Sermon Video: Jesus heals publicly, and prays privately - Mark 1:29-39

 The healing of one man on the Sabbath brings a vast crowd to see Jesus that evening when the Sabbath ended.  Having spent the evening healing many, Jesus gets up early the next morning to go out to a solitary place to pray.  Why?  For the same reasons we need to imitate him: (1) the physical/emotional need of every human being for rest and recuperation, (2) our need for ongoing perspective and balance, and (3) our need for communion with our Heavenly Father.  We, as Christians, need to regularly employ private prayer, hopefully with the bonus of solitude.  While public corporate prayer is a huge part of our worship and the life of the Church, that does not end our obligation.  Each Christian should approach the Father in prayer, unburdening our hearts and minds, seeking guidance and wisdom, and maintaining our sense of a family connection to God.  With the way that 2020 has gone thus far, don't you need some time for solitary prayer?

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: The Authority of Jesus demonstrated - Mark 1:21-28

 What is the nature of authority?  Where does it come from and how do we know if we can trust it?  Jesus demonstrates one part of the answer by speaking in the synagogue of Capernaum with authority as he interprets the Scriptures.  As Christians, the foundation of our authority is the Word of God (Jesus as the Logos, was himself speaking God's Word that day, as every day).  Behind the Scriptures lies our own individual understanding, our corporate/congregational, tradition, ecclesiastical structures and decisions, and finally (for some Christians, and at some points in Church History) papal/patriarchal authority.  These various overlapping layers of authority are all subject to the Scriptures, which sift and judge them, spurring us to reject that which defies Scripture, and bolster that which follows it...In addition, Jesus that same day demonstrates authority in the spiritual realm as well, by casting out an impure spirit with a simple command.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Children need mentors, parents need to be vigilant

 I am a firm believer in the merits of 40 Assets Model (The Developmental Assets Framework).  Long story short, this model predicts that the more positive assets a child has growing up, the more likely that child will be to avoid negative behavior and outcomes.  For example: A child with 34 of the 40 assets will be less likely to experiment with drugs or drop out of school than a child with 7.  Statistical likelihood is not determinism, some children with a high score may still struggle, and some with low scores will succeed in spite of them.  However, by and large, when we can, as parents and as a community, it is more than worth our investment of time and money to help ensure that as many children as possible are given the chance to develop more assets.  What is an asset?  Parental involvement, positive peer influence, high expectations, safety, caring neighbors, other adult relationships, youth programs, religious community, etc.

Looking back on my childhood, I had ample parental involvement, high expectations, a group of friends that were a positive (if nerdy) influence, and all sorts of other assets.  I was truly blessed with an abundance of assets during my formative years.  Two of these in particular are connected to the purpose of this post: religious community and other adult relationships.  My family attended church services at Galilee Baptist Church on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday evening.  We went to Sunday School, I was involved in Junior Church, VBS, 5 Day Clubs, Christian camps, and later youth group.  There was no lack of God-centered influences in my life.  As you can imagine, I would highly recommend to parents that they involve their children (and it makes a big difference to the kids if their parents are involved as well, not just dropping them off) in church activities.  Multiple activities, regularly.  It is an investment that will pay tremendous dividends later on.  

That being said, it is unfortunate that we need to add a warning: Parents make sure that the church you involve your kids with is taking Child Abuse prevention seriously.  Make sure they follow the state guidelines, and more than that, that they have no tolerance for situations that have the potential for abuse.  "Nobody ever thought that X would be a child molester" has been said over and over.  Parents need to make sure they know that their kids are not being put into situations where their child is alone with a potential abuser.  And since abusers are, by their nature, difficult to spot, that warning needs to apply across the board.  It is easier, logistically, to assume that our kids are safe, that it won't happen here, but we're be foolish to do so.  From the perspective of a church pastor, I would never allow anyone to work with children that I have even the barest hint of worry about, but that's not enough.  We have rules and procedures in place for a reason.  

This need for rules and multiple people keeping an eye on things was brought once more into focus at the multi-site church, Menlo Church, led by Pastor John Ortberg.  After great success (by all accounts) at the church, Ortberg's tenure ended in resignation because he failed to be proactive about a potentially dangerous situation involving children and a youth worker (in this case his son).  {John Ortberg and the Pitfalls of Pastoral Discernment - by Daniel Harrell, editor, Christianity Today}  Once again, one person's judgment is not sufficient, abuse (potential or actual) is not an area in which church leaders should be making their own judgment.

