Dr. Al Mohler Interviews Eric Redmond

Posted in General on March 31st, 2008
The recent controversy surrounding Barak Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright has once again brought an uncomfortable issue on to the front burner.  Recently, Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary interviewed Eric Redmond, Senior Pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Temple Hills, MD regarding this topic.  Despite influencing me to go with Georgetown in my NCAA tourney pic (my brackets are going down in smoke), Eric is a friend to Cornerstone and has promised to preach in our pulpit as soon as we can agree upon a date.  You can copy and paste the following link to read a portion of the transcript of the entire conversation.  

To listen to the entire interview copy and paste the following link.

http://www.albertmohler.com/radio_show.php?cdate=2008-03-25

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Beautifully Offensive, by Chris Williams

Posted in General on March 31st, 2008
Many of you may not know Chris Williams, but you should.  He is a delightful member of our church who thoughtfully seeks to live the gospel.  I am often encouraged by his deliberate application of the Word.  The days leading up to Resurrection Sunday this year was the occasion for this engaging column he wrote about the cross.  With his permission I am posting it for your encouragement and joy.
For the past two years I’ve tried to make it a point to watch Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” on Good Friday. And, for the past two years, I have been unable to do it. Obviously it’s nothing against the story, but I just don’t know that I can bring myself to willingly sit on the couch for two hours and watch such torture over and again. So today, I watched “Bee Movie,” which had nothing at all to do with the crucifixion but was a pretty funny movie. 

But I’ve heard a lot of people remark that they have trouble dealing with the crucifixion. Gibson’s movie may have made millions at the box office but I’ve talked to several folks who have the DVD and yet cannot bring themselves to watch it again. I’ve talked to people who don’t like reading the accounts of the crucifixion because the hatred shown to Christ makes them sick to their stomach. And yes, there are many out there who reject the whole idea of Christianity because they find the idea of the cross too offensive.

And they’re right–the cross is offensive. Crucifixion was an ugly, horrible way to die, possibly the worst ever contrived by human beings. And the idea that we are ungodly people at enmity with God needing Him to come down and die for us because we can’t save ourselves? It’s downright offensive.

And so it must be. As my pastor would say, you’re not ready to hear the good news of the Gospel until you hear the bad news first. And that bad news offends us. The bad news that we’re born as enemies of God, totally depraved with nothing good in us. From the moment we take our first breath–from the moment of conception!–we’re in rebellion against God with hearts that don’t want to seek Him and would crucify Him again if He were here, especially if He was impeding our own desires. Most people are quick to say we’d never show any human being–let alone God Himself!– that kind of hatred and torture. But the same crowds that lined the street with palms just five days prior to His crucifixion probably never thought they’d be the ones taking Him to Pilate, standing in the court shouting “Crucify Him!” and asking for a convicted murderer to go free.

The question is asked so often–who killed Christ? Was it the Romans? The Jews? And the answer that we must realize is that it was our sin that caused Christ to come and be crucified. It was our selfishness, our pride, our bad attitudes, our lust, greed, hatred, laziness, gluttony and more that made it necessary for Him to come and die for us. Because without Him, we would be the ones deserving of not only the death He died but the wrath of God that He intercepted.

But saying that we killed Christ gives us far too much credit. Yes, we’re responsible for the offense of sin and depravity. Every one of us is born a sinner needing to come forward and put our faith in Christ. But there’s a beauty to Christ’s death that we in no way can take credit for.

It’s the beauty in seeing a shocking plan come to fruition after unfolding for thousands of years. I recently read through the first five books of the Bible in my attempt to study through from beginning to end (I’m in a break as I journal through Phillipians and will pick back up in Judges). But it’s amazing to look back and see how every sacrifice pointed to Christ. When the Bible calls Him the Lamb of God, that’s a deep and profound meaning that would have been so familiar to the Jewish people. The lamb was the sacrifice that bore God’s wrath in the Old Testament and it was the blood of a lamb that told the Angel to pass over the Israelites’ homes in Egypt during the plague of the death of the firstborn. And in the cross we see every prophecy come to light. We see that the blood of animals, which could only temporarily bridge the gap between man and God, is no longer needed because we have a perfect sacrifice. We see that the law, which showed us just how deeply sinful we were, is now a spectacle because Christ obeyed it fully and nailed it to the cross! We see that all of history has revolved around the cross, leading up to it and away from it. It is the center point of all human history.

