NEW PROJECT

I am working on a writing project that has me pretty excited. The beauty of this effort is that it promises to be useful for each aspect of the central trifecta of my current life: work, school, and my own personal interest.

It will show up on this blog in bits and pieces, no doubt, since I am finding it possible - more and more often - to multipurpose my writing. 

In short, this new project is an extended analogy which I have found useful in comprehending some basics of Christian theology - especially as addressed in the book of Romans. 

When I am finished, I will have a short book which will fulfill an assignment for my doctoral degree. But if it is good and useful, I plan to make it available to a wider audience than that single professor. 

Offering it as an e-book to people who support Mission Resource International would kill two birds with one stone. It would give me the opportunity to get feedback on a "real book" while also offering a "resource" to those who give to support our work in Ghana. 

I would love for our MRI financial partners to get even more out of their relationship with Mission Resource than the satisfaction of empowering the poor overseas to financially support themselves and their families. 

(Even though that is pretty awesome in and of itself.)

WORSE THAN "FAKE"

I don't know that it can be argued that our nation's media have worked to inflame racial tensions in recent years. It feels like the only legitimate debate is just how often they do it and how much their influence has affected race relations. 

Here's a despicable example from CNN's website just yesterday where they ran this headline:

"An entire North Carolina police department resigned after a Black woman town manager was hired"

Sounds like the police walked out upon hearing the city had hired a black woman, doesn't it?

In reality, they worked under this new town manager for two months before they resigned en masse: 6 police officers and 2 town clerks.

CNN provides several paragraphs explaining how little is publicly known about what happened during those two months and several paragraphs of townspeople speculating that maybe there was a racial dimension to the resignations ... but nobody knows.

And finally - all the way down in paragraph 17 - you get this relevant fact:

"Others in the community say they believe there is not a racial component to the situation due to the fact the previous town manager was a Black man. Some residents also cautioned against jumping to conclusions, saying they've always had a good relationship with the police department."

This is despicable journalistic malpractice. 

(Read the Article for Yourself Here.)

UNITY

Yesterday we joined a couple thousand people late for the dolphin show at one of the outdoor auditoriums at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. 

A man came out to hype up the crowd before the dolphins' appearance. He would play bits of songs from the 70s and 80s through the loud speakers and then encourage us to continue the lyrics whenever he cut the volume at key moments. 

I don't remember the last time I heard so many voices united so joyfully. From Sweet Caroline" to "Love Shack" to "We will Rock You", it felt like everyone knew every line. 

Three thoughts struck me:

 

1. Singing together is a powerful unifying force.

2. It was wonderful to see there are still some things that unite us as Americans, even if it is only belting out "Sweet Caroline ... bum, bum, bum ... Good times never seemed so good!"
 
3. By turning worship into a concert, the modern church has lost the dynamic of this vocal unification of the gathered people of God. 

And we aren't even aware of the loss because we decided the performance on stage was the most important part of singing praise. 

VACATION ENDS

We had a fantastic few days in Florida with our girls and Maxiane, a former student of ours from Haiti. 

Courtesy of Grandma Trudy's generosity, we ended our few days here with 12 straight hours at Sea World, walking here and there, eating non-stop, riding coasters, and watching the shows. 

And all around "making memories". 

Which is why I am posting pictures tonight rather than words. Got to get to sleep soon in preparation for a 14 hour drive back to Columbus tomorrow!

WORKING DOG

I was doing some writing today about Ginger and I was reminded of one of the funniest "cultural difference" lessons I learned in Haiti.

Americans can be weird about our dogs. We buy stuffed animals, soft beds, and canned food for them. We will wrap gifts for them at Christmas time and refer to our dogs as our “fur babies” and as "members of the family". 

It was not that way in Haiti.

Ma Lwi was a sweet Haitian lady who cooked for our family a few nights a week. As she prepared the meals, she would often set aside scraps of fat and skin trimmed from the meat. I knew she took those scraps home to feed to her dog.  

