The difficult truth about the role of women that was lost in the outrage for/against Harrison Butker's speech

 

It was entirely predictable that NFL kicker Harrison Butker's commencement address would be condemned in most blue circles and lauded in red ones.  The click-bait outrage fueled Culture War industry needs new topics on a daily basis, and this one is a near-perfect Rorschach Test that allows both sides to see what they hope to see in it.  For example:

Chiefs' Harrison Butker 'said nothing wrong' during faith-based commencement speech, religious group says - Fox News

vs.

Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker’s commencement speech has reached a new level - CNN

To read the full text of the speech: Full Text: Harrison Butker of Kansas City Chiefs Graduation Speech - National Catholic Register

While Harrison Butker said a lot of things in his speech about politics, COVID19, and the Catholic Church (especially the Traditional Latin Mass), some of which was good and true but parts of which were conspiracy-theory driven and dangerous, it was his address directly to the graduating women that caught the attention of most:

For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I'm on the stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I'm beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker...

I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand how much happier someone can be when they disregard the outside noise and move closer and closer to God's will in their life. Isabelle's dream of having a career might not have come true, but if you asked her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud, without hesitation, and say, “Heck, No.”

Here is the difficult truth that Butker didn't mention in his speech: For most young women in America today, there is no choice between being a homemaker and having a career.  Most won't get to choose because they will have to work throughout the years in which they may or may not be also fulfilling the role of mother.  Economic realities are, in fact, realities.  

When I was growing up I was blessed to have a mother who was, mostly, able to be at home before we went to school and when we came back home.  My mom, Kathy, worked a few odd-jobs during those years, but it was mostly running day-care out of our home that helped to pay the bills.  My dad, Walt, worked hard for over 40 years at Amway, working his way up the ladder and teaching himself the math that his high school education didn't include.  I'm exceedingly proud of the hard work and dedication of both my dad and my mom during the decades when my brother, sister, and I were growing up.  We were blessed to have both of our parents so involved in our daily lives.  

That was then, it was tight for us with my dad's income as the primary, supplemented by what my mom could earn, but the economic situation for most of my generation-X, and certainly the generations after, has gotten more difficult.

The reality is, most of the women hearing Harrison Butker's speech will need to work full-time, or close to it, if their future family has any real chance of owning a home and paying the bills.  It won't be about choosing the "vocation" of being a homemaker, but the juggling of multiple roles and responsibilities, something women have known about for centuries.

The stay-at-home mom may be an ideal among Christian conservatives {and not just Catholics, see: Why does John MacArthur think it is ok to tell Beth Moore to 'Go home'? - blog post 10/19}, but the economic choices facing would-be mothers and fathers don't care if you root for the blue team or the red team.

I'll let a story from my own life and marriage to Nicole be the last thought here: When we were first married in 2001, my wife worked full-time as a teacher (first at Saranac High School, then Pewamo-Westphalia, both in MI).  That continued for the first 9 years of our marriage.  It wasn't because she wanted to work full-time, but because even with my own multiple jobs added to the mix we struggled to pay our modest mortgage each month, and in fact had a significant debt-load to climb out from under when we moved to PA in 2012.  We both worked hard, but we were spinning our wheels financially.  To make matters worse, from 2010-2012 we didn't have any health insurance.  I was working multiple jobs but none of them had benefits.  I know that this story will sound familiar to a lot of people.

It may come as no surprise, then, that our daughter Clara wasn't born until 2015, after our financial situation had improved significantly (and when we had health insurance).  If God had blessed us sooner with a child, we would have celebrated and praised that blessing, but Nicole would have been forced to return to work as soon as she was physically able after that child was born.  I know many women who have done just that, returning full-time to the work force within a few weeks of giving birth.  I can't begin to imagine how difficult that must be physically and emotionally, they're amazing.

In the end, it doesn't really matter if the "ideal" family in Harrison Butker's view has a stay-at-home mom to the millions of families for whom that "ideal" can never be a reality.

Let us remember to support and encourage the young mothers and fathers in our own churches and communities who are trying to juggle all of the roles and responsibilities that reality has tossed at them.

John MacArthur's denial of the existence of mental illness is shameful, harmful, and outright false

 

Beth Moore, doctor criticize John MacArthur for claiming mental illness isn’t real - by Leonardo Blair, Christianpost.com

‘There’s no such thing as PTSD, OCD, ADHD,’ John MacArthur declares - by Mark Wingfield, Baptistnewsglobal.com

I've been married to my beautiful wife Nicole for nearly 23 years.  Nicole hasn't hidden from the fact that she has suffered from clinical depression since she was a teenager.  During our years together she has had good days and bad days, good years and bad years, with respect to this disease.  At times, she hasn't needed any medication or counseling in order to live her life normally, we thank God for the blessing of those seasons of relief.  But at other times, some brief and some long, she would not be able to go about her day-to-day responsibilities without support beyond her own willpower, prayer, and a husband who tries his best to make things easier.  She can't do it alone, and her husband doesn't have the power to fill the gap.  Why not?  Because clinical depression is real, and you can't overcome it with hard work or determination.  {National Institutes of Health: Depression}.  When things have been bad, my wife has needed the health of both medication proscribed by a physician, and counseling from a trained professional.  These supports are not an admission of weakness, they are choosing a wise path.  

This is reality, and it is one that millions of families in America, and hundreds of millions of families around the world, know to be true.

Pastor John MacArthur begs to differ.

After watching John MacArthur deny the danger of Covid19 four years ago {John MacArthur jumps the shark with COVID-19 response } and then later in the year declare that true Christians must vote for one party, and one party only, in America {Beware of the Political Church: John MacArthur declares, "any real true believer" can only vote one way. }, I'm not surprised that he's continued to say things that are both untrue and dangerous to the Church.  By proclaiming that mental illness is a fabrication, and that neither medication nor psychological counseling are of any value, John MacArthur has once more tarnished his own reputation and put his considerable authority (in some circles) behind ideas that will bring real harm to Christians and non-Christians alike.

“The major noble lie is there is such a thing as mental illness."

This pronouncement from MacArthur is made without any offer of proof, any data or studies, he simply asserts it as fact, but it isn't a fact, it is a lie (or a self-delusion).

"There's no such thing as PTSD. There's no such thing as OCD. There's no such thing as ADHD. Those are noble lies to basically give the excuse to, at the end of the day, to medicate people. And Big Pharma is in charge of a lot of that,”

This is a slap in the face of every veteran, police officer, nurse, abused spouse or child, assault survivor, and on and on who has suffered in the grip of PTSD.  One would have thought that we've moved past the days when General Patton felt free to slap a soldier in the face who was suffering from, "the shakes," but in reality there still is a huge stigma attached to mental illnesses, one that contributes to the woefully high suicide rates among those who suffer from them.  John MacArthur's conspiracy theory laden words will make things worse.

Is there a conversation to be had, rationally and with evidence, about the dangers of over-medicating, especially with kids?  Absolutely, but this isn't that, not by a long shot.

“We are trying to make clear to parents that behavior is essentially the result of choices that kids make and if you parent them properly, they’ll make right choices,”

Now the circle of harm grows wider.  Parents who listen to John MacArthur and ignore sound medical advice when their child has a real mental illness by refusing to allow them to be treated will also carry with them undeserved guilt when things go awry (as they almost always will because mental illness is real) because he has told them that good parents will teach kids to make choices that lead to good outcomes.  This is dangerous with respect to parenting even without the topic of mental illness attached.  Parents lead by example, they offer wisdom and boundaries, but children are not a math formula, sometimes loving parents who do their best have kids who struggle in life; that too is a fact.

“literally turning your child not only into a potential drug addict, but maybe a potential criminal because they never learned how to negotiate and navigate life in a socially acceptable way.”

Once again, a bold statement without any evidence or proof.

In the end, MacArthur paints a picture of those who suffer from mental illness as weak people who make all of their "bad choices" in a vacuum.  Thank God that our Heavenly Father doesn't judge us in this black/white way without compassion.

How does this pronouncement from John MacArthur about mental health make me feel as a pastor, a husband, and simply as a human being that has compassion on those who suffer?  Honestly, it is a mixture of sadness at seeing a man degenerate this far into self-destruction of his reputation and ministry, and anger because I know that people who fight each day against mental illness will be harmed needlessly by this nonsense.  The cult of personality around famous pastors enables foolishness like this, the Church is worse off because of it.

As a pastor, I also want to say this: If you suffer from mental illness, please don't hold back from seeking help, every pastor I know will respond to you with compassion and understanding to help you, and we all are willing to admit that we need the help of healthcare professionals to assist in the areas in which we don't have training and expertise.  

Please seek help if you need it, don't suffer alone, don't suffer in silence.  God bless all those who, like my wife and I, and so many others, know that mental illness is all too real.

My daughter turns 9 this week, what that makes this dad think about

It was in the fall of 2014 that I put Nicole's first sonogram into our Sunday worship PowerPoint and told the congregation that I had a picture to share with them.  There were gasps right away from the ladies who knew what they were looking at, everyone else needed an explanation.  Clara Marie was born in 2015, changing my wife Nicole's and my own life for good, and changing it for the good.

I spent a lot of time dealing with unpleasant ideas and people, that isn't an indictment of my congregation or this town, as they have been stupendous in their support of myself and my family, but a reality that reflects the human condition.  I research, write, and speak about racism, nationalism, sexism, corruption, abuses of power, heresy, greed, lust, and all the rest.  I also get to talk about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (the Fruit of the Spirit), but my own nature as a communicator and my personality often draw me toward those people and causes who need to be defended against evil.  What does any of that have to do with Clara?  Clara is a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air.  She hugs her dad with clinging arms and gives far too moist kisses.  She laughs with gusto, believes the best is possible, and doesn't know yet that life and people can really kick you when you're down.  I know that some day Clara will change, somebody will disappoint her, break her heart, but I'll appreciate every day that she has remaining with her youthful optimism, and pray that they continue.

That Clara is about to be 9 already also reminds me of our need to make the most of the time we have in this life, to borrow from Dead Poets Society, we need to "seize the day."  Clara being 9 reminds me that I came to Franklin more than 12 years ago, that now more than half of our married life has been spent here in PA.  Until 2023, the longest tenure of my career had been teaching at Portland Adult and Community Education, now it is being here at First Baptist of Franklin.  Unless God has plans for me that I don't know about, this will be the longest and most impactful chapter of my life; that it also happens to coincide with the years that I have been blessed to be called "Daddy" by my little girl only amplifies that thought.  

I also think at times of reflection like this about the men and women who haven't been blessed with the role of parenthood, and those who have become estranged from, or have mourned their lost children.  It was at a funeral a few years ago when a church member about my own age asked me to read a poem about her dad that I realized that being a dad had changed my emotional make-up.  Funerals can be hard for me, other peoples' grief can hit me hard (that's inherited from my mom) but this wasn't that, it was the thought that popped into my head of Clara having to grieve me some day that choked me up so thoroughly that day.  That being said about a child mourning his/her parent, I can't imagine what those of you who have carried the scars of a child who was only in your hopes, or who was with you for far too short a time, have been through.  May God grant you peace, that you still function each day with that pain is a testament to the strength you must have.

Lastly, being Clara's dad is one of the top three things I've ever had a hand in.  I say top 3 because I'm not counting being a child of God who was redeemed by Jesus as something I had a hand in, that was 100% God's grace, the Spirit's calling, and my parents' faithfulness; I don't take any credit on that one.  Those three things are, then, being the pastor of a congregation, Nicole's husband, and Clara's dad.  God has been good to me, I'm blessed with all three of those right now, and the knowledge that the one that was all grace (my salvation) will remain even if/when the others have come to a close.

If you read this someday, Clara, know that your dad is amazed by his Silly Pants* and loves you more than the words he's typing can ever express.

*The nickname Nicole gave her, appropriately she has embraced this accurate description and refuses to have any other nickname.

The Stories We Choose to Tell: God’s use of The Exodus

 

My beautiful wife Nicole and I have been married for 21 years and counting.  Early on in our married life she began a habit of asking, “tell me a story” at the end of our day.  Aside from an occasional foray into fiction, my go-to response was to tell her about how we had met, about our first kiss, reminding her that she asked me to kiss her, and how we had subsequently fallen in love. 

Along with these origin stories about how our union came to be, which she enjoyed even though they lacked any radioactive spider bites or experiments with gamma radiation, I recounted to her the tales of road trips we had taken together to Texas, Virginia, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, and once more to Glacier National Park, and the various adventures, and misadventures that accompanied them. 

For example, “Do you remember the time we pulled a pop-up camper to RMNP, only to discover while we tried to set it up in the dark at the end of the first day that we’d left two of the poles behind, necessitating making new ones from some pipe purchased at a Lowe’s the next day, have the stove be unusable because the gas line was clogged with a wasp nest, discover the hard way that misquotes had multiple ways inside that we needed to plug, have a flat on the car in Colorado and on the trailer in MN, and finally have the lift mechanism stuck in the up position while I beat on it with a rubber hammer at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in MI’s U.P.?  Ah, fun times.”  FYI, that was the only trip we took with that trailer, sold it the next summer.

For Christmas 2007, I created a journal of memories to give to Nicole that covered our relationship from 1999 when we first met until then.  It was a leather-bound journal with the written version of the stories from my point of view that I had been telling her at night, in my dubious handwriting, but also with stickers representing the various events in our lives together and places we had visited in it that I had purchased at a craft store to give it some flare.

In 2014, when Nicole and I returned to Glacier National Park, hiking to some of the same places as we had in 2004 like Avalanche Lake, but adding a 13.6-mile round trip trail with 3,526 feet of elevation gain to Sperry Chalet, the last mile or so on top of the still six or seven feet deep snow that remained in mid-June.  It was a climb that seemed endless to Nicole, especially since you can’t see the goal to know if you’re getting close or not until you’re almost to it.  After that trip, Nicole took it upon herself to one-up my effort of commemoration by making this professional looking book on the computer and printing it on Shutterfly.

The thing is, we both knew the stories that we were telling each other, or writing about, already.  It wasn’t new information the first time we told it to each other, let alone on subsequent retellings, so why did Nicole want me to share with her those same memories over and over again? 

The reason has to do with the value we place on the stories we choose to tell about the past.  There was a reason why she didn’t ask me to, and I didn’t choose to, recount boring everyday stories, things from work, traumas, or sorrows, but rather focused upon those seminal moments, those vivid, comic, and happy memories that we shared together.  Our shared stories are instrumental in explaining how we became who we are now, the experiences themselves having molded and shaped us along the way.

It turns out, God does much the same thing by choosing to share, and reshare, specific stories about the past in the scriptures.  One moment in time stands out as the example par excellence: The Exodus. 

The first time God tells Moses that The Exodus is going to be a recurring theme occurs during the instructions about the Passover,

Exodus 12:14     New International Version

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

Even before it had happened, God told Moses that his people would be required to commemorate this display of God’s power and covenantal faithfulness with a yearly ceremony in perpetuity.

It was much less than one year before the story of The Exodus was brought back up, even before the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai, God needed to remind them of the plagues that had befallen Egypt, this first time using the story to put a stop to their grumbling along the way.

In fact, Moses used the story of The Exodus when talking to God, who certainly hadn’t forgotten about it, in his plea for mercy upon the Israelites following the Golden Calf debacle.

Exodus 32:11-12     New International Version

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

Thus begins a pattern repeated many, many times in the remaining books of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, of God, the psalmists, the prophets, Jesus, the Apostles, and more making direct references and easily identifiable allusions to God’s actions in The Exodus. 

The Exodus in subsequent portions of scripture becomes a catch-all capable of both admonishing the people when they go astray from the covenant and encouraging the people during times of oppression.  While pointing to the past, references to The Exodus also become the basis for promises about what God will do for his people in the future, with the ultimate culmination being the Messianic fulfillment of Jesus whose life and ministry is steeped in Exodus imagery highlighted by a Passover meal at the beginning of his Passion.

The past, for God, is a tool capable of teaching his people what he needs them to know in a variety of settings and circumstances.  It is not meant to be forgotten, but remembered and learned from not once, but multiple times.

What then do we do with what God has done in our lives, individually, our families, as a local congregation, and as a region of the American Baptist Churches?  Commemoration and celebration are certainly in order, as is storytelling and preservation of that history that allows it to be shared now and in the future. 

Following the biblical examples of how The Exodus is used, perhaps the most important things we can do with our knowledge of what God has done for us and through us in the past, is use it to help us confront, and by God’s grace overcome, the challenges of the present.  Have we strayed?  Remembering how God forgave our past can guide us to repentance again.  Are we burdened?  Recalling how God provided in our past can comfort us and give us hope.  Do we need motivation? Praising God for the outpouring of his amazing grace in living memory can help us find it.

What stories do you need to tell of the love of God manifested in your church and your family?

The stories I can choose to tell to Nicole in the present have a new character in them since she made “Nicole and Randy’s Big Adventure” in 2014: our precious Clara Marie.  And while we were already aware of God’s presence in the first 14 years of our journey as husband and wife, especially the difficult years that led step by step to our decision to move to PA in 2012, and while we have already given him glory for seeing us through those days, parenthood is often God’s way of saying, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  We have so many stories to tell of God’s love and faithfulness.

My thirty year journey away from Rush Limbaugh

 

As a public persona, Rush Limbaugh changed very little in the last thirty years, his philosophy regarding government, animosity toward political opponents, and bombastic style was rather constant despite the significant changes that occurred in America from the early 1990's until the present.  Rush Limbaugh didn't change very much, but I did.

Picture it: 1991, a high school sophomore, 16, listens to Rush Limbaugh on the radio, lives in a small rural town that is almost entirely white, attends church three times a week at an independent Baptist church, and begins to be involved in a weekly student led bible study at a teacher's home that will continue through high school when he begins to lead the group while in college.  That skinny kid, smart but arrogant, quick with a retort as a defense mechanism, steeped in bible knowledge, but light on biblical wisdom, loved Limbaugh's passion and humor.  He laughed at the feminists (he didn't know any), had high hopes for the power of politics to change things for the better, and flirted with the idea of majoring in political science and making a career out of his own hopes for America's future.

Icing my knees in 92 or 93 after a run at the Sanford home where our bible study was held

What changed?  First of all, I didn't major in political science, I realized that two major things would stand in the way of a career in politics: I hated asking for money, and I had no penchant for dissembling.  The other factor was the bible study that I mentioned previously.  Beginning my sophomore year, myself and a group of fellow students that grew to over twenty met weekly at the home of Mrs. Sanford, our Advanced English teacher, to do a verse by verse study of the bible.  We didn't use prepared materials, we simply read a verse and people commented upon it.  Because of my background in Sunday school, junior church, youth group, 5 day clubs, and especially AWANA, I had more bible knowledge than most, and became one of the regular commentators in our group.  I probably talked more than anyone else during our hour each week, that's sounds like me.  It was through that group that my eyes began to open to the possibility of ministry as a career, a calling.  Eventually, I called my pastor, James Frank, and told him that I felt called to be a pastor.  At this point, I was very conservative in my politics, although I had suffered my first disillusionment about the whole business when I voted for the losing candidate in the 1992 presidential election (on my 18th birthday), and I still listened to and enjoyed Rush Limbaugh, I even had both of his books.

One incident that happened at Bible study sticks with me, although at the time it didn't have much of an impact upon my thinking.  We were reading Galatians 1:8, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  and like normal, I shared my viewpoint on the meaning of the text.  Unbeknownst to me, there was a Catholic student in our group, and after I proceeded to excoriate the Catholic Church for perverting the Gospel (a very typical independent Baptist viewpoint: see John MacArthur, James White, or Steven Anderson) Mrs. Sanford took me aside and informed me that my words could have hurt that other student.  But I was 18, and I knew everything, I brushed it off, my mind was firm.  Looking back on it, I wish I had listened to her, but I'm not surprised that I didn't.  I really only knew one family that was Catholic, who had a daughter in my grade who was one of my friends, and almost every Christian I knew belonged to an independent church because they were the only ones that our church 'fellowshipped' with.  My horizons were narrow, indeed.

Things began to change, although I was still listening to Limbaugh regularly, when I arrived at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Not because the school was liberal by any means, all of its faculty were Baptists, and when I first arrived it was still against school policy for students to go the movies (something I had enjoyed since my mom took me to see the Dark Crystal when I was 6, fortunately those scars healed).  It was only years later that I found out that Cornerstone was pesona non grata to many from the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARB) or the Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA).  How did my education at Cornerstone begin to change my attitude toward Rush Limbaugh?  The first thing that it did was expose me to the reality of diversity within Christian history, theology, and the Church today.  New books, new authors, new arguments and viewpoints, even when you yourself don't change what you believe very much, your eyes begin to open to the possibility that God could be working with/through Christians whose backgrounds and attitudes differ significantly.  At Cornerstone I had amazing professors, they were all conservative by any broad definition regarding theology, culture, and politics, but they were committed to teaching their students HOW to think, not WHAT to think.  It was a profound attitude, and a gift from God.

So there I was at Cornerstone, working toward a degree in religion, with a minor in philosophy, more interested in the kingdom of God than the kingdoms of men, and inching away from the certainty and antagonism of Rush Limbaugh.  I listened less, I was annoyed more often, but the space between his certainty and my budding realization that other perspectives could honor and please God was not yet very wide.

Two things happened during my senior year in college that moved me further down the path to where I am today.  The first was a month spent in Guatemala on a cross-cultural missions trip, and it was indeed an eye opening experience on many levels.  The second was the ending of a year and a half's relationship with my college girlfriend, Elizabeth.  She and I had similar backgrounds, being raised in Baptist Churches and attending conservative Christian schools (she went to Cedarville in Ohio).  Whatever path the two of us might have trod together, it was not the same one I'm on now.

The kids who came to our program at Dios Es Amor Church in Chichicastenango, Guatemala

While at Cornerstone, I also saw a glimpse of ministry being done in a way that transcended politics in the person of Ed Dobson.  Not the Focus on the Family Ed Dobson, but the Blinded by Might Ed Dobson, the pastor of Calvary Church whose mega church (before mega churches were everywhere) neighbored the campus of Cornerstone.  Pastor Dobson, who went home to glory in 2015 after a courageous battle with ALS, impacted me, although the closest we came to meeting was me sitting in his congregation listening to him preach a couple times.  {I highly recommend his The Year of Living Like Jesus, it is very powerful and touches on some of the themes I'm trying to elucidate here}

After graduating from Cornerstone, I made the momentous decision to seek real-world experience for my resume before continuing on with Seminary training; it was choosing the hard road, though I didn't know it.  It did have an impact on my journey away from the politics-centric certainty of Limbaugh because it eventually brought me to both Caledonia United Methodist Church and Oakview Reformed Church, where I worked as a youth pastor/leader for about a year and six months, respectively.  It was another step away from a narrowly defined Church toward one that more faithfully encompasses the breadth of God's grace in our world

While working at Caledonia UMC and living in Grand Rapids, I met a soon-to-be Calvin College graduate and future teacher, Suzanne, who ended up moving back home to Minneapolis, MN after we had dated a few times.  She found work at a school there, and I considered moving to MN to see if the relationship had long-term potential, but I was stymied by the MN director of GARB because he was unwilling to help a graduate of Cornerstone find work at one of their churches because of how 'liberal' the school was.  Flabbergasted at this, and without means of finding work in MN, I remained in MI and continued working as a substitute teacher while trying to secure a more than part-time ministry position.

During this time of transition in 1999, I met the woman who would truly bend the direction that my life was heading, my future wife, Nicole Brzezinski.  Nicole, in addition to being a free spirit, was (and is) a devout Catholic.  At first, neither of us considered our relationship to be anything more than a friendship, because we couldn't see how any romantic relationship would have a future.  As friendships among 20 somethings sometimes go, we found ourselves together, wondering what to do next.

How could I hope to find work at a Baptist church as a pastor if I brought along with me a Catholic wife?  How could we get married if I didn't have a full-time job?  Life's questions were paramount at the time, politics was far from my mind, and I no longer listened to Rush Limbaugh.  Eventually, Nicole and I made our commitment to each other, and were married at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church on June 30th, 2001.  

My future as a pastor seemed unlikely, work was not to be found, so I took the few classes I needed to obtain a teaching certification in Social Studies and English, and found work at an unlikely place: Portland Adult and Community Education.  This began a ten year stint there that was as much of an eye opening experience for me as my month in Guatemala.  Guatemala had shown me the reality of Third World poverty and a church operating faithfully in a significantly different culture from my own; working at P.A.C.E introduced me to students with backgrounds and experiences that had been all around me growing up in rural Ionia County, but outside of my limited church/nerd/runners social circle.  It had always been taken as a given by the philosophy of Rush Limbaugh (inspired by Ayn Rand: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand: Hatred of the authority of God) that America's greatness was due in large part to 'rugged individualism' and those who had 'pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps'.  At P.A.C.E. I saw generational poverty firsthand, learned what it was like for my students to have none of the support system that I was blessed with growing up, but instead to need to overcome the presence of drugs and violence in their lives in order to reach for a high school diploma.  Life was not as simple and people were not as easily categorized, as the pundits would have us believe.  People, experience was teaching me, are not wholly responsible for their own 'success' or 'failure' in life; individualism is not the panacea.

Five years into my teaching tenure at P.A.C.E. I was invited to preach at the First Baptist Church of Palo, MI.  The next Sunday I was offered the position of pastor to this small, very rural, congregation.  I was there for five years, learning on the job.  It was at Palo that I was ordained, although one of the local ministers that I asked to sit on my ordination council abstained from voting in favor because he was unaware when the process began that I had a Catholic wife.  I was happy at P.A.C.E. and at Palo, but I needed full-time ministry, and additionally neither position had benefits like health insurance.

Nicole and I struggled during the ten years that I worked at P.A.C.E (five of which I was also at 1st Baptist of Palo), we couldn't keep our heads above water financially, even though our home was a modest one, and when Nicole's health necessitated the end of her 10 years of teaching high school English, we lost our health insurance as well.  The school board at Portland didn't consider the P.A.C.E teachers to be worthy of the same pay as other teachers (we made only 1/2 as much), and didn't provide any benefits.  My dad worked for Amway for 44 years and that company had treated him well, he was never out of work, and even though we were far from rich, we didn't struggle nearly as much as many others.  If not for the kindness of my parents in offering us assistance, we would have lost our house during those hard years after Nicole quit teaching.  I was working three jobs, but we barely could pay our monthly bills.  If this could happen to the guy voted 'most likely to succeed' who graduated Summa Cum Laude from college, it was further proof that 'rugged individualism' wasn't the whole answer.  Our personal struggles opened my eyes further to the needs of those around us, to the structural causes of poverty, and questions about how the Church should respond.

Nicole's Catholicism prevented us from receiving offers from a number of churches, one in Indiana and one in New York both in the fall of 2011.  It was heartbreaking, and tearful questions of 'why?' abounded.  Thankfully, not every church felt that way.  When I told the search committee of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA that my wife was Catholic, they were unfazed.  We moved here at the start of 2012 with a new 'lease on life', it was a much needed turn for the better.

Western PA is very similar to western MI, but with one significant difference: Baptists and independent bible churches are a small minority (and there are few Reformed Churches), and those churches that are here have a much more ecumenical attitude toward each other.  Here in Venango County we joke that you can't throw a stick without hitting a Methodist Church (mostly UMC, but Free Methodist too).  In fact, across the corner from our church is First UMC, and halfway down the block is Christ UMC.  In response to my choice to move forward with Nicole I had researched and written a 'book' about the ecumenism of 1 John {Christianity's Big Tent: The Ecumenism of 1 John} while we lived in MI, but here in Franklin I saw the reality of that thesis in practice.  What was the thesis?  According to the Apostle John, there are three tests of faith/fellowship that determine if someone is a genuine Christian: (1) Do they acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? (2) Do they have genuine love for fellow Christians? And (3), do they 'Walk in the light', that is, live righteously?  That's it.  That's the whole list.  Nothing about baptism or communion, nothing about church polity, and absolutely nothing about politics.  Here in Franklin I began working with committed and God-honoring Christians who were Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Christian Missionary Alliance, Church of God, and on and on.  The narrow, us vs. them mentality of my youth, and the certainty with which I responded to Mrs. Sanford's attempt to pour cold water on my self-righteous zeal, were long gone.  Here was a community that did not agree on many minor things, but were able to work together because they agree on one very important thing: Jesus.

Somewhere along this journey, between college and moving to Franklin in 2012, my attitude toward Rush Limbaugh soured more than just no longer listening to him or others like him, hyper-partisan punditry began to show itself to me to be a part of the problem, not the solution.  In the fall of 2012, having been in Franklin mere months, I became involved in the effort that would lead shortly to the creation of Mustard Seed Missions of Venango County, an ecumenical para-church charity focused on helping the 'least of these' in our community in partnership with our county's Human Services Department.  I've been the President of Mustad Seed Missions since its inception, and we've helped over 1,500 families without a drop of partisanship, replacing it entirely by building relationships within the organization, with the partners we work with, and the clients we help.  The Culture Wars didn't create MSM, ecumenism and compassion for those in need did.  In other words, it was the Church being the Church, serving the Kingdom of God, not fighting for control of the kingdoms of men.

In the years since the founding of MSM, we also began in our community a homeless shelter, Emmaus Haven, also built upon ecumenism, community support, and partnerships with the local government.  This was yet another step away from the philosophy of Rush Limbaugh, as both of these organizations have demonstrated in concrete terms that the government need not be the enemy, and that poverty isn't simply a matter of people not working hard enough.

Thirty years ago Rush Limbaugh was much the same as he was in 2021, the year of his death.  I was a lot like him in attitude and philosophy back then, but see very little that we might have had in common anymore.  He didn't change much, but I did.  How?  Why?  It was a journey of education, maturity, and discipleship, but mostly it was the 'school of life' teaching me humility and compassion through my own struggles, teaching me ecumenism and cooperation through my marriage and my ministry.  It was, I believe, in the end, the journey that God wanted me to take, the person he wanted me to become, it was like so much else, God's grace.

See Also: "You do you, I'll do me" - Quintessentially American, but incompatible with the Judeo-Christian worldview which touches upon both Rush Limbaugh and Ayn Rand.

And, Pope Francis' views on capitalism and Rush Limbaugh which was the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back'.

Looking at my own FB activity since COVID-19 started

Given how much of our communication of late has been online, I thought it worthwhile to examine my own posts/shares to Facebook since March 12th, the first day that COVID-19 was a part of one of my posts.  The results were enlightening, at least to me.  I'd be happy to respond to your thoughts on this as well, and perhaps you too should scroll back and see how this pandemic has affected your online persona.

In just over two months, I have posted to Facebook 114 times.  Here are the categories (which I created, of course) to differentiate them {the numbers won't add up to 114, some posts go into two categories}:

1.  Local announcements regarding the Church, Venango County Christian Ministerium, etc. many of which revolved around COVID-19 cancellations: 26 times

2. Covid-19 related Hoax/misinformation correction, including regarding the End Times and Mark of the Beast: 24 times

3. Sermon Videos and Bible Study podcasts (this number doubles when considering that I provide this information to Church FB page as well): 22 times

4. Inspirational messages, encouraging news: 22 times

5. Theology on a variety of topics: 16 times

6. Family news, most numerous for this period are walks in the woods with my girls: 11 times

7. Humor, I'm not big on sharing these, only the geekiest typically: 8 times

What are the sources of my posts?  The vast majority are from material I've created, whether that involves writing announcements, creating the content for sermons and Bible Study podcasts, or writing my own blog posts.

1. My own sermons and Bible study podcasts: 22 times

2. This blog, my own original material, even when commenting on things written by others: 15 times

3. CNN.com : 5 times

4. Christianity Today: 4 times

5. The New York Times: 4 times

6. The Detroit Free Press (an excellent newspaper): 3 times

7. Things written by local pastors: 2 times

8. The rest of these, only once per: Fox News, Vox, The Gospel Coalition, NPR, Snopes, 538.com, Politifact, Science Magazine.org, and Academic Logos.

How then has the COVID pandemic affected my online persona?

1. The primary source of what I share online remains my own mind, for better or for worse.

2. The primary focus of my blog and my FB feed remains ministry related (about 2/3 of all posts)

3. I've shared more news articles since the pandemic began than is normal for me.

4. I've made the choice to attempt counter the misinformation about COVID (vaccines, Bill Gates, Plandemic, etc.) that has flooded my FB feed.

5. Responding to End Times / Mark of the Beast misinterpretation was necessary.

Well, there's some honesty and transparency, the first time I've ever gone back and actually counted and examined my own FB posts.    

How should I interact with my pastor?

I can't speak for all of us, but perhaps some examples from my own perspective might help both my congregation and those from other flocks understand both positive and negative ways of interacting with your pastor...

• DO...Seek my help when you need it.  It doesn't matter if its the middle of the night, it doesn't matter if you're not a member, or even if you're new to the congregation.  If you are in a spiritual crisis (or an emotional, relational, financial, or health one) please don't try to go it alone.  An FYI, I may have run an ultra-marathon last week, but I'm no masochist, I don't keep my cell phone next to my bed; if you don't get an answer on my cell between 11 PM - 7 AM, leave a voice mail or text and then call the parsonage number.
• DON'T...Call me before calling 9-1-1 if you have a health/safety emergency.  I'm not a doctor, nor have I medical training beyond CPR, nor am I a psychiatrist, or a suicide-prevention specialist.  In a genuine medical emergency, seek medical help first, then call me or have a relative call me and I'll meet you at the hospital.  If it is a safety emergency, call the police, they're trained to help on those situations.
• DO...Seek my advice and counsel on issues of morality.  Applying Biblical principles to our chaotic lives can be difficult, while what you read from a book or off the internet might be helpful, we have a relationship for a reason, so that I can understand what the Word of God would say, not to someone like you, but to you.
• DON'T...Seek my legal counsel, nor my opinion on political matters.  Just as medical school was not in my past, nor was law school, if you need legal advice seek a competent lawyer.  If there is an ethical dimension to your legal issue, I would be happy to offer counsel, but the law itself is beyond the scope of my training.  In terms of politics, I do indeed have well informed and Bible-based opinions (in my case, ones informed also by a deep study of history), but you're out of luck if you want to know what they are.  Why?  As I've said on many an occasion, I will not risk your relationship with God, as supported by your relationship with his local church, in order to gain power/influence in this life.  Political power is transitory and fleeting, the Kingdom of God is forever, it isn't hard for me to choose which I care more about.
• DO...Ask questions and share your insights following my sermon on Sunday, I'm glad to hear that you liked it, if you did, but even more eager to know what your response is to the message I've prepared from the Word.  Likewise, if you're at Bible study on Wednesday, please speak up and ask questions as we work through the text, share what you see, what you've read before, the best Bible study is one of interaction.  Of course, you know that if you don't say anything during Bible study, I'm more than capable of filling the whole hour with my own talking, it just isn't as effective as a back-and-forth conversation.
• DON'T...Begin your phone call to me, or conversation, with, "I'm sorry to bother you, but..." or "I didn't want to disturb you at this hour, but..."  They're not necessary.  It isn't a bother, and you didn't disturb me, especially if the call reflects a true need.  Not only is it my job to be available and to be willing to set things aside to meet sudden needs, but far more importantly it is my calling.  As an ordained minister, one who has accepted the solemn duty to act as shepherd of a flock of our Lord Jesus, I don't consider your troubles to be an imposition; they're an opportunity for me to serve God by serving his people.  Do I value the time I share with Nicole and Clara apart from my work?  Of course I do, and nobody likes to have their dinner or sleep interrupted, but I'll adjust my schedule on a subsequent day and spend that time with my family if I end up spending an evening at the hospital with your family (for example).  If I'm on a date with my wife, or at one of my daughter's functions (when she's old enough to have functions, all too soon), I still need to know that you or your family member is in need, and I'll get to that as soon as possible, in all likelihood after my current family obligation ends, but let me make that determination, I can handle it.  My commitments as a husband and father are sacrosanct, I won't let my service to the church undermine them (nor should my congregation want me to, in fact it is their duty to prevent me from doing so if I foolish begin down that path), so you need not worry about the day/time when you need to reach out, as I said in the first point, seek my help when you need it.

That's enough for now, hopefully these will be of use.

Sermon Video: Why do people get married? - 1 Corinthians 7:36-40

Why do people get married?  While the reasons abound, the Apostle Paul, in finishing the section of his letter to the Church in Corinth that focuses upon sex and marriage, touches upon four of the more common ones: honor, passion, compulsion, and happiness.  The text itself focuses upon issues relating to the decision to marry or not to marry from a 1st century cultural perspective, but the idea of why people choose to get married (and widows/widowers to remarry or not) is certainly relevant for any cultural setting.

In the end, the will of God allows freedom for Christians to decide if they want to be married, and when, within the framework of the Law of God as outlined in his Word.  Within that framework: one man, one wife, for life, it is not a moral issue for a disciple of Jesus Christ to marry or not.  Some will prefer to continue living in celibate singleness, some will decide that after losing one spouse to death that they do not want to remarry, but some will choose to enter into the holy bond of marriage, emphasizing some combination of honor, passion, or the pursuit of happiness in their minds (but hopefully not compulsion).  God wants his people to be happy, as our heavenly Father, God knows that true and lasting happiness is only found in union with him, not rebellion against him.  The Christian worldview thus emphasizes the primacy of obedience to the Law of God, placing issues of love, happiness, rights, or freedoms behind conformity to the dictates of God's righteousness, holiness, and justice (and not just relating to marriage, in all parts of our lives).  Within the framework of marriage (and sexual purity) ordained by God, there is room for us to consider what our honor, passion, and happiness is asking of us.  {FYI, the point in question: to marry or not, is illustrated in the sermon by my retelling of my own proposal of marriage to my beautiful wife Nicole, in October of the year 2000.}

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Remain where you are? 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

As a Christian, should you stay where and what you are, assuming it is God's will, or should you seek to change the life you're living to go along with the spiritual change God is working out in each of us?  While acknowledging that every situation is unique, in general Christians are called to be useful to the kingdom of God, where they are now, regardless if change is coming in the future.  God called us to salvation, where and what we were, no matter our background or abilities, teaching us that God saw value in us then, ensuring that we can be useful to God's kingdom right away.  How do I know this?  It took me twelve years to get to the place that I thought God's will was leading me when I graduated from Cornerstone University, through numerous setbacks and much heartache (for my wife Nicole as well), but God had a use for me, even then, teaching alternative education and then after a long wait, being the pastor of the small rural church, the First Baptist of Palo.  In the end, God brought us to Franklin, PA, not at all what I had expected, but clearly the right place for us.

What is God's exact will for your life?  Don't ask me, other than the answer that is the same for us all, making you Christ-like, I don't know.  But I do know this, God wants you to be useful to his kingdom, to serve, here and now.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sexual Immorality disqualifies leadership

The harsh reality of the pervasiveness of sexual assault, harassment, and exploitation throughout society has been brought out of the shadows (where it, like much sin, hides) and into the light of public scrutiny following numerous accusations against powerful men in business, politics, and entertainment.  In many of these cases the person (almost universally male) accused of sexual deviancy has been fired or forced to resign, and in some of the more recent episodes, criminal charges may follow.

What then is the attitude of the Word of God, and hence hopefully the Church, regarding such things?  The N.T. is clear that among the people of God, "there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." (Ephesians 5:3)  Rather than give sexual temptation a foothold, the people of God are told to "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18)

From a Christian leadership perspective, any sort of sexual immorality is disqualifying, it need not be any issue of force or coercion.  Consensual immorality, that is sexual conduct not between a husband and wife, is impermissible for those who would lead the people of God (and for the people themselves).  And while the Church recognizes that forgiveness for past sins will be granted to those who repent of them, and that sins committed before a person becomes a Christian are not disqualifying regarding future leadership once that person has matured in his/her faith, the Church ought to hold firm against any notion that ongoing unrepentant sexual immorality can be in any way overlooked or excused, especially by those in leadership positions.

Do Christian men and women in leadership still sin?  Of course they do, they are only sinners saved by grace, only imperfect vessels of the Holy Spirit striving to live righteously in this present age, just like those in the Church whom they minister to.  Are all types of sin disqualifying of Christian leaders?  Obviously not, or there would be nobody in leadership, for all of us who lead the Church remain sinners, none are perfect.  But there are a number of sins which do require the local church (if not the denominational leadership) to take immediate action (with due process), and on that list certainly ought to be sexual assault, harassment, and exploitation, along with adultery (for the married) and fornication (for the unmarried). 

What will happen to the various entertainers, business leaders, and politicians who have been accused of sexual immorality?  Time will tell, but within the Church we already know what the answer ought to be.  Am I afraid that such a message might boomerang back at me?  No, because there isn't a hint of sexual immorality in my life, nor will there be in the future, my vows to my wife are sacred, and she is the only person with whom anything sexual will happen in my life, as long as we both shall live.  I am fully aware that a failure in this venue would end my time here as the pastor of my church, but that's the way it should be for God's people answer to a higher standard and the leadership of the Church to a higher standard still.  The people of God have been called to be holy, and we must honor God.

From where does my belief in Christian unity come?

In light of the baptism of my daughter Clara, there are likely some who are wondering where my belief in Christian unity (ecumenism) has its origins.  From a theological footing, I have been heavily influenced by the words of I John and the prayers of Jesus for the unity of his followers.  While I was at college, learning theology and philosophy, I became more certain of the fundamental things, and more generous with the permissible/debatable things.  This maturation of my mind is a natural process when know it all teens are confronted with the truth that the world is larger and more complicated than they once thought.  In my case, it was seeing the ebb and flow of history, secular and church, that taught me humility in the light of those who have served the Church in generations long past.

I had already begun down a path toward a stronger commitment to Christian ecumenism when my beliefs were confirmed by two extraordinary women of faith who evident love of Jesus Christ and staunch faith in him was in no way compromised by their adherence to Catholicism.  The first of the two was the young woman who would eventually become my girlfriend, and then my wife, and the second was her mother.  Through my love for Nicole, I began to attend Mass with her, coming for the first time on a regular basis into contact with Catholics in a religious setting, and witnessing firsthand their faith and their devotion to Christ.

Theology prepared the ground on my ecumenical journey, but experiencing the love of Jesus Christ alive and well within the Catholic Church provided the passion.  Are there still issues between Catholics and Protestants?  Of course there are.  The defensive positions adopted as part of the Counter-Reformation at Trent remain, but the pendulum began to swing back toward the Evangelical position with the Second Vatican Council.  The theologians will still have plenty of room to disagree, most notably upon Transubstantiation, (and on that the Catholics still have Luther on their side, the Reformed theologians could not budge him from that belief) and upon the relevance of tradition and authority to theology, but one thing to me is clear: I have found many whose hope is in faith alone, who trust not in their own works, who wholly depend upon the sacrifice of Christ, among my Catholic brothers and sisters.  If faith is alive there, as it is amongst my church, who am I to deny it?

My mind started me on this path, my heart made gave me joy in the journey.

A father's prayer of thanksgiving to God

This is the closing prayer that I gave at the end of the baptism of our daughter, Clara.  My wife, Nicole is Catholic, I am the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Franklin.  Our marriage is a testament to the spirit of Ecumenism that I have hoped for (and found here in Franklin) in my ministry.  Thus long before Clara was born, we had already decided to honor her mother's tradition, and that of her mother's family, should we have children, through baptism into the Catholic Church.  Clara will be brought up to honor and respect the traditions of the faith of both her mother, and her father, attending as both Nicole and I do, church on Saturday (at St. Pat's) and Sunday (at 1st Baptist).

What have we learned, one month into our time with Clara?

Tomorrow will be one month since the birth of our little bundle of extra cuteness, Clara Marie.  What have we learned thus far, about parenting, life, and humanity?  Perhaps not all that much, sleep deprivation is not the formula for mental brilliance.  We have learned things that every parent knows: that an infant in entirely dependent upon others for his/her care, that their communication ability consists of three types of crying ("feed me", "change me", and "I'm too cranky to do anything but cry").  It is a wonder to me that anyone could harm a child, especially their own.  What does it say about humanity that we see this sort of depravity far too often (let alone the killing of unborn children in the womb)?  It doesn't say anything good about us, that's for sure.

It seems far fetched at this point, but I know that before we know it our sweet little girl will look back at us and say, "no" with all the fervor of a zealot.  That fallen nature, although nowhere on display as of yet, is there in the background waiting to come to the surface.  Soon enough, our little Clara will show herself to be just like the rest of us, a sinner in need of the grace of God.  That day lies in the future, for now, we'll just enjoy the fact that everyone's first comment about our girl involves how cute she is.

God answers the prayer of children too

On April 19th my wife was almost two weeks past her due date and not enjoying the "extra" time at the end of her pregnancy.  I asked her to come over to the church at 6 while I was teaching the AWANA lesson to our group of 20+ k-6th graders.  When Nicole arrived, I finished up the lesson and then asked her to sit in front of the kids.  Most of these kids know Nicole already, about half of them are from the church, and they were aware of her pregnancy and had been asking if the baby had arrived yet.  I asked the kids to come around Nicole, place their hands on her to pray with me for a speedy and healthy delivery.  We always prayed to end our lesson, and had often prayed for various family members or others in need that the kids had asked me to pray for, so this felt like a teachable moment to me as well as an opportunity to add a few more prayers to those already going up here and back home in Michigan on Nicole's behalf.
It was twelve hours later that Nicole went into labor, nine hours after that Clara Marie had entered the world safe and sound.  God is good, God answers prayer.  This confirms my theory that God hears the prayers of little ol' ladies first, kids second, and the rest of us are in line after that (I'm kidding, of course, but then again I'll gladly take a 70 year old grandma praying for me any day of the week).
The following week in AWANA, I had pictures of Clara, Nicole, and myself for the kids to look at on the PowerPoint, but I also wanted to thank the kids for their participation in the previous week's prayer and encourage them that prayers do get answered, so I asked all of the kids who had been in attendance the previous week (most of those present) to raise their hands, told them the baby had come 12 hours after they had prayed for just that, and gave them all a high five in turn.  God answers the prayers of children too.

Clara Marie Powell, born 4/20/15

Nicole, Clara, and myself at the hospital

The dedication of Clara Marie

On Sunday I was had the honor of dedicating my six day old daughter, Clara Marie.  Infant dedication is a formal acknowledgement of the role of the parents in teaching a child about the love of God, and the role of the local church in demonstrating and reinforcing our collective faith.  It was an emotional ceremony for me to perform, and a bit humorous one as well because I was making statements for the father of the child as the pastor of the church that I myself in turn had to respond to.  Trying to adjust the pronouns from "you" to "we, us" was a hoot as well.  My thanks to the people of First Baptist of Franklin, I know that they will be the extended family that Clara needs, and I trust that the mercy and grace of God will take the seeds of faith planted within her heart and cause them to grow as they have in my life and the life of my wife Nicole as well.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Dedication ceremony for Clara Marie

Sermon Video: Reflections on her birth - various texts

This week's events necessitated a one week hiatus from our study of Titus because it marked the arrival of my daughter, Clara Marie.  My wife Nicole and I give thanks to God for her safe delivery and Nicole's health through the birthing process as well.  There were people praying from Pennsylvania to Michigan, all of whom have our gratitude.
This message focuses on three passages of Scripture that spoke to me as I pondered the experiences of the past week: Luke 13:34, which speaks of God's willingness to help people, but mankind's reluctance to accept it.  I thought of this verse as Nicole went through labor, for I could do nothing to take that pain away, nor nothing to help ease it beyond emotional support.  I wanted to help, and Nicole would have been glad to accept it, but I was powerless to do so.  God has the power to transform the life of each and every person on the planet, it is mankind's stubborn rebellion that holds the grace of God at bay.  The second passage, Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Jesus' ability to look beyond the agony of the cross to the glory that lay in his victory at the resurrection.  In a similar way, mothers going through the labor of childbirth take comfort in knowing that their trial and tribulation will result in new life, joy exists on the other side of pain.  The last passage, Ecclesiastes 11:5, speaks of the mystery of the wonder of human life, of God's amazing hand of creation that forms a distinct human being within the mother's womb.  Witnessing my daughter's birth, I felt the awe of God's creative power, of his ability to turn a biological process in a wondrous gift.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Sermon Video: "Train a child" - Proverbs 22:6

In light of the impending birth of our first child, I decided to utilize the text of Proverbs 22:6 to talk about parenting as it relates to Christian families and the Church.  The Bible does not contain extensive discussion of parenting techniques or theories, instead focusing on the need for children to obey their parents and allowing the narratives of those whose lives play out in the Bible to teach us.  This proverb, like all proverbs, is not a promise or guarantee, but rather a pearl of wisdom that shows us the proper way to live.  Children need training, that much is obvious, in an ideal situation it will be done by both mom and dad, working together in harmony with the help of grandparents, other relatives, neighbors, teachers, and the church.  That this is the ideal situation is beyond doubt, but many families are working with far less than the ideal.  The task, however, remains, children need to be taught.  The Church can be a tremendous asset to broken families, and even intact ones, to reinforce and support their efforts to raise moral children of character who honor and love God.  This is one of the fundamental tasks of the Church, and a sacred duty of its people.
The phrase, "in the way he should go" could be translated literally from the Hebrew as, "according to his way", it reminds us that children are unique creations of God, each one with talents and interests that ought to be encouraged.  Educators have realized that children learn in a variety of ways and have adjusted their techniques accordingly, parents could use this same advice, especially when dealing with multiple children who need to be treated fairly, not equally, because they are not the same.  Thus parents need to be flexible when training their children, but that isn't the same thing as leaving the decision making up to them.  Children live in the moment, parents must look toward the future.
Beyond efforts to teach children, whether it be skills, academics, or morality, is the important truth that the most effective thing we can do to teach the next generation to love God is to show them that we do.  When we model our faith, with sincerity and devoid of hypocrisy, it has a far greater impact than mere words, when we live out our faith every day, our children will see its value in us and be far more likely to embrace faith for themselves.  This is a task for parents, and one that the church can also help with by providing positive role models of adults living by faith.  The more relationships a child has with an adult that exemplifies faith, hope, and love, the better.
Lastly, the proverb ends with a word of hope for worried parents.  We know that some kids will wander away from their upbringing in the Church.  We know that some will not embrace faith as we do, but the best possible thing for every parent and every child is to instill the love of God within them while they are young.  No matter what happens later in life, if we have done our duty for them in the beginning, we can have hope that its impact upon them will remain.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

A message of salvation by grace through faith.

Nicole and I were in church today listening to a preacher utilize Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 3:16 to talk about how salvation cannot be merited, earned, or purchased in any way, but is entirely an act of grace by God.  He used the analogy of a lifeline thrown to a drowning victim whose only part in the process is holding on for dear life.  It was a message straight out of Martin Luther's sola fide, sola gratia, with the entire emphasis on what God has done through Christ to save a helpless humanity.
For those who don't believe in ecumenism, who disdain efforts among the splintered portion of the Church to work together, the source of this message won't make you happy, for those of us who work every day with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ from different faith backgrounds to help those in need, it is further confirmation that we're on the right course.  The message was the homily of Msgr. Herbein, the priest of St. Patrick's Church down at the end of our block.  Msgr. Herbein is by no means a "radical" priest out of touch with the Catholic Church, rather he is simply one parish priest among many, reading the scriptures and speaking the truth they contain.  There's hope for healing within the body of Christ, we may be one Church in polity, that ship has likely sailed for good, but we can be one Church in spirit when the grace of God is preached and faith the people gathered in the house of God are pleaded with to accept it by faith.

A marriage built on ecumenical goodwill - Our marriage highlighted in local newspaper article.

I was asked by our local religion reporter for the combined newspaper, The Derrick & The News Herald, Curtis Hanna, if he could write a story about my marriage as a Baptist pastor to my wife Nicole, a devout Roman Catholic.  Because ecumenism is such a big part of my ministry here, I was happy to have this part of our life known.  The resulting story is linked in pdf form to this posting, thanks to all the people who have supported us over the years, and glory to God for his goodness to us.

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I've written about my marriage to Nicole in lots of other posts, simply click on the tag "my wife Nicole" in the tag list at the right of the homepage of my blog to view them all.  I've also written often about the experience of this ministry, under the tag "being a pastor".

A vote in favor of monogamy

Who is it that understands the value of sex?  Is it the man or woman, committed in the bonds of marriage to only each other, or is it the modern sex addict, indulging anywhere with anyone or anything?
In his book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton explains the simple reason why the murmurs against monogamy from a hundred years ago had no appeal to him, "I could never mix in the common murmur of that rising generation against monogamy, because no restriction on sex seemed so odd and unexpected as sex itself...Keeping to one woman is a small price for so much as seeing one woman.  To complain that I could only be married once was like complaining that I had only been born once  It was incommensurate with the terrible excitement of which one is talking.  It showed, not an exaggerated sensibility to sex, but a curious insensibility to it." (p. 48)
There is no way that Chesterton could have envisioned the wholesale swallowing up of modern culture to sexuality, but his observation that it is the monogamist that truly understands and values sex is all the more true in our culture which so very much devalues it.  What value is there in something that is not worth holding on to?  How can anyone say that a one night stand has any real meaning or purpose when the very name of the person with whom such intimacy has been shared is quickly forgotten?
There may be some who are reading this who think that I just don't understand the pleasure to be had in having sex with many women.  They're right, I don't understand it, nor do I want that type of "knowledge".  What I do know is the absolute value of the sexuality expressed between a husband and his wife.  I don't need to experience any lesser imitations to know the treasure that I already have in being bound by sacred oath to my wife.  I value sex far too highly to ever desecrate this gift by sharing it with another.  I only have two parents, they are amazing, what need have I for more?  I only have one nation, America is my home, what need have I for another?  I only have one faith, Jesus Christ is my salvation, what need have I to be saved by any other?  I only have one wife, what could possibly be gained by desiring sex with any other?
All such bargains that promise joy and pleasure beyond that which we have a right are hollow lies.  Those who partake of them will only learn, to their regret, when it is too late.
Sex is a Siren's Song in America.  It promises a veritable buffet of pleasure, only to dash us upon the rocks of venereal disease, unwanted pregnancies, broken hearts, exploitation, and violence.  Men, do yourself a tremendous service, find one woman, marry her, and learn what the real value of sex is.