The second area that I was blessed with abundant assets as a youth was that of 'other adult relationships'; in my case that meant coaches.  From elementary school on, I played three sports a year, and a couple of my coaches transcended the coach-player relationship to become a mentor, and as I grew older, even a friend.  Two stand out, both of whom were teachers at Saranac: Don Videtich, who had the misfortune of coaching me in basketball for several years, and Cindy Sanford, who stepped out of her comfort zone to coach cross-country.  To be a kids' sports coach is a tremendous opportunity to affect young people with positive values of teamwork, dedication, and sportsmanship.  It is also a chance for adults to model proper behavior to kids, to show an interest in kids who might otherwise slip through the cracks.  

Unfortunately, we need to remember the exact same precautionary warnings about coaches too.  The idea that prompted this post was an article from ESPN about a female Texas Tech women's basketball coach being fired after allegations of horrendous abuse heaped on her players {Texas Tech fires Marlene Stollings after report alleging abusive program}.  Sadly, we're no longer shocked that an institution like a college has to wait for a report to take action, that no oversight was in place to stop the alleged actions up front.  What happened at Texas Tech is also a reminder that we can't let stereotypes dull our vigilance as parents (and community members in general).  Even if the vast majority of abusers are male, that doesn't mean we can ignore ideas of safety if the coach is a woman.  Even if young children are more vulnerable, that doesn't mean we can assume that teens or young adults can 'take care of themselves'.  The pressure on kids to conform, to 'not rock the boat', and the fear of embarrassment should they speak up, is terribly real, don't put the onus on them to report abuse.

So, where does that leave us?  We know that kids absolutely need mentors beyond their own family, that the influence of religious organizations and adult mentors like teachers and coaches can have a huge positive impact for the rest of your kids life.  Allowing the potential negatives to convince us to 'bubble wrap' our kids isn't the answer, vigilance is.  We, and as the father of a precious little girl just starting kindergarten, I do mean we, need to have our eyes and ears open, and not just for our own kid's safety, for every kid.  How can we best do this?  By being involved along with our kid, volunteer to help out, both those religious and sporting programs could use the extra help.

John MacArthur jumps the shark with COVID-19 response

John MacArthur preaches to a nearly full sanctuary with virtually no masks.

Let me start off by saying, Pastor John MacArthur has accomplished many great things for Christ's Church over his many decades of service.  Grace Community Church and The Master's Seminary are tremendous legacies, and of course there are likely thousands of people who have come to know Christ as Savior because of MacArthur's ministry.  That being said, nobody is beyond reproach.  In the past I wrote about my disagreement with John MacArthur's very limited ecumenism {Are 95% of self-proclaimed Christians really still Lost? An answer to John MacArthur} and more recently, when John MacArthur indulged in snarky laughter at Beth Moore's expense, I called him on it. {Why does John MacArthur think it is ok to tell Beth Moore to 'Go home'?}.  I'm sure if John MacArthur spent an hour reading my blog or watching my sermons on Youtube he'd find something worth criticizing, and if he did so from a place of principle, he'd be doing what I'm attempting to do right now: seek the Truth.
A number of well reasoned responses to the reopening of Grace Community Church in defiance of the restrictions put in place by the state of California have already been written: When John MacArthur Reopens His Church Despite COVID-19 Orders Civil disobedience, conscientious objection, and what to make of believers defying the government. - by Morgan Lee, Christianity Today

A Time for Civil Disobedience? A Response to Grace Community Church’s Elders - by Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director of 9Marks

Response to John MacArthur's Statement of Defiance - by Jeff S. Kennedy, Senior Pastor of Christ Community Church / Idaho Falls, ID.

Let me, then, focus in on the brief interview given by Pastor MacArthur to Fox News' Tucker Carlson on July 28th, (to see the interview: John MacArthur on Tucker Carlson) which contains a number of troubling statments.

“First of all and foremost, it is a first amendment right,” MacArthur said. “This is the United States of America and the government cannot intrude into worship. We stand on that amendment.”

At this point, I'm already concerned.  Rather than address his primary responsibility to his congregation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that of a shepherd watching over his sheep, MacArthur chooses to lay claim to First Ammendment rights.  What the government can or cannot do legally in America with respect to the Church is primarily a legal issue for politicians and lawyers.  What the Church should do is a moral question for pastors and church leadership.  MacArthur chooses to focus on what he believes his church can legally do, not what it should morally do.

