In an earlier blog post, I wrote about my vision for a Christian ministry which would help numerous Christians and Christian ministries to more effectively communicate with other Christians, without being hindered by denominational or geographical boundaries. At the beginning of the article, I made it clear that I believed that such a ministry would help Christians to more effectively obey "the law of Christ" by bearing one another's burdens.
It seems to me that there is a special need for such a ministry in this time of extreme economic uncertainty and stress, from which many believers and unbelievers alike are suffering. I believe that we Christians have the resources to collectively meet such needs, especially here in America. However, it does very little good for us to have the necessary material resources, if we do not implement a means by which people in need can easily make connections with other people who are willing and able to help.
If I thought that the current methods of meeting such needs were adequate, I never would have made such a proposal in the first place. However, I believe that our current methods, while better than nothing, fall short of what is needed. My intention in making such a proposal was not to impugn good men and women of God. Rather, my intention was to do everything I could do to address the needs which were not being met, in a manner which would not only help me personally, but which would also help numerous other Christians.
One would think that godly leaders would be thrilled to learn that Christians such as myself wanted to launch new ministries which would help them to more effectively minister to hurting people. But that assumes that the leaders in our churches have a genuine desire to minister to such needs, and it assumes that the meeting of such needs takes precedence over the preservation of protocol in the minds of those leaders.
Unfortunately, the gap between the inspiring rhetoric often heard from our pulpits and the actual day-to-day realities in our local churches is sometimes wider than a four lane interstate highway. Like many of the religious leaders in Jesus' day, many of today's church leaders feel threatened by initiatives which are designed to empower ordinary Christians to be all that they can be. Perhaps such leaders erroneously feel that if Christians realized how much ministry could be accomplished without the direct involvement of their pastors, people would somehow feel as if their pastors were no longer necessary.
I find that incredibly sad. Such insecurity speaks poorly for the maturity level of such so-called leaders. The purpose of Christian ministry is to exhalt the name of Christ, not to exhalt the names of specific Christian leaders at the expense of other Christians. What's important is not who does the job. What's important is that the job gets done!
Please don't misunderstand the preceding statement. Obviously, it's important for ministries of all types to be led by people of good moral character. However, it's erroneous to assume that professional clergy are the only people who fit that description. In fact, based on an observation of the numerous scandals which have involved Christian pastors and leaders in recent years, it seems to me that our pastors and professional leaders might be well advised to collectively get their own acts together before they presume that they are uniquely qualified to do God's will. Misquotations of scriptures pertaining to "submission to authority" only serve to insure that such scandals will continue, by insulating such leaders from internal criticism in such a manner which insures that abuses of power are tolerated far longer than they ought to be tolerated.
People tend to think about blatant forms of active abuse (such as sexual molestation or adultery) when they hear about spiritual abuse, but neglect is also a form of abuse.
Jesus did not tell St. Peter to bully his sheep, nor did he tell Peter to neglect or ignore his sheep. He told Peter to feed his sheep. And who (other than God) is in a better position than the sheep to know whether or not they are being adequately fed?
Whose sheep were they? Peter's? No! They were (and are) Christ's sheep. The people of God are a stewardship from God. Pastors will be held accountable on Judgment Day for the manner in which they have dealt with the human resources entrusted by God to them.
Each and every member of the Body of Christ has an important role to play, just as it says in the book of I Corinthians. A church in which the majority of the people are passive spectators rather than being active contributors is an impotent church which deserves to recede into cultural insignificance. That isn't the way the early Christian church operated.
There is a need for clergy, and I am not by any means trying to undermine such leaders or to diminish the respect which is due to such leaders. But only Christ is entitled to receive our unqualified devotion and submission.
Furthermore, as I see it, "professional Christians" such as pastors have a moral responsibility to use all of the human resources at their disposal, by offering real opportunities to all of the Christians within their midst to actively serve God. It is not the proper role of a pastor to force each person who wishes to engage in ministry to "run the gauntlet" in order to demonstrate his or her worthiness to serve. Instead of automatically assuming that people who wish to engage in certain types of ministries need to prove their worthiness, such people should be given the benefit of the doubt (thereby treating them in accordance with the principles of the Golden Rule) unless there is solid evidence to suggest that they as individuals are unworthy. And even then, such people deserve the right to defend themselves against what may very well be false accusations. That, after all, is the way each one of us would wish to be treated.
Only when there are legitimate, scripturally defensible reasons for barring people from ministry (as in the case of people who promote heresies or live ungodly lifestyles) should pastors exercise such restrictive authority. Otherwise it's just a raw and self-centered demonstration of power, not a demonstration of the "servant leadership" exemplified and taught by Jesus Christ.
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, February 18, 2007
I Am Persuaded
When I first became a Christian by asking Jesus to forgive my sins, I was 13 years old. I hadn't even started high school yet. My commitment to Christ was heartfelt. But that was roughly 37 years ago. When I say "roughly", I don't use that word lightly. I've been through some rough times. Even now, I am going through some rough times, particularly in relation to my finances.
