Bible

Thanks, Bob…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

As a child I basically had three heroes. First was my Papaw (Willie Roberts). He was my mother’s dad. As long as I can remember he struggled with rheumatoid arthritis and was bed-ridden at the end of his life. He had an indomitable spirit, though. He never gave up. He persevered. He never complained about the pain. He just kept going, no matter what. 

My Papaw also showed me what grace is like. I think that’s because he had such a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. It was his faith in Jesus Christ that made his a generous soul. He didn’t have much when he died. That’s because he had pretty much given it all away–either to his children, to the church or to Jimmy Swaggart! I like to believe I inherited any generosity I may have from my Papaw. He was one of my heroes growing up.

The second of my heroes as a child was my Paw (Bill Malone). He was my father’s dad. He was a merchant all his life. He first owned a general store back in the days when a general store was a thing. His was a Walmart long before there was a Walmart, and when he died he still owned a hardware store in my hometown. 

Many of my days not spent in school were spent at either Malone’s Grocery and later Malone’s Hardware. He gave me my first “paying” job sweeping floors, stocking shelves and toting feed bags for customers. 

Any business sense I have (ain’t saying I have a lot) I learned from him. Working for him I learned about inventory and inventory control. I learned about accounts receivable and accounts payable. I learned how to negotiate with vendors.

Customer service? He had it down to an art form. He bent over backwards to take care of his customers. You better believe there wasn’t a customer who asked for an item he didn’t have more than once. If he didn’t have it when they asked for it, he made sure it was ordered and he would have it on their next visit. It was easy to walk around Malone’s Hardware and see unique items on the shelves and you’d think “Why would he ever have that in here?” Well, it was because some customer sometime had inquired about the item. He’d never be out of it again! He might not ever sell it, but by God, it was now in stock!

I like to think I inherited my work ethic from him, too. He was operating that old hardware store the very day he had the heart attack that would eventually take his life. He worked hard…every day…seven days a week. Yes, even Sunday found him at the grocery store (gotta’ check the coolers) or the hardware store (getting the order ready for Monday morning) working. Retirement wasn’t in his vocabulary. I’m not sure it is in mine either, but after all, retirement isn’t a biblical concept, so…

My third childhood hero? Bob Barker! Saturday, which was an otherwise good day I spent working turned bittersweet when I arrived home, sat down (to cool off!), checked Facebook and discovered that Bob Barker died. I’m not gonna’ lie. My childhood mornings, if not spent in school or at the store, would be spent watching The Price is Right.

I wanted to be Bob Barker when I grew up. Bob just seemed so friendly. He acted like he loved everybody. He was happy to celebrate when a contestant won a prize. And, the contestants absolutely loved him. Oh, and he was a snappy dresser, too. I was mesmerized by Bob Barker. I wanted to be the host giving away all those prizes. I wanted to be that snappy dresser. I wanted the adoration of those contestants. I wanted to be on that stage, under those lights, telling contestants to spin that wheel. Weird, I know, but it’s true, so…

It was so bad that I even asked for The Price is Right board game for a birthday present. I got it, too! I would get my cousins (Kevin and Angie) and I would force them to play so I could pretend I was Bob Barker, and I usually put on my “radio” voice when we would play the game. I’m sure they thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be like my hero.

Bob (I call him Bob because I felt as though I knew him) started his career in radio, so I thought that’s what I should do, too. At age 15, as soon as I could drive, I boldly drove to Jonesboro, LA, went into the local radio station (KTOC-AM & FM) and asked Ted Colvin for a job. He gave it to me! I started working nights and weekends as a DJ spinning country vinyl on the AM side, and at sundown (when the AM “went dark”), I would spin Southern Gospel vinyl on the FM until 10:00 p.m., when the station signed off. Spinning all those Southern Gospel records is probably where I got my love for quartet music.

I eventually graduated to the “big city” station in Ruston, LA (KXKZ-FM), where I worked weekends on-air. The pay sucked, but I loved every minute of it. In those days, we teenagers worked 8-hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday. Surely, if I stuck it out, I’d be on my way to filling Bob’s shoes.

As a companion part of the plan, I convinced my high school principal (Mr. Black) to allow me to enroll in vo-tech in Ouachita Parish because they had a curriculum entitled Television Studio Technology. My junior and senior years of high school, I’d leave Chatham High School at 11:30 a.m., make the half-hour drive to West Monroe so I could be in class by 12:30 p.m., when the afternoon session of TV Studio Technology commenced. Surely, I was on my way to becoming the next Bob Barker.

Did you ever hear this old saying? “Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans!” The Lord must have been laughing at me all the time because He sure had other plans. I met a girl! A girl I really liked, I liked her so much that I quit my job at the radio station because I didn’t have time to date her. I decided I would much rather be with her than spinning all those records on Saturday and Sunday. Oh, yes! She was worth it…and she still is! Yes, the girl I met was Vanessa. She’s the girl I married and am still married to, and I wouldn’t trade the life we’ve made together for any other plan I ever made.

God’s plan was for me to spend my life in ministry. I’ll have to tell you the story I’ve come to call “The Case of Divine Evaporation” sometime, but as I look back upon my life during this morning of reflection, I see God’s hand guiding all the way, and I know the Lord used those childhood heroes to grow me into the pastor and person I am.

Without my Papaw, I wouldn’t know grace, faith and perseverance. Without my Paw, I wouldn’t have known budgets, entrepreneurism and customer service (which all served me well as a pastor and now as a business owner). And, I have no doubt that my desire to emulate Bob Barker made me a better preacher, not in terms of theology or preparation, but in terms of presentation.

So, there! God gave me three great childhood heroes. He used them all to put me into His plan. I’m grateful for and love all of them. Now, I have to get ready for church. Bill Malone taught me to work seven days a week.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Sunday Morning Ramblings…

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I’m finding my appreciation for growing for bi-vocational pastors this morning, particularly as I have spent most of this early Sunday morning finishing my message for worship. I have over recent weeks reserved Sunday morning for blogging as a discipline, but the tenor of the week has not allowed me that luxury. We used to joke about the “Saturday night special” sermon, but the joke is on me with this “Sunday morning message” that I pray will preach well since I’m just now able to finish it. Here’s a great article on bi-vocational ministry.

Oh, and the blog, well, it’s just going to be rambling thoughts and that’s only because I need to maintain the rhythm because it is so easy for me to become undisciplined. Of course, it would be too easy just to post the sermon here, but I don’t think it’s a very good sermon and I wouldn’t want you to confirm that for me.

On the plus side, I have found a great place where reflection comes rather easy. It’s my back porch. I can honestly say that one of the best investments we’ve made in our home is the addition of the back porch. I’d much rather spend my time sitting out back (except when it’s 104 degrees) than watching another episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.

Again, let me hand it to all you bi-vocational pastors who have been doing it a long time. I applaud you! I’ve discovered that a bi-vocational pastor really has two full-time jobs (unless he/she is retired) because there is no such thing as part-time ministry. There is only part-time pay! Ministry is a full-time job regardless of circumstances. Kudos to all you guys and gals who have been so faithful over the years. I’m trying my best, but try as I might, some things just get missed in all that needs to be done. I’m just happy in knowing that failure does not have to be final. There is always the opportunity to start over.

So, here’s another random thought (not related to matters of faith–well, it might be!). Can we get Donald Trump to just go away? Yup! I just jumped right into politics, but the question has been on my mind for several weeks now. Yes, it has to do with his legal troubles.