And it’s in the cross that we see so much of God’s beauty and character displayed. We see His perfection in Christ’s obedience. We see His wrath as He pours it out on His Son. We see His compassion in His willingness to die. We see His justice in providing a way to reconcile us while still dealing with our sins. We see His wisdom in fulfilling such a perfect plan, His strength in enduring to the end, His faithfulness in fulfilling His prophecy, His humility in His embarrassment, His love in His sacrifice and His power in triumphing over sin and death. And when we read in the Bible that Christ didn’t simply die–He gave up His spirit–we see a power to do this on His terms as part of God’s will–and so we see God’s sovereignty even in an event so ugly and offensive.

And it’s utterly beautiful.

The Gospel must be beautiful and it must be offensive. We can’t tame it or neuter it. We present the horror with the beauty because it requires us to know both.

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The Samaritan Team

Posted in General on February 29th, 2008

In case you did not know, there is a team of people from Cornerstone who comprise the Samaritan team.  This ministry exists to help day to day problems that arise with our members, who may not be in a position to be able to address them.  This team is also on call from an organization in the area known as Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers and help with needs that are made known through them.  The people who serve on this team do not do it for applause, but absolutely love to help others.  While I respect their desire for personally anonymity, I also thought that the rest of the body needed to know some of the things that go on “behind the scenes.”

1/07     the team fixed a leaky sink or garbage disposal for a CBC member.

2/07     the team shoveled the snow for a CBC member.

3/07     the team fixed a bathroom faucet and front screen door for a CBC member.

4/07     the team helped a CBC member with a moving project.

5/07     the team built a wheelchair ramp so a CBC member would be able to get back and forth to doctor appointments.

5/07     the team helped a CBC member go through her house and put things in storage.

6/07     the team helped an Eastpointe lady with yard work.

6/07     the team built a wheelchair ramp for a lady in St. Clair Shores.

8/07     the team helped family with yard work.

8/07     the team helped a guy with a ride to the airport for family reunion in Tennessee.

8/07     the team helped a person deliver furniture from the Salvation Army to apartment.

9/07     the team helped an Eastpointe gal with landscaping clean up and window cleaning and came back later to take out two shrubs so a railing could be put in for her steps.

10/07   the team replaced a refrigerator compressor motor for the parents of a CBC member.

2/08     the team took care of a snow removal need for a Roseville person.

2/08     the team helped a girl with a moving project.

2/08     the team helped a CBC member get his clothes dryer fixed by replacing the high temperature sensing device.

Deepest thanks to the guys and gals of the Samaritan Team.  Your labors of love help us become grapes.

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Way to go Kym!

Posted in General on January 25th, 2008
The text message scandal in Detroit continues to paint a picture that position means power and power means privilege and privilege means living above the law which means abusing and scamming everyone who is under you and under the law.  The Mayor’s response about this being a very difficult period in his personal life, blah, blah, blah, no doubt has a measure of truth to it, but don’t even start that public is public and private is private nonsense.  There are 8.4 million reasons why he cannot expect that excuse to fly.  But far deeper still is the fact that our beloved city of Detroit is being gutted by rotting homes, broken families and absentee dads.  No economy can work without morality and ethics.  Sure the school system has serious issues, but the system can only work with what they are given.  All of the money in the world will not fix boys and girls growing up in a culture where infidelity is winked at and where the commitment of a husband and wife to be faithful is only seen in old movies. 
The #1 dad and husband in the city needs to step up and be a man by stepping down.  Real men don’t abuse their power.  Real men don’t lie.  Real men aren’t perfect, but they take responsibility for their failures and act accordingly.  Kym Worthy is right to initiate an investigation.  Mr. Mayor, it’s your turn.

