The Christian Ear is a forum for discussing and listening to the voice of today's church. The Lord spoke to churches,“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Rev 2&3
July 31, 2014
Chopped
I recently heard a
sermon about “Salt and Light” based on Matthew 5:13-16. The theme of the
message was how believers can change the world. The accompanying illustrations were
examples we’ve all heard many times before, and they were being served to a seasoned
audience. I think many of our preachers could take a lesson from the Food Network
reality show “Chopped.” Four guest chefs are given a basket of 3-5 secret ingredients
and they must incorporate all the ingredients into a dish that is restaurant quality.
There chefs compete in three category rounds — appetizer, entrée and dessert,
using everything from pound cake to tuna fish. The contestants cannot expect to
win the contest if they simply put a chunk of tuna on a slice of pound cake and
serve it to the judges. Likewise, preachers should not expect to motivate mature believers by
simply telling us about the properties of salt and light.
July 30, 2014
What We Believe
As I visit churches and engage people in
conversation they often want to give me their denomination information, or send
me to a web site that explains what “we” believe. I’m now realizing I do the
same thing when I greet visitors at my church. It’s as though the
denominational information helps define the church character. However, telling
a visitor that my church is an independent Christian Church doesn’t really
reveal what we believe. I’m now thinking I need to change my introduction to
something more reflective of Jesus. So what do I
believe? The confession I made at baptism may be a good place to start, “I
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
July 29, 2014
Living Sacrifice
My neighbor’s cat has
expanded her territory and laid claim to a patch of grass in my backyard. Now,
before Bill can even mow the grass, he has to remove five dead mice and one
bird. Obviously the cat is not hungry; she’s just demonstrating her prowess on
a grass altar. It does give me pause to think that some of the things I place
on the altar before God are also dead. “Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Ro 12:1 NIV).
July 28, 2014
Unbecoming
A fellow believer boasts, and he has records to
back up the boast, that he is the most productive salesman in his field. Interestingly
he also publicly bemoans that some people in the business community are saying
negative things about him, which is hurting his business and reputation — and
he wants the comments to STOP! From the world’s perspective he might garner
some sympathy. However from a biblical perspective, God has faithfully and
abundantly provided for the man who, by his own admission, is successful. “A greedy
man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper” (Proverbs
28:25 NIV).
July 25, 2014
Reach Out and Touch
Our cucumbers are vining and they climb on
anything they can reach. The other day I had to laugh when the tendrils of one
young vine even reached out and put a strangle hold on an elm seed. I think sometimes
our evangelistic efforts, especially with family members, resemble tendrils. In
our zeal we forget what Jesus said about those who belong to Him, “I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (Jn
10:28-29 NIV).
July 24, 2014
Shall We Gather
Last Sunday I visited an
independent Christian Church and as I scanned their bulletin for the order of
service I read, “Gathering times: Sunday 9:00 am.” The reasoning behind
replacing the term worship with gathering gave me pause. Certainly there are
always changes in church terminology, but in this case I sensed a loss in the
spirit of worship; and I wonder if the Lord feels a similar loss. I thought of
the old hymn “Shall We Gather at the River” (1864), refrain:
“Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.”
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.”
To
me, gathering with saints is not the same as gathering with the saints in worship.
July 23, 2014
Welcome Mat
Last week a Jehovah Witness
showed up at my door and before he gained any traction with his ministry, I
turned the conversation around and told him about my ministry. I explained I was
going to every church in town in order to write articles about the various
worship services. He gave me the service times for the Kingdom Hall, but I
doubt he took me seriously about visiting. I had to laugh at the look of surprise
on Bill’s face when I showed up the following Sunday. My host understood my
visit, and that I was firmly planted in my own church, but I’m sure the other
members of the congregation thought Bill had landed a live one. I was not
prepare for the outgoing welcome given me by this group. Well over 20 people,
out of a total of 97, approached me to introduce themselves, shake my hand, and
ask where I was from. Much to my chagrin protestant churches don’t come close
to this outpouring of welcome.
July 22, 2014
The Media
The publisher of our local
paper is moving on to a new community and in his good-by editorial he says,
“Lastly, there’s always a place for an organization like a newspaper, to help
lead a community and make sure those who are in leadership positions are doing
what we expect of them” (Montrose Daily
Press, 7-20-2014). Interestingly, the Society of Professional Journalist
sees things a little differently in their four point code of ethics:
· Seek truth and report it honestly, fairly and
courageously.
· Minimize harm by treating sources, subjects, and
colleagues as human beings, deserving of respect.
· Act independently (free of obligation to any interest
group other than the public rights to know).
· Be accountable (abide by high standards; correct
mistakes promptly).
Sadly we believers do the
same thing when we put our own spin on God’s code of ethics. Our personal interpretation of God’s Word
should never change His clearly stated intent.