Full disclosure for all you Trump fans out there–I voted for Trump. Twice! More transparency–if he gets the Republican nomination again, I’ll probably vote for him a third time, if for no other reason than a protest vote against the current administration, but I pray with every prayer I can utter that he doesn’t get the Republican nomination. Yes, I know his legal problems are mostly (mostly) politically motivated, but let’s be honest, the political motivation behind the legal troubles only help him with his base and do little or nothing to help with the independent voter who will likely decide the presidential race.

I get the sense that Trump is more interested in vindicating himself and exacting revenge on his adversaries than he is concerned about the direction of our nation. Nothing new there I suppose. He is a narcissist to the nth degree, but I also know it takes a good bit of narcissism to run for the presidency anyway. Trump’s legal troubles will prevent him from running any type of credible campaign and that is what our nation needs now more than ever–a competitive campaign focused on the issues facing our nation so voters can decide which direction our nation should go. Probably won’t happen, but a guy can pray, can’t he?

Enough politics for one blog (should pastors even jump off into politics?)…

Here’s another random thought: Love is not always love. I don’t care what the world says. If the world says “Love is love,” my first reaction is to say, “Let’s be more specific.” It’s on my mind because I’ve been reflecting on this passage from 1 John:

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

Yup, that passage deserves a lot of unpacking, but I don’t have time for it this morning. Worship beckons and I must prepare. Suffice it to say there are some things we shouldn’t love, and there is some love that is misdirected. Fanciful words and quaint phrases can be deceiving. They can be tools of the one we know to be the Deceiver. Let us be careful in the use of our turns of phrase. Let us be intentional in our use of words.

As I read back over this blog, I probably shouldn’t publish any of it, but hey, why not live on the edge? Just so you know…this my blog and any comments I don’t like may be summarily deleted! LOL!

I have more random thoughts, but I may have to save them for next Sunday. Depends on how my week goes and whether I get the sermon done earlier than Sunday morning.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Power in a Song…

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I write a bit hesitantly this morning and with a warning before writing further. You will discover in this blog a song and song lyrics that might be offensive to some. I am neither offended by the song, singer or lyrics, though I think the singer/songwriter could have chosen a few different words to express his angst. It is, however, his song so who am I to say how he should write it? Just be warned if you haven’t heard the song already, there is coarse language included.

The coarse language of the songwriter notwithstanding, I was captivated when I first heard the song. I was captivated by the singer’s soulful and passionate performance, by the quaint and unpolished setting and by the sheer honesty of the lyrics.

I came across the song quite by accident while scrolling YouTube. I often spend some of my early morning hours scrolling YouTube as a means of catching up on the news of the previous day (isn’t it wonderful to be able to watch TV on your own schedule?). When it popped up in my feed, the song had over 3 million views in only three days or so (for those who don’t do YouTube, that’s called “viral”), so I thought “Let me see what this is.” After hearing it, I understood why it was going viral (at this writing, it has over six million views in four+ days).

The song is entitled “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and it is written and performed by a young man from Farmville, VA named Oliver Anthony (for more of his music click here). It is probably hyperbole on my part to say this song has the possibility to be a generational anti-establishment anthem in the vein of John Lennon‘s “Imagine” or Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born in the USA.” At the very least, it has the capacity to make Oliver Anthony a wealthy young man, and to earn him a big recording contract with a major record label (it’ll probably ruin his music if it does, but that’s another conversation).

For all the lyrics, you can click here, but I’ll share the ones that hit me hardest or caused me to think the most.

Livin’ in the new world with an old soul…

Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony

Does that line ever describe me! I don’t recognize the world I’m living in. No more commentary is needed. The challenge I face is to live faithfully as a disciple of Jesus in this new world, and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all of us living in this new world.

These rich men north of Richmond, Lord knows they all
Just wanna have total control

Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony

Yup! We know he’s talking about the folks in Washington, and no it’s not targeting one side of the aisle or the other. It’s an indictment of all that is wrong with Washington, D.C., and there is really no difference in the political parties. Well, there is one difference: the rapidity with which they desire the change to take place. That’s all I’m going to say about that! Yet, still…I pray daily for all our leaders, especially those with whom I disagree.

I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere

Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony

Quite an indictment on powerful people whose attention was not directed in the right places (click here for more on that story–I’m on thin ice posting this video, I’m certainly not touching this subject).

Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare

Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds

Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony

Okay, so that’s funny! Of course, it’s funny because it’s true (says I as I take another bite of my fifth Golden Oreo)! The words resonate with me not only because I struggle with my weight, but also because they reflect the nature of the failed welfare state we’ve created. Some have sought to make the statement racial, but obesity knows no race or gender (have you been to the local War-Mart lately?). That we have an obesity epidemic in our nation has been well documented.

Young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground
‘Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down

Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony

Not only is obesity a crisis, but so is suicide, particularly among young men (see here). Yes, the problem is multi-faceted, but I have to believe that the loss of purpose among young men in our culture, and the fact that our culture tells them again and again that their masculinity is toxic must have something to do with the problem.

I believe it is past time for men of God to stand up, join together and teach a new generation of young men how to be Godly men. I have certainly failed in this regard, and I pray for strength and direction to chart a new course in being faithful to the succeeding generations of men. No offense to the women, but don’t you want Godly men sharing the journey of life with you?

My only issue with the song is that there was no hint of hopefulness in the message. As soulful as it is, it lacks any message that might uplift one to make a change and to know that life doesn’t have to always be that way. After all, followers of Jesus always have hope and we must always live as hope-filled people in a land where there seems to be no hope.

That’s enough commentary for one day and for one song. You can make your own judgment. You’ll like the song or you won’t. It will resonate with your or it won’t. I was moved by it. It proved to me again that there is power in a song.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Missing the Obvious…

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A friend shared a Wall Street Journal article with me this week that shared some alarming statistics if you’re concerned about the church at all. The point of the article is summed up in this paragraph (since it’s behind a pay wall–though you can set up a free account to read the article):

The percentage of people ages 39 to 57 who attended a worship service during the week, either in person or online, fell to 28% in 2023, down from 41% in 2020, according to a survey this year. This was the largest percentage-point drop of all age groups examined in the survey of 2,000 adults conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. 

Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2023

Yeah, I know. Just another study demonstrating what we already know–people are attending church less often. Yes, Covid-19 played a part, but it only accelerated what was already taking place. I wrestled with the phenomenon when I was serving as a full-time pastor, and I’ve followed the phenomenon since leaving vocational ministry.

The article points out some of the reasons that this particular age group is attending less often:

  • Raising kids
  • Caring for aging parents
  • Demanding jobs
  • Disillusionment

Those are the same reasons that existed pre-pandemic, so really nothing new is revealed in the article in that regard. I would add to the list more social opportunities and more expendable income make it easier to make other choices come Sunday morning. That, and the fact that it is no longer socially “advantageous” to belong to a church or faith community.

Yes, I know. Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of priorities. We make time for that which is important to us, but I think there is something deeper at work, and the responsibility lies at the doorstep of the church, not necessarily at the doorstep of the individuals who are making other choices. Let me see if I can explain.

I need to clarify what I mean by “the church.” I mean the institution and its leaders. I also mean denominations and non-denominational churches. I mean the organized body of Christ, and yes, I mean on the global and local level. The organized body of Christ, on every level, bears some responsibility in the overall decline in church attendance. How so?