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Church Family Matters - 2008

Posted in Church on January 15th, 2008

The local church is ground zero for God’s design for this world.  God is designing this world for the global and glorious, kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ.  A biblical local church is the focal point of that preparation process.  Therefore, we are called to be a church that exists with that kingdom goal in view and one that functions in a manner that reflects the character of God and the characteristics of His kingdom right now. 

If you are a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church, you need to see yourself as one of the owners, not as a consumer.  It is my goal to inform, equip and encourage you to live out your calling as a follower of Christ in the God-ordained partnership of His church.  Think of yourself in this way: I am a member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in order to make God famous to the nations.  I want to put God on display to my world.  But I cannot do that by myself.  I am called to do that with brothers and sisters in the body of Christ through a cross-centered humility and God-centered unity. 

Leadership:

The elders for this year are:

Jerry Benge

Mark Cairney

Bob Clarke

Bob Johnson

Patrick McGoldrick

Charles Nairn

Terry O’Brien

Andrew Pyper

Roy Schnepper

Mel Stull

Jason Wood

Part of what the Elders do:
The Elders establish goals based on a regular review of the health of our church.  We start with the question of why did God raise up the church and how do we function in view of that?  How should we live now in light of then?  How do we as a church live for eternity right now?  How is that calling carried out in our lives?  How is the ministry of this church doing that?  We seek to continually monitor these because we have to keep working at them. What should we be doing?  Are we doing that?  Are we doing it well?  Can we do it better?  Are there things we are doing that are wasting time and resources? What are our strengths?  What are our weaknesses?  What opportunities should we look for, and what threats should we address?  These are critical to evaluating to true health of our church.  For 2007 we worked on the following priorities:

 

  1. Healthy, Growing Spiritual Life within the body.

 

One of the stated goals for this past year (2007) by the elders was to launch a small group ministry with the view of working toward becoming a church of small groups.  We know that people have to have the preaching and teaching of the Word and must participate in the expressions of church life in communion and baptism. But, we must also have the opportunities to be able to encourage, confront, and speak to each other’s lives on a personal level.  When we speak of our small groups, we are referring to members of the church connected to and committed to specific relationships of around 10 people who meet every other week for the purpose of encouraging, serving, helping, praying for, challenging and growing with each other. We currently have about 275 adults involved in small groups, which represents 33% of our adult membership.  In 2008 we want to see that grow to 50%, which means an increase of at least 135 people.   

The 2nd major goal that the elders worked on was to develop a clear and practical strategy for intentionally developing leaders.  This strategy of leadership training is almost completed and will be explained and implemented this year.   

  1. Effective Outreach with and to our community.

 

In order to communicate the gospel effectively outside of the church, we knew that we had to do a better job of speaking to the lives of those already attending.  So, as part of a long range plan to do a better job of witnessing we took an initial step in 2007.  Therefore, the 3rd specific goal that we worked on this year was retooling the entire way we greet and eventually assimilate people into our church family.  The heartbeat that we are seeking to develop is to connect with every person who walks into our Gathering Space.  We want to see them as people who we desire to have the privilege of living with and serving alongside of here in this local church in preparation for life together in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.   

The priorities of growing a healthy, kingdom-minded church family and developing effective outreach with and to our community will be emphasized in 2008 as well. 

 

This Year - 2008
 

We intend to build on 2007 by emphasizing these 3 things:

1) Evangelism

2) Prayer (personal and corporate)

3) Communication within the church. 

 

We also are working on Looking Ahead at these areas as well:

 

            Intern Pastors

One of the things that the elders have been thinking about is to broaden our internship ministry.  I would like for us to be able to have one or two men join our ministry staff as pastors in training.  We have not drawn up specific plans for this yet, but will be working on this.

