Speaking My Mind by Tony Campolo

This past spring our regional baptist association invited Tony Campolo to speak at our annual gathering.  The suggested topic for Tony was the problem of complacency among Christians (in other words, what do we do to get people on fire for serving God?).  Prior to going to the event, I received a letter written by one of the pastors of our association and signed by all of his board members that condemned the invitation of Tony and warned us that his teachings were dangerous.  The letter included snippets of quotes from a variety of Professor Campolo's books, many of which seemed to be out of context.  As a former English teacher, seeing quotes taken out of context sends up a huge red flag to me.  I went to the meeting, having heard good things about Tony's presentations from my friends, Pastor Jeff Little (First UMC) and Mother Holly (St. John's Episcopal).
What type of message would we hear?  Would the Gospel be clear or lost in the social efforts that Tony's critics accuse him of replacing it with?
It is amazing what you can learn when you give someone the chance to share what is on their heart.  Throughout his presentation, Tony Campolo gave a heart stirring call to the Church to truly be the servants of Jesus Christ that we have been called to be.  The Evangelical nature of his message was beyond doubt, there at the heart of everything he was preaching was the need for each man, woman, and child to find a relationship with God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to turn that relationship into a life-altering experience of righteous living.  What more could any believer in the fundamentals of the faith want?
The hype, fodder for television commentators and blog posts, was entirely overblown.  The venom directed at Tony from his critics was a farce.  If this man's commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not genuine, then nobody who publicly declares their faith in Christ can be trusted.  If this man's passion for the Lost is not acceptable to you, then your problem is with the call of Jesus to champion the poor.
Which brings me to his book, Speaking My Mind, which I finished reading today.  I won't claim that everything in the book made me happy, nor am I in agreement with all of it, I will however confirm that the passion for the Gospel I found while listening to Tony last spring is part and parcel of his written works as well.  Are there things in the book that will cause some Christians to write Tony off as a liberal?  Yes.  Are there things in the book that those same Christians need to hear because they echo the words of the Gospel?  Yes.  Do yourself a favor, read the book, think about it, weigh what it says by the scale of Scripture, and then decide what God would have you do about poverty, nationalism, homosexuality, environmentalism, politics, etc.
If you close your mind, you won't be listening to God either.  If you truly are committed to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, don't you owe it to God to admit when you are in error?  Speaking My Mind may not have all the answers, but at least Tony Campolo was brave enough to ask the questions.

One man, one job, 45 years

It isn't very common anymore for a man to work his whole career for one company, it isn't even that common anymore for somebody to spend their whole career in one industry or field.  Modern Americans, especially, move around a lot; we get antsy and want to see what else is out there.  There are two things that you need to spend 45 years working for the same company: integrity and good fortune.  My dad, Walt Powell, "retired" (he's still going to work 30 hours a week for them as a consultant) from Amway this week after 45 years of service (with two years in there of service to Uncle Sam with the Air Force).  It has been our family's good fortune, in other words our blessing from God, that Amway has grown and prospered over that period of time.  How many of the companies that were manufacturing in America in 1968 are still doing so today?  This family owned company is a fixture in West Michigan, a leading employer and a leading source of charitable funds.  For our family, this company has been a steadying influence, something that allowed my siblings and I to attend the same school, the same church, and have the same friends as we grew up.
I also mentioned integrity, that word sums up the hard work, dependability, and dedication that has been common in my dad's years of working for Amway.  Walt rose from the factory line to the front office; climbing each step of the way because he was good at what he did and teaching himself advanced mathematics and engineering along the way.  His career has been a shining example of the American Dream (Amway stands for "American Way"), a hard working family man who is able to enjoy the fruits of his labor and advance in his career by being a good employee.
It goes without saying that my mom, Kathy, was an integral part of my dad's ability to work this job all of those years.  I'd be celebrating her retirement, but my mom hasn't shown any indication that she intends to stop mothering her long-since grown children, and has of course enjoyed starting all over again with the grandchildren.
In the end, I'm writing this post to do two things: encourage those of you out there who are wondering if hard work and loyalty is worth is anymore, and share my pride in my father's accomplishment as a way of saying thanks; good job dad.
Hmm, I've been at the First Baptist Church of Franklin almost 2 years, that means I've only got 43 to go to match my dad...Will they still want me around here when I'm 82?

