The views from the massive mudslide that crushed a rural Washington state community are chilling: shredded homes and twisted cars. A county medical examiner increased the death toll to 29 on Wednesday; 20 people are still listed as missing.
More than 10 days after a large section of a rain-soaked hill crashed down on a neighborhood in the small community of Oso, teams with cadaver dogs are still sifting through debris and soil to determine exactly how many people died in the March 22 mudslide. (Associated Press) Horrible! An unsuspecting village buried by a mountain of sliding mud. Who would of ever thought that such a beautiful hillside could be so unstable...so deadly? Sometimes we wrongly assume security, because at the present time, "All seems wonderful, like the beauty of a sleepy mountainside!" We must always consider carefully what we are building our lives upon; without realizing it, we may be sitting ducks for destruction because "Erosion Happens!" It always happens, because it always rains. Where there is no bedrock, there is no certainty. If the foundation is not firm, built on rock or "Cement & Truth", erosion will occur, and your life may be destroyed. Just like the deadly slide of mud, I have seen presumed faith destroyed again and again and again; all because of erosion. Take for instance the popular movement in modern evangelicalism that first appeared about 15 years ago called the "Emergent Church Movement." Charismatic and compelling leaders like Tony Jones, Brian McClaren and Rob Bell generated enormous excitement by declaring they have found "A New Kind of Christian and Christianity." Wow, was it interesting. Personally I was really, really intrigued; I had to hear them out! I read many of their books, listened to a boat load of sermons online, and I even followed a blog site called "The Ooze." But I have to tell you, after awhile I was always left with more questions than answers. When I tried looking for answers, specifically concerning their doctrine and their approach to how they properly handle scripture; the only response I seemed to find from this movement was "questions are innocent & healthy; answers are manipulative and dangerous." As much as I wanted to, I just could not trust the foundation that they were building on . However, both the leaders and followers of the emergent movement didn't seem to care. "All seemed wonderful! Like the beauty of a sleepy mountainside." In the area of Michigan I am from, Rob Bell was undeniably the most compelling emergent personality and leader (even though he won't admit he ever was emergent). People from all over flocked to his church by the thousands. I will agree, the man can speak; he was and still is a true artist of rhetoric. But when I tried questioning his teaching; his followers, fans, and casual observers would cry foul. "I like him and what he has to say, and so do a whole lot of people. Have you seen all the cars driving around with 'Love Wins' bumper stickers? He must be doing something right?" My response, "Yeah but his doctrine...well...it stinks. His exegesis is weak. His foundation seems to be built on mud!" Do you know when you try to discuss theology, doctrine, logic, and sound ministry practices; there is a large group of people in the church who no longer care? They really don't like you pointing out foundational error; you see, people don't believe in erosion anymore. And they certainly don't want you upsetting the "Calm serenity of a sleepy mountainside!" But mud is still mud! 15 years ago the first raindrops of the emergent's bad doctrine began to fall, and it seemed like the mountain would hold. As the years went by, as arrogance and pride swelled, down came more and more rain. Well, I have to tell you, the mountainside has broken free . . .and it's a mess. McClaren and Jones have lost their platform and the audience they once had; and Rob Bell...well...you know what happened to him? See for yourself: http://www.christianpost.com/news/rob-bell-to-join-oprah-winfrey-other-handpicked-thought-leaders-for-life-you-want-tour-116902/ The real tragedy in all this are the people who are still caught in his and the post-modern emergent's mud. Still defending, still asking questions without looking for real answers. But we must remember, a solid foundation is a must (Luke 6:46-49); no matter how "wonderful" a new movement or compelling a man seems. Never forget, "Erosion Happens!"