When examining the claims of Christianity over and over again throughout the years, I've sometimes had questions for which I was not able to immediately find satisfactory answers. But that has been equally true with regard to virtually all of the belief systems I've ever known about, including atheism and agnosticism. If there is a belief system which perfectly and completely answers every conceivable question, I haven't found that system yet.
From what I've seen, choosing which belief system to commit one's self to isn't necessarily a matter of finding the system which immediately answers all of one's questions, but rather, it's a matter of finding the system which makes the most sense overall. From a purely theoretical and intellectual point of view, I've never found any belief system which does a better job of explaining the realities I've observed in this world than Christianity. As for the fact that I still have unanswered questions, I think that that fact is attributable to my own imperfections, not to any inherent flaws in Christianity itself.
In any event, I think that the intellect plays a less prominent role in the decision making process than many people will admit, when it comes to matters pertaining to faith in God or the lack thereof. Intellectual persuasion is important, but those who rely solely on the intellect will never personally encounter the living God. In the final analysis, the only way to experience God is to surrender one's heart to God.
When things are going well, it's relatively easy to believe the Bible's claims to the effect that God loves us, and to the effect that God will take care of all our needs.
When one is going through trial after trial, it's a different story. During times of trial, one's negative emotions sometimes try to control one's life and to undermine one's faith. Some people succumb to those negative emotions. Others choose to fight back. Many who still struggle with their faith do a little of both. I'm probably in that last category, but I'm trying to move more and more into the category of those who choose to fight back.
I freely admit that there have been times when I've looked back and wondered if I made the right decision when I committed myself to Christ. After being confronted with evidence of abundant sin within the ranks of professing Christians, I have sometimes been tempted to question the credibility of the Christian message. I have sometimes been tempted to blame God for my problems, when things were going badly for me. I've been tempted to accuse God of failing to deliver on God's promises. During my worst moments, I've even yielded to that temptation.
But then I stop to consider the possibility that God might not have actually promised all of the things I would have liked for him to promise.
In fact, based on my reading of the scriptures, I can't help but notice that God promised some things which most people, including myself, would consider to be very undesirable. For example, Jesus promised that his followers would be persecuted, just as he was persecuted.
John 15:19-21 says, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me."
Jesus was very upfront with his disciples about the persecution they could expect to receive if they followed Him. That may very well explain why many of the earliest Christians willingly died as martyrs rather than betray their newfound beliefs. They could not claim that Jesus had promised them perpetually happy, painless lives on this earth. They knew better. In fact, the persecution they received may very well have served as confirmation that Jesus knew what he was talking about, and that they were on the right track.
Part of the problem I have sometimes had with the aforementioned verse is that it isn't always clear that one's problems do in fact constitute persecution related to one's faith. Often, it is difficult or even impossible to see any direct connection between one's Christian commitment and the unkind ways in which one has been treated by others. This is especially true when one is abused (or neglected) by people claiming to be good Christians.
However, I think perhaps that there are "surface reasons" why people act as they do, and then there are the real underlying reasons which they may not even be aware of themselves.
Ultimately, our real enemy is not any human being or group of human beings. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." In other words, Paul was talking about spiritual warfare.
How do demonic forces attack us? Sometimes they do so directly, in very obvious ways. Just as often, however, I think that their strategy is to persuade others to attack us. The people who are used by the Devil in order to attack us and undermine our faith are not always aware that they are being used for that purpose. If asked, it's doubtful that they would admit that they are motivated by any opposition to the Christian faith. In some cases, they might even claim that they are Christians themselves. And for all I know, they might be Christians.
I don't believe that Christians can be demon possessed, but I do believe that Christians can sometimes unintentionally act as instruments of Satan's will. If you don't believe me, consider that Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" to Peter when Peter objected to the idea that Jesus would be crucified in Jerusalem.
What I find particularly interesting about that episode is that Jesus had just finished praising Peter, moments before, for Peter's insight regarding Jesus' identity. And of course, Peter was the "rock" upon whom Christ later built the church. So the fact that one is a believing Christian does not necessarily mean that one is immune to Satan's influence. There is only one who can claim such immunity, and that's Christ.
Actually, I'm not even sure that it would be accurate to say that Christ was always immune to Satan's influence. After all, the Devil tempted Jesus in the desert. If there had been no real possibility that Jesus might have succumbed to temptation, then the fact that Jesus did successfully resist temptation would have been meaningless. Victory is meaningless if there is no real struggle. So rather than saying that Christ was immune, it would be more accurate to say that Christ was vulnerable to the Devil at one time, but Jesus was victorious in spite of his vulnerability. As a result of Christ's victory, our own victory is likewise assured, provided that we ally ourselves with Christ.
