The Right Question

We now have as many as 82 people enrolled in our Experiencing God emphasis. Wow! I believe God will bless richly those folks who embark upon this journey together. Moreover, I am convinced God Most High (El Elyon) will use what we learn together to clarify His vision, His values, and His purposes for His church.

One of the first and foundational lessons we will learn together this week is that we must learn to ask the right question. We tend to approach the Creator King with the wrong question: “God, what is Your will for my life?” I confess, I often ask this question – many times every day, in fact – without any thought to whether or not this is a valid or worthy question.

Perhaps many of you, like me, do not immediately recognize the subtle error in our thinking this question exposes. So, let me add some emphasis to the question: “God, what is Your will for my life?” Do you see it now? It is an error of focus.

When we ask, “God, what is Your will for my life?” we make more of ourselves than we should. We are, in effect, asking Father to show us only a part of His will or to limit His purposes to our lives. This approach requires God Almighty (El Shaddai) to accommodate His magnificent will to our personal agendas. When seen in that light, it seems to me like trying to capture and contain the Infinite in a Mason jar.

Frankly, I am at a place where I don’t think I truly want God to do my bidding. I have been reminded this week how unimaginative and short-sighted self-centeredness makes us. I find the notion distasteful. How tragic it would be if all the King of glory ever granted me were what I believed would make me happy or satisfied or even successful in His kingdom. Honestly, being the best I can be and doing the best I can do seems hollow when I dare to dream of a higher perspective, a God-centered view.

Here then is the right question: “God, what is Your will?” Our focus needs to be on God, not ourselves. Instead of asking God to minimize His purposes, we should ask Him to maximize our capacity to participate in His purposes. When we ask, “God, what is Your will?” we emphasize His sovereignty, His primacy, and His majesty. We come closer to approximating the truth of Scripture as well:

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail (Proverbs 19:21, New Living Translation).

I would rather, after all, God accommodate me to His big, prevailing purpose than insist He squeeze or reduce His will to fit into my limited plans. Wouldn’t you?

This Experiencing God project is far more than a plan to take as many people as we can through the same workbook exercises. This is much more than an attempt to give as many people as possible some sort of spiritual buzz. Our focus is not personal blessings or deeper Bible study or even to strengthen our connections in small groups. Our aim is to see what God is doing, to hear what God is saying, to declare His truth, and to align ourselves with Him so that He can do His will His way through us.

This project represents our submission to discover and pursue together God’s will. What we discern together from God over the next three months will determine our plans in the near and distant future as a church.

I believe God. I believe He is Who He says He is. I believe He can do what He says He can do. I believe I am who He says I am (not who I think I am or who other people say I am or even who “the accuser of the brethren” suggests I am). I also believe God has brought us together for some God-sized tasks. Furthermore, I believe He does not want us to accomplish these tasks for Him, but He wants to accomplish them through us. So, I believe our task is simply to align ourselves to His will, His work, and His ways.

To these ends, then, we are about to set sail. Beginning with the message this morning, for the next 13 weeks we will give God our attention as we learn and put into practice the following seven realities of Experiencing God:

1. God is always at work around you.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

3. God invites you to join Him in His work.

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.

5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.

7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

WIll It Ever End?

Thursday evening I sat in my study and watched snow blanket my backyard for the umpteenth time this winter. Did I say winter? “For the love of Abner Doubleday,” I whimpered, “the Detroit Tigers are wrapping up their Spring Training and heading north to play their home opener in just two days! Will this winter ever end?!”

By Friday afternoon, the sun melted much of winter’s overnight deposit, and God used my impatience to teach me about hope. I thought of Robby and Teresa Green, who are about to be first-time parents. Her due date was last week, and several false alarms have surely taken their toll. In fact, Robby called Thursday night to say they were going to the hospital where her labor would be induced. Saturday afternoon, and they are still waiting. Their hope is nearer than ever before. I imagine, however, she has wondered a time or two recently, “Will this ever end?” Hope says, “The pain you experience now is minor compared to the joy you will soon embrace in your arms.”

Randy conducted the funeral service for his youngest sister Friday afternoon. Her family members, all devout people of faith, still mourn. They grieve, though, with hope – a hope that assures them they will see her again, and then forever. Randy reminded us all: “Life is short. Death is sure. Sin is the cause. Christ is the cure.” An unvoiced question, nevertheless, must burden their broken hearts: “When will it ever end – this waiting for reunion?”

