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Orchestration

Neal Pollard

Like many of you, I have an eclectic taste in music.  Among those tastes I find very palatable is classical music.  Some of the recent additions in my iTunes collection include Corelli, Locatelli, Tartini, Bizet, and Grieg.  While the author of the piece is responsible for creating it, those who play the piece must work together to faithfully execute the notes and nuances intended by the one who composed it.

The word “orchestra” is from a Greek word originally meaning “to dance.”  It refers to a “a large group of musicians playing classical music, consisting of sections of string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players, and directed by a conductor” (Encarta World English Dictionary).  Have you ever watched an orchestra play?  Each musician has different skills, levels of ability, and background.  You can see their varied personalities exhibited as they play.  There is a flute player on one end of the orchestra and a violinist on the other, with perhaps a pianist somewhere in the midst.

There is a sense in which the church must function as an orchestrated group.  We do not need to worry that we are not like someone else or that we lack their charisma, personality, or talents.  Paul urged Corinth, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?” (1 Cor. 12:13-19).  Let us look at ourselves as one member of this grand orchestra, important and unique.  We are not more prominent that the next member, but neither are we less essential.  Working together, we can beautifully accomplish the work of the Conductor!

EIGHT MARKS OF AN EFFECTIVE PRIEST

Neal Pollard

As this in Future Preachers Training Camp week here at Bear Valley, “preacher stuff” is on my mind.  Even doing my morning devotional, which included today reading the book of Malachi, a short section of scripture stood out to me.  In the book of Malachi, the book whose date is closest to the first century, God is declaring His faithfulness and righteousness while charging Judah with shallow and insufficient living as the children of God.  God was doing His part, but His people were not.  In chapter two, Malachi specifically addresses the Levitical priests.  The priests in Malachi’s day were not honoring God like their forefather Levi did.  In verses five through seven, Malachi depicts the ideal priest.  He then tells them that because they had wandered far from that ideal, God was rejecting them.

Here is Malachi’s eightfold description of an effective priest:

  • He Has Great Reverence For God (2:5)
  • True Instruction Is In His Mouth (2:6)
  • Unrighteousness Is Not Found On His Lips (2:6)
  • He Walks With God In Peace And Uprightness (2:6)
  • He Turns Many Back From Iniquity (2:6)
  • He Preserves Knowledge (2:7)
  • Men Seek Instruction From His Mouth (2:7)
  • He Is The Lord’s Messenger (2:7).

Today, all Christians are priests of God (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6).  We offer up the sacrifice of self (Rom. 12:1).  But, more than that, as Christians we should be bearing these marks God held up as needful for His priests.  Reverence, integrity, honesty, truth-speaking, evangelism, influence, and example all should characterize us as we go about our daily lives.  Yes, it is a true need for preachers to possess these traits, but it also needs to characterize each of us who have been redeemed by Christ.  How are you doing in fulfilling your life’s spiritual purpose?  Why not refer to these eight traits as a measuring line and a constant challenge to live on a higher plane?

What Is “Courage”?

Neal Pollard

We are told by some in society that true courage is what is required to love yourself, do your own thing, and be who you are.  Those with a certainly world view and philosophy would tell you that the mother who aborts her helpless unborn child, the young person who chooses to tell family and friends about a homosexual relationship, one who walks out on a marriage in difficult (or not so difficult) time, one who validates another person’s sinful choices, or the like is “courageous.”   The majority has always favored and encouraged sinful lifestyles.  But, the majority are on the “broad way” to “destruction” (Mat. 7:13).

Is it courage to choose to walk a way God has warned against walking?  Is it courage to choose whatever way feels or seems good to us (Prov. 14:12; 16:25)?  Is it courage to put a wall between ourselves and God (Isa. 59:1-2)?  Courage is defined by God differently.  Courage is standing up for God’s Word without fear (Phil. 1:14). Courage involves taking personal risk in order to do what pleases God (cf. Mark 15:43).  Courage involves sticking it out despite opposition and persecution from the world for doing what God says is right (John 16:33). Courage is not giving up, but doing what is right even when it means suffering for it (Acts 23:11).

Let us refuse to let the world define courage for us.  The world’s values are usually backward (cf. Isa. 5:20).  May we have the courage to let God tell us what it means to be courageous!

Like Snow In Summer

Neal Pollard

In Proverbs 26:1, Solomon writes, “Like snow in winter and like rain in time of harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.”  As you ponder the meaning of this proverb, let me share with you the aftermath of a volatile “Front Range Phenomenon.”  Denver and the surrounding areas gets more than its share of hailstorms. Nolan Doesken, state climatologist and Colorado State professor, reveals that “Colorado is one of the most hail-prone states in the U.S….destructive hail occurs most frequently on the western Great Plains” (www.cocorahs.org).  Anecdotally, a new roof sitting on my house is testimony to its destructiveness.  Last night’s storm was exceptional, even for Denver.  The hail and accompanying heavy rain and high winds caused flash fooding, but the hail itself looked more like a snowstorm.  Just southeast of the church building, there is accumulation up to six inches.  Just southwest of the church building, there are similar piles the likes of which longtime locals have never seen.  It looks for everything, in spots, like snow in summer.