July 21, 2014
Making Disciples
I am somewhat dismayed by the
lack of greeting extended to visitors in the various churches. It doesn’t seem
to matter whether the worship service numbers eight or 300. My experience is
showing that extending a hand in fellowship is sorely lacking. I have to laugh
when I consider that the battle cry for many churches today is, “making and maturing
disciples for Christ.” I’m here to tell you that if we can’t even welcome
strangers into our worship, it’s beyond me that we think we can make disciples.
July 18, 2014
Press One
Once in a while I’ll have a
weak moment and respond to a political robocall. I suppose in the back of my
mind I think participating in such a poll gives me somewhat of a voice on the political
landscape. In a recent survey I went through the litany of political candidate
preference questions — press 1 for very positive, 2 for somewhat positive, 3
for no opinion, 4 for somewhat negative, and 5 for very negative. Then, taking
a strange turn the question was, “How likely are you to lease a car in the next
year?” Press 1 for …” I still have no idea if I participated in a political
poll, a marketing survey, or a combination of the two. Sometimes we approach
biblical instruction in the same manner as taking a survey — we don’t want to
be obedient to the Word, we simply want to weigh in and give our opinion.
July 17, 2014
Twisting the Truth
A Dear Abby letter writer (7-5-14) was in a difficult situation
because a friend asked her to read his self-published novel and then write a
“great” review to post on-line. There were many flaws and errors in the novel,
hence the dilemma. I was surprised when the communist advised, “Find SOMETHING
you liked about the book and mention that ...” Such reasoning might be
appropriate in a one on one friendship situation, but I question the wisdom of
such advice when it affects others looking for truthful reviews. Abby determined
that because the reviewer wasn’t a literary critic, her credibility wouldn’t
suffer. I’m reminded of the incident when Moses sent men to explore the land of
Canaan. Upon their return, “They gave
Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does
flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people
who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large” (Num
13:27-28b, 30 NIV). The first part of the report was accurate, but in their
fear they had to find SOMETHING to say. Immediately Caleb silenced the
people with the truth, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we
can certainly do it.”
July 16, 2014
Color Blind
Bill picked his first tomato
of the year and put in in the window sill to ripen a bit more. I admired the
yellow Brandywine, but he said with a sheepish laugh, “Yeah, that one I’ve been
keeping an eye on — and waiting for it to turn red.” It strikes me that many of us may be doing
something similar when we look at the Fruit of the Spirit, not only in others,
but also in ourselves. We often use the Fruit of the Spirit as a measure, or a
grade for righteousness. For instance if we lose our temper we equate it with
lacking patience and the need to pray for more patience. I’m now wondering
about a spiritual color chart and the fact that it is God assessing the
ripeness and He determines the color of the fruit in my life.
July 15, 2014
Soldiers of the Cross
Last Sunday I visited a church that is steeped
in ritual and tradition, yet offers both a traditional and a contemporary
service. The messages for each service are identical, but the music and
accompaniment set them apart; as does the attendance. I’m told that the average
attendance for the contemporary service is 80, but I chose to visit the traditional
service where, including the clergy, we numbered eight. The environment was an
interesting mix of peace and quiet — so quiet that I could hear the subtle page
turning of my own Bible. As the worship came to a close we sang, “Stand Up,
Stand Up for Jesus” and it brought to mind that whether we number eight or 80,
we are all, “soldiers of the cross.”
July 14, 2014
Mission Accomplished
Yesterday I attended Christian Science and the
entire service was structured around pre-scheduled readings. There were nine of
us present, but absolutely no introductions or visiting. The regular members
didn’t even speak to one another or ask, “How was your week?” The two ladies presiding over the service
were called Reader One and Reader Two. I can only describe their voices as
poetic monotone — the volume, pacing and rhythm remained constant. I was taken
aback because there was absolutely no personality in the presentation. At the
conclusion of the service I mentioned to Reader One that there seemed to be
lack of any identity in the service and ever as a leader her name was never
given. She was thrilled. Paraphrasing she said, “Oh, that’s good to hear. That
means we’ve accomplished our purpose. We want to be impersonal! We don’t want
anyone to hear or see our personalities, we want them to hear only the message.”
For me, it was the impersonal message that spoke volumes.
July 11, 2014
Examination
The guest preacher prefaced
the sermon by complementing the church on their reputation as an
intelligent congregation. I perked up thinking I would hear expository
preaching, but the message turned out more topical in nature. The pastor
shot out rapid fire Scripture references that only a seasoned believer could
capture, and I wondered about the novice Christian in the audience. If the
Scripture references flew over their heads, the only thing left for them to
capture would be the jokes, illustrations and stories. My thoughts turned to the
Bereans, “…for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11 NIV).