Just as Christ's struggle made his victory meaningful, so also it is our struggle that will make our ultimate triumph meaningful. And maybe that is a partial answer to the question of why God sometimes allows us to suffer. It's been said that nothing worth having comes easily. I think that's a bit simplistic, but certainly, some of the best things in life are unavailable to those who are unwilling to fight and struggle to have those things. If ever anything was worth struggling for, it would be an eternity in Heaven with Jesus. That's a goal worthy of pursuit.
Not that we are saved by works. We aren't. Ultimately, salvation is a gift, freely given, not earned. But it will only be given to those who endure to the end.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)
Anyone can start running in a race. But only those who persevere will win the prize.
If we have received Christ as Lord and Savior, we are headed in the right direction, but none of us can honestly claim to have "arrived" yet. That's one reason why it's so important to practice spiritual discernment moment by moment, even when dealing with one's Christian brothers and sisters, regardless of whether or not they occupy positions of leadership within the Church.
(That includes the things I write in this blog. I do my best to listen to the voice of God, but I'm just an imperfect human being, struggling to understand my own faith. If I inadvertently say something which contradicts God's word, feel free to ignore or discard what I say.)
How do we know the voice of Satan when we hear it? One of the most obvious clues is that what is said to us tempts us to doubt the legitimacy of the Christian message or portions thereof.
For example, God's word declares that even though we are sinners, we are of great value to God. God loves us so much that he died to set us free. Therefore, anything which causes us to suffer a significant loss of self esteem is a lie from hell, designed either to cause us to abandon our faith in Christ, or (if that is not possible) to immobilize us so that we are incapable of helping to advance the kingdom of God.
That's not to say that we are free to ignore legitimate criticisms or to dismiss such criticisms as "lies from hell". That's irresponsible, and it may very well constitute rejection of the voice of God in some cases. But even when criticisms themselves are valid, they can be used by Satan in order to alienate us from God. We cannot allow them to do that.
Romans 8:1 says, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Legitimate guilt is one thing. Condemnation is something else altogether. The former motivates people to strive for improvement. The latter motivates people to give up on faith or on life. That's the difference. The Holy Spirit often convicts people of sin, but the objective of doing so is never to hurt people. The objective of doing so is to set their feet on the right path.
If there is a voice in your head telling you that you are worthless, you can be sure that that voice is not from God. If you hear such a voice, get ready to do battle with the enemy of your soul. How? By speaking the truth from the word of God! "I am valuable. Jesus says so. He valued me so much that he died for me. So shut your mouth, Satan. I'm not listening to your lies."
We may wish that we were not involved in spiritual warfare, but the fact is that we are, whether we like it or not. Satan seeks to destroy every one of us, believer and nonbeliever alike. He doesn't really care how he does it. He has no scruples whatsoever.
It's a bit frightening to know that we have all been targeted by demonic forces who seek to destroy us. But there is positive news as well. The positive news is that God has not left us defenseless. Ephesians 6:13-18 talks about putting on the whole armor of God: The "belt of truth", the "breastplate of righteousness", the "shield of faith", the "helmet of salvation", the "sword of the Spirit", the "gospel of peace", and prayer.
Regarding our battle with the evil spirits of the world, I John 4:4 says: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." So it isn't just a matter of putting on external spiritual armor. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit actually have the power within themselves to be overcomers!
Galations 2:19-21 repeats that same theme: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
John 16:32-33 says: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Not "I will overcome the world". "I have overcome the world."
God's promise is not that our lives here on earth will be free of pain and suffering. The promise is that in spite of our pain and suffering, we will prevail, if we use the resources God has given to us and if we rely upon the Lord, who has already triumphed over sin and death.
How will we prevail over evil? "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)
2 Timothy 1:8-12 says the following: "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
I admit it. I sometimes fear that the trials of life will overwhelm me. I fear sometimes that I will abandon my faith because I just can't deal with those problems any longer. But when I meditate on God's word, I realize that it isn't about me at all. It's about God. It's not about my strength, it's about God's strength. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded.
If left to my own devices and my own puny strength, it's true, I wouldn't be able to handle the trials of life on this earth. I suspect that if you were really honest, you would have to admit the same thing.
Fortunately, God's message to me and to you is that he doesn't expect us to handle such things on our own! God knows we are weak. He's made provision for that.
Ironically, admission that we are weak is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength: Strength of character. When we humbly admit that we are weak, that's when we open the door to the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through Christ, we can do all things. (Philipians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.")
2 Corinthians 12: 8-10 says: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
There's a new movie coming out, entitled "Amazing Grace".
God's grace is truly amazing! It empowers us to do things we could never do in our own strength. God's amazing grace is sufficient for you and for me.
As I write the above words, I have to tell you that I'm writing to myself as much as anyone else. I'm no giant of the faith. I wish I were, but I'm just not. But God's strength is made perfect in my weakness.
I need your prayers, if you're the praying kind. If you're not the praying kind, I just have one question to ask you:
Why not?