 

            Staffing Changes

We are looking for an additional associate pastor whose ministry will focus on music and one or two other areas.  Another factor is that Jerry and Kellie Benge are looking at the possibility of further ministry in either Russia or Ukraine.  This may not affect our staffing in 2008, but we must keep this in view as we look ahead.

 

Paying down our indebtedness

One of the immediate threats that I want us to tackle is our remaining debt on this facility so that instead of throwing money at an interest payment for 20 more years, we can instead pour resources into people and ministries that here and in missions we take major steps toward fulfilling our goal of making God famous to the nations. We could continue with our payment plan as it is.  We are current with our obligations, but do you realize that paying off this facility will enable us to invest an additional $40 - $50 thousand per month into missions and ministry here?  We want to be able to say to those qualified to serve in missions, “you go, we’ll support you.” 

 

Relying on God and His Plan

Simply having goals, a strategy and implementation does not mean that the church is healthy.  God’s plan for the health of His church centers on the preaching of His Word, the passionate response and obedience of His people, the observance of the ordinances and proper discipline by the flock.  We are called to be organized because we are an organism.  We are a people, a family under the authority of Christ.  And we must be people who are desperate for God to work in us and through us.  That is why we must cultivate prayer because we cannot reach people in our own strength, we cannot minister to each other like we should in our own energy, and we cannot make God famous to the nations by just planning strategies.  We must be a people who live with an exciting dependence and expectation for God to work right here and right now.  Are you with us?

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Totally Cool Parenting

Posted in General on January 11th, 2008

Let’s hear it for Jane Hambleton.  Jane has named herself “the meanest mom on the planet” for deciding to sell her son’s car after she found alcohol under the front seat.  She took out an ad in the local newspaper that read: “OLDS 1999 Intrigue.  Totally uncool parents, who obviously don’t love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom, who needs to get a life, found booze under the front seat. $3,700/offer.  Call meanest mom on the planet.” 

Her son is pretty unhappy about the decision since he claims that the booze was not his, but was left there by a passenger.  But, when SHE GAVE him the car at Thanksgiving, she also gave him 2 rules:  No booze and keep it locked.  Apparently her son was not willing to do what his mom is willing to do; and that is, say “no.”  Telling a friend, “You can’t bring booze into my car” may not be cool, but it is right.  Have you ever noticed how absolutely stupid, cool usually is?

What is truly amazing is not that Jane did this, but that what Jane did is such a big story.  This ought to be normal parenting sort of stuff, but instead people are calling her and congratulating her because so many parents don’t parent.  Fundamentally, we rebel at the idea that someone can love us and tell us “No.”  It all started in the garden, when Adam and Eve listened to Satan who basically said that if God really loved you he would never tell you no.  What an incredible lie!  But parents have bought into that insanity because it is born out of their own hearts and have, instead of providing LOVING order and LOVING discipline for their children, have let their children grow up thinking that the role of the parent is to eliminate all negativity from my world.  If you are a parent, then for God’s sake and your children’s sake be a parent!  Love does not condone sin!  Love means that you say “no” to sinful things in order to be free to say “YES” to beautiful things.  Parents, you need to embrace God as FATHER in your own life and accept His authority over your life.  His authority and dominion over you is driven by His love for you and stands as the model for your parenting. 

Good parenting is not just reacting to problems it involves proactively preparing your kid for life.  Check out my article on parenting from Proverbs for some ideas for your kids.

By the way, the car is sold.

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Betting on the Ref

Posted in General on July 26th, 2007

 

The revelation that NBA referee, Tim Donaghy is being investigated for his involvement in a major gambling scheme is earth-moving in the world of professional sports.  For us Pistons fans, we have long assumed a bias against our heroes of the hardwood, but this is more than referee favoritism toward an icon (e.g. “Jordan rules”) in the sport, this threatens the integrity of the entire NBA organization.  Of course, we wonder, how many others were involved?  This natural question reveals the impact of these allegations, should they be proven true.  From this point on, every questionable call made by a referee is subject to biting ridicule, mocking scorn and intense scrutiny.  Trust has been shattered.  While the earth moved under the NBA as a whole, the referees themselves were kicked in the gut the hardest.  Fans have been given more ammunition for their verbal guns and their “please put me on TV” signs.  Only time will tell if the referees still have enough air left to blow a whistle.  So much for what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas – huh! 