I will never forget the first time I visited her at her home. Her gate was made of metal sheeting and when I knocked to announce my arrival, a little dog in the yard raised a terrible ruckus. 

As Ma Lwi opened the gate to me, I said, “So this is your dog! What’s your dog’s name?”

Ma Lwi gave me a puzzled look and responded simply, “Dog”.

It had no name. It was an "it", not a "he" or a "she". 

The thought of giving a dog a name struck her as strange. As far as she was concerned, that dog was not a member of the family – it was there to work. It was the dog’s duty to alert the family to the presence of intruders and, preferably, to scare those intruders away. 

And for its trouble it was paid in table scraps, not affection.

SARCASM

In recent months, I have been told by both my children and my wife that I can be rather sarcastic. 

At first, I brushed it off: "Everyone is sarcastic."

But I was told that I, in fact, have a special talent for sarcasm.

It took a few repetitions for this to sink it. 

My family isn't being critical, necessarily. They are just pointing out a fact. 

But now I catch myself saying sarcastic things and I am slowly coming to realize that my family is right.

And I don't like it. 

As I have gotten older, the following thought pops into my mind now and then: "How do I want to be remembered?"

And I really don't want people standing around my casket saying, "He sure was a sarcastic sonofagun, wasn't he?" 

Ultimately, mocking others with sarcasm isn't loving. Not at all.

So if I want to remembered primarily as being a "loving" human being, the sarcasm has to go. 

*******

(I can't post these thoughts without the following note to wife and children: the sarcasm won't disappear over night.)

ROUTINES

At this point in my life, I have two key habits which bookend each day: after waking in the morning I study Scripture and before going to sleep at night I write something for this blog. 

Both are well beyond the threshold of the number of repetitions needed to establish "automaticity" - I no longer have to consciously "remember" to do either. Both feel like a natural part of the rhythm of each day. 

In fact, if I skip either one, I feel "off". Like the day is incomplete. 

Like something important has gone missing. 

It only takes a few days of vacation to realize how habits are built upon daily routines. Stacked one upon another. If the routines are disturbed, various habits crash, at least temporarily. 

Even basic habits. 

For example - I forgot to shave this morning. 

More importantly, my Bible study got squeezed out of place because I slept until 8:00 (after being up until almost 2:00 am last night). Then "vacation things" made demands on my morning.

It didn't feel quite right the rest of the day.

And I doubt it will happen two days in a row. 

This is the first time in my life that I can make such a claim about daily Scripture study ... with sincerity. 😉

VACATION START

This is what a good start to a few days of vacation in Florida looks like. 

Coffee with my wife as we watch the sunrise over the bayou at our friends' house in Pensacola. This was followed by a morning run, a wonderful breakfast spread, and some paddle boarding on the water.

3 Ps OF THE BIBLE

Speaking of poetry in the Bible... 

Recently I heard a teacher* caution students of the Bible against reading too literally any of the three Ps of the Bible:

Poetry

Prophecy

Parables

This teacher especially urged believers not to build doctrine on any of the 3 Ps. That feels like good advice. 

(It also feels like another strike against the doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell of all unbelievers. The core verses you will find people using to support that particular doctrine are found in Revelation's prophecies and in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.)

* I wish I could remember who it was! 😉

LITERALLY 2

I suppose one of the comforts of reading every last line of Scripture as literally as possible is that it simplifies everything. 

"God said it. I believe it. That's good enough for me."

We like things black and white. Cut and dry. 

But I would maintain that some words are meant to be read literally and some words are not.

The words of a history book are meant to be read literally.

But how does one read a poem literally?

(Did Emily Dickinson really believe that hope is "a thing with feathers that perches in the soul"? Literally?)

As for my friend who insisted that all Christians are required to believe that the creation of this planet took place in 6 literal days, I wonder if he ever looked carefully at Genesis 1. 