July 10, 2014
Avoiding Hypocrites
Recently I attended a toxic governmental
meeting and the air was filled with truths, half-truths and lies. Sadly, some of those making false accusations
are professed Christians and it gives me pause to see how easily they flip a
hypocrisy switch and go from witness to false witness. Experiencing such a
display of poor behavior leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and I struggle with how to respond to these folks when we again cross paths. David,
a man after God’s own heart, shares his solution in a prayer, “I do not sit
with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites” (Psalm 26:4 NIV).
July 09, 2014
Anyone Home?
When we built a woodworking
shop for Bill it freed up the garage and now, for the first time ever, I have a
place to park the car out of the weather. Recently a friend said, “I drive by
your house and think I’d like to stop in for a quick minute, but I can never
tell if you’re home. Are you parking in the garage?” I wonder if the same might
be said of believers when others pass by and see no evidence of the Spirit
being home. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self–control.
Against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23 NIV).
July 08, 2014
Balancing Act
I’m starting to see a pattern
of imbalance immerge in sermons, mediations, and church announcements. There is
often more filler — jokes, personal stories, anecdotes, and illustrations, than
there is text, or actual focus on the subject at hand. Certainly a message or information
can be enhanced by examples and even Jesus told stories and parables to
illustrate His message. However, we don’t hear Jesus bridging His thoughts by making
personal jokes about His relationship with the disciples or saying, “This is my
mother’s favorite passage of Scripture.” I’m wondering if the time set aside for
worship of the Lord isn’t being undermined by the many extemporaneous comments of
the day.
July 07, 2014
Bringing Out the Best
Yesterday I attended a church
that had a patriotic themed worship music. With robust and rousing enthusiasm
we sang all verses of, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” and
the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” It was not simply the words of the songs and
the tempo on the music that united the fellowship. There was no choir, no
worship team, and no assortment of musical instruments in accompaniment; there
was only one talented pianist and one strong, capable song leader. It has
literally been years since I’ve worshiped in a service where the lone worship
leader used his voice and hand signals, as though conducting a choir, to bring
out the best out of the audience.
July 04, 2014
Thank You for Your Service
Yesterday I attended an Eagle
Cane presentation for veterans. The walking canes, which consist of a hand
carved eagle head handle and lathe turned shaft, are the handiwork of local
carvers and wood turners. All veterans are eligible to receive a cane, they
simple need to fill out an application. Adding a personal touch to the cane,
the service member’s name, rank, branch of service and duty station are etched
into the cane. All of the presentation were touching, but for the three WWII
vets, who were unaware they were being recognized until their name was called, it
was an emotional event. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men
stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow
weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isiah 40:30-31 NIV).
July 03, 2014
Surprise Visit
As I talk to people about
attending different churches and reporting on their worship service, some of my
friends express concern about a church that may have an off-day on the day I
visit. For instance it wouldn’t be a normal Sunday if there were a substitute
preacher, a crisis in the congregation, or praise team members missing because
of the church camp out. Betty said, “You’ll just need to go back again and give
them another chance.” I had to laugh. I have a list of 74 churches to visit and
somehow I can’t see going back to each one until they have a normal service. I
suspect many believers use similar reasoning when they think about the Lord’s
return. They too hope it occurs on a normal day when their spiritual ducks are in
a row. Jesus said, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40 NIV).
July 02, 2014
Let Me Entertain You
When my grandkids visit and
there is a lull in family time they like to play video games on our cellphones.
I have to admit that the games come in handy if I have other things I need to
do like fix lunch or return phone calls. Recently during a worship service I
watched three children entertaining themselves on video games and I had mixed
emotions. I wondered if this was any different than my generation giving
children something to do to keep them busy during a sermon — books to read;
pencil and paper to draw with; crayons and coloring books. I sought an answer
from two reliable sources, 11 year-old David and 8 year-old Lydia. Both kids
agreed that there is a difference and viewed playing video games during worship
as a problem. David said, “There are so many games to play you would never even
look up to hear anything that was being said. You need to listen to at least some of the sermon!” Paul reminds us,
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s
will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 12:2 NIV).
July 01, 2014
Home Sweet Home
As I visit different churches I’m struck by the
connection, or lack of connection, I feel with the music selections. One church
sang only praise songs which were worshipful, but I’d never heard any of them
before. Another church sang traditional hymns, most I knew, but a couple were
unfamiliar. When we sang “Onward, Christian Soldiers” I was immediately
transported to a familiar place and I felt at home. My thoughts turned to folks
who’ve drifted away from the Lord. Hopefully they will find some sort of
familiarity when, and if, they hear the Spirit tell them, “Get up, take your
mat and go home” (Matt 9:6b NIV).
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