 

The NBA is big business; really big business.  Business and politics have always had their share of insider trading and shady deals.  Is this all that surprising?  After a few speeches, and new policies and announcements, the NBA will probably bounce back (bad pun – I know).  After all, most people watch it for the entertainment value.  If we really cared that much about integrity in professional sports, Barry Bonds wouldn’t have every at-bat broadcast by ESPN in his record chase.  But, I do not write these words from an ivory tower unsoiled by the events of my world.  I have served on the pastoral staff of three churches, each of which has been painfully impacted by a moral failure in its leadership.  The results of which can be generational.  The loss of trust and security in the ones who are charged with the sacred task of guarding the church is a betrayal that fails to find words which fully capture the impact.  You may think that what you do only affects you.  Watch the fallout from the Tim Donaghy fiasco and remind yourself, church is no game.

 

“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”  2 Timothy 1.14

 

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Church Family Matters

Posted in General on July 12th, 2007

1.         A Tribute to Ted

2.         Welcome to the Brough’s

3.         Landscaping Changes and a few other things

4.         Elders update

5.         Christmas in July?

6.         Giving Matters

 

  • Shoulders We Stand On

 

This week Cornerstone lost a soldier and I lost a friend.  Ted Zenn, wife of Mary Ellen (53 years), loved this church and served her well.  Ted and I used to meet for lunch.  He would talk and I would eat, and listen.  The routine was predictable, he would tell me about his life as a child; his heroics as a ballplayer; his family; his work for Chrysler; his recent health challenges; his views on politics and then he would ask about the church.  In our more recent meetings, he spoke more about family and church than anything else.  For over an hour we would sit and I would savor those minutes knowing that one day they will be gone.  Those days are gone, but in their place I see the lives in which Ted invested.  In his place are men who he encouraged, goaded, and challenged.  Age weakened his athletic frame, but never his ardent love for our student ministries and for our kids.  His relationship and investment into many of our students is a lasting legacy that forms a strong pair of shoulders on which we stand. 

 

  • Welcome to Brien and Dawn (yes, I spelled Brien correctly)

 

Brien, Dawn, Toria (5), Bradon (3) and Ethan (9 mo) Brough have recently moved here from Denver, Colorado in order for Brien to assume the position of Children’s Ministries Director.   Brien is a graduate of Faith Baptist College, Ankeny, Iowa and has been a 6th grade school teacher for nine years, spending most of those summers as one of the leaders of the children’s program at Lake Ann Bible Camp.  That is where we became acquainted with Brien and are so grateful that he has joined our ministry team.  It has not taken very long for God to knit our hearts together.  We look forward to a long term partnership of learning and serving together.

 

  • Noticeable Changes

 

So much of the work that takes place on the church facility and in many other areas of the ministry is behind the scenes and goes unnoticed.  Did you know that there are two men who volunteer to go through each air conditioning unit on a scheduled basis in order to clean, refurbish, change filters, etc?  One couple comes in to clean the glass in the Gathering Space, another family sharpens pencils and replaces envelopes in the Worship Center, one man vacuums the platform every week after rehearsal, while others catalog music, answer phones, tend the garden, build and paint wall decorations, and work in the library and bookrack.  What an army!  But, many of the jobs that are done are things that we are used to because they are done faithfully.  Thank-you!  There are some projects being tackled right now that are new.  The Missions Guest House is basically complete.  What a job this has been and a meaningful labor of love.  A presentation will be made and a walk-through made available during the church picnic (Aug. 19).  Recently, there have been two memorial gifts given to the church.  These gifts are given with suggested uses by the givers that reflect the passions of the one who is being remembered.  One of the gifts was given in order to purchase a new piano for the Worship Center, put in a large garden-scape on the west side (window wall) of the Gathering Space, and replace our ball field with a new infield, fencing, benches and improve the outfield.  Another gift was given to purchase new interior signage that will greatly improve some basic needs of internal communication for guests.  These upgrades, along with our Buy-a-Bush campaign, in order to finish off some needed landscaping on the front (south side) of the building, will certainly make some noticeable changes.  One other project we are hopeful to complete by September is the addition of a small FM station that will provide continuous information for people as they are near the facility along 12 mile road.