A Matter of Trust

First, it is a trust issue. Let’s acknowledge that people in general have major trust issues with institutions these days. From government, to schools, to churches, people don’t have trust in the leaders of those institutions. Let’s not blame the people who aren’t coming to church for that loss of trust. Let’s blame the leadership of the institution (of which I’m one!). We failed the people. We failed our communities. We failed to live the values we’ve proclaimed. We’ve failed to live holy lives before the Lord and before others.

Now, settle down! I’m not calling out any one person or institution in particular. There have been (and currently are) many faithful leaders who show the love of Christ in meaningful ways, and who exhibit a depth of spiritual maturity we should all seek to emulate. I praise the Lord for those saints! All it takes is for one leader to fail, and that failure gets amplified and it erodes the trust of the people in the pews.

Here are some examples of what I mean: Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and more recently, Mark Driscoll and Bill Hybels. Though these are high-profile examples, the same scenes are played out on an almost daily basis in congregations around the nation.

Perhaps it is good that I’m preaching from Romans 3 today. It reminds me (and encourages me) that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:21 NIV). I need to be reminded of this fact. I am, after all, Not the Perfect Pastor! Still, our failures erode the trust of the people we lead. I have to remind myself of this often. The cure? Trust Christ and pursue holiness of heart and life.

Additionally, when the leadership in entire denominations begin living out values that do not reflect the values of the collective larger body, trust is eroded. Lack of integrity to the values the institution has codified erodes trust. When we erode trust, people figure, “What’s the point?” As examples, I point to the cover-up in the Roman Catholic Church during its sexual abuse scandal, and the United Methodist Church in failing to deal with gay bishops according to its own Discipline.

Individually and institutionally, trust is eroded. I’m not saying it’s all the fault of leadership, but it is our fault as much as it is the fault of those who are no longer showing up. Let’s just say there’s enough repentance to go around for everyone. Thank the Lord, there is enough forgiveness, too!

I also believe the sin of congregational and institutional leadership is exacerbated by our own unwillingness to hold each other accountable and to speak prophetically to the sin in our midst. I’m as guilty as the next. My guilt (or its acknowledgement) does not relieve me of my responsibility to lead with integrity in the body of Christ, and to “live a life worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1) I have received. There is a cure, though. Trust Christ and pursue holiness of heart and life.

Sorry! I spent more time on that topic than I meant to as I began to write. Moving on, then…

A Matter of Belief

There is another point of failure among church leadership that I think needs noting here. A community is formed when a group of people hold values in common. It is the values and beliefs that hold the community together. May I posit this point? More and more as the culture changes and exerts more influence on the congregation rather than the congregation exerting influence on the culture, we have failed to state definitively what we believe. When we don’t state openly and definitively what we believe, we’re subject to believing any old thing.

Let me be a clear as I can be (since we don’t get subtle): Too many churches don’t say the creeds anymore. When I say creeds, I mean the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. These two creeds connect us most closely to the early church and to the beliefs that formed the common community.

Recitation of the creeds on a weekly basis provides both a visual and auditory confirmation of the beliefs and values that form us and hold us together as a faith community. The church moved toward “seeker-sensitive” worship and contemporary worship that, in many cases, have forgone the creeds altogether. We, the leaders of congregations, led our people to embrace “buffet Christianity” to the detriment of the community of faith. That, my friends, is on us!

The community of faith needs a weekly reminder as it is gathered in a single place for a single purpose of the values and beliefs that define it. What it does not need is a weekly “make me feel good about myself” message so I can get through another week. The community of faith needs a message from God’s Word that confirms and affirms the values and beliefs that have defined it for centuries. Those beliefs are contained in the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Yes, it is Jesus Christ that defines the Christian community of faith, but it is what we believe about Jesus that will hold us together as a community of faith. Otherwise, I can believe anything, and if I can believe anything, why do I need the church/Church? As church leaders, are we missing the obvious?

Until next time, keep looking up…

The Pastor’s Heart or Prophet’s Voice…

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I’m approaching a milestone birthday, and no, I’m not going to say which one, but as it approaches I must confess that I’ve struggled greatly over the past few years with finding a balance between a pastor’s heart and the prophetic voice that is part of a preacher’s calling. The older I’ve gotten, the more I hear the prophetic voice dominating my reactions to things I see and hear around me. I find myself often wanting to stand up and shout, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

I often justify my reactions by the fact that one of my seminary professors many years ago said to me, “Lynn, you have the gift of prophetic utterance.” Then, he added, “That won’t often sit well with congregations you will serve. Find balance.” In recent years, I think I’ve lost that balance (if I ever had it).

I’ve actually probably never had balance. I’m going to admit that I’ve always tried to err on the side of the pastor’s heart. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, until I acknowledge the reason I did: approval addiction. I wanted to be liked more than I wanted to be obedient. I wanted to be a “successful” pastor more than I wanted to be an obedient disciple. The older I get, the more I realize that I need to call my own self to repentance. The older I get, the more I realize how much grace I need…and how much grace I’ve been shown. Helps to strengthen the pastor’s heart, but if I’m not careful it can quench the prophet’s voice. Lord, I need balance.

I think the prophetic voice is more predominate these days because I’ve been separated from the body of Christ. No, I haven’t left the church. I’ve preached plenty of times in plenty of places, but Vanessa and I haven’t called a single congregation home for a long time. I don’t count the two and a half years we served a small congregation (wonderful congregation, wonderful folks, good friends). It was where we attended worship, but time and distance prevented us (me) from investing ourselves in the life of the congregation in ways that form deep connections that nurture the pastor’s heart. That’s totally on me, not the congregation.

I admit. I was running a new business and I was investing way more time and effort in that enterprise than I was in nurturing the congregation. For that, I owe them a sincere apology. They deserved better. It was during that time that I sensed my preaching moving toward the prophetic voice, and I lost a sense of the pastor’s heart. See, if you try real hard, you can justify anything, but just because something is justifiable doesn’t mean it is justified. Then again, maybe I’m just getting older. Maybe it’s just that I’m suffering from GOMS (grumpy old man syndrome), and I don’t feel the need to be liked as much.

Of course, it could be that I look around me and see our culture and the church coming off the rails. I mean really, who would have thought…even 10 minutes ago…that we’d be having a cultural conversation concerning sex change operations for children? FOR CHILDREN! (<<<<<that’s me shouting in my most prophetic sounding voice). Or, that Congress would be holding hearings on the matter and having trouble deciding if it is “gender-affirming care,” or “genital mutilation.”

The prophetic voice in me wants desperately to shout that the practice of sex change operations for CHILDREN is getting awfully close to the Old Testament practice of child sacrifice. The prophetic voice in me wants to shout Genesis–

So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Genesis 1: 27 (NIV)

Let’s start the debate there and see where it leads us. There are just some things in this world that are immutable. Maybe we need the prophet’s voice to remind us.

Then, I remember when the pastor’s heart was more real to me, and I consider the circumstances and issues that bring a child and his or her parents to such a decision and I want desperately to show compassion and empathy and grace. I want desperately to understand what brought them to this place so that I might in some way be in ministry to them, to lead them to the Truth in Jesus Christ. And, I realize that can never happen until there is a deep relationship that is formed between us. That relationship can only be formed in the context of community…the community that is found in the church.