More than a few of my dearest friends face stages of life now where pain and struggle are their constant companions. Some gasp for breath. Some grasp for moments of lucid thought. And some have willing spirits frustrated by bodies gradually shutting down. They surely wonder “When will this ever end?” But they rarely ask out loud. “Whiners never win; winners never whine.” My friends are winners who bravely press on informed, inspired, and empowered by hope. Yes, their suffering will indeed end, and then … glory!

Most times when I wonder “Will this ever end?” my concerns are a bit less substantial. Will winter ever end? Will my diet ever end? Will our church’s slumber and our nation’s cultural decline ever end? Will this economic recession ever end? Will wars and sickness and divorce and death ever end?

Last Sunday we celebrated Resurrection Day … fittingly, I now think, with snow on the ground. Snow melts. Winter breaks. Likewise, sin and suffering and death … die. How can we be sure? Because Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! So, hope reigns!

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1, HCSB).

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!
Pastor Rob

Christ Is Risen!

Tradition suggests that in the earliest days of the church, especially in those days when persecution was the rule rather than the exception, when believers met, they commonly greeted one another in this way. One would announce: “Christ is risen!” The other would respond: “He is risen, indeed!”

Over time, this salutation became known as the Paschal greeting. Today, as has been true for nearly two millennia, certain groups of Christians customarily welcome one another on Easter with this greeting. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!”

Whether or not this greeting was a security measure, a kind of code that established ground for safe and confident relations, it clearly identifies the non-negotiable essential core of our faith and our fellowship. More than our family histories, more than our nationalities, more than our political persuasions, more than our racial identities, more than our religious/denominational preferences, this truth defines us and the nature of our bonds. “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the linchpin, which, like the metal pin used to prevent a wheel from sliding off the axle, holds our spinning lives in proper association to the axle of truth. If the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, then, to borrow from Richard John Neuhaus, “it is, quite simply, the truth about everything” (Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus, 2000, p xi). If it is true, the resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals the truth about God, about man, about sin and death, about grace and mercy and love, about life and eternity, about … everything.

On the other hand, if the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not true, then we are of all people the most pitiful. So observed Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19.

… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith. ¹⁵ In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God … ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Therefore those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have placed our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

The enemy appreciates the vital, strategic nature of the Christ’s resurrection. For this reason, he works feverishly to stir up opposition to the facts. He must discredit the truth. So, from the very first Resurrection Day, arguments have been hurled against the evidence for the resurrection in vain attempts to discredit “the truth about everything.” The Jewish priests and elders bribed the guards to say Jesus’ disciples stole His body while they themselves slept (Matthew 28:11-15).

Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ so important? Space and time allows for only two quick answers here:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ affirms the identity of our Savior. He is Who He says He is. As CS Lewis famously asserted, Jesus is either liar, lunatic, or Lord. We cannot “come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to” (Mere Christianity, 1960, pp 55-56).

He is Lord of all! He is the one and only Son of God and God the Son. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ declares the capabilities of our Sovereign. He can do what He says He can do. He is indeed the resurrection and the life (John 11 :25). He conquered sin and death; He will surely empower us to do the same. He is indeed able to keep that which is committed unto Him against that final day (2 Timothy 1:12). He can transform us and fit us for Father’s pleasure and presence.

How can we know the resurrection of Jesus Christ is true? Space and time allows only just one suggestion here:

Did you know the Bible says we owe the people of the world an apology? Peter exhorts us “always to be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). The word translated “defense” is apologian, from which we get “apology.” It does not mean “I am sorry.” It means “defense” or “answer.”

Beloved, people need to hear a reasoned defense of the resurrection. I commend resources such as Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ to anyone who will honestly and with integrity invest in reasoned research, committed more to truth than to prove their agenda or to substantiate their preconceived notions. In his quest, he borrowed from his award-winning journalistic experience, much of it in courts, and identified 14 lines of evidence against which to investigate the claims of Christianity about Jesus Christ. His third section of the book focuses on “Researching the Resurrection.” Therein, he addresses four key questions often raised by skeptics themselves:

1. The Medical Evidence: Was Jesus’ Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax? No. Evidence proves Jesus died.

2. The Evidence of the Missing Body: Was Jesus’ Body Really Absent from His Tomb? Evidence proves the empty tomb.

3. The Evidences of Appearances: Was Jesus Seen after His Death on the Cross? Yes! Evidence supports many witnesses!

4. The Circumstantial Evidence: Are There Any Supporting Facts that Point to the Resurrection? Too many to list here!

“Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Let’s make this reality known to the ends of the earth until the end of time!
Pastor Rob

Zip-line to Glory

Several years ago, I led worship at a father-son retreat in Indiana. I cannot remember any of the songs we sang, a single message we heard, or even the identity of the keynote speaker. I do remember that weekend, however, as one of my all-time favorite weekends for one simple reason: I spent the weekend with my first-born son, Jonathan.