Have you? If so, would you say Genesis 1 is written in a style which is closer to "history book" or "poem"?

Poetry has:

• Vivid Imagery - like "the Spirit of God hovered over the waters".
• Repetition - like "Then God said, 'Let there be ____ ... and it was so'" OR "And God saw that it was good" OR "There was evening, and there was morning - the __th day". 
• And Rhythm - like 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day ...

I would maintain that one of the great attributes of poetry (and really anything not meant to be read literally) is that it forces us to think more carefully, to feel more deeply, and to ask more questions. 

And aren't those all things that God might hope to accomplish through His word to us?

(To be clear, I do not believe that ALL Scripture is to be read figuratively. You don't want to read something meant literally (like Christ's bodily resurrection) as being figurative any more than to read the figurative as literal. And - sometimes - "which is which?" might be up for debate.) 

LITERALLY

Jesus: "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

Disciples: "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." (John 11:11-12)

******

The more I think about it, the funnier this exchange gets.

Is this the first recorded incident of believers assuming every word spoken by God must be taken absolutely literally - and thus completely misunderstanding the message?

This reminds me of a friend I had in seminary who had a simple litmus test for who among us were "true believers": 

• If you believed the earth was created in a literal six day period - as Genesis clearly teaches - you were a Christian.
• If you did not, you were obviously not a true believer. 

And that's all there was to it.

(I said it was a simple litmus test ... I didn't say it was a good one.) 

BETTER YET

Max Roser at ourworldindata.org writes:

"The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. All three statements are true at the same time."

He illustrates this truth by looking at statistics on child mortality. 

Currently, worldwide, 4.3% of children die before their 15th birthday. 

"This means that 5.9 million children die every year - 16,000 children on any average day, and 11 children every minute." 

This is tragic. It is worth every effort to improve upon this situation. 

But historical perspective is helpful. And it may save us from despondency and hopelessness.

Historians estimate that before 1800, the rate was much closer to 50%.

When we consider that over the last 200 years we have seen the child mortality rate drop from 50% to 4.3%, shouldn't we pause and celebrate?  And THEN redouble our efforts to continue the improvements? 

It seems to me that the majority of present day "activists" for so many causes - both religious and secular - are blind to historical perspective. 

They seem incapable of admitting any progress whatsoever. Instead, they must constantly stir up society with "the sky is falling" rhetoric. 

It is exhausting. And, over time, it erodes so much that is good:

• The mental health of the young
• National pride
• And, ironically, the incentive to continue working at bringing change. 

THE LONG GOODBYE

Today was a long day. Caleb's graduation program began at 8:00 am - a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful summer morning. 

Pretty sure Caleb is in there somewhere:

Afterwards, we each wanted our picture taken with the man of the hour. 

Then he disappeared for a couple of hours, but by 11:30 or so, we got possession of him for the next 7 or 8 hours. 

Like yesterday, we worked at fattening him up a bit. Hamburgers for lunch. Pizza for dinner. Ice cream in between.

I don't know if others in the family felt it, but today was a bit sadder to me. Like a long goodbye. Tomorrow the military flies him to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for his internship.

I know that he'll be back home in a month, so it's not a goodbye for long. 

I guess the sadness came from reality smacking me upside the head today. 

You know - the bigger picture.

You see, after he has a handful of days at home in August, Caleb will be starting his senior year of college. And then? Well, he's 21 now and upon graduation from Wabash, he will be "stationed" somewhere with the military.

And only God knows where at this point. 

No more summers off.

I have no doubt HE is ready. But his mom and I? Not so much.

I am guessing this entire final year of college is going to feel like a long goodbye for Melissa and me. 

FORT KNOX

Melissa, Hannah, Sarah, Grandma Trudy and I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with our oldest, Caleb, as he is finishing up his time at Advanced Camp. His graduation is tomorrow and today was "Family Day". 