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Would you like to always have things go your way? Do you want to win every argument? It is very simple: argue for all arguments to end. What this will accomplish is gaining the upper hand on your opponent by silencing them. If you can silence people your voice will remain the loudest. Get people to think any kind of dispute or argument is a bad thing, especially if people get a little heated or passionate when they disagree with you. Tell them it is a sign of immaturity to get angry and hot when arguing a point. If you can convince people of this, you have got them right where you want them. You see, argument can often be a very healthy thing. When an issue is of utter importance, or the consequences of a bad decision could be deadly, good people must raise their voice: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke) And when good men & women's voices are silenced, all manner of behavior is allowed and embraced. The loudest voices these days seem to be the groups who either want unrestrained freedom or total control. And when anyone ever disagrees with them, or puts up a reasonable argument that exposes their error, they push back by scolding, "We need more civility and less argument. People need to exercise tolerance and acceptance, not bigotry, hatred and division. What we need now is unity." What these two groups really want is for good people to "Shut Up!" And let me tell you, they are winning the day! Think about it, in all of life there is a need for healthy restraint: you don't want your kids eating, watching, and doing just anything. You teach them that maturity requires a healthy dose of self-control. Sadly, people who argue for healthy restraint in the public square are more and more labeled with a dark stain, and they are often called "repressive conservatives," "puritanical bigots," "closed minded hard-liners," and "everything phobic." And the most powerful label is to just call people who disagree with you as a "hater," and no one wants to be called a hater! So kind people simply shut up; and as a result all restraint is immediately taken away. The cry to be unified is the cry to be unified under complete and total allowance...no limits, no honest accountability. So really the argument for no argument is the most subtle form of strong arming ever devised When it comes to the church, we now need to embrace any new movement or cool teaching on God so we will be united. The person who howls at the moon, gets glued to the floor, or wants every traditional doctrine turned upside-down to embrace a new perspective and existential interpretation, must be allowed. Politics has the same problem; demanding no argumentation is allowing those in power to push through anything they want without the slightest bit of dispute. Even if we have already buried ourselves in debt, hey, let's keep borrowing -- and if you disagree you hate progress! If you let the truth be told, the desire for no argument opens the door for every sort of demon to have his day. What the world needs now is for a few good men and women to have the guts to push that door back...and keep it closed. I HATE (see I'm really a hater) to tell you, this is no longer easier said than done...but we still must try!
"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) I have..many times...let me explain: Being poisoned, especially accidental self-inflicted poisoning, is a terrible experience! One time I bought some peanuts from a grocery store in a bulk-barrel and unbeknownst to me, most of the peanuts in there were completely rotten on the inside. I didn't realize this until I ate about five of them and then I noticed a fuzzy green mold forming on the next one I was about to ingest. I wasn't too worried about it, until about a half-an-hour later when I started to sweat profusely with a throbbing headache, my stomach began cramping in horrible pain, and I knew I better quickly run to the nearest bathroom. "Yuck!" I never want to experience that again; eating rotten food is not good - - the poison does terrible things to your body. So does the poison of envy & jealousy - and you don't accidentally ingest this, because it is willful self-inflicted poisoning!
Are you a jealous person? Do you ever let envy get the better of you? Because if you do, be careful; if you do not stop jealousy and envy in its tracks, you will become spiritually sick! You will soon be filled with bitterness toward others, back-biting and slander will take over your conversation. And when your sickness gets severe, you may even start to blame God himself for your lack. It must be stopped! I am so jealous. I grew up being jealous, especially when it comes to my older brother. He was able to dunk a basketball, while all I could dunk was a donut in a cup of milk. He looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger with his shirt off; I looked like Arnold Horshack from the goofy TV show, “Welcome Back Kotter.” I then grew into being jealous. It became a normal pattern of thought for me as I watched the "cool guys" always get what they wanted at school. It seemed like the lecherous dudes always dated the pretty girls, they made the starting basketball team and always drove a brand new car. I think I am now growing old in jealousy. Even as a pastor I am not immune from this horrible disposition. I just can’t understand why people would leave "my church" (see how it makes you self-centered?) and go to another? Maybe... if I had a preaching voice like Chuck Swindoll, be as cutting-edge and funny as Mark Driscoll, I would have a church as big