It at least helps me appreciate how strange the sight of snow in summer is.  Growing up in south Georgia, snow in winter was almost as strange!  In this pithy poetry, Solomon is making a powerful point with the imagery of summer snow and harvest-time rain.  Some things do not go together.  Spiritually, a fool and honor are incongruous.  How fitted that is for contemporary circumstances.

In an age of reality TV, spawning garish characters shamelessly spilling every sordid secret and tawdry turn of events, we see foolish, dishonorable behavior.  In a time when people parade their sin rather than hide it in shame, we see foolish, dishonorable behavior.  Politicians, professional athletes, people in positions of responsibility (school teachers, civic leaders, preachers, corporate executives, et al), and others betray the public trust.  When they do, it is truly like snow in summer.

Influence is a precious commodity with which all of us are equally supplied.  What we do with it is very individual and personal.  We can be fitted for honor if we are good stewards of it, but how difficult it is to attain it when we act like a fool.  It’s like snow in the summertime.

WE ALL NEED HELP TO FINISH SUCCESSFULLY

Neal Pollard

Many of you have likely seen the “Good Samaritan” story out of Western Ohio, the great sportsmanship of Meghan Vogel, who was in last place in the 3,200 meter race when she caught up to a flagging Arden McMath suffering from apparent sodium deficiency and about ready to give up the race.  Vogel “put McMath’s arms around her shoulders, half-dragging and half-carrying her about 30 meters to the finish line” and “pushed McMath over the finish line before crossing it” (SI.com, via Springfield News-Sun).  Her unselfish act has drawn the attention and praise of many across the nation.

It is interesting to read how the Bible describes Christianity as like running a race.  Paul urges us to “run in such a way that you may win” (1 Cor. 9:24). The writer of Hebrews adds, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).  Running with endurance and running victoriously are not antithetical.  They go hand in hand.  We do not have to finish in first place to win the Christian race.  We do have to run all the way to the finish.  That requires endurance.

Haven’t you faced times when you were ready to stop?  It may have been temptation, discouragement, fear, guilt, bitterness, confusion, or any number of things.  The net effect, though, was that you had come to the point of surrender.  Isn’t it amazing when a brother or sister heroically comes alongside to carry us toward the finish line.  It is one of the proofs of God’s eternal wisdom in designing the church the way He did (cf. Eph. 3:9-11).  The church is a community of people, heading in the direction of heaven.  We need each other to successfully finish.  That is one reason why assembling and fellowship are important.  We need that association that is tantamount to assistance in finishing the race.  Hebrews 10:24 calls it stimulating one another to love and good works.

Meghan has been called an inspiration.  I agree.  What an act of selflessness and kindness.  But, let us remember that we are called to fill that role on the narrow road that leads to life.  Our job is to help as many as possible finish successfully!

Can A Christian Be Prejudiced And Still Go To Heaven?

Neal Pollard

What an odd question. Obviously, an alien sinner (i.e., non-Christian) will not go to heaven even if he or she is not prejudiced. One must render obedience to the gospel to enjoy eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9). It is unfortunate that a Christian would treat another Christian differently because of the color of one’s skin, the level of income one makes, or one’s physical attributes and appearance.  Yet, some things seem to prove that prejudice is alive and thriving in some places in the Lord’s church. Borrowing a phrase from James, “My brethren, these things ought not to be so” (cf. Js. 3:10).

First, consider the presence of “black congregations” and “white churches.”  With what authority do such segregated bodies exist? In fairness, when it is decided by all races in a multi-racial area to meet separately to more effectively further efforts of evangelism, that would seem fair and acceptable (so long as no one is refused or mistreated who wishes to worship at one of the other congregations).  Sadly, however, in churches which are predominantly one race, visiting minorities have been ostracized and avoided. In the days before the civil rights of black Americans were improved, a “mixed” congregation was a rare exception. While strides have been made, there are still congregations who would be quite uncomfortable having an African-American preacher preach at the congregation they attend or participating in any public way in the assembly.

Also, think about the strategy of “taking the gospel to the community.”  Evangelism can be the greatest weakness of a congregation anyway.  When a church does seek to reach out to the community, minorities seem to be passed over frequently.  Why is the “black community” or the “Hispanic community” at the bottom of the strategy list?  It would be dangerous to make judgment, but, could it be fear for our personal safety?  Could it be fear of having success in that community?  Could it be an unwillingness to reach out to someone “different” from us? These are not legitimate excuses in God’s eyes.