 

One more note:  Allan Lewell has been working incredible hours (even after recent shoulder surgery) in order to address some needed computer changes.  His investment of time is an enormous help to the ministry, though most of it is done in a tiny little room without windows.  Thanks Allan

 

  • Elders Update

 

I am so blessed by these men.  Jerry Benge, Mark Cairney (secretary), Bob Clarke, Terry O’Brien, Dan Rudd (church moderator), Roy Schnepper (chairman) and Jason Wood are an enormous encouragement to me personally and are wonderful and gracious leaders for our church.  We are blessed by the character, commitment, leadership and humility of these men.  We meet twice a month, with one meeting focused more on personal growth issues and the other on our responsibilities to guard and advance the doctrine, care for and shepherd the flock and provide direction for the ministry.  We have recently updated our 5-year plan and are working on different facets of it including:  Helping the church family minister more effectively and significantly to each other through small groups; Adjusting our ministry to guests and the process of helping them become members and assimilate into the body; Revising, coordinating and then communicating our Leadership Training process; Addressing internal communication weaknesses and keeping our membership updated. 

 

  • Christmas in July

 

The choir and orchestra have started previewing what promises to be an absolutely delightful Christmas Concert series this year (Dec. 9, 14, 16).  I am so encouraged and amazed at the level of dedication and skill that these gracious people bring Sunday after Sunday as they serve our Lord and us His church in our worship services.  The concert series is an opportunity to expose many people to the heart of the message of the gospel and to the promising ministry of this church.  If you are interested in joining the choir or orchestra, we have some limited openings for a limited time.  Please call the church office and ask for Jan for details.

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We All Have Our Own Truth

Posted in General on July 6th, 2007

We all have our own truth is like a carpenter saying, we all have our own tape measure.  Try building something, when your inch is someone else’s foot.  We all have our own truth is like a weather man or chef saying, we all have our own thermometer.  Try explaining the weather, or how hot to heat the oven when your Fahrenheit is someone else’s Celsius.  But, when it comes to dealing with absolutes, this thinking is everywhere.  Sad to admit, it is also in our churches.  A bit of history may be helpful.

 

Karl Barth was a Swiss pastor in the early 1900’s who was raised in the poisonous fumes of German theological liberalism.  This theological liberalism was defined as a denial of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, a denial of the virgin birth of Christ, a denial of the miracles in Scripture, a denial of the deity of Christ, a denial of wrath of God, a denial of the literal existence of hell, a denial of the existence of Satan and demons, a denial of the necessity of the atonement of Christ for our sins and a denial of His literal resurrection from the dead.  It was/is a denial of Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, a denial of one Isaiah writing the entire book of Isaiah…come to think of it, it was/is a denial of just about everything except the inherent goodness of mankind.  Liberalism then and now consistently viewed/s the human race as being amazingly good and on a trajectory of improvement.  Though Barth initially pastored in Switzerland, he received his training in Germany and watched them with a keen interest as Germany was the flashpoint for WWI.  Because the liberal church leaders in Germany bartered away the truth, they had no discernment and followed the party line that led Germany into WWI.  When a voice of truth was needed, there was no truth to be found.  The folly of liberalism was not lost on Barth who saw the devastating affects of their compromise.  Some of these German theologians had been Karl’s teachers.  He was amazed at how easily duped they were and began to re-think some of liberalism’s views.  Karl’s theology eventually moved toward the right; back in the direction toward a more historic position on these topics, but sadly, he did not move back far enough.  After WWI, he became a professor in a German seminary.  He was grounded enough to identify the problems in the rising Nazi party in Germany, and led a movement within the German church to speak out against it, a position that led to him being kicked out of the country.  Looking back at his stand against the Nazi’s and his attempt to help the German church to not buy into the second round of political lies and repeat the mistakes of the previous generation is something that we can and should appreciate and applaud.

 

The challenge of history is, in part, to not overlook the faults of our theological heroes nor ignore the positive contributions of a theological enemy.  Barth, it seems, fits into both categories.  He attempted to recover some key doctrines, but his view on inspiration (while more conservative than many in his day) was clearly wrong.  Barth taught that when the Bible spoke to you, that at that moment the Bible, at least to you, was inspired.  The Bible itself was not the words of God, but it was the word of God in the sense that it had influence in your life.  Confused? Me too!  The result was it made the reader the final arbitrator of truth.  If it doesn’t move me, then it must not be true for me.  But, if it moves you, then it must be true for you.  That is very close to “we all have our own truth.”

 

In our current series in 1 Corinthians 14, we deal again with issues that touch on the role of women in the life of the church.  Churches that claim to preach the gospel treat the women pastor issue as a “we all have our own truth” sort of a deal.  In other words, “I may not prefer it, but not everyone is in agreement on this, so, we really shouldn’t fight about it.”  That thinking is absurd!  You can say that about anything in the Bible.  The presence of disagreement does not preclude one’s ability to understand the truth. 

 

In seeking to defend his view of purgatory, Zachary J. Hayes wrote (Four Views on Hell – Zondervan, 1996, p. 102) “The history of Christianity indicates that there have always been different ways of approaching the Bible.  There has always been great reverence for the text of the Scriptures in Christian communities.  But for centuries, beginning with the great Fathers of the Christian tradition, it was felt that the religious meaning of the biblical texts did not lie on the surface. (i.e. “don’t attempt to read and understand the Bible at home, you may hurt yourself…leave it up to the professionals who can do it for you and then tell you what it really means, which may of course be quite a bit different than what it actually says”) …Simply put, the text of Scripture is not in any sense a verbal message from God.  The message of revelation is opened to the reader by the operation of the Spirit and not directly by the text of the Bible.”  Of course, Hayes attempts by this to show that Purgatory does not need to actually be in the Bible as long as some church leader or council determined that the place really exists.  While that is a fascinating issue to explore, my concern at the present is his view of truth.  According to Hayes, truth does not have to come from the Bible; in fact, it may come from outside of it.  Besides, you have your way of approaching the Bible, I have my way, so why can’t we all just get along?

 

A pastor friend of mine recently attended the national meeting for the North American Baptist (NAB) denomination/association.  The headline speaker on the opening night was the daughter of Tony Evans.  The NAB has decided not to decide about the issue of women pastors.  Nice try!  Neutrality is not option when you are selecting speakers for an annual conference.  I grant you that there are different levels of doctrinal importance and that we shouldn’t make mountains out of molehills, but, when we attempt to be vague where God is clear, we are dismantling the foundation for truth, particularly when we embrace a post-modern hermeneutic as our justification.  Then instead of preaching with authority, we end up sharing some thoughts with our audience. 

 

We all have our own truth makes for good debate material in a philosophy class, but it is devastating to churches and damning to souls. 