Three memories in particular stand out for me from that weekend: horseback riding, wall climbing, and, most notably, the zip line of death! The horseback riding was one of the two most satisfying rides of my life. (By the way, I have only been horseback riding two times!) The wall climbing was at once both one of the most proud moments of my life and one of the most humiliating. My shameful failure to conquer even the baby wall scarred me for life. Jonathan’s triumphs over all three walls – the beginner, the intermediate, and the master walls – impressed me to no end and fortified my perpetually growing joy that he’s my boy. I am so glad to be his dad!

My third memory relates to one of the half a dozen or so most powerfully existential experiences I have yet survived. In these intense moments, everything seemed to move in slow motion, except my mind. They are as close as I have yet come to out-of-body experiences because it seemed I was watching myself balance on the razor’s edge of time between the here-and-now and the hereafter. These are my peeks into eternity:

· The night when as a newly licensed driver I passed my first semi-truck on the slopes and curves that constitute the two lanes of US 50 between Brownstown and Seymour, Indiana. I was two-thirds of the way around before I saw the headlights of oncoming traffic leap over the rise. I still gulp and wonder how I made it through.

· The sunny Saturday afternoon when Donna looked into my eyes and said, “I do.” I did not fully grasp it then, and still have much to learn today, but I remember looking into her brown eyes and thinking something like, “Now it starts.”

· The events surrounding the births of each of our children are cauterized into my consciousness, especially the first time I held each child. “O Lord,” I thought, “Help us show them You.”

· The morning I lifted the head of my father’s vacated body in order to retrieve my youngest sister’s pillow for her. Dad was simply no longer there in that shell. I kissed his forehead anyway and whispered, “See you soon, Daddy.”

Add to this list the aforementioned zip line of death. Here’s what I recall. Picture a three-foot wide runway suspended sixty feet off the ground from a tower. Before we set our feet on the steps up to our appointment with destiny, our guides helped us strap on a harness and instructed us on the procedure to follow. I remember looking up and thinking, “That’s not so high.” Fifteen minutes later, I no longer held to that opinion as I sat on the ledge and felt the sway of our structure – an ominous lurch of some two or three feet back and forth which I did not notice from below.

Now I must make a point to tell you emphatically that I knew in my head that everything was going to be okay. We had watched several groups precede us. Everyone had survived. No one had been lost. I knew the harness and the cable and the hooks that secured me to the line were reliable. Bigger men than me had already successfully tested their mettle. Still, as I sat on the edge of the scaffold with a bird’s eye view of the ground and heard our instructor say, “Just lean forward and fall off on the count of three,” what I knew to be true was no longer any comfort whatsoever to my racing heart! I was about to die and nobody seemed to care or even notice! In fact, everybody, including my own flesh-and-blood, were grinning and laughing and whooping it up.

To this day, I do not know how I found the nerve to fall off that stand. I half-suspect that an angel nudged me over, or perhaps one of those twenty-something guides. I do know that not only did all the equipment work properly, but after the nanosecond of sheer terror when my weight left the structure for the zip line, the next 30 seconds or so were sheer delight. What a rush! The zip line of death was one of the most exhilarating and enlightening exercises of my life. It was worth it!

There is a message to my tale. The past few weeks have been saturated with hard news for many of the people I love. My brother-in-law’s dad passed away this week. Several members of our church family have received difficult reports from their doctors. Some of the sweetest, gentlest people I know now strain for their next breaths or find themselves exhausted after less than a dozen steps. And as they grapple with exhausting physical limitations, they also begin a more profound fight with their faith. More than one dear friend has confided in me recently, “Rob, I know heaven is my Home. I know Jesus has saved me. But part of me is still … afraid.”

I think of the zip line. I remember the strange mixture of confidence and terror. More than that, though, I remember the thrill, the adventure, once I left the ledge. Life has a way of bringing us to the edge of the ledge where faith and hope and confidence in the Unseen meet out dependence upon the slippery stuff of these shadowlands. The truth is, we would all be better people – better spouses, parents, siblings, children, friends, neighbors, and better Christ followers, if we learned to live the next five minutes as if they were our last five minutes (Thank you, Steven Curtis Chapman).