I need a church home. We all do, really. Without a church home, I know the prophetic voice will increasingly dominate my calling and I’ll continue to see the pastor’s heart diminished…for the worse, I think. For those who aren’t pastors/preachers, without a church home you’ll likely grow more cynical and self-centered (but maybe not) as you get older. Just another sign that we all need grace…and balance.

So, Lord, I’m looking for balance…balance between the prophet’s voice and the pastor’s heart. If it’s true that I have both, I don’t want to lose either. May the Holy Spirit guide us all to the place of full obedience so that we might be perfectly balanced in the center of His will.

Until next time, keep looking up…

God in the Dead Spots…

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The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

1 Samuel 3:1 (NIV)

You know what a dead spot is, right? It’s like cell phone companies spend millions if not billions of dollars erecting towers all over the country, but when you really need your cell phone, you can’t get coverage. A dead spot is that place where the signal doesn’t reach. 

Life can sure make us believe we’re living in a dead spot when it comes to hearing God’s voice. We face one of the four D’s (death, divorce, disease, disaster) and God can seem so distant. Fortunately, we have the promise of Jesus Himself–“and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NIV).

Apparently, the nation of Israel was living in a “dead spot” during a very transitional period in its history. Verse one of 1 Samuel says, “the word of the Lord was rare in those days.” The transitional time the nation was living in was the period between the judges and the monarchy. Yes, the nation had been ruled by Judges. You may remember some of their names: Gideon, Samson and Deborah (yes! a woman!). Others you probably only know if you’ve recently studied the book of Judges in the Bible. There are twelve chronicled in the book of Judges, and the end of the book of Judges best sums up the state of the nation of Israel “in those days”: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25 NIV).

Hope in the Dead Spots

Reading 1 Samuel 3 gives me encouragement and hope to know that though we may be in a “dead spot” God is still there and He is still calling. God is always present in the dead spots of life. The problem is not with God’s presence, but with our reception.

Let me shorten the story of Samuel for you. We read in 1 Samuel 1 & 2 that Samuel was born to his mother, Hannah, in answer to a prayer. Hannah was barren, so on one of her family’s annual pilgrimages to the Tabernacle, she offered a prayer for a child. The high priest, Eli, saw Hannah weeping at the door of the Tabernacle. She was crying because she had no child.

Eli joined Hannah in praying and God answered her prayer. In response to God’s faithfulness, Hannah dedicated Samuel to life-long service to God, and when he was old enough, she took him to the Tabernacle at Shiloh to serve with Eli, just as she promised she would do. Chapter 3 of 1 Samuel begins somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 years later.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3: 2 – 10 (NIV)

Reception Inhibitors

Samuel was having a hard time figuring out what this call was all about. He knew someone was calling him, but he couldn’t quite figure it out because they were in a dead spot. What might have been causing that dead spot?

The first thing may have been sin. Eli, the priest, was a devout and compassionate man, but he had problems at home. Actually, what he had was a couple of problem sons. His sons were in the family business—they were priests just like their father. Now, that’s not the problem.

Actually, Eli was of the priestly line of Aaron. Aaron was the first to wear the priestly mantle in the nation of Israel. That mantle had been handed down from generation to generation, so it was a natural progression for Hophni and Phineas to go into the family business. The problem was they soon discovered they could get rich off the offerings the people were making for sacrifices. They also enjoyed the companionship of the women who served in the Tabernacle. They were in the family business, but it was for all the wrong reasons.

Day in and day out, Samuel witnessed this leadership in the Tabernacle, and maybe Samuel didn’t expect God to speak in the middle of all that. Sin may have been creating a dead spot for Samuel as God came calling.

Another issue may have been weariness. Verses 2 & 3 say that the Lord spoke to Samuel before the Lamp of God had gone out. That simply means it was probably the wee hours of the morning when the Lord came calling.

You know how it is when you get suddenly awakened in the middle of the night. It takes a moment or two to get your wits about you. Perhaps Samuel couldn’t hear the Lord because he was just tired.

Perhaps anger or abandonment were creating a dead spot for Samuel. Think about this: Samuel had been left as a little boy by his mother…literally, right after he was weaned. She would only visit him once a year when it was time for the yearly sacrifices. How do you explain to a little boy year after year that he can’t go home with you after your yearly visit? It must have been confusing to Samuel, and confusion, as it often does can lead to anger. Maybe Samuel was just angry, and that anger was causing his inability to distinguish God’s voice.

Another issue we could explore is simple ignorance. Verse 7 seems to indicate there was a little ignorance involved. Samuel is young and he’s been around the Tabernacle for a long time, but he had never experienced God. He knew he could serve God, but he didn’t realize God wanted a personal relationship with him. He didn’t quite understand that God was a personal God who desired to use him in a special way.

Fortunately for Samuel, he was able to eventually discern God’s voice in the dead spot–and it changed the nation forever. Samuel would rise to become Israel’s last judge/prophet and would anoint its first two kings, including its most famous one, King David.

God is still calling out in the dead spots. God is calling people to the Kingdom…to salvation. He is calling people to healing and wholeness. He is calling people to reconciliation. How is our reception? A better question might be: What is blocking our reception?

Maybe it’s our own ignorance. Many of us have been around the church for a lot of years and have come to equate service to God with a relationship with God. We’ve heard lots of sermons, sung lots of hymns and even served in official capacities, but we never understood that God wants a personal relationship with us.

How do I know? Because that’s exactly how I was. I grew up in church…had a drug problem…drug from one church to another, but not until I was 27 years old did I realize that God wanted a personal relationship with me. I was ignorant!

Is anger keeping us from hearing the voice of God in our lives? Sickness or tragedy strikes us or those we love. We go through a bitter divorce. We lose our job and financial security. We’re left with questions and confusion. We get mad at others, and we get mad at God because, after all, God should have done something. Our anger may keep us from hearing and understanding the only thing that can bring healing and wholeness to our lives.

Perhaps we’re just too tired to hear God calling. We live in such a fast-paced world with families, jobs and social activities that we’re just worn out. Hey? We even get tired working for God. Why does God want me to do something else? It is possible to weary in well-doing, you know? In our weariness, we may miss the voice of God. Every day Jesus calls to us saying, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Then, again, it might be a matter of sin that keeps us from discerning God’s voice. Sin surrounds us, friends. It might be our own sin, or it may be someone else’s, but sin casts a dark shadow obscuring the light of God’s love. Whatever sin you or I may be struggling with, we can know God has built a tower in our dead spot. That tower is Jesus!

The Greatest Cell Tower Ever

I love what the writer to the Hebrews says: “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Jesus shed his blood to forgive our sins so that we might be reconciled to him and to each other. Friend, God is calling to us…calling us to salvation, calling us to wholeness, calling us to service.

Sometimes we need help hearing that call, though. Samuel would never have understood God’s call without Eli. That’s the reason the church is so important. The sacraments of baptism and holy communion make us aware of God’s presence, and the community (fellowship with other believers) is imperative to understanding and clarifying God’s call or His voice. God will use others to help us, and he will use us to help others so that we might all find our way out of the dead spots.

God is calling you, too. He is calling each of us to salvation and to service. But, He is not calling us for ourselves. He’s calling us for others, to help them hear His call in their lives. Are you living in a dead spot? It’s time to simply say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” Hear God’s call in a new way.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

Is nothing sacred anymore? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately as a result of a few items I’ve seen in the news recently. When I say “sacred,” I’m not speaking from the purely religious perspective, but in broader terms of the values and mores that define us (or once did) as a nation and culture.

I must confess that I am writing with a bit of trepidation simply because the news accounts touch on hot-button issues in our culture, and I run the risk of furthering the “partisan” divide that dominates our discourse and prevents us from having civil conversations and debates surrounding such issues. But, writing helps me process, so write I shall. You don’t have to agree with it. Heck, you don’t even have to read it. Just keep right on scrolling. You won’t hurt my feelings at all.

Defining the Sacred

When I speak of sacred, I speak specifically to mean that which is regarded with awe and reverence, and yes, there are things in our culture which should be (or used to be) regarded with reverence. I know that for something to be sacred means that it is set apart, holy or consecrated. Those terms certainly carry religious connotations, but the idea goes beyond the purely religious.

In the News

So, what has been in the news that prompted my thinking? The first news item was the reporting of the “Pride” month gathering at the White House back in June and the subsequent kerfuffles surrounding the prominent display of the “pride” flag at the White House (read about it here) and the trans-activist who exposed him(her?)self on the White House lawn (cautiously read about it here) during said event.

A second news item (click here for the story) that captured my attention was the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s release of guidance for “chestfeeding” of infants (read the guidance here). Okay, so it’s not really guidance on chestfeeding, but more an acknowledgment that men can produce milk and feed babies from their breasts–to which I say, “What?”

I thought surely I can dig deep to find the nuance of these events so as to arrive at a point that included everyone’s perspective, but the more I reflected, the more I prayed, the more I studied, the reality settled on me that no matter where I landed in my thoughts, someone was going to be excluded. The fact that anyone might be excluded is the very reason that nothing can be sacred anymore.

A Christian American

Let me preface this section with this statement: I am a Christian American, with the emphasis on Christian. I can acknowledge the danger in making that claim of slipping into a christian nationalism mindset. That fact notwithstanding, I believe it is possible to be both a faithful disciple and a strong patriot and I try desperately to be both.

As an American, I’ve always seen the White House as a sacred (set apart, consecrated) place to be held in awe and reverence. It is one of the places in our nation that symbolizes the values that define our nation. It is the people’s house, and as the people’s house, I no more want to see a “pride” flag waving there than I would want to see a Christian flag waving there (although a Christian flag would be more appropriate given the Judeo-Christian principles upon which the nation was built). The White House isn’t a place for any flag except the flag of the United States of America. To display ANY flag other than the American flag is to diminish the sacredness of the space.

And, the man boobs? Well, I never! So, I really don’t care if the President and the White House wanted to host an event for LGBTQI++++++ folks. He’s the President. Go for it, big boy. Do your thing. This is America. I don’t have to attend. I don’t have to like it. I can even speak out against it (this is America, right?), but for an invited guest to expose himself on the White House lawn is a bridge too far for me. It was an expression of utter contempt (udder contempt?) and disrespect for the sacredness of the space. No, there is nothing sacred anymore.

Then, there’s the whole chestfeeding thing. I’m sorry. Men are not women and women are not men. A man can look like a women, can dress like a women, can act like a woman, can live as a woman, but he is still a man. Follow THAT science. A woman can look like a man, can dress like a man, can act like a man, can live as a man, but she is still a woman. It is basic biology. Women cannot be men and men cannot be women, surgery and drugs notwithstanding.

I can remember a time when motherhood was sacred. Heck, even womanhood was somewhat sacred, given the woman’s ability to give birth, to be the source of life. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. The sacred nature of motherhood (and womanhood) is lost to the selfish whims and unnatural desires of an individual whose mental wellness can certainly be questioned. But, heavens, let by no means exclude them!

The Problem Before Us

And, therein lies the problem. The sacred is always a bit exclusionary. The sacred evokes a sense of awe, a sense of mystery, that points to something above and beyond itself, or above the person seeking to understand the sacred. In this post-modern, post-Christian world, we just can’t have that.

By rejecting the sacred, we can remove all restraints that hinder us. If nothing is sacred, then any behavior can be justified. If nothing is sacred, legitimacy to any lifestyle can be granted. I’m telling you, folks, losing the sanctity of motherhood (womanhood) puts us on a short path to ultimate evil. Write it down that on this day Lynn Malone wrote that men “chestfeeding” infants is the gateway to legalizing pedophilia. Hyperbole? I hope so, but I think not.

When a sense of the sacred is lost no one stands out, everyone wins a trophy and every passion is ripe for the fulfilling. Everyone must be equal whatever the cost. Every whim, every passion, every desire must be not only legitimized, but also affirmed. To do otherwise is to make someone less than, and we just can’t have that under any condition.

As a sense of the sacred is lost, we begin to replace the truly sacred with the ordinary. We see the elevation of the ordinary to places of sacredness–things like sports, entertainment and materialism. It’s not a huge step until “sin” becomes sacred and to call it out is to commit blasphemy.

I think it points to a larger issue that gets lost in our secular culture. We lose a sense of the sacred in society because we have lost a sense of the sacredness of that which is holiest. We fail to recognize that there should be things set apart for the worship and service of God. When we lose sight of the holiness of Jesus Christ it leads directly to the suppression of the sacred in daily life. We shouldn’t be too surprised to see it happen in culture. It has happened in the church, too. Perhaps it happened in the church before it happened in culture (see an example here).

Jesus is the Answer

Until Jesus Christ is exalted, until Jesus Christ is loved completely and adored genuinely, there can be no surprise that anything else will be viewed as sacred. Until Jesus Christ be high and lifted up, nothing is stable. Until Jesus Christ be worshipped and adored, nothing is safe. Until Jesus Christ be praised forevermore, nothing will be sacred anymore.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Staying Grounded…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Some of you may be wondering about the title of today’s blog—Staying Grounded. I’ve written about change the three previous blogs (click here, here and here to read those), and now I’m telling you to stay grounded? It’s hard to stay and change at the same time.

We’d prefer things “stay” the same but we know they don’t stay the same. Change is inevitable, and it’s imperative that we negotiate change in the most life-giving, constructive way possible. One of the ways we do that is by staying grounded. I did not say by staying still. I’m talking about staying grounded in those unchanging truths in which we find our being.

Joshua had one final task as the leader of the nation of Israel: to prepare them for the change from nomads and warriors to settlers and inheritors.

24 Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.

2 Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River,[a]and they worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac.

Joshua 24: 1 – 3 (NLT)

14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

16 The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For the Lordour God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 18 It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”

19 Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”

21 But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”

22 “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”

“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”

23 “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord.

Joshua 24: 14 – 25 (NLT)

It’s been seven years since the walls of Jericho came tumbling down after the people of Israel marched around it blowing trumpets and shouting. The rest of the book of Joshua tells us the nation of Israel spent those next seven years overcoming no less than 31 kings as they took possession of the land promised to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12.

Joshua, who has been the spiritual and political leader of the nation, calls the nation together one last time to worship and express gratitude to God before dismissing them to settle into their inheritance. Joshua is old now and he sees the need to call them to a special place for a special reason to give them a special message.

Grounded in a Special Place

Joshua calls the people together at Shechem. Shechem was a holy place in Israel’s history. Shechem was the first place given a name in the Promised Land. Shechem was also the place where Abram (before he was Abraham) built an altar to God who called him out of Ur, and it was also at Shechem that Jacob built an altar and buried idols under the oaks of Moreh. Calling the nation together at Shechem was sort of like a homecoming.

You remember homecomings, right? I remember growing up that both sets of grandparents anticipated their annual homecomings. Packing up the care with chicken pie and chocolate cake, fried chicken and banana pudding we traveled to New Prospect Church in north Jackson Parish, or to Zoar Methodist Church in the far reaches of south Jackson Parish. We arrived to greet old friends and family we likely hadn’t seen since last year’s homecoming, and those old folks would share stories and remember. 

Homecomings are places to remember our foundations and our beginnings. Through the sharing of our stories, we recall where we’ve come from, and we are put in touch with those people and places that have made us who we are. Homecomings are also a time to share plans and dreams for the future. Homecomings are a way for us to stay grounded as we face changing times.

The homecoming at New Prospect Church has long since ceased, but every year, I receive a reminder from the organizers of the Zoar homecoming announcing a clean-up day for the old church. Every May, we gather there to worship, and eat, and catch up, and eat, and remember, and eat. There are no regular worship services there. Those have gone the way of so many little country churches. I used to make excuses for not going to that homecoming. It used to be on Sunday, so I had a ready-made excuse. They moved it to Saturday but still few people come. It seems we younger generations don’t see the need to be part of those homecomings anymore. Perhaps that’s one reason we’re losing our foundations. We’re not staying grounded. If we are to know where we’re going, we must have a clear understanding of where we’ve been. Joshua called the nation to Shechem to help them stay grounded, to remind them of their past.

Grounded in a Special Reason

Joshua had a special reason for calling them back to this special place. It was in this special place that Joshua reminded them of the covenant God made with the people of Israel. Joshua took this opportunity to renew the covenant for the fourth time in the nation’s history. God made the covenant with Abraham back in Genesis. God renewed the covenant with Moses after the exodus from Egypt while there were at Mt. Sinai. God renewed the covenant a second time at Moab after the nation ended its wilderness wanderings. God renewed it a third time here in the book of Joshua after the nation won battles at Jericho and Ai.

Verses 4-13 of Joshua 24 recounts the history of God’s deliverance of Israel. From Abram’s call, through the lineage of Isaac, Jacob and Esau to the deliverance from Egypt, Joshua tells the story of the nation. From the wilderness wanderings to Balaam’s blessing, to the most recent victories over these 31 kings, over six hundred years of the nation’s history is shared in a few short sentences. 

The story is Israel’s story. Even though it’s Israel’s story, Joshua reminds the people that God alone is the actor. Over twenty times in these few short verses, God is the subject in the sentences. God is quoted as saying, “I took, I gave, I sent, I brought, I struck, I delivered, I made.” Three other times the word “he” refers to God. Six times God “gave,” five times God “brought out of,” or “into.” “You” is used only five times, and each time, it’s the direct object. Here’s your English grammar lesson for the day—the direct object is the receiver of the action of the subject. The point is clear: Israel’s story finds its significance only because of the gracious acts of God, not by means of her own strength. Israel’s story is significant because it is connected to God’s story.

Each of us has a story. Each of our stories are marked, each in their own way, by dramatic, though sometimes tragic events fixed in time. Our stories are important aspects of our spiritual lives, and they are important to God because He is the author and the director of our stories. But our stories never have full meaning and significance until we realize and remember that it is not what we have done, but what God has done for us. Our story becomes powerful only when we connect it to the larger story of God’s redemption, when we build bridges from our story to the Christ story, and the subject of our story becomes God instead of ourselves. 

The Apostle Paul reminds us of the crux of our story. Here’s where we find our grounding:

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2: 1 – 6 (NLT)

If we are to negotiate the tumultuous winds of change, it will be as we stay grounded in God’s story. Joshua called the nation of Israel to this special place to remind them of the necessity of staying grounded in God, who is the center of every story.

How do we do that? Let me offer one suggestion—the old hymns. They have much to teach us. We love the new songs. Many of them are great, but if we only listen to new songs it becomes too easy to divorce our present and future from our past. We lose our grounding. Singing in the early church was a method of learning…the story…and the theology.

Grounded in a Special Message

While they were gathered at this special place for this special reason, Joshua seized the opportunity to give them a very special message. “Choose today whom you will serve…” is the message Joshua delivered that day. There had been a problem with idolatry in the nation, and Joshua needed to remind them that to claim the promise of God meant they needed to remove the idols from their lives. Joshua asks plainly, “Will you serve the gods of your ancestors, will you serve the gods of the Amorites whom you are among now, or will you serve the Lord?” Then, he goes on to say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The key word in the text is “serve.” To serve means to work, worship, or perform. Work and worship are closely connected. Whatever we give ourselves to most diligently is the thing we generally worship. We are by nature spiritual creatures, and we will worship something because we were created by God to worship. If we don’t worship God, we’ll end up worshipping something of our own creation.

If we spend our lives worshipping money, or fame, or position, or celebrity, or work, or sports, or even family we will come to the end of our journey with nothing left to do but bow before those gods and worship, for we have spent all our time, and all our lives pursuing them. Those are not the places to stay grounded. Stay grounded in God through our work and our worship to God.

Serving God doesn’t mean we become involved in every Christian activity the church or the world offers. Serving God is something much more basic than that. First, our service is to be exclusive. We cannot honor God and serve other gods at the same time. Jesus made that abundantly clear in Matthew 6:24. 

Serving God means we remove everything that competes for our loyalty to God—money, success, perfection, education, family, and even Christian activities. All these are means to an end; they are not the end. Staying grounded means removing the idols from our lives because God requires our exclusive service.

How do we keep these things from becoming idols? Money? By tithing. Success? By focusing on the Kingdom of God first (Matt. 6: 33) and then the success of others. Family? Go to church together!

Secondly, serving God must occupy our every attitude. We must die daily to self, and that is sometimes a long, slow, painful death. We realize everything we say or do becomes an expression of our allegiance to Him. The way we say hello, the ways we acknowledge other persons, the way we respond to the least, the last and the lost reflect our relationship to Him. We serve God by caring, by praying, and by practicing hospitality. God, in Jesus Christ, died to redeem us. Let us live to serve Him. That is how we stay grounded in changing times.

We’re not always so good at living to serve God, though. Think back with me to the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam and Eve the command to guard and serve the Garden. It was the same verb Joshua used on this day. Adam and Eve found no idol in the Garden to serve, they bought the lie of the Serpent, and ended up worshipping themselves. What a failure!

Unfortunately, we know Israel’s failure through the years because we have the record of the Bible. More unfortunate still, we know our own failure. We get selfish, proud and competitive. We have our own goals and agendas and we don’t quite make ourselves available to serve God. We try to serve Him while holding on to the things we want. We live constantly between the tensions of two worlds, and the between the gods of those two worlds.

As it was for the nation of Israel, it is for us today—the choice is before us. Which will we choose? Thank God, we have grace and the Holy Spirit to guide influence our decision.     

Let’s return to the old saying, “The times, they are a changin’!” Our lives are constantly changing. Our culture is constantly changing. This church, too, is changing. Successfully negotiating these changing times means we must stay grounded by remembering our history, by remembering our place in God’s story, and by serving God with all our hearts!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Are You Sure About That?

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Mark Twain said, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” There are a lot of reasons we resist change, but one of the primary reasons is the uncertainty that accompanies change. We like clarity. We like certainty. The familiar is comfortable, like an old pair of shoes broken in just right. It’s easier to stay put than to move. But, there’s a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Life is meant to be lived going forward not backing up. For the nation of Israel, there was more promise ahead than there was behind. So it is for us, too.

Crossing the Jordan River

In Joshua 3, the nation of Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan River ready to cross over and inhabit the Promised Land. God has raised up a new leader in Joshua, and with this new leader there is more than enough uncertainty to go around. Here is a little of the uncertainty I suspect the people were dealing with:

  • “Joshua is a great leader. He’s won some battles for us, but he’s no Moses!” How many of you remember the 1988 vice-presidential campaign? Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas was pitted against Sen. Dan Quayle from Indiana. When asked about his experience, Quayle said he had as much experience as Jack Kennedy had when he ran for President, to which Bentsen quickly responded, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I was a friend of Jack Kennedy, and Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” I wonder if Joshua didn’t get some of that same kind of feedback as he prepared to lead them across the Jordon River.
  • Perhaps there was this uncertainty: “Is there going to be manna in the Promised Land?” Don’t forget. Six days out of every week, every month, every year for forty years the Israelites pretty much had one job—go out and gather manna. They had to wonder if there was going to be manna across the Jordon. (This is a good place to be reminded, there’s often a lot of good about where we are. It’s good to have manna, and sometimes all we need in that moment is manna, but the problem is we don’t really know what we’re missing.)
  • Maybe there was this uncertainty, too: “We’ve been nomads for forty years. We know how to move around. We know how to live in tents. Now, you’re asking us to become settlers. We’re not sure if we know how to be settlers.” (Personally, I resonate with this uncertainty. For 28+ years, Vanessa and I were nomads, moving every 3.66 years. Now, we’re settlers in our new home. It’s challenging! There’s a little uncertainty.)

Wouldn’t it be great if we knew the outcome for every decision we faced in life? What a gift to have a crystal ball that helped us look into the future to see what lay ahead of us as we stand at defining moments. But, we don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t know whether change will be for the better or for the worse, but because we don’t know doesn’t mean we don’t have to deal with the change brought by defining moments. Every change creates its own uncertainty. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our task is to respond faithfully to changing circumstances and changing times in ways that give life and testify to the Lord’s goodness, not only to changing circumstances in our own lives, but to changing circumstances in our world.

Uncertainty can keep us frozen. It can keep us from making decisions we need to make to move forward in life, and it can keep us from living into the fullness of God’s call and claim upon our lives. For forty years the Israelites had been frozen. The “Back to Egypt” Committee had quickly become the “Let’s Stay Here” committee, and without Joshua to lead them, they would have missed the blessings of the Promised Land. Joshua gave three specific instruction, and in his instruction, I think we learn a few lessons for our own lives in dealing with the uncertainty of life.

Joshua’s Instructions

Focus on God

First, Joshua instructed the people to focus on God. In the face of radical change, he focused the people’s attention on the certainty of God’s presence. We get stuck when we focus all our energy on the uncertainty of circumstances rather than banking on the certainties we already know.      

The people were given these instructions:

“When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. 4 Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer” (3:3b – 4).    

The Ark of the Covenant captured the imagination of my generation through Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Did you know there is a new Indiana Jones movie?

The ark represented the presence of God with the nation of Israel. Joshua’s instruction was a reminder that God was calling the nation forward. Stay connected to God. Keep your eyes on the ark. When it moves, you move. Go where God leads, for you want to be where God is. The Ark was a visible, tangible reminder of God’s presence. Joshua’s instruction was, “When you see the Ark move, you move.” That was his way of saying, “Stay connected to God. Go where God goes.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is the certainty we can bank on. He is faithful. Always has been, always will be. In changing times, in challenging times, in uncertain times we need to focus on Jesus. After all, life is God’s story. We need to be reminded that Jesus is the Changeless One amid all the changing circumstances. I love what the writer to the Hebrews says about Jesus Christ. He is, “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

 When we are anxious in coping with the change and uncertainty of life, there’s one reality we look for: Jesus. Where is Jesus in your story? Are you looking for that? Are you watching for Jesus? Do you ask how He might work in the midst of your life changes, especially when those changes are traumatic? Have you remembered the Lord at all? When we ask that question, we enlarge the frame of our life to include the only One who can help us.

In the midst of change, I think it’s key for us to “re-frame” the picture in order to include God in it. God doesn’t cause everything to happen, God doesn’t cause the tragedies that hit us, but God can redeem the worst circumstances if we have eyes and minds to see. None of our circumstances catch God by surprise. We wonder if God will be with us there. God is already in our future. God is already there. God goes before us making the way. We Wesleyans call that “prevenient grace.”

Prepare Ourselves

Secondly, Joshua instructs the people to prepare themselves—to get themselves ready. Verse 5 says: “Then Joshua told the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you’.”

The Hebrew word translated “Purify” is “qadash” which means “to be set apart/ consecrated.” The command was the same Moses gave the people back on the other side of the desert some 40 years before as God prepared to give the 10 Commandments. It was a way of saying, “Get ready for what God’s about to do among you.”

It was also Joshua’s way of connecting the people to their heritage. Joshua was able to call upon the past to affirm the leadership that preceded him, and us it move the nation forward. But, it was also necessary for the people to be ready to experience God’s great miracle. To the Hebrews, purification meant washing their clothes and abstaining from sexual activity for a season. It was also a time of fasting. It was a time of waiting on God, of listening to His voice.

Like the Hebrew people, we have to prepare ourselves for what the Lord wants to do in our lives and among His creation. We have to be ready even to face some uncertainty.

No matter how we try to stop change, we can’t. We look at our children, and on certain days, we want to put the brakes on their growth, but we can’t. We look around at our culture and we think, “Whoa! This can’t be happening,” but, it is, and no matter what we do, we can’t put the brakes on.

It’s always been that way, though. When the railroads were first introduced to the U.S., some folks feared that they’d be the downfall of the nation! Here’s an excerpt from a letter to then President Andrew Jackson dated January 31, 1829:

“As you may know, Mr. President, ‘railroad’ carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by ‘engines’ which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.” Martin Van Buren Governor of New York

Our preparation, our consecration requires confession and repentance, both for individual sins and corporate sins. We’ve not always trusted God. We’ve, too often, looked too much like the world instead of offering the world an alternative. Honestly, we’ve spent too much time trying to create a Christian nation, and not enough time creating a nation of Christians—people who are faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We prepare ourselves for God to do great things among us when we live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ by earnestly practicing the spiritual discipline: prayer, Bible study, fasting, worship, service, generosity, et. al. Every time of spiritual renewal has been preceded by a time of prayer and preparation.

Take a Step of Faith

Finally, Joshua tells the people to take a step of faith. Verse 8 says: “Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

The remaining verses tell us the Jordan River was at flood stage. Generally, the Jordan is a small, meandering river that can easily be crossed, and in places can be waded across. This time, however, it was the harvest season, and the river was flooding.

Why would God call them to cross over at such an inopportune time? Perhaps He wanted the people to know this was a miracle, this crossing was His doing, not their own. I can only imagine what the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant must have thought as they came to the water’s edge: “We’re supposed to step into that?”

Honestly, it doesn’t take much faith to stay put. If we want to see miracles, sometimes we have to take a risk, but that’s okay because faith is risky business. As I’ve said before, I’m not afraid to fail. I’m afraid not to try. Some things work, some things don’t. Celebrate the ones that do. Learn from the ones that don’t. Along the way, we might just see a few miracles.