Sermon Video, "Do not be anxious" Philippians 4:1-7

Life is scary, there are a lot of things worth being worried about in life,  becoming a Christian doesn't make them go away.  The Christian does have one advantage when dealing with anxiety that makes all the difference, we can give it away.  God isn't asking you to pretend that you don't feel anxious, and he isn't asking you to pretend that life's troubles aren't hard.  What God is offering to you is the chance to let your anxiety go by placing your trust in him.  The vehicle through which we, as Christians, can let go of anxiety is prayer.  In prayer we're not telling God things he doesn't already know, and we're not simply asking God for things that we want.  Instead, prayer is a conversation between two people who have a relationship; between God and his creation, between our Savior and his disciples.  In prayer, we share with God our burdens and in doing so we recognize God's authority, we count upon God's loving kindness, and we trust in God's promises.
Will all my troubles go away if I pray?  No.  Will I never be troubled by anxiety if I pray?  No.
What will prayer do for me?  Prayer will help you, and any follower of Jesus Christ, to see that God's ultimate purpose for your life, making you like his son Jesus, can never be derailed by life.  If times are good, God is working on making me like Christ, if times are bad, God is working on making me like Christ.  In prayer we enter into that process by imitating the many times that Jesus, God's own son, prayed to his Father.
There isnt' any reason to hang on to anxiety, you don't need it; God is in control, he will finish the work that he has begun in you in Christ Jesus.

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

Sermon Video - "our citizenship is in heaven" Philippians 3:15-21

Paul begins this last section of his conclusion by reminding the people of Philippi that all mature Christians will eventually agree with him that while perfection is unattainable, the process of striving after Christ-likeness must continue.  Paul boldly holds himself up as an example to emulate, but also reminds the people that God has placed good examples of Christian maturity within their own church; heroes are important, but we can find experience and advice close at hand to help us.
Having already proclaimed the need to strive toward Christ-likeness, Paul now concludes by contrasting the "enemies of the cross of Christ" whose focus is upon themselves as evidenced by their minds which "are on earthly things", with those whom God has redeemed whose "citizenship is in heaven".  To be citizens of heaven is a bold claim that alters our entire worldview, allowing us to let go of the past (before Christ) and embrace the future which God has in store for each of his own.  As citizens of heaven, we eagerly await the return of Christ (no matter how we understand the events of the End Times), when not only the earth will be brought under his dominion, but our own bodies will be restored to the perfection that God originally intended before the Fall.  Whatever the future holds, for ourselves, our church, or our nation, our faith rests upon the promises of God, he will one day transform the world, he will on day transform us because we are citizens of heaven.

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

Open My Eyes, That I May See

The words of this hymn by Clara Scott popped into my head just now as I pondered what lessons might be gleaned from the work this past week of the teen missions team from the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio here in Franklin in conjunction with Mustard Seed Missions.  St. John's Episcopal hosted twenty-three teens and six adults who gave a week's worth of hard work in hot and muggy conditions to help people they didn't know.  These teens came here to Franklin because their youth leaders could see value in the experience of being involved as teens with helping the poor and less fortunate.  It was not only useful work for us here, but an educational experience for each of these teens the affects of which will hopefully linger and influence them for years to come.  I know that at least some of this transformative power is at work because several of the teens are repeat volunteers, and I heard expressed by the end of the week a desire on the part of many to return and help out again next year.

So, what are the lessons to be learned?  The first lesson is that poverty isn't limited to third world countries.  Poverty in America certainly pales in comparison to the outright starvation and disease in many places in our world, but when one lifts the cover and pokes into the corners here in our own backyard it is shocking to those who have not witnessed it how much need is right here with us.  The many causes of poverty, from disability to divorce, from pestilence to poor choices and beyond, are not limited to any corner of the globe. 

The second lesson then is that poverty looks like us too.  As Americans, we perhaps can be lulled into a soft sort of racism that begins to view poverty as a problem for "those" people.  What the teens discovered while working on getting the Hope House renovated, (a new homeless shelter being opened here in Franklin where previously there was none) is that many of those who will end up using this temporary housing will be teens not much different than themselves.  That many of these teens have been blessed with stable upbringings would be the primary difference between themselves and the young man that was waiting outside the building on their last work day because he had heard that a shelter was available.  This young man was 18 and could have just as easily been a part of our work crew rather than a person in need of a shelter.  We tend to picture homelessness as old guys with dirty beards and a drinking problem; those on the front lines of trying to help those amongst us in desperate need know that there is no stereotypical homeless person; that tragedy comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

The last lesson is that making a difference isn't as far away as it feels.  The tragedy unfolding on the evening news or the latest live feed on the Internet, which is taking place on the other side of the world can give us a sense of inevitable helplessness.  What can I do about such a big problem so far away?  If I don't have any more money to give to an aid agency, what can I do?  Twenty-three teens learned this week that a short car ride from home can be the mission field.  That their effort, even without formal training, can make a difference.  Now that they've returned home, they'll look at the world with new eyes, eyes that see need where once it was overlooked, and eyes that see opportunity where once there was apathy.

"Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me....Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!"  Imagine if the whole Church opened its eyes, what would we see?