“The second thing that makes this so sensible is that in the State of California there are 40 million people. 8,500 of them have died with COVID. That is .002 (percent),” MacArthur said. “So, in California you have a 99.99 percent chance to survive COVID. So why would you shut down the entire state?

Here's the thing, let's assume MacArthur's numbers are correct, that as of the end of July 2020, 8,500 Californians have died from COVID-19.  But COVID-19 is a pandemic, it isn't over yet, and tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of Californians will die in the future before it ends.  The chance of dying is not static, it can, and almost certainly will, continue to rise as the pandemic spreads.  The way in which MacArthur cavalierly embraces these stats without concern for the future, is bizarre.  This pandemic is not history, it is an ongoing threat.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, unfortunately, neither Pastor MacArthur (nor whomever is advising him) are statisticians or epidemiologists.

If the state is not allowed to meddle in Church affairs, should the Church refraining from administering public health policy?  As a Baptist, I continue to warn about the need for separation of Church and State, in this case, Grace Community Church is upset about what they perceive to be the state crossing the line in their direction, while aggressively returning the favor (by belittling social distancing and mask wearing, refusing to meet outside, etc.) in the other.

“We have had 21 weeks with no ministry to a thousand little children, to a thousand university students, to junior high students, to high school students to senior adults,”...“We’ve had no funerals. No weddings. I can’t go to the hospital. I’ve had to go on the phone to talk to dying people at the hospital,” MacArthur said.

When the church can't meet in the sanctuary for worship, does ministry stop?  The pandemic restrictions have indeed been troublesome, but the work of the Church continued, as it has always been more than what happens on Sunday morning.

“Finally, I started preaching in an empty auditorium. I did it two weeks, three weeks and then the people without saying anything started coming back. They didn’t buy the narrative,” MacArthur said. “They kept coming back and last Sunday 3,000 of them came back and they rejoiced. They hugged each other and they didn’t wear masks and they sang songs. They understand the reality of it.”

Where is the leadership at Grace?  People just starting coming back in, on their own, without the church's chosen leaders considering the implications and having a plan in place?  Before we re-opened for in-person worship with social distancing in June, my board met virtually to discuss the issues, until that moment, the only people allowed in the sanctuary were those responsible for making the service happen online.  What 'narrative' did his congregation reject?  The one where 150,000 (and rising rapidly) Americans have died?  The one supported by the CDC?  This is a serious issue with modern American Evangelicalism, scientific facts are not a narrative for us to buy or sell, they are facts.  This is a dangerous trend that is growing among Evangelicals, and sadly John MacArthur is endorsing it.  In addition, why couldn't they have met AND practiced social distancing, AND mandated the wearing of masks?  Are these precautions forbidden by the 1st Amendment?  Is there no room for caution, wisdom, compassion, humility?  By celebrating this decision, and the open defiance of social distancing and mask wearing, Pastor MacArthur has left himself and his church only one chance at a positive end to this path: If COVID-19 is an overblown hoax they'll turn out looking ok, if instead, as doctors around the world continue to warn, this is indeed a pandemic that is far from over, they will have helped spread it, and people will die when a church service at Grace Community Church becomes a super-spreader event.  What then will be the value of insisting upon rights while ignoring reality?

After decades of ministry, why risk it all on the hunch that you know more than those who have dedicated their lives to the study of medicine?  Sadly, for his congregation and his legacy, John MacArthur has jumped the shark.

{Update: John MacArthur believes the Bible trumps COVID-19 public health orders. Legal scholars say no - by Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service}

{Update: MacArthur asserts ‘there is no pandemic’ - by Mark Wingfield, Baptist News Global, 9/3/20}

Sermon Video: Fishing for People - Mark 1:16-20

Now that Jesus is publicly proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God, he turns to the task of recruiting disciples to teach and train.  At the Sea of Galilee he finds two sets of brother, Andrew and Simon, and James and John; all fishermen from Bethsaida.  Having called each pair in turn, they quickly join Jesus who promises to send them to "fish for people".  This interesting metaphor connects to their background, and speak to the need to pull people in with the 'net' of the Gospel that they too might learn of God's forgiveness and love.  We continue that task to this day, as a Church, and as individual Christians, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the Lost 'fish'.

To watch the video, click on the link below: