Category: Uncategorized

Neal Pollard

The Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, adopted the Eskimo methods of survival and travel. He was said to be a meticulous planner who minimized risks.  On December 15, 1911, Amundsen and four fellow countrymen reached the South Pole. They were the first. British Captain Robert Falcon Scott seems to have felt sure he would be the first. But, in addition to leaving the Ross Ice Shelf base camp 12 days after Amundsen, Scott’s journey to the pole was much more haphazard than his counterpart’s.  He and his team took animals and motor sledges that turned out to be more of a burden than a blessing. They did not plan their food and nutrition well. On January 17, 1912, Scott and four comrades reached the pole only to see the Norwegian flag already planted there. They were devastated. And, they were in danger.  The weather turned nastier.  All five men perished, their bodies, diaries, photographs, and last letters discovered by a search party that November (Forging The Modern Age, 128-129).

It was head start versus haste, preparation against pride. The contrast between the men’s methods predicted the outcome. Frankly, Amundsen adequately prepared for the journey and Scott did not. The price for second place was most high.

As we are on a journey to a place infinitely more mystifying and awesome than any point on this globe, we must adequately prepare.  What are our choices, methods, and decisions saying about our wisdom and forethought? So many go through this life either disbelieving that eternity lies on the other side of death or live as though they disbelieve. But, we will all reach that point and place of eternity. May we do all we must do to prepare (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10)!

Neal Pollard

I am still looking to hike my first “14-er” (that’s Colorado speak for a mountain 14,000 feet or higher in elevation).  However, if you count automobile climbs, I have done multiple 14-ers.  It is such a never-ending joy to look out and see those beautiful Rocky Mountains.  Often, I tell my family that they are “calling” me (that’s Pollard speak for, “I want to go hiking or get up in those mountains”).

The relatively little hiking I have done at higher elevation, however, reminds me of the fitness level and stamina needed to accomplish the task of mountain climbing.  While the thought of ascending them is enamoring, you cannot wish your way to the top.  Spiritually, it is fair to consider many aspects of our Christian life to mountain climbing.  People often speak of goals, struggles, and temptations as being a mountain to climb.  We can observe the rigors of literal mountain climbing and see similarities between that and the figurative.

Mountain climbing is strenuous.  It requires cardiovascular fitness and mental strength to climb a mountain.  The altitude gain and loss take their toll.  Terms like lung capacity and lactic acid build up depict hard work.  But, consider the figurative mountains we must climb.  Dealing with matters that have long been neglected leave one with a higher mountain to climb.  When one stops neglecting it and starts climbing it, he finds out what a challenge it is combatting fear, stress, opposition, criticism, and more.  Doing the right thing is seldom the easiest way to go; it is so often the hardest route.

Mountain climbing can be hazardous.  Yesterday, Colorado had its second hiking fatality on the same peak in the southwestern part of the state. There have been three fatalities on Longs Peak alone.  A ranger who works on that peak said, “Accidents can result from underestimating the difficulty of the climb, wearing the wrong footgear or simply having bad luck” (via eptrail.com).  People die of cardiac episodes, falling rocks, and hypothermia.  Yet, people in large numbers keep climbing.  That tells me that they feel the risk is worth the perceived benefit to these hearty hikers.  Likewise, the mountain climbs of our lives are often fraught with peril.  Like Caleb’s desire to take those literal mountains in Joshua 14:12, we undertake our climbs because we are after an inheritance.  What is threat, persecution, or worse compared to realizing the hope of heaven?  What sin, trial, or discouragement is worth foregoing the climb?

Mountain climbing is advantageous.  It puts one in a superior position.  That may be “bragging rights,” the satisfaction of achievement, or the quality of physical life through fitness.  Again, people would not struggle through the strain and hazard the hazards if there was no perceived advantage.  Those of us who climb the mountains present in church life, in relationships, in personal trials, and the like are seeking victory.  The greatest advantage we bring to our climbs is Christ!  Paul says we can make all things happen through Him (Phil. 4:13).  We can taste victory through Him (1 Cor. 15:57).

Neal Pollard

Jimi Heselden, a British business man who had just bought control of Segway Inc., tragically fell over a cliff to his death while riding his product.  He was riding the Segway near his West Yorkshire estate and a witness saw the device and its rider plunge to what would be the 62 year old man’s death.  Whether or not this raises concerns about the product’s safety, it is an ironic incident.

Heselden had owned a Segway for years before recently taking ownership of the company. It is only speculation concerning how he met his fate, but local law enforcement ruled out foul play.  Maybe it was careless or reckless behavior, inattention, or a momentary lapse of judgment.  But, the machine carried him from time to eternity.

How many have taken sin for a ride and met a similar, spiritual end?  David took hold of sin and he said, “My iniquities have overtaken me” (Ps. 40:12).  Peter spoke of arrogant individuals, consumed with fleshly desires, “promising (those who barely escape from error, NP) freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Pet. 2:19).  These have confidence enough to buy into this spiritually impoverishing product, and they await a horrific end without repentance (cf. 2 Pet. 2:20-22).

Segways look pretty harmless, but former President George W. Bush nearly had a run-in with one.  Piers Morgan, then Daily Mirror editor who ridiculed the President for crashing on one, crashed on one himself and broke several ribs in August. Many have broken bones, citing it as unstable at times.

Sin is deceptive.  It can seem so harmless and benign.  But, if we take hold of it, we are setting ourselves for great pain or worse.  We do not want to make the segue from time to eternity still embracing and clinging to sin.  Let us cling, instead, to our Savior.

Neal Pollard

A man with one of the softest, kindest hearts I have ever known called me less than an hour ago, telling me he wanted to talk to me.  Honestly, I was not sure what was on his mind and I was curious.  I was not prepared for what he shared with me.

He told me that as he was driving Steve Higginbotham, one of our lectureship speakers, back to the Denver airport, he brought up the matter of baptism with Higginbotham.  He told him that he was only five or six when he was baptized and that the baptism was in the Southern Baptist Church.  What triggered the man’s concerns was a question Steve had answered during the Open Forum of the lectureship about when one should give consideration to being “baptized again.”  Steve answered the question marvelously.  That night, in his keynote lecture, Steve hit on the matter again during the course of his lesson.

But, our newest brother in Christ had been concerned about relying on what he had done as a small child in a denomination for some time.  What really first heightened his insecurity over that prior act was Dave Chamberlin’s Monday night class on “The Godhead.”  I knew from talking to Dave that he was teaching that class evangelistically, knowledgeable that this group had a non-Christian woman in it.  I am not sure Dave was aware of this man’s religious history.  But, Dave drove the point home about the essential nature of baptism throughout this class on God.

So many things have raced through my mind over the last few minutes.  First, I thought about the 1 Corinthians 3:6 principle.  Dave planted, Steve watered, and God gave the increase.  Second, I thought about the Luke 8:4-8 principle.  To this point, the other person of whom Dave was aware has not been immersed for the forgiveness of sins.  But, this man proved to be good ground upon which the seed, the Word of God, could be sown.  Third, I thought about the James 1:21 principle.  He laid aside anything that would have prevented his obedience and he showed great meekness in receiving the word implanted.  Consequently, it saved his soul.

I already knew that we just completed the greatest lectureship in which I have ever had a direct part.  But, the fruit of it continues to be borne.  It never gets old, dull, or boring to welcome someone new into the kingdom.  Thanks, Dave.  Thanks, Steve.  Thank you, too, Steve Swann.  We will not soon forget your humble obedience!

Neal Pollard

My boys were listening to an old Who song and thought the first lyrics were, “Happy Jack was attacked and he didn’t care.”  Back in the earlier part of their career before they got too edgy for me to listen to them, John Boy and Billy, two Charlotte, NC, classic rock DJs whose morning show became syndicated throughout the southeast, regularly made me laugh until I hurt.  One shtick they had was a supposed CD collection of John Boy mis-singing lyrics of different songs, like Boston’s “All I want is to have a piece of pie” (actually, “All I want is to have my peace of mind”).  We get tickled at this kind of faux pas.

How about in church services?  As a little kid, did you think they were singing, “Bringing In The Sheep” or “Bringing In The Cheese”?  How about, “Are you sowing the seed of the King, dumb brother?”  One of my late uncles, whether in ignorance or mischief, would sing, “At the fence, at the fence, where I tore my Sunday pants, and the quarter in my pocket rolled away.”

Most, if not all, of these are instances of the miscomprehension that followed mishearing something.  It seems to me that gossip often works this way.  So often, we practice propagation without investigation or adequate information.  It is how Sister Sue’s broken toe is soon body traction or Brother Bob’s cold quickly becomes a coma.  It is less humorous when our tongues are a weapon that perpetrates reputation wounding or character assassination.  Remember, the tongue is unruly and hard to tame (James 3:1ff).  A gossip separates friends (Prov. 16:28), betrays a confidence (Prov. 20:19), fans the flames of quarrels (cf. Prov. 26:20), and practices malicious behavior (cf. 3 John 10).  Even if they get their info right but their motives and intentions are wrong, they do harm and should be avoided.  We are talking about something more risky than the childhood, playful game of “telephone.”  The good name of a person is on the line.  Let us not only get it right, but strive to simply be right.  That includes taming our tongues.

Neal Pollard

There is a fascinating object at a site considered holy by many that has seriously divided six religious groups.  Actually, the ladder does not divide all of them and is only an example that highlights the division.  In Jerusalem, there is a church building most likely built by Constantine in 326 A.D. around what Israeli scholar Dan Bahat and the Oxford Archaeological Guide to the Holy Land, among others, suggest could be the tomb where Jesus was buried.  This building, known variously as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or Church of the Resurrection, is claimed and overseen by the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. The Ottoman Empire, which controlled the city in 1757, made a firman (decree) to establish a status quo defining the rights of each of these religious groups to the building.  Apparently, just before the decree was issued,

Someone placed a wooden ladder on a window ledge above the church entrance.  And it has been there ever since. It must not be moved.  According to one account the window belongs to the Armenians.  The cornice on which the ladder rests, however, has been assigned in the status quo to the Greek Orthodox.  As a result the ladder must not be removed because it sits on property of the Greek Orthodox (and only the Greek Orthodox can go there and change anything on it) but leans on property of the Armenians (and only Armenians can alter something that touches the window).  Neither group therefore controls the ladder, nor may either remove it (Danny Herman, “Who Moved The Ladder,” Biblical Archaeological Review, Jan/Feb 2010, 14).

While it is sad that many wish to venerate material objects and give special significance to material relics, there is something sadder still and something that is a problem broader than Catholicism and Orthodoxy.  Have you ever seen anything insignificant and non-essential cause strife, hurt, hardship, and division in a congregation?  Too many times, matters equally as trivial and pathetic as a ladder on a ledge of a building has broken fellowship between God’s people.

Mankind is so incredibly divided over a multitude of matters of truth.  Man has instituted his own doctrines and beliefs where Jesus was crystal clear.  There should not be division over our worship, how to be saved, or who is the saved because Jesus has clearly spoken on these matters.  While these manmade divisions will cost millions their souls, what about other incidents which do not constitute a situation of faith versus opinion.  What about when our division is over a matter of opinion versus opinion, judgment against judgment, and feelings facing feelings?  Too often, the differences that causes individual congregations to feud and even divide amount to little more than a ladder propped against a window.  When one asserts his window and another his cornice, are we not walking like mere men (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-3)?  Strife and jealousy do not belong among the people of God.  May we strive for the spiritual maturity to see and practice that.

Neal Pollard

From July 1-19, 1903, 60 bicyclists were willing pawns of one Henri Desgrange, editor of L’Auto sports newspaper, trying to win a circulation war with Le Velo.  The Tour de France, suggested as a sales promotion, was such an instant hit that L’Auto ran Le Velo out of business.  A race day could take as much as 17 hours to complete, and it is not surprising that only 21 of the 60 finished the entire inaugural bike race.  The finishers went about 2500 kilometers (nearly 1600 miles), and the winner was Frenchman Maurice “Chimney Sweep” Garin.  Within five years, the race distance would nearly double.  Competition was fierce from the beginning, with fans tossing nails in front of the tires of their favorite’s competitors.  There were allegations of riders being poisoned.

The heartiness of the racers is what seems most impressive.  A column written in memorial to Garin just after his death said of him that “In that era, Garin rode a bike as heavy as lead, which demanded enormous strength, power and will. He rode more on pure strength than suppleness. His almost inexhaustible energy let him win the toughest races” (Woodland, The Unknown Tour de France, Van der Plas Pub., San Francisco, 9).   They raced through night, stomach cramps, falls, flat tires, sabotage, cheating competitors, and falling asleep from exhaustion.  Racing at the height of the industrial age, they were held in fascination by especially Europeans almost as if they were machines, part of the steel-framed bikes they pedaled.

These athletes had a high price to pay for competing in this now renowned race.  The Bible compares the Christian life to a race (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24).  It indicates that it is a race requiring endurance (Heb. 12:1), self-control (1 Cor. 9:25), success (Gal. 5:7), and purpose (1 Cor. 9:26; Gal. 2:2; Phil. 2:16).  Many have paid the ultimate price in the process of running (Acts 7:59-60; 12:2; Rev. 6:9) and just standing up for one’s Christianity has proven costly in the past (Heb. 10:34).  Jesus affirmed that following Him comes with a price, but look at the price He paid for us (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).

We are called to complete this race, enduring and overcoming whatever difficult obstacles arise.  It takes focus and desire to stick with it!  Just remember that prize we receive for winning far exceeds anything we can even imagine now (2 Tim. 4:8).  Whatever rises to meet you on this road, keep going until you reach the end of the course!

Neal Pollard

Dave Chamberlin, whose knowledge about vehicles I trust as much as anyone I know, went with me to look at a prospective new truck for the Pollard household.  It was a beauty in its own way, a 1969 Ford F-100, 300 cube inline six with four on the floor.  Dave had already done a pre-inspection on it the night before, concluding that the front end was aligned and the shocks were in good shape.  It was rusty in spots, but consistent with the age and nothing too troubling about the exterior.  When we arrived at the owner’s house, he fired it up and it sounded pretty good.  The asking price, which I was sure I could shave a few hundred dollars from, was right.  No, it did not have a horn or emergency brake, but neither of these was a deal killer.  Dave got in the passenger’s side and I took my place behind the wheel.  The truck was parked on a downward incline, and I started it up and we started going the half block toward the stop sign at the intersection.  When I plied the brakes, there was no response.  So, feeling a concern I am sure Dave shared, I started pumping them.  Just in time, they grabbed and we stopped.  Pulling out roughly in what Dave called the “stump pulling gear,” I shifted to second.  Going into a curve, I noticed that the steering wheel was a bear to control.  The owner said that the truck never had power steering, but the steering column performed as if power steering had gone out on it.  I wrestled that truck about a mile down to the next major intersection.  After a couple more (difficult!) turns, I asked Dave to drive and tell me what he thought.  Sure enough, the concerns were confirmed.  This truck had major steering and braking issues.  Great engine.  Nice body for the age.  Good suspension and alignment.  Terrible steering and brakes!  That was enough to kill the deal.  The thought of Gary (or me) trying to fight the steering wheel or brakes, especially when quick or immediate response was necessary, terminated my interest.

Balance and self-control.  These are just two aspects of life, but vitally important ones.  You can have some great qualities, but lack these two and your life is in trouble.  Your effectiveness is undermined. You cannot enjoy great success in drawing others to Christ without them.  They may seem unrelated to one another, but they are both integral parts of the whole we must strive to be.  Swerving to the left or right of biblical center, getting obsessed with one or a few issues to the neglect of other duties or teaching, is dangerous.  Marry that with a lack of desire or ability to keep oneself in proper check and disaster awaits!  May we regularly do a check up on our character, our habits, our thoughts, and all the “major systems” (prayer, Bible study, service, etc.).  May we also make sure our lives are in proper balance and governed with self-control!  The alternative is unpleasant for ourselves and those around us!

–See Joshua 1:7; Acts 20:27; 2 Peter 1:5-7; Galatians 5:22-24; James 3:1-12

Neal Pollard

Driving back a few weeks ago from Polishing the Pulpit on a Wednesday night, two of my sons and I decided to attend Bible classes with a congregation en route to the airport from which we would fly home the following morning.  It was a congregation about the size of Bear Valley.  The class was well-taught, biblical, and interesting.  After the class, there was a brief intermission before a devotional period.  After the closing prayer, the boys and I stood and smiled at several, three extroverts looking for the opportunity to greet brethren before we had to get back on the road.  A great many of the members were making a dash for their cars to get home.  Several were swimming past us.  Only as we were making our exit did one brother half-heartedly, after we made a very deliberate approach toward him, greet us.

Fortunately for this congregation, I was not a non-Christian or struggling or sensitive Christian.  For whatever good this church may accomplish, they flunked in welcoming the outsiders who were among them.  Churches, like people, may have bad days, but the stakes are high and the impression made upon us was lasting.

It also left me mortified at the thought that anyone would ever be among us for one of our assemblies and leave with the same bad taste in his or her mouth.  I know the excuses we may use–“I had people to see and things to accomplish,” “I didn’t know they were a visitor,” “I wouldn’t know what to say,” “that’s not my ‘job,'” “that’s not my talent,” and the like.  But balance those sentiments with the potentially harmful, lasting, and negative impression we may leave on one in need of a connection that may lead to their salvation or much-needed encouragement.  Did you know we had a young man visit with us last night, a Christian brother who is in town taking a short course toward his engineering degree?  Dave Chamberlin spotted him standing alone in the back of the auditorium, in the middle of a crowd many of whom we both watched just walk past him.  Did you know he will be back at services on Wednesday night, before returning to a neighboring state to continue his higher education?  Dave spent quite a while talking with him, as did Michael Sharp.  How wonderfully this commends their warm-hearted spirit.  Maybe others met and visited with him, but why not let us set our minds to being a congregation renowned for bombarding our visitors with time and attention?  Next week, we have a golden opportunity through our lectureship–a time in which we will be inundated with “outsiders.”

Clint Stephens is the master at this.  He never assumes others will greet our visitors.  As a shepherd, he’s responsible for the flock but he has no greater responsibility than anyone else for greeting visitors.  If you will seek out and welcome our visitors, it will be the means of your spiritual growth and a tangible way to be a servant of Christ.  Let us be resolved that, on “our watch,” no one will leave one of our assemblies feeling invisible!

Neal Pollard

A couple of years ago, Ralph Williams and I were left in a parked, older model SUV in downtown Chittagong, Bangladesh, while a couple of local Christians and the driver went to get us some luchi frybread and Coca-Colas for breakfast.  It was morning rush hour, and the streets were filled with Muslims including not a few clerics and imams.  I admit that the sight and experience was unsettling.  I have heard the harrowing Muslim calls to prayer in such cities as Banderban, Nairobi, Arusha, and Dar es Salaam, and I cannot agree that it is either comforting or beautiful.  Many of the world’s trouble spots and areas of conflict center around at least one side adhering to Muslim ideology.  In its fundamental form, Muslims who are true to their book will read encouragement to be violent and oppressive.  For example, Qu’ran (8:12) says, “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”  Later, one reads, “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them” (Qu’ran 9:5).  Some (see http://www.religionofpeace.com) say at least 109 verses in the Koran call for Muslims to war against those they regard as infidels (unbelievers).

This Saturday, September 11, 2010, marks the ninth anniversary of the attack by Muslim terrorists on New York City, Washington, D.C., and another target thwarted in western Pennsylvania.  To mark this infamous date, a community church pastor named Terry Jones is going to burn a few hundred copies of the Koran.  Should we commend this response that has drawn international attention and caused many in Iraq and Afghanistan to burn this man in effigy?  Is that courage and conviction,  and is it that with which our Lord would be pleased?

While I certainly cannot speak for Him, I can look at His Words and follow His example (1 Pet. 2:21; see context).  I can read the writings of His disciples whom the Holy Spirit inspired to record His will and teaching.  I can see how John and Paul dealt with Judaism and proto-gnosticism, two of the most pervasive, troubling, and rival religions of the day.  They attacked and addressed ideas and doctrines, but they did not burn their books or their idols. While Jesus turned over the money changers table, He did not do so as a member of a different world religion but rather as a practicer of that religion correcting corruptions He saw within it (Matt. 21:12ff).  When books were burned in Acts 19:19, it was done by people who were converted to Christianity and felt convicted in their repentance to graphically get rid of books they now knew should hold no sway over them.  Paul did not burn those books in anger or in vengeance.

By the power of the gospel and providence of God, I have been able to sit down and study with Muslims in this country and overseas.  Through His Word, I have had the joy of watching men and women leave that religion to follow Christ.  Never have I found it effective to try to persuade someone or reach their heart by affronting, offending, and provoking them.  We serve the Prince of Peace (cf. Isa. 9:6).  He has shown us the way to mature, heavenly love (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4ff).  We are to be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16).  Jones’ action seems neither wise nor harmless.  Nor will it advance the cause of Christ or implant the word of Christ in the hearts of the lost.  We need to reach those outside of Christ, including those of the Muslim faith, but this is not the way to do it!

Neal Pollard

Many a drop-by visit, phone call, hospital or home visit, or foyer conversation have yielded unusual moments permanently burned into my memory.  This would include a series of phone calls I received from a man apparently employed by the Richmond Times Dispatch in Virginia.  The calls were usually spread apart by many months.  I had caller ID, so I had the number.  The  man sounded professional and intelligent, and he always said he was struggling with a problem and wanted to talk to a preacher.  So I would listen.  Every time, unexpectedly, the man would suddenly launch into using some of the raunchiest, foul language you could imagine.  I was baffled as to his motivation.  Some folks get a kick out of “shocking” a Christian.  Maybe he suffered with mental illness.  He was definitely troubled.  The phone calls ended when after he called me, I used the caller ID to call him back to tell him that I had his number and would not hesitate to come down and settle the matter personally or speak to someone in authority there.  It was unbelievable audacity for this member of the media to so freely spew vulgarities and profanities to someone he knew followed Christ.

If we are not careful, we are allowing media representatives to do the same to us!  They are spewing vulgarities and profanities at us in the name of entertainment.  Whatever their motives do not matter–money, personal ideology, or anti-Christian beliefs.  However, it should offend us and we should take it personally.  Spiritually, something is not right with this situation.  No unwholesome word is to come out of our mouths (Eph. 4:29).  Why?  It’s not right!  Is it better for us to entertain ourselves with unwholesome words?  If so, why?  If improper speech does not belong on our tongues (Col. 3:8; Tit. 2:8), let us keep it out of our ears, too!

Neal Pollard

The Bible says that “children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Ps. 127:3).  That verse reminds us of the stewardship of the eternal souls we partner with God in bringing into this world and immediately begin pointing toward eternity.  Weighed down with the thought of that prospect, Lee Fisher wrote this poem:

I have appreciated that poem ever since the day my dad gave it to me as a gift, the day my oldest son was born.  The plaque had hung in his office, and I have looked at it for most of the days since it has belonged to me.  As the years of fatherhood have added up for me, I pondered where the sequel to Mr. Fisher’s poem was.  Not having found it, I attempted to write one of my own.  Here it is:

That little chap grew big and tall,
No longer is he quite so small,
He’s got facial hair,
He drives a car,
He plays point guard
And steel guitar.
I look into his eyes and see
A deep imprint put there by me.
His tone of voice, his emphases,
All things he listened and learned from me.
He’ll soon leave home
Make his own way,
And more than once I’ll hear him say,
“I am today in all I do,
What all these years I’ve seen in you.”
–NP

For good or for ill, I am leaving a legacy by my parenting.  If the realization of that does not help me, I will likely live to have it haunt me.  How well can I lead my family to be where they need to be if I am not where I need to be.  If I am, they are more likely to get there, too!

Neal Pollard

Saturday’s Denver Post carried the bizarre story of Billie Jean James, a Las Vegas woman who with her husband, Bill, carried hoarding and pack-ratting to unheard of lengths.  The 67-year-old woman had been missing for four months and dogs with experience at ground zero on 9-11 and searching for victims during Hurricane Katrina could not find her in her home.  But, that’s exactly where her husband found her–buried beneath a pile of junk!  Though the husband is not a suspect in her death, you have to wonder how close they were for her to be lying in their small, one-bedroom home for so long without him knowing where she was.

“Whatever happened to brother or sister So N So?”  “Do you remember that family that used to attend here? Did they move?”  “What?! When did he die?  Three years ago?!”  These statements have been made far too often in churches large and small.  They are symptoms of a church that, at least in individual cases, lacks closeness as a spiritual family.  Our world has conditioned us to be individual units living in isolation from one another.  Too often, we live that way in our neighborhoods.  On the job, we pretty much stay to ourselves and lack connections with any real depth.  We may have a bunch of virtual friends through social networks or online connections, but those alone and in isolation lack the depth and breadth of actual, face to face friendships.  The same thing can happen in our church relationships.  We can become units of isolated believers.

The church is described as family in 1 Timothy 3:15, depicted in its various forms in 1 Timothy 5:1-2.  We are to be apart of each other’s lives (Titus 2:1ff).  We are to share life together, a trait which characterized the church from the very beginning (Acts 2:42-47).  The church is to be a loving group, known to be disciples of Jesus by a visible, active love for one another (John 13:34-35).  Something is not right, is even dysfunctional, when we do not know each other and are virtually strangers who meet together looking at the back of heads we stare at during worship before we quickly scurry out the door.  Such disconnection where we maintain merely a drive-by philosophy of church, devoid of relationships, sets us up for tragedies that go beyond that of Mrs. James.  For, if we slip away from faithfulness and are buried beneath the rubble of sin or broken faith, we make it harder for brothers and sisters to find us.  To die in that state is eternally devastating.  Let’s be more than a unit of isolated believers.  Let’s be family!

Neal Pollard

Tiger Woods just had his best round of golf since coming back from a leave of absence!  Isn’t that nice?  Woods can focus on his game without any unnecessary distractions–the divorce settlement is complete and he can move on to concentrating better on golf.

Perhaps the sarcasm is a bit harsh and the analysis may be flawed, but so often that is the world’s mentality.  I need to focus on me, my needs, and my interests.  What if Tiger had left the game of golf behind and given adequate time and attention to a fractured, hurting marriage relationship?  Many were surprised at how quickly his hiatus ended. Perhaps, we are not so surprised that, consequently, his marriage ended so quickly after his return.

Whatever the full details of the Woods’ story is, let us be careful.  The repeated admonition of scripture is for us to put others’ needs before our own (Phil. 2:3-4).  Husbands are to sacrificially love, nourish and cherish their wives (Eph. 5:23-25).  Doesn’t that mean going to whatever lengths necessary to protect and provide for her, even at great personal expense?  Before we look too harshly at Tiger, let us ask how well we are putting the needs of others and especially our spouse and children above our own wants and interests.  It makes all the difference in how we finish!

(Monroe Tharp is on the front row, far left)

Neal Pollard

Denny Petrillo just delivered one of the best chapel sermons I have ever heard.  He spoke about the advice he received from the late, beloved Bear Valley instructor, Monroe Tharp (hear Denny’s lesson here: bvchapel.blogspot.com).  In the midst of discussing the importance of loving the brethren, Denny referenced 2 Timothy 2:24.  There, Paul says that the servant of the Lord must be “patient when wronged.”  Denny masterfully analyzed the implications of that.  Consider that powerful admonition.

“Be Patient When Wronged.”  How do you handle mistreatment?  Do you fly off the handle? Do you get revenge? Do you turn bitter? Do you gossip? Do you rail or have outbursts of anger? Paul says to be patient.  That involves being slow to react, watching your words and attitude, and choosing your course of action deliberately!

“Be Patient When Wronged.”  He did not say “if.”  Accept the reality that service to Christ will produce times when people will hurt, malign, undermine, or slander you.  Do not take it personally.  Realize that it goes with the service territory. It will not happen every time you work for the Lord.  Often, people will show profound gratitude and offer encouragement.  But, there will be times when you are wronged.

“Be Patient When Wronged.”  Be aware that sometimes others, including Christians, will do what is wrong.  So often, your brothers and sister will be so kind, thoughtful, generous, and helpful.  But, the reality is that you will be mistreated in some way.  God anticipated these times and tells you how to react.

This admonition is extremely helpful for preachers, but also for any who have decided to follow Jesus and serve Him and His people. It is the how, when, and what of responding to mistreatment.  As Denny said, you will not be more mistreated than either Christ or Paul.  But, when you are mistreated, you have the instructions for handling it.  “Be patient when wronged.”

Neal Pollard

How much are you aware of the current crisis involving the miners trapped in Chile?  There are 33 men trapped under millions of tons of collapsed rock 700 meters (nearly half a mile) beneath the surface.  They are having to ration food to the degree that all of them will sport less than a 26 inch waist line when they are finally rescued (the drill bit that will bore through the rock will be 26 inches in circumference). They could be trapped for months.  Former hostage Brian Keenan, held for four and a half years in Beirut in the 1980s, wrote about the psychological effect this could have on the miners who could be trapped there in the dark, confined emergency shelter for months (www.telegraph.co.uk).  He reports the words of the most senior minor, Mario Gomez, who has the best possible perspective despite a grim, terrifying position. Gomez said, “I want to tell everyone that I’m good and we’ll surely come out okay. Patience and faith. God is great and the help of my God is going to make it possible to leave this mine alive” (ibid.).

I have known a great many people who were trapped alive.  They were buried under tons of the rubble of bad habits and addictions, from pernicious pornography to abominable alcohol.  They hate those behaviors, but they have not left that hole for safety. Some have painted themselves into a corner that they feel they cannot leave due to pride, grudge-bearing, or hurt.  They will not say “I am sorry” or “I am wrong,” and they are keeping themselves in a deep, dark hole.  Some are stuck in a bad, unhealthy, and spiritually detrimental relationship, and they lie buried underneath their guilt, fear, or anticipated loneliness.  So many have allowed themselves to be buried.  They are miserable, they hate where they are, and they feel trapped!

The Chilean miners are dependent upon help from above.  They cannot save themselves. Oh, that those trapped beneath the wreckage of wickedness could appreciate that fact in their situation.  The great news is that God can rescue immediately.  But we must turn loose of the debris and come to the light.  If those miners could leave that hole today, you know they would!  To stay would be insensible.  So it is with the pit of spiritual despair I’ve described.  To stay in darkness, hopelessness, and the fear of the judgment is folly!  God is waiting to rescue you.

Neal Pollard

Michael Sharp, being a “sharp” accountant in more than one sense of the word, forwarded an article to me from his “daily tax readings.”  It was about a recent court decision involving a purported “church,” Foundation of Human Understanding (FHU), who failed to qualify for 501(c)(3) status for tax exemption as a church.  They were an internet church, having “virtual assemblies” and generating written publications but not actually meeting together.  They failed the “associational test” to qualify as a church.  How refreshing, as Michael points out, that there is still some sanity in our tech-hungry world regarding face to face, people to people contact.

Apparently, the IRS has a 14 criteria standard, but FHU (a “Christian” group whose leader developed a form of meditation used by FHU followers) failed to meet enough of them to lose their non-profit, religious organization status.  To be a church, the court said, the organization had to provide “fellowship through communal worship.”  They also ruled that a “virtual congregation” or “electronic ministry” was an inadequate substitute.

A few significant observations seem pretty obvious.  First, virtual assembling and actual assembling to worship are obviously different enough for a secular court system to see it.  I do not wonder when the day will come when people stay home and “watch church” on the internet in lieu of being physically present.  It is not the same!

Second, the courts said there is an objective, measurable standard for determining whether or not a group of people are truly a church.  If people do not assemble and meet to fellowship, they cannot call themselves a church.  So, what about those who habitually stay away from the worship services?  Will the Lord recognize them as being a faithful part of the church?  Do we pass or fail the “associational test” on an individual basis?

Finally, people can know whether or not we are genuinely a church of our Lord.  John 13:34-35 points out that by showing love one for another, we show the unbeliever who a true disciple is.  The Bible says that we prove discipleship through bearing much fruit (John 15:8) and continuing in His Word (John 8:31).  If a people do not conform in worship and doctrine to what the New Testament lays down as identifying traits of Christ’s church, how can they be part of His church?

It is important that we pass the Lord’s test and that our friends and family not in Christ can see the difference He makes in us.  We are tried in the court of “public opinion,” but we will some day stand before the perfect Judge (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8).  We want to be known and judged by Him to be the church of Christ.

Neal Pollard

Mark Hanstein told me this week about a bizarre baseball incident from earlier this season involving a Major League baseball player who also happens to be a member of the Lord’s church.  Jeff Baker, playing third base for the Chicago Cubs, was set and apparently ready to field his position when Dodger catcher Russell Martin hit a searing line drive past him that missed him by only a few feet.  Baker never reacted until after the ball went past him, when he apparently heard it.  Jeff was suffering from an ocular migraine.  Carrie Muskat, who has covered the Cubs since 1981, spoke with him after the incident.  He said, “Instead of getting pain and a headache, it just knocked out the vision in my right eye.” Then he said, “I heard it, I saw it for a second barely.  I didn’t move. I don’t know why, to be honest. I didn’t see it very well. I didn’t pick it up. I looked in the dugout at [athletic trainer] Ed [Halbur] and he asked me if I was OK, and I said, ‘It’s not getting better'” (muskat.mlblogs.com).  Martin was hitting a little, round missile that could have given Baker more than a migraine.

Sometimes we cannot see the future consequences of present actions.  Teens, when dating and pressed by hormones and confused by talk of love, can go too far and reap physical, emotional, or spiritual consequences they never saw coming.  Parents can improperly prioritize the goals they have for their children, and inadvertently teach them that something else is more important than God.  Husbands or wives can allow seemingly “innocent” relationships with the opposite sex to blossom into something unwholesome and sinful.  What you don’t see can hurt you!

Sometimes we cannot see the power of our influence upon others.  Our words are overheard and they can have a deeper impact on the hearer than we know.  Be they negative, gossiping, biting, hypercritical, suggestive, or profane words, those words can be permanently etched in the memory of the receiver.  Our actions and habits are picked up by the impressionable, the young person, the new Christian, or the newcomer.  What we do or do not do can lead them away from the Lord, though we never saw it coming.  What you don’t see can hurt you!

Do not let what you cannot see be your undoing.  There’s more than your literal noggin at stake.  There is more than yourself at stake.  Let’s make sure we can see clearly the power of all we say and do!

Neal Pollard

It is indeed tragic that D.S. Burnet would eventually be most associated with the American Christian Missionary Society, presiding over and drafting its constitution (McCoy 215).  At one time, he published “a revised edition of (Alexander) Campbell’s first journal, the Christian Baptist” (Foster, et al, 103), a publication dedicated to the promotion of pure New Testament Christianity and to the opposition of unauthorized, man-made innovations.  Though Campbell backed the idea of a national organization to engage in mission work, many quickly opposed it on scriptural grounds.  Dabney Phillips summarizes these concisely, as follows:  “First, the society became a substitute for the church.  Second, the society caused division. Third, it was felt that the society would, and in fact did, dictate to the congregations. Fourth, the society made for a poor investment financially (nearly half of contributions going to operations and bureaucracy, NP)” (158-159).

However far off track, doctrinally, Burnet would become, his beginning was admirable.  The subject of a biographical sketch in a December 10, 1859, edition of the Philadelphia Press, the Cincinatti man identified in the article as a member of the “Disciples of Christ”  and who preferred to be called “Elder” rather than “Reverend” was a well-educated and successful man.  Though born to a Presbyterian family, he rejected the idea of original sin, infant baptism, and sprinkling taught by that denomination.  According to the article, he found greater theological kinship among the Baptists.  The teenager was asked by the Baptist denomination whether or not he believed certain of their articles of faith, told that his acceptance into the group hinged on such acceptance.  Not knowing what the Bible said about those matters, the young Burnet “said that he must therefore refuse to profess his unqualified belief in anything else than the naked Bible” (2).  What could they say?  Though their union would be short-lived, his argument was hard to overcome.

People like to study what the scholars and Bible critics say, what other preachers and professors think, what commentaries have written about things, and what contemporary human thought is about religious matters.  These are fine as subordinate aids.  However, too often they clothe the Bible with erroneous ensembles, layers of lies, and anti-biblical accessories.  It is then that one must cling to the philosophy of the young Burnet, wanting only “the naked Bible.”  If only Burnet had held fast to that view all of his life.  What a warning for us, constantly exposed to humanistic philosophy and worldly wisdom as long as we live.  We can start to dress up our Bibles with the devil’s doctrines, not even knowing we are doing it.  May we always long for plain, simple, and unadulterated, Bible truth!

Neal Pollard

What’s small and blunt and often overran?

The sharpest weapon known to man.

It cuts so sharp, like nothing else can

The sharpest weapon known to man.

It stabs the back, oh who can stand

The sharpest weapon known to man?

It wounds its victims through a devilish plan,

The sharpest weapon known to man.

So hard to control and it can’t be outran,

The sharpest weapon known to man!

It’s widely used on “friends” and on clan,

The sharpest weapon known to man.

So many misuses yet impossible to ban,

The sharpest weapon known to man.

It will cost so many a home in that heavenly land,

The sharpest weapon known to man.

More damage has been done by it through history’s span,

The sharpest weapon known to man.

Please handle with care, for naught’s deadlier than

The sharpest weapon known to man.

The tongue, the tongue, when not firmly in hand

Is the sharpest, deadliest weapon known to man.