Finally, ponder the need for equality in the Lord’s Kingdom.  A common phrase is, “There are no ‘second class citizens’ in the Kingdom.”  Amen! So wrote James, inspired by the Holy Spirit.  He penned, ” My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (Js. 2:1-4 ASV).  Would we be willing to serve under an elder or with a deacon who is financially poor, who is of different ethnic background, or who has “only a high school education”?  Remember, “God is no respecter of persons…” (Acts 10:34,35; Rom. 2:11).  Despite racial, economic, and geographical differences, all faithful Christians are “the body of Christ, and severally members thereof” (1 Cor. 12:27).  Paul reminds us that “there is one body” (Eph. 4:4).  The Bible reveals only one heaven and one hell, not one for each race and social strata.

Christians who do not get along with all races and labor as equals in the Kingdom with faithful brethren on earth should not expect to bask in the glory of an unprejudiced Father throughout eternity.  It is hard to fathom that our soul could be red, yellow, black, or white or that one’s soul would “appear” differently because of the model car he drives, the size of her bank account, or the kind of house in which one lives.  As we “press on unto perfection” (cf. Heb. 6:1), let us “put away” the besetting sin of prejudice (cf. Heb. 12:1) so that God can fully bless our labors for Him!

–Originally printed in Fulton County Gospel News, October, 1995 (Ted J. Clarke, editor).

3.5%

Picture is unrelated to article; one of Kathy’s great pics of Yellowstone N.P.

Neal Pollard

It is difficult to believe, based on media portrayals and activist organizations, that the percentage of homosexuals in America is only 3.5%.  I asked my two younger sons what they would guess, and one said 20% and the other said 30%.  Popular thinking reflects their estimate.  We are so bombarded by the message that the homosexual lifestyle is prevalent.  Gary Gates, “demographer-in-residence” at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at U.C.L.A., giving an educated guess based on five different studies, says 1.7 percent of Americans over 18 admit to being homosexual while another 1.8 percent say they are bisexual (David Crary and Terry Tang, via Huffington Post, 4/7/11).

Brett and I have clearly taught what the Bible says about homosexuality, that while God loves sinners He hates sin, that homosexuality is sin, and that we must teach against it.  However, consider this fact.  Activists and advocates in that community have done the job of spreading their, howbeit perverse, message.  They have worked long and tenaciously to legitimize and normalize homosexuality.  Consider their success.  It has long since been removed from the American Psychological Association’s classification as mental illness.  “Gay” TV characters are virtual heros and heroines.  There is a constant push to legalize homosexual marriages.  There is wide acceptance and great reservation to condemn in the public forum.

What can we learn from this vocal minority?  They are single-minded in their message.  They refuse to give up, regardless of opposition.  They have been willing to endure ostracism and ridicule in pursuit of their cause.  They are passionate.

In the spiritual, eternal sense, they represent a losing cause.  Sins for which people do not repent bring spiritual death (Rom. 6:23).  Yet, what about those of us who are to represent the only ultimate winning cause?  New Testament Christianity comprises a very small minority of even the religious world.  Are we vocal?  Are we focused on our message?  Are we unwilling to surrender?  Are we willing to suffer persecution? Are we passionate about the salvation message?  In these specific regards, may we have the boldness to pursue lost souls like these pursue their unrighteous goals.  Heaven and earth will be blessed to the extent we do so.

Tony Johnson’s Valedictorian Address (2012 Bear Valley Bible Institute)

On behalf of the graduating class of 2012 I would like to thank the faculty and the staff of the Bear Valley Bible Institute for their instruction, their guidance, and there patience. I would also like to thank the Bear Valley congregation for their support and love for the school and the students. We are all deeply indebted to you.

In an address to the Harrow School during the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never, never, give in.” I am not quite as eloquent as Mr. Churchill, so in the few minutes I have this morning let me simply say, “Don’t Quit!”

To the Bear Valley congregation, I would say to you – “Don’t Quit!” You have just finished celebrating your 50th anniversary, and this morning you are marking the completion of 47 years of training preachers. Consider what you have done and are doing for the kingdom of God. Hundreds of pulpits are filled with Bear Valley graduates, men and women are serving in the mission fields around the world, men are serving as elders, deacons and leaders are in congregations across the country, and men and women are faithfully serving and teaching because of your support for the school. Don’t quit, the kingdom needs the good work you are doing.

To the faculty and staff of the Bible Institute, I would say to you – “Don’t Quit!” Sometimes as students we forget when complaining about writing six sermons for a class, that it means that you have to read and grade 90 of them. When we complain about writing five ten page papers, you have to grade 75 of them, reading hundreds of pages. We don’t say thank you enough for the work you do. From you we have learned how to become better students of God’s word, how to dig deeper, and how to think critically. Don’t quit, the kingdom needs the good work you are doing.

To the undergraduates that are here this morning, I would say to you – “Don’t Quit!” It gets even better the second year. It’s tough, but the Bible education you are receiving is invaluable, whether you ever fill a pulpit or not. Don’t Quit, the kingdom needs men and women who are devoted to Biblical truth.

And to my fellow graduates, I would say to you – “Don’t Quit!” Today is the completion of one part of our journey and the beginning of another. In another speech, Churchill stated, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Such is the case with us today, so don’t quit!  Regardless of what your plans are, what we have done in the past two years has better equipped us as servants of God, so don’t quit! 

Far too many have quit. Some have quit to take a job that pays more. Others have quit because preaching can be hard work and so often you feel unappreciated. Still others have quit preaching the truth, because it is easier to preach what people want to hear rather than the truth of God’s word. Don’t you quit. Don’t quit learning. Don’t quit serving. Don’t quit putting the truth of God’s word before the whims and passing fancies of this world. Don’t quit preaching the word, in season and out of season. Don’t quit reproving and rebuking when necessary, and don’t quit exhorting whenever possible.  Don’t quit, because the kingdom of God expects great things from you.

I know the quality of the men who I have spent the last two years with. I know the quality of the women who have completed the women’s program. Because I know the quality of the class of 2012, I expect great things from you as well, and I know you will not quit.

 

Musings From The 20-Year-Vista

Neal Pollard

There is nothing quite like hiking up a Colorado mountain and seeing the “payoff.”  There can be meadows and easy, level stretches, but there are also steep uphill strains and downhill gallops that are physically and mentally challenging.  At times, you even have to stop to get a breather.  But, any complaints and aggravation melts away from that mountaintop view.  Whether the Crags with the Vaughts, Bergen Peak and Bierstadt Lake Trail with the Autreys, Hays Creek Falls with the Raburns, or Herman’s Gulch with a bunch of Christian friends, there are so many beautiful views en route to the summit.

It seems to me that marriage is so much like that.  Sure, there are strains and difficulties, starts and stops, but there are payoffs along the way and such an ultimate payoff in persevering to the “top.”  Just as there can be such an education about nature along the way of the hike, there is such an education about what it means to be married while climbing the road of life.  Here are a few things I have learned, looking back on 20 wonderful years of marriage to Kathy.

  • “I’m sorry” and “I was wrong” are not easy, but are essential, to say.  Often.
  • We can learn to enjoy each other’s diversions, interests, and hobbies.
  • Quantity time is quality time.
  • Together beats alone, hands down–for vacation, recreation, occupation, etc.
  • Sticking together, whatever adversities and trials come (and they will come…to everybody), are so worth it that there are no words to describe it.
  • Two lives can become so intertwined–through your children, your friends, your co-workers, your church family, etc. It is an amazing part of the wisdom of God!
  • Intimacy is a word that grows in power and meaning with every new day.
  • You will forever be “figuring out” your mate.
  • In some regards neither of you changes, but in most ways you both do.
  • God is the only “glue” guaranteed to hold together and grow a happy marriage!

What an awesome conclusion God reached when He said at the creation, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18). With similar sentiment, the inspired Paul wrote, “In the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman” (1 Cor. 11:11).  From my vantage point, that truth makes for such a beautiful view!

Musings From The 20-Year-Vista

Neal Pollard

There is nothing quite like hiking up a Colorado mountain and seeing the “payoff.”  There can be meadows and easy, level stretches, but there are also steep uphill strains and downhill gallops that are physically and mentally challenging.  At times, you even have to stop to get a breather.  But, any complaints and aggravation melts away from that mountaintop view.  Whether the Crags with the Vaughts, Bergen Peak and Bierstadt Lake Trail with the Autreys, Hays Creek Falls with the Raburns, or Herman’s Gulch with a bunch of Christian friends, there are so many beautiful views en route to the summit.

It seems to me that marriage is so much like that.  Sure, there are strains and difficulties, starts and stops, but there are payoffs along the way and such an ultimate payoff in persevering to the “top.”  Just as there can be such an education about nature along the way of the hike, there is such an education about what it means to be married while climbing the road of life.  Here are a few things I have learned, looking back on 20 wonderful years of marriage to Kathy.

  • “I’m sorry” and “I was wrong” are not easy, but are essential, to say.  Often.
  • We can learn to enjoy each other’s diversions, interests, and hobbies.
  • Quantity time is quality time.
  • Together beats alone, hands down–for vacation, recreation, occupation, etc.
  • Sticking together, whatever adversities and trials come (and they will come…to everybody), are so worth it that there are no words to describe it.
  • Two lives can become so intertwined–through your children, your friends, your co-workers, your church family, etc. It is an amazing part of the wisdom of God!
  • Intimacy is a word that grows in power and meaning with every new day.
  • You will forever be “figuring out” your mate.
  • In some regards neither of you changes, but in most ways you both do.
  • God is the only “glue” guaranteed to hold together and grow a happy marriage!

What an awesome conclusion God reached when He said at the creation, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18). With similar sentiment, the inspired Paul wrote, “In the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman” (1 Cor. 11:11).  From my vantage point, that truth makes for such a beautiful view!

VACCINATION

Neal Pollard

Despite the work of some special interest groups trying to expose the health risks to children who get vaccinated, there has historically been inestimable value derived from them.  Perhaps no incident proves this better than the deadly, debilitating outbreaks of polio in the 20th Century.  Starting early in the 1900s, polio cases turned into outbreaks. In 1916, 9000 cases were reported in New York City alone.  Even a U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, contracted it as a young man. Physicians raced to find remedies, treatments, and preventatives.  The “March of Dimes” was created to fight Infantile Paralysis due to polio.  The Mayo Clinic got involved around the time the U.S. was drawn into World War II, which distracted America’s best medical researchers with military-related projects. In the last five years of the 1940s, there was an average of 20,000 new cases of polio per year.  It is hard for most of us alive today to remember the panic and fear struck by this mysterious malady. Then, Jonas Salk develops the first successful vaccine around 1950.  Albert Sabin eventually develops an even more effective vaccine. By 1964, there were only 121 cases in this country.  By 1994, the World Health Organization certified the entire western hemisphere as “polio free” (much information via timeline at http://users.cloudnet.com/edrbsass/poliotimeline.htm).

 It would be hard to imagine parents who knew of other infected children not rushing to take steps to protect their own.  For that matter, they would surely move to prevent their own infection.  Whatever perceived risk or sacrifice, the risk of doing nothing was surely, universally seen as worse.  

 To call sin an epidemic is to grossly understate.  Beyond even pandemic proportions, this spiritual malady is universal.  Every accountable person has the problem (Rom. 3:10,23; 1 Jn. 5:19).  The effect is spiritually fatal in 100% of untreated cases (Rom. 6:23).  Yet, it is an affliction mankind always chooses to contract.

 No words can adequately describe the love, mercy, grace, and compassion that drove God to supply the cure.  While it came at an incomparably high price (cf. Jn. 3:16), it is 100% effective in eradicating the effects of the malady.  That is, no one who ever obeyed from the heart God’s plan of salvation ever failed to receive what God promised–forgiveness (cf. Rom. 6:17; Ac. 2:38).  Can you imagine, then, that people every day and every week have the opportunity to be cured, but choose to refuse it.  May God give us courage and compassion to persist in making the cure available!

Teenager Follows Up Deceit With Character

Neal Pollard

Of course, we do not have all the details, but I doubt that too serious of an investigation forced the 18-year-old Isaac Sprecher into a confession.  Last month, he reeled in a huge striped bass.  It was a state record 31-pound, 8.4 ounce beast.  That is an impressive catch, but it turns out that it was not reeled from the fishing hole he originally claimed it was.  It turns out he lied.

The story took an incredible turn when Isaac contacted the Longmont Times-Call and confessed.  He had not caught the fish at McIntosh Lake, his original claim.  Instead, it came from a pond at the open space park, Pella Crossing, which has catch and release rules.  He wanted a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer to check if his catch was a state record, trophy catch.  So, he drove to McIntosh and claimed to have caught it there.

Whether Isaac’s conscience bothered him or his parents or someone else helped him with it, Isaac ultimately did the right thing.  While claiming that you caught a state-record fish would be a feather in your cap, Sprecher can claim something infinitely more important.  He did wrong, but then he did what he could to make it right.

That lesson is not being taught and is certainly not being learned as often in our culture today.  The concept that you do not cheat, lie, fudge, forge, and manipulate your way to success and recognition has been lost on too many.  All of us make mistakes, but it takes character to own up to it and make it right.  Thanks, Isaac!

Not “Inwardly Obsessed!”

Neal Pollard

A very good, longtime preacher friend of mine shared an blog article on his Facebook wall.  The blog’s author, Thom Ranier (of “Surprising Insights of the Formerly Unchurched”), is not a member of the church. Yet, he captures a mentality that knows no religious boundaries.  Wherever there is a community of people, especially one that has existed for any length of time, you have the potential for the specific issues he identifies.  He calls the article, “The 10 Warning Signs Of An Inwardly Obsessed Church.”  Here are the ten:

1) Worship Wars.
2) Prolonged Minutia Meetings.
3) Facility Focus.
4) Program Driven.
5) Inwardly Focused Budget.
6) Inordinate Demand For Pastoral Care.
7) Attitudes Of Entitlement.
8) Greater Concern About Change Than The Gospel.
9) Anger And Hostility.
10) Evangelistic Apathy.
(http://www.thomrainer.com/2012/05/the-inwardly-obsessed-church-10-warning-signs.php)

He begins by saying that there is a degree of need for inward focus–teaching, counseling, healing, fellowshiping, and the like.  Yet, a church can cease thinking souls and too often it starts thinking primarily and even solely about itself.  This is spiritually unhealthy.

As we look at Ranier’s list, especially with the description he gives each one in the article, we may be able to strike off a couple of them out of hand.  These, we think, are not troubling us.  Yet, few of us could say that we are immune from all ten warning signs.  Maybe we attend a church that shows hostility toward one another.  Maybe we attend a church where the church building is almost of “iconic status.”  Maybe we attend a church where the meetings are predominantly about brick, mortar, and the otherwise material, but seldom, if ever, about soul-winning and, well, souls.

Because humanity in every time and place has always fought the battle of self, we should not be surprised that the redeemed of earth today should struggle with putting the needs of self above others.  Oh, and “churches” do not become “internally obsessed” unless “church members” wrestle with that same thing.  What I must do is discipline myself to keep my focus outward, while striving to show others the way by example.

No church wants to be labeled “inwardly-obsessed.”  It sounds unspiritual, unsound, and unsavory.  Yet, in the final analysis, the Lord does the analysis.  Like He did for the seven churches of Asia in Revelation two and three, He knows our works.  He knows who and what we are.  That said, His very message is that change is possible.  Wherever any of us is “inwardly obsessed,” may we have the humility, courage, and resolve to change!  Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that such is God’s desire.

Snapshots

Neal Pollard

We are going through photos of Gary for a collage to be used at Sunday’s church graduation party.  It has been quite an exercise in nostalgia and reminiscence.  I have seen everything from his baby pictures to his senior pictures, with every stage in between the two.  My how he has changed and grown!  Since he was born at the end of 1993, his first several years in photo were captured the more “old-fashioned” way–pre-digital, 35-mm prints.  Those pictures symbolize so many memories of what was going on in life, in general, as well as what was going on specifically in his life. 

When you look in the New Testament, you see snapshots, if you will, of churches.  There is Jerusalem church of Christ in multiple stages, from a flourishing beginning (Acts 2) through internal issues (Acts 5), perceived prejudice (Acts 6), persecution and scattering (Acts 6-8), and financial hardship ().  The Bible doesn’t really show us what ultimately happens to this congregation, though at some point in history it seems to have ceased to exist.  Ephesus church of Christ has the longest, most dramatic history of any church in the New Testament. The church was established in probably the early to mid-50s A.D. on Paul’s second missionary journey.  The epistle to the Ephesians would have been written around 62 A.D.  Paul wrote Timothy, the preacher at Ephesus, before he was beheaded in the late 60s.  John addressed the church in Revelation, which would have been a generation later in the 90s.  What a transformation occurs and not all of the changes were positive.  As they went from a newborn congregation to being mature in age, somewhere they lost their relationship with God (Rev. 2:4-5).

When we look at our own lives, spiritually, we can the changes that come with “aging.”  The question is whether or not this is a graceful process.  Spiritually, are we growing more lovely and attractive, or are we gnarled and callused with the unchecked presence of sin in our lives.  A Heavenly Father has privy to what we have been and what we have become.  He loves us perfectly, but are we making Him proud?  Are we making progress?

No Time To Count $160 In Coins?

Neal Pollard

Wayne Roberts forwarded an article to me about a bizarre incident that recently occurred in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Colorado State University student Ted Nischan, who has a lead foot and limited income, went to the Fort Collins municipal court to pay a speeding ticket.  What makes that newsworthy is that his form of payment was not cash, check, or credit.  It was coins!  $160 worth of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.  The court workers apparently does not accept that much money in that form of payment.  His personal bank would not convert the money without charging him, a fee that would leave him short of what he owes the government.  Court supervisor Fran Seaworth says that it would be a colossal waste of taxpayer money for a clerk to count out that much change.  It is a refreshing, if unusual, example of prudence in a world of red-tape-filled bureaucracy (http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/260797/346/Fort-Collins-rejects-coins-as-payment-for-ticket).

In many areas of life, we risk bogging down in the minutia and majoring in the minor.  Men’s business meetings or even elders’ meetings which regularly, predominantly deal with finance and material matters to the neglect of what our main mission is risks doing the equivalent of counting a bucket full of change (cf. Acts 6:3-4; 20:28).  In our own personal, spiritual lives, when we are consumed with the here and now with little regard to eternal matters, are we frittering away time counting our bucket of change?  That’s what the rich farmer did (Lk. 12:15-21).  How easily we can lose sight of the important which poring over the ultimately inconsequential!

 

SUBDIVISIONS

Neal Pollard

One of my favorite bands (Tony Raburn’s definite favorite) is Rush.  One of their songs, “Subdivisions,” talks about how much peer pressure is a part of life.  Conform and be cool or be cast out, they sing.  The world certainly works that way.  I went to high school in coastal Georgia, a very large school in a military town.  Did we ever have “groups.”  We had goths, headbangers, preps, jocks, rednecks, geeks, and a large number of ethnic groups.  While some were harder to pigeon hole and felt at home in multiple groups, there was much “subdivision” in the high school halls and shopping malls.  The worldly way of thinking is to divide, group, alienate, and pit one against another.

Through the cross, Jesus died to eliminate enmity and division. Jews and Gentiles were divided, but the cross was God’s tool of reconciling them back together.  This place of unity is called the “one body” (Eph. 2:16).  That “one body” is identified as the church (Eph. 1:22-23).  This means that God designated a place where subdivisions do not belong.  The church is to be a people who are united (Eph. 4:1ff).  We come into Christ from so many different places.  Perhaps we were goths, headbangers, preps, et al, but when we come into Christ we are one body.  This can be uncomfortable and unnatural, but it is what sets apart God’s “set apart” from those who conform to the world.  In Christ, we are transformed (cf. Rom. 12:2).  Our effort is to be toward oneness.  It must be to eliminate all barriers, race, education, income, background, and whatever other distinctions the world is prone to make.

It is one of the great blessings of Christianity!  Let the world prejudge, make distinctions, and isolate.  The church is to be a welcoming, loving, and uniting group!  May this ever be our focus and desire.  Jesus was willing to die for that ideal (cf. John 17:20-21).

AVOIDING ACID SPILLS

Neal Pollard

 Before we started school one fall, my parents took my sister, brother, and I to the heart of Atlanta to go school shopping at a Belk’s Department Store Outlet.  This was at a time when you could really find good bargains and quality items for cheap prices at outlets.  They had plenty of clothes, but also hardware, tools, housewares, and more.  As I wandered through the store, I remember coming up to a big serving spoon and picking it up only to see that the round part was gone.  It was sitting in a small pool of acid and the acid was eating away the spoon.  My parents duly warned me to avoid it unless I wanted my hand to look like that.  Visualizing my appendage looking like that spoon, I had zero difficulty obeying.

 It happens when we frequently complain, criticize, grumble, and grouse about our work, duty, circumstances, and life.  It happens when we making someone the butt of our joke through cruelty.  It happens when we cannot tell others how we are doing without spouting off a laundry list of woes and agonies.  It happens when we become characterized by negative rather than positive speech.  We may not realize it, but such speech negatively effects those around us.  It demoralizes and discourages.  It can even cause spiritual stumbling.  This is destructive, but it can be avoided.  How?

 Get to the “heart” of the problem.  Jesus says that the “acid spills” come from a reservoir–the heart (Mark 7:21).  It is stored within and then comes pouring out when those contents are under pressure.

Think before you speak.  Ask whether or not the words will be positive, constructive, and helpful. If in doubt, think some more. If there is any doubt, leave it unsaid.  You have to give advance consideration to “let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Col. 4:6).

Focus harder on the blessings.  At any given time, on any day, we have difficulties and disadvantages.  We are still on earth and not yet in heaven.  Why not “count your many blessings, name them one by one.”  I am convinced that a person truly filled with gratitude will not be an acid-spiller (cf. Col. 2:7).

Practice positive speech.  Habits are formed through a process. Conscious, repeated effort will more nearly produce the needed result than to keep the bridle off the tongue (cf. Jas. 3:2).  Yet, every determined effort to praise, compliment, verbally encourage, cheer, and edify another builds the habit.

 Among the little I recall from chemistry is that the opposite of acidic is basic.  Certainly, this is a spiritual basic.  Positive, wholesome, and helpful speech is a building block  that has the opposite effect of acidic speech.  May we all strive to get back to “basics.”

 

 

THE MASTER MERITS MORE THAN MEDIOCRITY

Neal Pollard

  • In our giving–not grudgingly, stingily, just the leftovers and the afterthoughts; sacrifice.
  • In our living–be a light, be salt, make a difference for Christ in the world each day. Know that morality and example matter.
  • In our attending–not just Sunday morning or if nothing else is going on; come evenings and during special events like lectureships, seminars, and gospel meetings.
  • In our serving–whether in the sunlight or the shade, white-collar or blue-collar tasks, whether thanked or thankless the task.
  • In our praying–unselfishly, faithfully, constantly, praising and thanking along with the requesting.
  • In our speaking–take courage, keep it pure and wholesome, unite with your words.
  • In our loving–sincerely, fervently, without favor, following the example of Christ.
  • In our forgiving–from the heart, permanently, without digging it back up, humbly.
  • In our studying–dig, use word-study tools, pen and paper, perspiration, zeal.
  • In our evangelizing–pray about it, work up the nerve, and do it, consistently.
  • In our leading–be it elders and the church, parents and children, saints and sinners. 
  • In our teaching–pray, prepare, and present with passion; avoid laziness and volunteer
  • In our feeling–be joyful, be positive even in discouraging circumstances, be gentle always.
  • In our uniting–-lead others to come together in Christ; avoid and discourage cliques, build up His body, remember it is His (Eph. 4:16).
  • In our worshiping—put your heart in it; be enthusiastic; pay attention; yearn to co-participate with other saints in glorifying God wholeheartedly

 

He is the Great I Am.  He gave the most precious gift.  He loves us infinitely more than anyone else.  He will ultimately judge us. He is Awesome and worthy!  He is the source of every spiritual blessing.  He will never forsake us or leave us. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.  He deserves our best!

Was It “A Sobering Judgment On Human Endeavors”?

Neal Pollard

I am currently enjoying the book, “What Hath God Wrought?”–a book that covers a period in America commonly called “manifest destiny” or Jacksonian America, when America’s borders, resources, and prominence expanded in unprecedented fashion.  Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Walker Howe does an excellent job covering every facet of life in the United States from 1815-1848.  One facet to which he devotes a surprising amount of time is the first and second religious “awakening” movements on the frontier.  I was very surprised that he devoted nearly an entire page to the Restoration Movement led by men he notes such as Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.  He accurately writes, “These leaders reached the conclusion that all theological and creedal formulations must be wrong.  Christians should confine themselves to the language of the New Testament and affirm or deny no religious doctrines beyond that” (181-182).   As Howe astutely observes, this movement was about the “rebirth of the primitive church” with ‘no creed but the Bible’ (182).  However, Howe found the restoration process itself flawed, writing, “The eventual outcome of the movement, however, renders a sobering judgment on human endeavors. The scriptures require interpretation, and restricting religious assertions to those of scripture proved no solution to the scandal of disagreement and division.  In the end, the antidenominational Christian movement added to the number of denominations” (ibid.).

What Howe sees is the ultimate division, but his purpose is not to look more deeply into the “why.”  Consider the premise of the movement, which he rightly portrays as rejecting creeds and following only what is found in Scripture.  While humans choose to engage in that endeavor, it is an endeavor to honor and follow what God desires and commands.  On what grounds would a professed believer in God and the Bible have for choosing something more, less, or different than the Word of God?

 Where did this movement encounter difficulties?  Howe would not reject the imperative of interpretation.  Interpretation is necessary in any field of human existence. Was it restricting religious assertions to those of scripture that was the problem and flaw? Or was it the imposition of man’s will and desires as on a par with and, more accurately, set above Scripture?  

Was it attempting to restrict religious assertions to those of scripture that led Addison Clark to say to the organist, Mrs. Mason, “Play on, Miss Bertha,” or was it not rather a compromise made to clamoring students at Add-Ran college (cf. Roy Deaver, Firm Foundation, 10/9/73)?  Was it a desire to follow scripture that led L.L. Pinkerton to add the melodeon to the worship of the church in Midway, Kentucky, or not instead his estimation that the singing there was so bad that it would “scare even the rats from worship?” (Earl West, Search For The Ancient Order, I, 311).

Because the church will ever be filled with human beings, it will ever be subject to the carnal practice of division (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10-13).  That in no way undermines the rightness of our desire to follow only scripture, adding or subtracting nothing.  It further proves how valiantly we must subject our will to His will, and focus solely on what pleases Him!


HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE LONESOME LEADER?

Neal Pollard

He feels displeasure. An event usually triggers this. He reacts to the behavior or problems of another through negative emotion. An element of disbelief or disappointment may be the catalyst for his displeasure.

He feels disfavored. He may feel that God is against him, since he is going through the crisis. He will repeatedly ask, “Why?!”

He feels resentful. In these “lowlight” moments, he can resent the people who rely on his leadership. He may even feel like a surrogate, though stressed-out, parent. He may wonder why God put him into this caregiver role.

He feels helpless. He may feel unequal to the challenge before him. He may not know where to turn or how to resolve whatever the matter or issue is.

He feels overwhelmed. This is where the lonesomeness can feel greatest. He feels burdened down and incapable of carrying such a load. There may even be panic or at least severe dismay.

He feelsdepressed. He may even want “out of the job.” In severe cases, the depression can give him a distaste for life itself.

It is easy to see that problems leaders confront can seem like a snowball. Often, the reason the problem grows is because the leader is trying to do the work alone. The scenario painted above is not from my expertise or experience. It is an analysis of Moses’ problem in Numbers 11. the displeasure (11:10) and feelings of disfavor (11:11), resentment (11:12), helplessness (11:13), being overwhelmed (11:14) and depression (11:15) had brought this amazing leader to the brink. Moses apparently had a problem with letting go and getting others’ help (see Exodus 18).  The answer to both leadership dilemmas was identical. “Let others help!”  This time, instead of Jethro, God gave the answer to the “lonesome leader” syndrome. The solution came in the form of 70 men, helpers who would ease Moses’ burdens.

Many other Bible examples show the wisdom of delegation and letting others help shoulder the load. It was God’s idea, so we would expect it to work.  It worked for Old Testament Israel. It will help those who lead in spiritual Israel today. Elders and other church leaders who “get” it show wisdom and insight while finding relief and peace of mind in serving God.  You can break out of the “lonesome leader” syndrome!