I don't know that I have ever been on a military base before - Fort Knox is an impressive operation. We weren't on the base too long, though - Caleb was anxious to get outside the gates and get some non-MRE food.

Melissa thinks he has lost at least 10 pounds. Ruck marching in the summer heat for a month will do that to you. 

So we fattened him up at a local Mexican restaurant and then went to relax at the AirBnB we are renting for the night.

The property sits on the edge of a golf course and after a while we wandered over to take a look at the grounds. We ended up getting a golf cart tour of the back 9 from a friendly old-timer who loved to talk. I think it was Caleb's presence that got us that opportunity. People are drawn to a respectful, well-spoken, sharp, young military type.

And that's as it should be. He's quite a guy. We are super proud of him and glad to have the opportunity to spend a few hours together today and tomorrow before he heads to Fort Bragg for a month-long internship. 

EMMAUS

I had the privilege of preaching this morning at the sweetest country church an hour and a half away from home. 

We had 6 for Sunday school and the same 6 for worship. (At least we didn't lose anybody in between!)

Their pastor moved to a different church a few weeks ago and they are uncertain of what the future holds for them. Please pray for them as they seek God's will. 

They have some great things going for them. They've got a well-kept building on the edge of town. Everybody was willing to pray out loud during the prayer time. And they share communion every Sunday morning - a good practice, in my opinion. 

And the members themselves were super sweet. It was obvious they care deeply for each other. I can think of few qualities more essential for an authentic church!

If the church were closer, I might be tempted to preach there on a regular basis until they can find a pastor. 

A BADGE OF DISCIPLESHIP?

In a sermon entitled "Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Third", John Wesley has this to say about Christians and persecution:

"The persecution which attends all the children of God is that our Lord describes in the following words: 'Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.' This cannot fail: it is the very badge of our discipleship; it is one of the seals of our calling. It is a sure portion entailed on all the children of God; if we have it not we are bastards and not sons."

This is strong language: 

• Persecution is "the very badge" of true discipleship. 

• If in living out our faith we are never persecuted, we are "bastards" rather than true children of God.

Does this rhetoric make us uncomfortable because it is over the top?

Or does it make us uncomfortable because it rings true?

"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." - Jesus in John 15:19

Have you ever been hated by the world for your faith in Christ?

22 YEARS

22 years ago today Melissa and I got married.

Tonight, I should be writing sweet and thoughtful things about my wife and how much I enjoy being married to her. But I am fighting yet another sinus infection and every thought has to fight its way through a brain clogged with molasses.

So I know I can't do Melissa - or my love for her - any justice at the moment. We will have to settle for a couple of cute recent photos of the two of us together in Nashville, Tennessee a few weekends ago for my nephew's wedding: 

I will say this: If we look happy together, it's only because we are.

We are blessed to be able to say that our marriage has only grown stronger and deeper over the years.

I do not take that for granted.

TUNING OUT

Are you among those consuming less "news" in 2022?

Axios published this headline recently: "News engagement plummets as Americans tune out".

Those are some serious drops in a year's time - fewer eyes on both internet and cable! Online interactions cut in half. 

Axios concludes: "Survey data shows Americans have grown weary amid what feels like a never-ending cycle of bad news."

I don't know, though. Haven't the lead stories always been "the sky is falling"?

For me, it is not weariness about bad news. I have tuned out more and more because I have concluded so much of the "news" is fictional. 

Call it "fake news" or "propaganda" if you like. What it boils down to is this: Most news articles now leave me with more questions than answers. And "fact checkers" don't help.

Most times, I don't feel any better informed by reading the articles than by perusing the headlines. 

How about you?

THE PRESENCE

When I was in my mid-twenties, I worked part-time as the youth pastor at my home church. It was the late 90s and having a "contemporary worship service" every Sunday morning was passing from being "a fad" to being "a must-have". 

My Pastor tasked me with pulling together a worship band. Even though I had no musical ability whatsoever, I knew the teens well and some of them were musicians. Plus, our new contemporary service was going to be aimed at the their type - young and hip.

The band came together fairly easily. We had a drummer, a guitarist, a keyboardist, vocalists, and - most importantly - a super cool bassist. Everyone seemed to enjoy learning songs that had never been played in that sanctuary before. 

After one of our early services, as microphones, the video screen, and musical instruments were cleared off the platform, our bassist, Gavin, sat on the communion rail and continued to plunk around on his instrument. 

To me, in that moment, Gavin was the epitome of cool and the up-and-coming face of the church.

Not everyone saw the same thing.

Every church has at least one "busybody" - the member who seems omnipresent and runs his or her mouth nonstop with either the latest church gossip or an opinion on the sermon, the song choice, or the holiday decorations.

Our busybody was named George, and when he saw Gavin sitting on the communion rail, he didn't see "cool", he saw something more akin to "blasphemy". 

Red-faced, he made a beeline for the Pastor.

Like a Pharisee of old, George asked a question he thought would trap the Pastor into addressing Gavin's sacrilege: "Can you tell me what parts of the front of the sanctuary are holy?" 

The Pastor's answer would have made Jesus proud: "The only thing truly holy in the front of this sanctuary is the Spirit's presence."  

BACK TO SCHOOL

I am excited to announce that Melissa is returning to the classroom!

For most of the last two years - since our return from Haiti - Melissa has been working as the director of the education team at Clarity. It was important work - overseeing the sexual risk avoidance curriculum in local schools and the team of educators teaching it. 

It was also stressful work. A large government grant brought opportunities to sharpen the program, but it also brought its share of tensions and demands. 

So, when an opportunity to reenter the kindergarten classroom came up a few weeks ago, under a principal Melissa knows, respects, and trusts, she was ready to get back in with the kids.

She is sad to resign from Clarity, but the classroom is where her heart is happiest and where her gifts shine. 

Those kindergartners are going to have a great year. 

So allow me to introduce Taylorsville Elementary School's newest kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Gross:

Melissa has been smiling this smile for two weeks now.

(Bonus: We will have health insurance again! 😎 )

WRECKING BALL

One time my dad was asked to join the Trustees Committee at a church where he was a relatively new member. If you're not familiar with church lingo, the Trustees oversee building maintenance and repair. And this particular church building was, shall we say, "historic". 

It had some serious issues and the cost to renovate was going to be more than a stretch for the tiny congregation.

Now, Dad was always a straight shooter and didn't hesitate to state his mind. He told the chair of the Trustees, "You don't want me on that committee."

The chair asked, "And why wouldn't we?"

Dad replied simply, "Because my answer to most of the Trustees' problems will be two words: 'wrecking ball'."

There wasn't an ounce of attachment in that man's body for any stained glass window, no preference over carpet color, and no desire to make a pew more comfortable. 

He was a rarity among church members, to be sure. 

ABSENCE

I had the opportunity to preach this morning at Hope United Methodist Church on Galatians 2:10, where Peter, James, and John send Paul on his way asking him only to "continue to remember the poor". 

It was my first time to be back in my mother's church since she passed away almost three years ago. 

I underestimated how it would hit me emotionally.

Melissa began wiping away tears as we sang the hymn just before I stood up to preach, and that couldn't help but trigger tears of my own.

If you didn't know my mom, you might not know that she had a powerful singing voice. It was one of her greatest gifts. So it was during the hymns this morning that her absence was most noticeable.

Even though it was painful, I loved hearing from the pastor and many church members this morning how much they miss my mother's presence. 

I do too. 

RILING UP THE CROWD

The 8th chapter of John, from verse 12 through 59, is a record of a long discussion between a large crowd (made up of disciples, Pharisees, and assorted onlookers) and Jesus. 

But "discussion" is too mild of a term. This was an argument. 