as Joel Osteen? I can’t seem to get away from my envy and jealousy, it follows me everywhere I go. Ugh! But this week in John 3:27, John says, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.” John wants us to see life as a play directed by God, where as writer, producer & director Jesus gets to choose which roles the actors are going to play. John wants to teach us that seeing life rightly makes other’s accomplishments and successes so much easier to take. Don’t get jealous, learn to accept and enjoy your role. One writer puts it like this, “The best antidote to envy and jealousy is the conviction of the sovereignty of God. The places, successes, and failures of our employments and endeavors are under the sovereignty of a wise God. It is extremely comforting to know that what one has been given or has not been given in one’s vocation is traceable not only to our abilities and disabilities but even more to the providence of God.” If God is for me, can I not trust his appointments in my life? Can I accept that God is also for others? If the answer is yes, I need to learn to rejoice when others rejoice. Contentment is born from a sure conviction that God knows what he is doing, and that his doing is good. "But every time I surf Facebook, go onto Pinterest, watch High School sports & even sit through pizza commercials on TV, everyone is happy! And if you were to look closely at my situation, well...I am a sad, hopeless, bucket of tired bones." Focus! Focus! God knows what he is doing..so let him do, and be content in his doing. It is the only way to avoid the long term effects of poisoning: spiritual nausea, better known as depression. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, and he will direct your paths!" (Proverbs 3:5-6) Have you ever faced a firing squad and survived? I have; it is called "An Ordination Council." This is where one lone man stands, a pastoral candidate defending his faith; while a host of veteran pastors try their best to stump the poor guy with perplexing questions on doctrine and deep theology: "Could Jesus have sinned? And if he couldn't have, than how can the bible say he was truly tested in every way as we are?" "If Jesus was God, uncreated and eternal, how can Colossians call him the firstborn of creation? And if Jesus made all things did he make himself when he was created in Mary's womb?" And on and on the mental wrangling goes, often with the pastors circling like hungry sharks smelling blood in the water...waiting for the exhausted man to falter. But every once in awhile, a kind-hearted pastor throws out an easy question to help ease the tension and give the candidate a chance to relax and breathe. My favorite question to relieve stress is this, "Tell me sir, what does Jesus mean to you!" At first, the man on trial is somewhat confused because this question isn't about the normal intellectually difficult topics they are expecting like election, atonement theory, or eschatological timelines; but rather it deals with the core of their faith -- the person of Jesus! It is always fascinating to watch a man tell you about the one he has completely given his life to: "What does Jesus mean to me? That's easy...everything!" "Jesus is my Lord, my friend, he is my King!" "Jesus owns me!" In a very clear way, this simple question will often tell you more about the true qualifications of a minister than his views concerning "The 5 points of Calvinism" or "How he approaches exegetical preaching" could ever reveal. How would you answer the question: "What does Jesus mean to you?" Is he your everything? Does he own you? Is he King? Biblical Christianity, at it's center, demands for believers to give their total and complete allegiance to Christ. The true truth (the cement) of reality lies squarely on the shoulders of Jesus. We so often argue in our neat Christian circles about the non-essentials, we waste years debating fine shades of doctrine, when all the while what really matters is "How devoted are you to God's dear Son?" I recently read a testimony by a brilliant man, Craig S. Keener, who was a dedicated atheist most of his life until he had a personal encounter with Jesus. Listen to his powerful statement: I was an atheist (largely for what I thought were scientific reasons), one of my central (albeit nonscientific) objections to believing anything about Jesus was that eighty percent of people in my country claimed to be his followers, yet most of them lived as if it made no difference for their lives...I reasoned that if I believed that there was truly a human being to whom I owed my existence and who alone determined my eternal destiny, I would SERVE that being unreservedly. When I encountered the risen Christ in an unsolicited and unexpected personal experience, hence came to the conviction that he (not to mention God with whom he was associated) was in fact alive, I understood that the reality of Jesus rises or falls not on how successfully his professed followers have followed his teaching, but on Jesus himself." Have you had an experience with the risen Christ? If so, do you serve him unreservedly? What I find interesting about this man's story is how he really was not adverse to Jesus based on reason or intellect, but his major problem was that he was fed up with the way professing believers lived their lives!!!!! When you boil all the arguments down, after all the years of reading, study, and all the denominational debates & semantics are finally laid to rest - - the only question that really matters is this, "How loyal are you to Jesus?" |
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