When examining the claims of Christianity over and over again throughout the years, I've sometimes had questions for which I was not able to immediately find satisfactory answers. But that has been equally true with regard to virtually all of the belief systems I've ever known about, including atheism and agnosticism. If there is a belief system which perfectly and completely answers every conceivable question, I haven't found that system yet.
From what I've seen, choosing which belief system to commit one's self to isn't necessarily a matter of finding the system which immediately answers all of one's questions, but rather, it's a matter of finding the system which makes the most sense overall. From a purely theoretical and intellectual point of view, I've never found any belief system which does a better job of explaining the realities I've observed in this world than Christianity. As for the fact that I still have unanswered questions, I think that that fact is attributable to my own imperfections, not to any inherent flaws in Christianity itself.
In any event, I think that the intellect plays a less prominent role in the decision making process than many people will admit, when it comes to matters pertaining to faith in God or the lack thereof. Intellectual persuasion is important, but those who rely solely on the intellect will never personally encounter the living God. In the final analysis, the only way to experience God is to surrender one's heart to God.
When things are going well, it's relatively easy to believe the Bible's claims to the effect that God loves us, and to the effect that God will take care of all our needs.
When one is going through trial after trial, it's a different story. During times of trial, one's negative emotions sometimes try to control one's life and to undermine one's faith. Some people succumb to those negative emotions. Others choose to fight back. Many who still struggle with their faith do a little of both. I'm probably in that last category, but I'm trying to move more and more into the category of those who choose to fight back.
I freely admit that there have been times when I've looked back and wondered if I made the right decision when I committed myself to Christ. After being confronted with evidence of abundant sin within the ranks of professing Christians, I have sometimes been tempted to question the credibility of the Christian message. I have sometimes been tempted to blame God for my problems, when things were going badly for me. I've been tempted to accuse God of failing to deliver on God's promises. During my worst moments, I've even yielded to that temptation.
But then I stop to consider the possibility that God might not have actually promised all of the things I would have liked for him to promise.
In fact, based on my reading of the scriptures, I can't help but notice that God promised some things which most people, including myself, would consider to be very undesirable. For example, Jesus promised that his followers would be persecuted, just as he was persecuted.
John 15:19-21 says, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me."
Jesus was very upfront with his disciples about the persecution they could expect to receive if they followed Him. That may very well explain why many of the earliest Christians willingly died as martyrs rather than betray their newfound beliefs. They could not claim that Jesus had promised them perpetually happy, painless lives on this earth. They knew better. In fact, the persecution they received may very well have served as confirmation that Jesus knew what he was talking about, and that they were on the right track.
Part of the problem I have sometimes had with the aforementioned verse is that it isn't always clear that one's problems do in fact constitute persecution related to one's faith. Often, it is difficult or even impossible to see any direct connection between one's Christian commitment and the unkind ways in which one has been treated by others. This is especially true when one is abused (or neglected) by people claiming to be good Christians.
However, I think perhaps that there are "surface reasons" why people act as they do, and then there are the real underlying reasons which they may not even be aware of themselves.
Ultimately, our real enemy is not any human being or group of human beings. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." In other words, Paul was talking about spiritual warfare.
How do demonic forces attack us? Sometimes they do so directly, in very obvious ways. Just as often, however, I think that their strategy is to persuade others to attack us. The people who are used by the Devil in order to attack us and undermine our faith are not always aware that they are being used for that purpose. If asked, it's doubtful that they would admit that they are motivated by any opposition to the Christian faith. In some cases, they might even claim that they are Christians themselves. And for all I know, they might be Christians.
I don't believe that Christians can be demon possessed, but I do believe that Christians can sometimes unintentionally act as instruments of Satan's will. If you don't believe me, consider that Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" to Peter when Peter objected to the idea that Jesus would be crucified in Jerusalem.
What I find particularly interesting about that episode is that Jesus had just finished praising Peter, moments before, for Peter's insight regarding Jesus' identity. And of course, Peter was the "rock" upon whom Christ later built the church. So the fact that one is a believing Christian does not necessarily mean that one is immune to Satan's influence. There is only one who can claim such immunity, and that's Christ.
Actually, I'm not even sure that it would be accurate to say that Christ was always immune to Satan's influence. After all, the Devil tempted Jesus in the desert. If there had been no real possibility that Jesus might have succumbed to temptation, then the fact that Jesus did successfully resist temptation would have been meaningless. Victory is meaningless if there is no real struggle. So rather than saying that Christ was immune, it would be more accurate to say that Christ was vulnerable to the Devil at one time, but Jesus was victorious in spite of his vulnerability. As a result of Christ's victory, our own victory is likewise assured, provided that we ally ourselves with Christ.
Just as Christ's struggle made his victory meaningful, so also it is our struggle that will make our ultimate triumph meaningful. And maybe that is a partial answer to the question of why God sometimes allows us to suffer. It's been said that nothing worth having comes easily. I think that's a bit simplistic, but certainly, some of the best things in life are unavailable to those who are unwilling to fight and struggle to have those things. If ever anything was worth struggling for, it would be an eternity in Heaven with Jesus. That's a goal worthy of pursuit.
Not that we are saved by works. We aren't. Ultimately, salvation is a gift, freely given, not earned. But it will only be given to those who endure to the end.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)
Anyone can start running in a race. But only those who persevere will win the prize.
If we have received Christ as Lord and Savior, we are headed in the right direction, but none of us can honestly claim to have "arrived" yet. That's one reason why it's so important to practice spiritual discernment moment by moment, even when dealing with one's Christian brothers and sisters, regardless of whether or not they occupy positions of leadership within the Church.
(That includes the things I write in this blog. I do my best to listen to the voice of God, but I'm just an imperfect human being, struggling to understand my own faith. If I inadvertently say something which contradicts God's word, feel free to ignore or discard what I say.)
How do we know the voice of Satan when we hear it? One of the most obvious clues is that what is said to us tempts us to doubt the legitimacy of the Christian message or portions thereof.
For example, God's word declares that even though we are sinners, we are of great value to God. God loves us so much that he died to set us free. Therefore, anything which causes us to suffer a significant loss of self esteem is a lie from hell, designed either to cause us to abandon our faith in Christ, or (if that is not possible) to immobilize us so that we are incapable of helping to advance the kingdom of God.
That's not to say that we are free to ignore legitimate criticisms or to dismiss such criticisms as "lies from hell". That's irresponsible, and it may very well constitute rejection of the voice of God in some cases. But even when criticisms themselves are valid, they can be used by Satan in order to alienate us from God. We cannot allow them to do that.
Romans 8:1 says, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Legitimate guilt is one thing. Condemnation is something else altogether. The former motivates people to strive for improvement. The latter motivates people to give up on faith or on life. That's the difference. The Holy Spirit often convicts people of sin, but the objective of doing so is never to hurt people. The objective of doing so is to set their feet on the right path.
If there is a voice in your head telling you that you are worthless, you can be sure that that voice is not from God. If you hear such a voice, get ready to do battle with the enemy of your soul. How? By speaking the truth from the word of God! "I am valuable. Jesus says so. He valued me so much that he died for me. So shut your mouth, Satan. I'm not listening to your lies."
We may wish that we were not involved in spiritual warfare, but the fact is that we are, whether we like it or not. Satan seeks to destroy every one of us, believer and nonbeliever alike. He doesn't really care how he does it. He has no scruples whatsoever.
It's a bit frightening to know that we have all been targeted by demonic forces who seek to destroy us. But there is positive news as well. The positive news is that God has not left us defenseless. Ephesians 6:13-18 talks about putting on the whole armor of God: The "belt of truth", the "breastplate of righteousness", the "shield of faith", the "helmet of salvation", the "sword of the Spirit", the "gospel of peace", and prayer.
Regarding our battle with the evil spirits of the world, I John 4:4 says: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." So it isn't just a matter of putting on external spiritual armor. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit actually have the power within themselves to be overcomers!
Galations 2:19-21 repeats that same theme: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
John 16:32-33 says: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Not "I will overcome the world". "I have overcome the world."
God's promise is not that our lives here on earth will be free of pain and suffering. The promise is that in spite of our pain and suffering, we will prevail, if we use the resources God has given to us and if we rely upon the Lord, who has already triumphed over sin and death.
How will we prevail over evil? "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)
2 Timothy 1:8-12 says the following: "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
I admit it. I sometimes fear that the trials of life will overwhelm me. I fear sometimes that I will abandon my faith because I just can't deal with those problems any longer. But when I meditate on God's word, I realize that it isn't about me at all. It's about God. It's not about my strength, it's about God's strength. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded.
If left to my own devices and my own puny strength, it's true, I wouldn't be able to handle the trials of life on this earth. I suspect that if you were really honest, you would have to admit the same thing.
Fortunately, God's message to me and to you is that he doesn't expect us to handle such things on our own! God knows we are weak. He's made provision for that.
Ironically, admission that we are weak is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength: Strength of character. When we humbly admit that we are weak, that's when we open the door to the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through Christ, we can do all things. (Philipians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.")
2 Corinthians 12: 8-10 says: "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
There's a new movie coming out, entitled "Amazing Grace".
God's grace is truly amazing! It empowers us to do things we could never do in our own strength. God's amazing grace is sufficient for you and for me.
As I write the above words, I have to tell you that I'm writing to myself as much as anyone else. I'm no giant of the faith. I wish I were, but I'm just not. But God's strength is made perfect in my weakness.
I need your prayers, if you're the praying kind. If you're not the praying kind, I just have one question to ask you:
Why not?
Friday, February 16, 2007
Falling Between The Cracks
In the past few years, there has been much talk of "faith based initiatives" and the many ways in which the Church can do a better job than the state when it comes to helping the needy.
In theory, I believe that the Church is better equipped than the state when it comes to charitable works designed to help the needy. The Church was involved in charitable work long before most local, state and federal governments became involved in such work.
The governmental practice of avoiding anything even remotely hinting of religion has often meant that their hands were tied when it came to addressing the spiritual causes of problems such as criminality, drug abuse and teen pregnancy.
However, it would be false to claim that the Church always did a better job of addressing social needs than the government. In some cases, what the Church has to offer is really pretty lame.
I have been in a position in which I needed emergency help on more than one occasion, so I have had the opportunity to look into what types of help are actually available. Certain types of help have been relatively easy to find and procure. Other types of help have been considerably more difficult to obtain.
In this blog article, I want to look into at what types of help a person might conceivably need. I want to look at what the Church does right. I also want to look at what the Church could be doing much better.
FEEDING THE HUNGRY
Food is a fundamental need for all human beings. To their credit, many churches seem to understand that fact. Some support "soup kitchens". Others work with local agencies such as the Chicago Food Depository, in order to distribute food obtained from secular sources by means of food distribution centers staffed by church volunteers.
In neither case could it accurately be said that it is possible to obtain enough food to meet all of one's needs, but at least the churches do seem to be involved, to a greater or lesser extent, in feeding the hungry. In conjunction with government "food stamps" (which fairly easy to qualify for and receive), the programs offered by the Church can be sufficient to keep a person from starving to death.
That isn't to say that such programs are beyond reproach by any means.
For example, the scheduling is often done very poorly. Often, if a church has its own soup kitchen, that soup kitchen will only be open one or two days a week at most. If all of the soup kitchens would coordinate their schedules, then it would be theoretically possible for a person to eat every day of the week, just by going to different soup kitchens on different days. Instead, I've seen cases in which two or more churches will both schedule their soup kitchen days on the same day of the week, at the same time, so that it's literally impossible for an individual to benefit from both programs. Even though two or more churches are offering soup kitchen days, it may be that a particular needy person is unable to take advantage of all the help which is theoretically available, for the simple reason that the person cannot be in two places at the same time. That makes no sense to me.
Another thing that makes no sense is when a needy person has to spend so much money on transportation to get to and from a particular soup kitchen that whatever savings were realized by getting the free meal are lost by paying for the trip to and from the soup kitchen.
Here in Chicago, a round trip ticket on the bus and/or subway generally costs about $4.00. One can buy a good meal at McDonalds for that kind of money (if one drinks water rather than a soft drink). One can go to the grocery store and buy enough food for a good meal for that kind of money. (A meal consisting of ramen noodles and a can of chicken, for example, can be had for less than $3.00.)
If a poor person has $4.00 to spend, and if the choice is between walking next door and buying $4.00 worth of food (without having any related transportation expenses) or taking a bus trip across town in order to get a "free" meal at a church's soup kitchen, it may be a toss-up as to which is a better choice. In fact, in such cases, it often makes more sense just to go ahead and spend the money on the food, because doing so may take far less time. When one is looking for work, one cannot afford to schedule one's entire week around the schedules and locations of various soup kitchens.
Government food stamps are far superior in that respect. One can use them, regardless of where one lives, without having to travel halfway across town in order to do so. One might have to take a single trip across town in order to apply for such benefits, but once one has been approved for the benefits, one doesn't have to keep going back on a regular basis in order to receive those benefits.
The first thing the churches need to do, if they want to sell folks on the idea that they are as good at addressing the needs of the hungry as the government, is to create a similar faith-based program which is widely recognized by grocery stores and inexpensive restaurants throughout the city or region. Food vouchers could easily be issued by numerous churches which were all participants in an interfaith program, and the administrators of the program could then coordinate their efforts with private businesses so that the vouchers could be used almost anywhere, with obvious limitations on the types of food items which could be purchased. (No $30 steak dinners or $100 bottles of champagne!)
Vouchers could be obtained from any nearby church which was a member of the interfaith initiative, rather than forcing people to spend money on transportation in order to go get their food vouchers.
Another problem with many church soup kitchens is that they tend to operate on the assumption that the person being helped is able to be physically present at the soup kitchen at the time when the meal is being served. Who does that leave out in the cold? People who are struggling to get by on the small amount of money they're able to eke out of their minimum wage part-time jobs, that's who. If their employers schedule them to work on the same days and at the same times as the soup kitchens, then they have to choose between being fed or going to work. That's ridiculous. Offering meal vouchers instead would enable people to buy meals (even in fast food restaurants, if necessary) anywhere in the city, so that they need not choose between eating and working. The same comments are applicable to people who need to feel free to travel around the city in an effort to find work. It's hard enough to find a good job these days without being anchored to one region of the city during certain times of the day or week. A good food voucher program would mean that people didn't have to choose between being fed or going to job interviews in order to find jobs which would lift them out of their difficult circumstances.
Why doesn't the Church implement such a program? My suspicion is that the administrators of many church-based soup kitchens aren't really motivated primarily by a desire to feed the hungry. Rather, the food is just a lure to get folks in the door so that they can hear the gospel.
I have nothing against preaching the gospel. In fact, I wish that more people could hear the saving message of Jesus Christ. But I think it's morally inexcusable to offer charity with such strings attached. Listening to the gospel should be something folks do because they're genuinely interested in the message, not because that's what they're forced to do if they want to receive emergency help. My message to those who have to resort to such bribery to persuade folks to listen to their sermons is that they need to improve the quality of their sermons. Then the bribery won't be necessary.
Visit any soup kitchen and stand in line in order to get a meal. You will witness a strange phenomenon. Before and after the meal, when talking amongst themselves, many of the folks in line will be cursing a blue streak. But when the chaplain in charge asks everyone to pray, many of the ones who have demonstrated just moments before that they really have no deep regard for Christ will bow their heads and go through the motions of praying for their meals. Why? Because they know that it's expected of them. It's what they feel they have to do in order to get the help they need. This kind of a scenario breeds a type of insincerity which is spiritually injurious to those who are forced by their personal circumstances to play the charity game.
HOUSING FOR THE HOMELESS AND THE POTENTIALLY HOMELESS
Compared with what's available for people who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless, the food situation is relatively good.
Yes, there are homeless shelters. But take a look into how such shelters are actually operated, and you will quickly see that things could and should be done much, much better than they are.
First of all, most homeless shelters only offer a place to sleep at night. During the daytime, they're expected to leave and to take everything they own with them.
In the early nineties, I briefly looked into the possibility of staying at the Pacific Garden Mission, during a time in my life when I was seriously worried that staying there might be my only option. I discovered that they offered no storage whatsoever for one's personal possessions, during the daytime. If one had a suitcase full of clothes, one was expected to take that suitcase with one every day, when leaving the facility, because they would not store it for you in a locker or storage room during the daytime.
Imagine what a drawback it would be, when applying for a job, if one walked into the job interview carrying all of one's worldly possessions because one could not find anyplace to leave those possessions!
A properly operated homeless shelter would take into account the fact that people need storage for their possessions if they are to ever get back on their feet.
I'm not just talking about storage for the relatively limited number of possessions they can carry with them. Sometimes people become homeless solely because they cannot continue to pay their rent due to changing circumstances. Yet, they may already have a lot of furniture and other possessions for which they worked long and hard, back when they still had jobs. Having to throw those things away because there is no longer anyplace to put them can be heartbreaking and emotionally debilitating.
Some organization needs to offer free storage (for limited periods of time) to such people, so that they can survive without having to give away or throw away almost everything they own. That would even include parking for people who still own their own vehicles. Not having a vehicle can be a real liability when it comes to getting certain types of jobs (particularly when those jobs are located in the suburbs). One would not expect the Church to buy vehicles for such people, but at the very least, it would be nice if help could be offered so that such people didn't have to give away the vehicles they already owned! If every suburban church with its own parking lot set aside 5 of its parking spaces for such a purpose, it would make a huge difference in the lives of a lot of temporarily displaced people.
It would help even more if suburban families with extra spaces in their own garages or driveways would offer parking for those who had temporarily lost their own homes.
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Another drawback, related to most homeless shelters, is that they almost all operate on the assumption that any person who is homeless is in need of rehabilitation services. To someone in need of such services, that can be a blessing. To someone who is not in need of such services, it can be insulting and demeaning to be forced to participate in such a program. More to the point, forcing a person to waste time in a rehabilitation program which is not really needed by that particular person can actually hinder that person's ability to get a job, find a normal apartment and get back on his or her feet again quickly.
Certainly, it's true that people who are either mentally ill or addicted to drugs or alcohol are more vulnerable to homelessness than the general population, but it does not follow from that fact that anyone who needs emergency housing needs rehabilitation. The only thing wrong with some homeless people is that they lack homes and/or jobs. If one is evicted for nonpayment of rent, it doesn't necessarily mean that one is irresponsible. It may simply be that one has been trying, without success, to get a job. In some cases, it may even mean that one has a low-paying job but has not yet been able to save up enough money from that job to get caught up on one's rent.
A related problem is that many emergency housing programs are only available to people with problems with addiction or mental illness or specific "politically correct" physical illnesses such as AIDS.
I have no problem with the idea that such people should be eligible for emergency assistance. I do have a big problem with the fact that there are so few options for comparatively ordinary people whose only fault is that they have temporarily fallen behind on their rent because they cannot find work and they cannot qualify for unemployment insurance benefits. Why should preferential treatment be given to people who have failed to resist the temptation to engage in extremely risky behavior, while those who have successfully resisted those temptations are sometimes less likely to receive the help they need?
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Wouldn't you think that it would make more sense to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, than to respond to such homelessness only after the fact? I suspect that if you looked at the actual numbers, you would find that financial assistance which would help people to avoid eviction by helping them to pay back rent which they owed would ultimately be less costly than waiting until those people became homeless and then dealing with them as homeless people. Certainly, it would be far less traumatic for the people being helped.
I find it both sad and strange that many churches seem to be far more interested in financing missionary endeavors in far away countries than they are in helping people in their own neighborhoods in times of crisis. I have nothing against missionary work, but I also believe in the wisdom of the old saying that charity begins at home.
If a person in crisis cries out for help to a local church, and if those cries for help fall on deaf ears, then why shouldn't that person distrust claims to the effect that that same church is using its foreign missions money in the way that it claims that the money is being used? While it is true that donations to one's local church are not to be thought of as some kind of insurance policy, it is also true that churches which respond with indifference to the crying needs of their own people ought not to be surprised when those who have received such a response conclude that their churches don't really care about them, and when they respond to such indifference by either searching for more caring churches or abandoning the Church altogether.
In addition to the fact that local churches ought to offer emergency rental assistance programs so as to prevent people from ever becoming homeless in the first place, such churches also need to be actively involved in helping unemployed or marginally employed people to find work so that the need for such assistance is not a recurring need over a long period of time.
While it is true that some people who can work refuse to do so, it is presumptuous to assume that because a person is not currently working, that person does not wish to do so. Getting a job quickly is sometimes much easier said than done.
Even if a church has very little in terms of monetary resources, virtually every church worthy of the name has a telephone and a list of contact information for members, to say nothing of connections with other churches in the area. So what's to stop a pastor or church leader from getting on the phone and calling everyone possible to tell them about a particular person's need for help, and to urge them to pray about doing whatever they can do to help that person?
These days, many churches also have their own web sites. What's to stop such churches from using their web sites specifically for the purpose of making their members aware of specific members who are in need of help? What's to stop them from using their web sites for the purpose of appealing for help on behalf of those who need such help? It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that if it was obvious that they were actively working toward the purpose of contributing to the material well being of others, that would draw more people to their churches, and it would ultimately enhance their own prospects for success.
Most churches do have the resources to help people in crisis. The fact that churches seldom use their abundant resources for that purpose is a sad commentary on their lack of real compassion for the people who, in many cases, have made their ministries possible in the first place.
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One of the biggest problems I see, when it comes to church-based charities, is that those who are involved in such charities often use that involvement as a means of imposing their own views on the people they are helping.
For example, when I looked into the possibility of receiving help from Pacific Garden Missions, I learned that they were not content to merely require that participants in their programs attend their chapel services. They also mandated that it was unacceptable for participants to attend certain types of churches or to listen to certain types of Christian music (such as Christian rock music)! In short, it wasn't just Christianity they were forcing on others, it was their particular brand of extremely conservative Christianity that they were forcing on others. I even seem to recall that their was a provision in their policy handbook which stated that it was unacceptable for participants in their program to attend Pentecostal or charismatic worship services!
I couldn't help but think that if they were really convinced that their particular take on Christianity was the correct one, they would not have felt the need to force people to adopt those views (or to externally conform to those views for the duration of their stay) in order to receive the help they needed.
Homelessness is inherently humiliating for the homeless, even without adding in such factors. To be forced to temporarily abandon one's own personal convictions (about matters which genuine Christians often cannot agree upon) merely adds to that humiliation. For a person who has been a committed Christian all of his or her life to be told implicitly that he or she is a second class Christian and that he or she must temporarily pretend to hold altogether different views in order to qualify for help he or she needs is just wrong, in my opinion.
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Back in the early 90's, I was terrified at the prospect of having to stay at the Pacific Garden Mission --- not because I was too proud to ask for help, or even because I thought that some of their rules were ridiculous, but because it seemed clear to me that being forced to do so would actually make my situation even worse than it already was.
As it turned out, God delivered me from having to stay there. Instead, a Christian I met during that time of crisis invited me to live with him, his wife and his son in their suburban home in Lindenhurst, IL. He even gave me a room of my own, and fed me on occasions. He helped me to find a job, and allowed me to save a certain amount of money to be applied to rent at a new place before requiring that I leave his home. His name was John Speckman. His wife was Debby Speckman and his young son was named Johnny. John wasn't perfect, but I will be forever grateful to John and his family for taking a chance and reaching out to me with genuine Christian compassion. It saddens me that I have lost track of him. (He was an engineer for NutraSweet, in Mt. Prospect, IL during the early nineties when all of this occurred.)
I hope that if I am ever in such a situation again, I will be able to find similar help from another Christian. But what I would really prefer would be that God would materially bless me so that I could pass that favor on to someone else.
Even though churches often have many social programs these days, those programs simply are not adequate to cover every conceivable situation. They are often based on demeaning stereotypes which are not universally applicable to specific people in specific situations.
We need more individual Christians, like John Speckman, who will recognize the limitations of social service programs, whether those programs are church-based or government-based, and who will do whatever it takes to insure that no one who needs help fails to receive help.
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