On His part, Jesus wanted to focus on the Father who sent Him, how the truth sets people free from sin, and how hard it was to convince them that He was sent by God. He said the reason they didn't recognize Him as the Messiah was precisely because they didn't really know God Himself. (Which was actually an even bigger problem for them.) 

Jesus called them liars and children of the devil.

The crowd's reaction varied greatly:

While "many" put their faith in Him (v.30), others asked, "Is he going to commit suicide?" (v.22)

Some flung slanderous accusations: "You are demon-possessed, aren't you?" (v.48)

The chapter ends with a good number in the crowd grabbing rocks off the ground, ready to stone Jesus to death on the spot!

Jesus "hid himself and slipped away".

If you read through the gospels with fresh eyes, you might be amazed at how much conflict, anger and persecution Jesus stirred up just about every time he opened his mouth to teach. 

When was the last time you heard someone preach a sermon so confrontive he had to sneak away from the pulpit? Have you ever?

THE RULE

    With my recent posts on a believer's responsibility to warn others about the wages of sin, I feel the need to clarify that I am not suggesting rudely shouting into other people's faces or shaming anyone. 

    When my wife and I lived in Pensacola, Florida two decades ago, there was some local church that encouraged its people to do "street preaching" - a practice which I am not against in theory. But these folks took the most offensive approach possible. They would stand on the corners of busy intersections and shout through megaphones, "GOD HATES YOU!" 

    Strangely enough, I never witnessed any passerby dropping to his knees in repentance. 

    Yes, our God distinguishes between good and evil, and He holds the wicked accountable. But He takes no joy in punishing sin. His wrath is an outpouring of justice. 

    Not payback. 

    Not hatred. 

    The Apostle Peter was a bit more restrained and a bit more positive with his megaphone:

 9"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells." (2 Peter 3:11-13)

As believers, we are expected to speak the truth, but the rule has always been - and always will be - "Speak the truth in love". (Ephesians 4:15.

I HATE TO TELL YOU ...

A few questions for believers to consider:

1. Is God holy and perfect in all His ways?
2. Does God expect us to be holy? To "go and sin no more"? 
3. Are not the wages of sin death?
4. Has He made a way through the death and resurrection of his Son for us to be reconciled to Him and to be filled with the Holy Spirit? To become a new creation through faith? 
5. Are we not to warn others that sin leads to eternal death?

If you are like me, you were nodding along with the first four questions, maybe giving an "amen!" or two. 

But then #5 gave you pause. "Wait a minute - It's not my place to judge other people!" And that is correct. We are not the judge. 

But that doesn't mean we can't anticipate the verdict. And then give appropriate warning before the Day of Sentencing.

In fact, giving warning is in the Believer's job description. It goes against every overly-tolerant bone in our modern American bodies, but it's true. 

Need to see it in Scripture?    (Good!)

In Ezekiel 3:18 & 19, The Lord says to the prophet:

If I (the Lord) say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you (Ezekiel) do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you (Ezekiel) responsible for his blood. But if you (Ezekiel) warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.

Ezekiel isn't responsible for the wicked man's response - he can't control that.

But Ezekiel is responsible for giving a warning. He is responsible for calling a sin a sin. If he doesn't, God says he will hold Ezekiel responsible for the man's blood!

If we take this seriously, this is a very hard teaching. 

SERMON PROJECT

It's midnight and I just finished a big assignment for one of my doctoral classes. I had to take a 650 page book containing 60 sermons from John Wesley and summarize his teachings on 21 different doctrines across those sermons. My final paper was 20 pages single-spaced. And now I am cross-eyed and ready to drop into bed. 

But I have enough energy to make one observation about this project before I sleep: originally I assumed this would be a rather fruitless exercise. But over the last few weeks - even though I disliked how it the deadline was always hanging over my head - I came to really appreciate Wesley's preaching and how much I personally could still receive from his sermons 250 years later. It's actually really good stuff and he is full of profound observations about Scripture. 