Let go of the ledge, beloved. Trust what we know by faith and His Word. Trust the harness of hope. Trust the cord fashioned by God’s love in Christ to carry you Home. Live for the zip line to Glory!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!
Pastor Rob

Conversations and Conversions

I have an awful confession to make, an especially odious admission for any self-respecting Baptist pastor. This is painful, but I must come clean. The terrible truth is I don’t have any wonderful airplane stories. Seems like almost every dynamic Christ follower I know has a suitcase full of testimonies about people who sat next to them on a plane, unsuspecting strangers whom God serendipitously dropped one seat over, whom the Christian leader then engaged in conversation, and whom they subsequently guided to conversion to Christ before the plane landed.

Oh, I have had my share of witnessing opportunities in the big blue yonder. I have met some fascinating people on planes, and have been graced to tell many of them about the life-changing power of Jesus’ love in my life. I have shared tray tables with self-absorbed but lonely businessmen, college athletes so full of the life right now that eternity is obscure and unintelligible to them, at least three young people moving to a new city to start their careers, one wayward son returning home to Mom and Dad and hoping to be reconciled with his ex-wife and his own young son, a young lesbian leaving her parents home and values to be her own person, and even the head coach for the United States Men’s Olympic Team – an enormous thrill and honor for a former gymnast like me. I have even had a fellow passenger try to lead me to Christ!

Still, for all the conversations I have had with people on planes, I have not successfully directed any of those conversations to the conversion of even one soul … yet (“Hope springs eternal”). I whimper to Father: “What’s wrong with me, Lord? Why do I seem so lousy at that which seems to come so naturally to my ministry heroes?”

My sense of failure is not limited to the airways. With my feet on sold ground, I regularly find myself in social contexts populated with folks who need to know Jesus. Many times every day, as I talk with bank tellers, teachers, coaches, store clerks, and neighbors, an eagerness rises in me to help them encounter God in Christ like I have. Consider these, for instance (their names and a few identifying details have been changed to protect their anonymity):

Chuck and Cindy are part of our soccer parent fraternity. In his fifteen years as a cop, he has seen a lot of life … and death. So, he would say, he has a realistic view of the world. I would say he has a more calloused, though friendly, cynicism. George and Kathy’s youngest daughter studies Tae Kwon Do with our son. They are generous and love to talk, so, while we watch our kids practice their kicks, we chat amicably … at least about everything except politics and religion. Jack was recently diagnosed with stage four cancer. Still relatively young and evidently strong, he and his wife refuse to think about death but prepare to beat the prognosis of 6 months to a year left. Ron looks for all the world like a successful young leader still selling millions of dollars worth of real estate. But he confides business is so bad he may lose his own home.

In each case I wonder how I might speak life into their world. Here’s some of what I know:

1. People do not get to heaven by slick conversational maneuvers. Most folks are too savvy today to be manipulated that way. Besides, God does not need earthly real estate agents to pitch prime heavenly property for Him. He does not want sales people but sold people. “Sales,” so to speak, is the Holy Spirit’s job, not mine.

2. People do not get to heaven because they are impressed with the person giving witness to the Gospel. I can assure you, when people learn I am a pastor, … well, that is anything but a conversation stimulant. When they learn I am a Baptist, a Southern Baptist, they generally take on the demeanor of a trapped animal frantic for any means of escape they can find or fabricate. My task is not to attract people to me but to Jesus. “I must decrease; He must increase.”

3. By far the most fruitful fields are the fields with which I am most familiar – my friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors (FRANs), the people who are already most familiar with me. Authentic relationships, friendships that do not make people our marks, are (as they have always been) the most fertile soil in which to sow the imperishable Seed.

4. We often seem not to be inspired enough or sufficiently motivated by our own connection with God to deem His promises worth the risk of personal rejection that may come if we invite other people to consider Christ. The solution: get to know Jesus better every day. The more we know Him, not simply know about Him, but truly and intimately know Him, the more marvelous and wonderful and inspiring we find our Savior’s love to be!

5. Everybody needs Jesus. Very few people think they need Jesus. But at some point, almost everybody we know will wonder if Jesus is really the only way to heaven. When the people who know me get to a place where they ask that question of themselves, I hope and pray and purpose to live my journey with Jesus and with them with such consistency and confidence that they think: “Hey, maybe Rob can help me with this.”

6. I am convinced that 99.9% of the people led to Christ by a conversation on a plane have actually been groomed for that occasion by the faithful service of believing FRANs who have been investing in them for some time already. “Paul planted. Apollos watered. God provided the increase.” If I will be faithful, I can trust God to be fruitful.

7. Success is not measured by how other people may or may not respond to my witness. Success is measured by my obedience to “preach the Gospel at all times and use words when necessary.”

Until we “fly the friendly skies” on to Home, let’s encourage and provoke one another to be faithful and fruitful!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!
Pastor Rob