. Wade, SCOTUS, etc) they must be very careful to not read their personal opinions into the inspired Text.  If your pastor says, "This is heaven's perspective on such and such" you better be certain that his finger is pointing to a book, chapter, and verse AND that he is rightly interpreting the true meaning of Holy Scripture (Phil Johnson recently called out brother Thabiti Anyabwile for this very thing- see Against Mission Drift).  Over the years, many errors and half-truths have been propagated from American pulpits (often times unknowingly).

So why did "America's Pastor" post an public article that was critical of Donald Trump (the current front-runner of the Republican party)?  

How God Defines Success.

This Cripplegate article by Dr. Busenitz harmonizes quite well with a series of articles I wrote a few months ago on the subject of success.  Without a biblical perspective of what it means to be successful in the eyes of God discouragement will likely overcome you and you will be tempted to abandon a biblical philosophy of ministry in favor of church growth theory and pragmatism.

APRIL 7, 2015
How God Defines Success
by Nathan Busenitz

What does it mean to successful?  That is a vital question for anyone to ask – one that determines a person’s priorities and direction in life.

Whether you are a pastor, an accountant, a school teacher, a stay-at-home mom, an office manager, a construction worker, an engineer, or any other occupation – if you are a believer in Jesus Christ – this question pertains to you. What does it mean to be successful?

What does true success look like, not in terms of getting a new promotion or a raise, but in the highest and loftiest sense of that word?

Consider the “heroes of the faith” listed in Hebrews 11. From a worldly perspective, these individuals would hardly be regarded as successful.

- Successful people aren’t mocked and scourged.

- Successful people don’t get chained up in prison.

- Successful people aren’t stoned to death, sawn in two, or beheaded.

Ministry Deja Vu

Deja vu "from the French, literally means 'already seen.'  Deja vu is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, regardless of whether it has actually happened." 

As Bible believing Christians we do not really believe in things such as karma, luck, or deja vu.  Having said that, I want to highlight an important issue this morning using the phraseology "ministry deja vu."

I have learned over the past ten years of pastoral ministry that apart from a significant work of grace in someone's life history has a uncanny way of repeating itself.   This principle has been brought home to me especially in the realm of church membership.