I plan to figure out a way to share some of the best bits here in the future. You, too, might be surprised. 

EXPECTATIONS

Years ago I sat in a small circle of teens and adults anxiously preparing to process the day's events. We were on a mission trip and the team was not getting along with each other too well. Much of the turmoil was coming from friction between the adults.

Our meeting was being delayed by one of these adults who had decided to take an evening shower - either not knowing or not caring that everyone else was waiting for her. As the youth pastor, I was not about to start our meeting without everyone present, especially when we were struggling with unity.

This stirred up the oldest member of our team, the grandfather of one of the teenagers. He grumbled loudly, "So ... we all get to wait while the princess takes her shower?"

I reminded him that as a group of believers we were called to love each other.

At this the old man snapped: "You can't expect us to LOVE each other!"

Nowadays I would have a much sharper rebuttal than I did in that moment.

I would say, Love is exactly what God expects from us. If our Christian faith does not move us closer to genuine love of God and self-sacrificing love for others, it is not the least bit authentic. As Paul told the Galatians, "What matters is faith expressing itself in love."

As it was, I slammed my Bible down on an empty chair and cussed a little.

Not my finest ministry moment. 

A 1ST CENTURY ARGUMENT

When Nicodemus (who had visited Jesus by night) confronted the other Jewish leaders about their willingness to break the law by condemning Jesus "without first hearing him to find out what he is doing" (John 7:51), they didn't have to think twice about their answer.

And their argument is so very modern:

"Are you from Galilee, too?" - Quite the snarky opening, huh? Calling their opponent's motives into question is a great place to start your debunk. 

"Look into it and you will find ..." - This is the original "Do your own research". 

"That a prophet does not come out of Galilee."  - Except Jonah had been from Galilee and he was a prophet. Plus, none of these guys had considered the possibility that Scripture may have predicted where the Messiah was born (Bethlehem) without saying where his family was living at the time of his birth (Galilee)! 

"We are 100% wrong and the matter is settled. Don't bother trying to change our minds." 

These guys would be right at home posting in a Facebook argument.

RELIGIOUS EXPERTS GONE WRONG

In John chapter 7, the chief priests and the Pharisees sent some of their temple guards to arrest Jesus. But after tracking him down and listening to him preach, the guards returned empty handed (7:45). 

The Jewish leaders demanded answers: "Why didn't you bring him in?"

The guards replied simply, "No one ever spoke the way this man does."

"You mean he has deceived you also?" (7:47) The leaders were disgusted.

Then, in verses 48 and 49, they reveal their thinking process: "Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law - there is a curse on them." 

The "Experts" had made their determination - they were unconvinced by Jesus. He definitely wasn't the Messiah. The common people needed to acquiesce and move on. Nothing to see here. 

Sometimes the experts are wrong. 

We are wise to remember that the experts are just as prone to prejudice as anyone else. 

INERRANCY

The Apostle John records some crowd dialogue in 7:25-27 of his gospel:

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." 

My Study Bible has this note: "Some Jews held that the OT gave the origin of the Messiah, but others believed it did not."

Some Jews were wrong and some were right. But all of them believed they were right in their own interpretation of what the Bible said.

When we settle on a "correct" interpretation of any Bible passage, a good amount of humility is called for.

And even if you believe in the inerrancy of Scripture (which I recommend!), we must never lose sight of the distinction between Scripture and our interpretation of Scripture.

The first is inerrant. The second is not. 

THERE'S STILL GOOD

If you are looking for a sign that there is still good in this world, here's a little pick me up:

My daughter has been working as a Cracker Barrel waitress for several months now. She reports that it is so common for some other customer to pick up the tab for servicemen and women that she doesn't believe that she has ever served a member of the military who has had to pay their own bill. 

That's nice.  

(She does wish that the kind and generous types who pay for the meals of complete strangers - military or otherwise - would remember to be kind and generous in adding a tip for the waitress who served the table! 😉)