How do we take those risks? Author and church consultant Gil Rendle shares the story of a little boy whose chore it was to go to the barn in the dark to secure the farm animals before the family bedtime. He dreaded what lurked in the shadows on the way to the distant barn. His father gave him unforgettable advice. The lantern from the farmhouse would cast its light to the yard gate and no further. When he came to the yard gate, the lantern cast its light to the corral fence and no further. When he came to the corral fence, the lantern cast its light to the windmill and no further. When he came to the windmill, the lantern cast its light to the barn door. The wise father reminded the little boy that he had only to go as far as the light took him, with the assurance that the light would take him further at the next point of need. In the life of faith, we never know the second step until after we’ve taken the first one. We have to take a step of faith and trust God.

My friends, the Holy Spirit blows like a wind upon us, glows like a fire within us, and flows like a river through us. Mighty acts for God take place because of the certainty of that unseen but nevertheless real leadership of the Holy Spirit.

We can’t know with certainty HOW God will fulfill his promises in our lives, but we can know with certainty he WILL fulfill them. Amid the changing nature of this world, Jesus Christ is the changeless One, and the One who kept us yesterday and keeps us today, will continue to keep us for all eternity. Of that we can be sure!

Change: The Only Constant…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Greek philosopher Heraclitus receives credit for the statement, “The only thing that is constant is change.” His companion statement, “No one steps in the same river twice,” confirms his underlying philosophy of life that everything changes. It’s interesting that Heraclitus lived circa 500 BC, a time when change and innovation was measured in centuries. We, conversely, live in a time when change and innovation is measured in years, and sometimes even months.

I’m old enough to remember when the iPhone was introduced in 2007. In sixteen short years, the iPhone is on its 15th or 16th iteration (I loose count…or, just really don’t care). AI (artificial intelligence) is developing so rapidly that even some of its developers are encouraging a pause on further development in fear that AI will actually be the final ruin of humanity.

Not only are things changing digitally, but they’re changing culturally, too. There is a correlation between the changes in information technology and the cultural changes, but the cultural changes were happening even before the onset of the digital age. I won’t make a laundry list here of the cultural changes taking place (it would be too long, it would invite too much controversy, you already know them anyway), but I will point out one event that has been a defining moment in the cultural shift: the Obergfell v Hodges decision from the U. S. Supreme Court issued on June 26, 2015.

This is not a post about same-sex marriage, but rather about the rapidity with which the culture has moved in its acceptance of other non-traditional expressions of human sexuality and relationships. I mean, seriously, it has been less than ten years since the Obergfell decision and the cultural conversation has moved toward transgenderism and gender fluidity so quickly that we more traditional types (including the church) seem to have been left steamrolled by the conversation. So, just what are we to do about it?

To attempt to answer that question, I go back to the crossing of the Jordon River by the nation of Israel after their 40 years of wandering in the desert post-Egyptian slavery (find the story in Joshua 1). The children of Israel were a peculiar bunch. They stood at the banks of the Jordan, looking across to the promised land—that land promised to their father Abraham generations before. This particular generation only knew the promised land from stories they learned around the campfire from their fathers and grandfathers, or from bedtime stories during the years of wandering in the wilderness.

This was not the generation who left Egypt 40 years before. That generation would not possess the land because they were a bunch of grumblers and complainers. They comprised the “Back to Egypt” Committee. Only 38 years before, that generation stood on the banks of the Jordon ready to cross. Moses sent 12 spies across the Jordon. They returned with glowing reports of a land flowing with milk and honey. But, some of the spies also saw giants, and a land filled with enemies too big to overcome. Only Caleb and Joshua had the faith necessary to believe the people could overcome the obstacles that lay before them. Unfortunately, that generation believed the ten spies over Caleb and Joshua. Their lack of faith prevented them from inheriting the promise of God. It also makes me question Moses’ faith and leadership, but that’s for another day.

My point is that we more traditional folks, rather than becoming our own “Back to Egypt” committee, must continue to live faithfully because we believe God’s best days are ahead, God’s future for the Church is ahead, the Promised Land is across the Jordon not back in Egypt.

Yes, this is a new day for the Church of Jesus Christ. I believe we can learn a few lessons from the Lord’s instruction to Joshua and the people as they prepared to cross. What are those lessons?

First, as we move forward, we must stay rooted in the Word of God:

7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Joshua 1: 7-8 NLT

The key to living faithfully amidst the changes of life is staying grounded firmly in the Word of God. the Bible is our source of truth and understanding and we must keep our anchor in truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…” (John 14: 6). Yes, He is our Truth. He is THE Truth, but we will not know Him or the Truth He proclaimed apart from the Holy Spirit leading us to discover Him in the Bible. Yup! That makes me old fashioned, but Jesus revealed in Scripture through the power of the Holy Spirit is my anchor when all the world is changing around me.

Staying rooted in the Word guides me to humility as I seek to follow the example of Jesus. This was the power of Jesus’ leadership! After Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount the people were astonished because he taught as one who had authority. Yet about himself Jesus said, “…the son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). Later in John’s Gospel, we find Jesus demonstrating His humility when He washes the disciple’s feet (read it here), and the Apostle Paul captures the essence of Jesus’s character in that great hymn of the early church:

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Secondly, facing the challenge of change demands that we be both strong and courageous. It wasn’t enough that God instructed Joshua once, but He repeated it three times. Change demands strength and courage.

One great example of these characteristics is Mother Teresa. Ninety tiny pounds, quiet, and meek, yet when this powerless nun came to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D. C., on February 3, 1994, in a room filled with senators, congressmen, and world leaders at all levels, she spoke with incredible strength on the subject of abortion. Her strength did not come from worldly power; it came from her submission to God, her holy life—a life spent sacrificially, serving the dying.  

Portrait of Mother Teresa, Dublin – Ireland (Photo by Mathieu Polak/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

Mother Teresa had the courage to speak to world leaders so authoritatively because of her inner strength rooted firmly in her humility. See, these characteristics are intertwined. One enhances the other. That’s why God would tell Joshua to be strong and courageous, and would remind him to stay connected to God’s word, to meditate on it day and night. They’re all related. We can’t find courage without strength, and we won’t know strength without humility. I remind us that we must never confuse arrogance with strength. Too often, arrogance is an attempt to cover up the inner weakness of a leader.

It takes courage to be obedient to God’s call in our lives. The nation of Israel was about to cross the Jordan River to inhabit a land full of foreign people and ideas. They would inherit a land that would challenge their belief system, and without the courage to be obedient to God, they would be swept away into idolatry and death. They would need a leader who had the courage to remain faithful to the word of God.

The church faces a similar situation today. We look across our culture, and we see something that’s strangely foreign to our values and belief system. It’s easy to want to turn inward, to stay where we are, where it’s comfortable and we know our stories. But, God is calling us to confront the culture, to share the Gospel, to live our faith in that strange foreign land. That takes courage!

Len Sweet reminds us that we live in a culture whose language is story, image and soundtrack. The problem is we’re still trying to communicate with 19th Century methods. Oh! We can’t forget the past. All who have gone before us were inheritors of the promises of God. It takes courage to study the past, hold onto the stories that are meaningful and true, and preserve the heritage those previous generations sacrificed to see come to fruition. The courage comes in preserving the past without living there, for God’s Kingdom is ahead of us, in a foreign culture and a strange land. We need leaders to move forward…leaders with humility, strength and courage who are rooted in God’s Word.

I pray I can be that type of leader as we live in the face of constant change. I pray that you can be, too!

Until next time, keep looking up…