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Missing the Boat

Posted in General on June 28th, 2007

 

Looking for a good movie?  Keep looking!  In a time when gore (not the politician) and sex seem to dominate so much of the media, it is a welcome relief to find a movie based on the Bible that is basically clean – right?  Well, maybe not; movies like Evan Almighty are in reality much more violent and destructive than many of the shoot ‘em up, blow ‘em up films that are regularly released.  Evan Almighty is an attempt to take the biblical account of Noah and the ark and retell it in a contemporary format.  But, if you are going to take a story straight from the Bible, then you had better tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Which means, if you are going to tell the story of Noah; you had better start with the fact that God is holy and that mankind is exceedingly sinful and that God justly judged the earth because of sin, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  Do you really expect a movie like that to sell?  If not, then what part of the story do you change? What the movie does is substitute the problem of sin with the problem of global warming.  Film critic, Ethan Morris of www.Film.com writes, most notably, the film is the primary vehicle for the Get on Board Campaign, a collaboration between NBC Universal and The Conservation Fund. The website has environmental information and tips, and asks for people to “plant a tree” by donating five dollars. Everyone who donates will get their name added to the Evan Almighty DVD when it’s eventually released.   

 

The irony is that the biblical account deals with God responding to His holiness being mocked by the arrogance and sin of man.  The movie, which supposedly retells the event is itself a mockery of the original account and therefore an illustration of the original problem by attempting to dumb the person and message of God down to a level acceptable to most movie-goers.  How can you use an event that shows a holy and almighty God’s just response to sin as a vehicle that promotes climate change?  Ethan Morris muses this over when he writes, so let me get this straight: left-leaning Hollywood is using a traditionally right-leaning religious tale to promote a left-leaning environmental message opposed by many right-leaning politicians. 

 

Some people evaluate films with what I call a cuss and skin meter.  “Hey mom, can we see this movie?  There’s no sex shown and it only has two bad words in it?”  By the cuss-meter and skin-meter standard, I am told this movie pales compared to so many others, but the message is far worse.  In this movie, God is not upset with sin, but is concerned about global warming, and God is not holy, but an environmentalist.  (By the way, we are stewards of this earth and ought to take care of it.)

 

Frankly, when I saw the trailer, I thought the idea was so lame for a movie, that it did not  warrant a comment.  Besides, I do not relish the idea of being known for what I am against.  Then, Jerry got a phone call…  The salesman calling was offering a convenient Bible study for small groups and Adult Bible classes based on the movie Evan Almighty, would we be interested?  Prank call – right?  No, this guy was for real.  That is beyond sad, that is pathetic!  Then I recalled an article in USA Today (June 25.2007) 1D, where the distribution chief for Universal (responsible for promoting Evan Almighty) said, “…if you can get families – and especially churches and congregations – behind your film, you’ve got reason to feel good.”  When I originally read that, I thought, what church in its right mind would get behind a film like this?  Then I discovered ads for the movie on two overtly Christian websites, with one (Christianity Today) offering movie devotions.  Movie devotions?  I am not making this up?  I stared at the screen for a few minutes in disbelief!  Why study the Bible when you can study about prayer from Bruce Almighty?  Getting upset about the movie is not the problem.  The problem is the utter lack of discernment and discretion in the greater Christian community.

 

As you may or may not know, many of the Christian publishing companies are technically not Christian, but are owned by much larger conglomerates.  These media powerhouses seek to target and exploit the Christian demographic, without care for the message, but with ultimate concern for the money.  Perhaps that explains why several prominent Christian recording artists (Switchfoot, Relient K, Jeremy Camp) were featured in a “Rock the Boat” concert associated with the film.  Many of today’s artists are owned by the same companies that produce today’s movies. 

 

Ethan Morris is understandably confused.  He said, “I’m a little surprised that the Christian community isn’t a little more upset in anticipation of this film. Bruce Almighty was an obvious mockery of the Scriptures and Evan Almighty is a blatant ridicule of a primary Biblical parable. While the film may try to offset the disparagement with lessons of humility and love, the contempt for some core Christian beliefs is still there.”

 

Sorry to disappoint you in our lack of response Ethan, we’re too busy watching concerts, having our movie devotionals and Evan Almighty Bible studies to get upset by a little blasphemy and obvious truth-tampering.  

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