Devotional

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Mr. Porkupinickuous, or, “With Friends Like This, Who Needs the Holy Spirit?”

Over my years as Pastor at Tri-State Fellowship, you may have occasionally heard me tell a story or two about a youth pastor named Mike Fen, whom I worked with at my previous New Jersey church. Actually, Mike spoke one time at TSF in my early years here, when at that time he worked for the missions research ministry called “Caleb Project.”

Mike remains a good friend. He is from Nebraska, went to the University of Texas and Dallas Seminary, was a youth pastor with me in NJ, and since then has served in a variety of ways in Colorado.

Mike and I have together been to war and back (a long story of navigating a church difficulty I am certainly never going to write about online!!). There is nothing we cannot say to the other! He always teases me about my NJ roots and Eastern accent, but he is more aggressive and confrontational than I am! That is why he has the name of Mr. Porkupinickuous!

Oh, you say you’ve never heard that word? Probably not, because he and I coined it. Back in our days together in the early 90s, one day when telling the alumni director of our seminary (Dallas) about whom was working with me, he said, “Yes, I remember him; he’s a bit like a fellow walking around in a crowd with an open umbrella that sort of pokes people in the eye here and there!”  So, the idea of poking people sort of caught on … and then it morphed into the idea of being like a porcupine … and finally, it took form as an adjective – “porky” … but it seemed it needed to sound more formal than that and also not be confused with just being obese – so it turned into the wonderful word “porkupinickuous.”  The actual formal dictionary definition is “to have or express thoughts, attitudes, or actions that pertain to feelings not dissimilar to a close encounter with a porcupine.”  You get the idea!

So, true to form, when Mike calls – as he did tonight – within minutes of a few perfunctory questions about how I am, he quickly cuts through any smokescreens, whines, rants, carnal attitudes or general crap, and with the gentle touch of a 20-pound sledge points out whatever is lacking in perfect godliness!  With a friend like this, who needs the Holy Spirit?

The truth?  Two things …

1.  Everyone needs a friend or two like this. The praise of such is applauded by a smart guy named Solomon who said, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

2.  Though there is a lesson in this blog post, I wrote it to see if Mike will actually follow through and read this blog as I suggested, and prove that he has by leaving a comment. How about it – you porkupinickous scagpants shrub?

 

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Reading the Table

I saw an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about the ways that high-end restaurants, and even chain establishments, are training waiters to “read a table” of dinners and understand how to best serve them. Wait staff is being trained to make note of such things as body language, eye contact, and casual remarks – seeking to personalize the experience.

Apparently now, as waiters walk up to the table, they are reading a host of cues. If you look up and make eye contact, it signals that you are likely to engage in some conversation about the menu. If the table is filled with quiet and tense people, the welcome to be given is a quick statement of allowing time to look over the menu. If you are dressed in business attire at lunch, the assumption will be that you’ve come from your cubicle and need to get back there quickly – hence, faster service. The same is true for early dinners wearing fancy attire – this signals that dinner is but the precursor to another event that evening.

Restaurants are moving away from the standard, oft-repeated line of “my name is Ferdinand, and I’ll be taking care of you today.”  So, a lot of work and effort is being applied to understand the situation at hand, and to respond in the best and most helpful way.

Here is what the article made me think about:  If people of the world will go through this much trouble to gain understanding of personalized needs for a simple event like a single dining experience, should not those who know Christ desire to have an ability to read the world around them with a view toward personalizing the Gospel presentation to the presenting needs? The old opening line of a Gospel conversation was, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” While that is true, the immediate need may not be so “macro” as a life plan, but rather a concern about how to make it through some immediate crisis.

Though the central truth of the Gospel is a singular and unchanging truth about being made right with God through the removal of the debt of sin by Christ’s sacrifice, the way to contextualize the Gospel message is varied by the felt needs of the one who is not vitally connected to God. For some, the obstacle may be the addictive pattern of some substance or behavior. For others, the issues of primary concern may involve worries about how to provide successfully for material obligations in coming months and years. Yet others may have relational trials boiling on the front burner. We know that a vital relationship with Christ supplies sufficient resources for navigating these troubles, and they may also be the very channels through which the Gospel presentation can flow successfully.

The Apostle Paul essentially noted that there are varied ways of presenting the singular truth of the saving work of Christ when he said: Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.  (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

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Pastors Facing Death

My eyes came across two articles this week about two pastors facing death – both likely dying soon from two very different circumstances in two very different corners of the world.

One is the story of a rather well-known pastor of an American mega-church, the other a largely unknown Christian leader of a house church network in Iran.

The former is dying from a long-term battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), the latter appears to have lost the battle with the Khameni cleric-driven regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Pastor Ed Dobson of Calvary Church of Grand Rapids was diagnosed with ALS and given 3-5 years to live; that was 11 years ago. As the disease has worsened, the former executive with the Evangelical political action group Moral Majority has had to step away from his leadership and preaching at the 5,000-member congregation. What ministry work he is able to still provide is most often performed in 1-on-1 settings of helping others facing similar crises. Along the way, Dobson has also taught extensively through a series of videos that have been produced – as this spiritual leader who taught people so well about how to live, teaches now about how to die as a part of the walk of a pilgrim in the faith.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was first convicted of apostasy in November 2010. He appealed this charge to the level of the Iranian Supreme Court – all without release. Nadarkhani has refused to recant his beliefs and to recognize Muhammad as his savior. The word leaking from Iran this past week is that a final execution order had been issued. The general pattern is that when this sort of thing happens, the accused basically disappears and no word is heard about them again.

For those of us who have our settled faith in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures teach that “…we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.”

Christ himself said of our prospective life of following him… “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Even as we live, we are dying creatures – our lives a daily testament of a larger and eternal perspective. This is the end game toward which we live and move and invest … yes “invest.”

It was interesting to hear Dobson say that it was always his thought that if he were to face something terminal, THEN he would really read Scripture a lot and pray a lot. But his immediate experience (though not lasting) was just the opposite – he was overwhelmed with the circumstances of his immediate experience.

The time to prepare and “invest” for terminal experiences is now. To do otherwise would be like saying, “If I ever face a devastating financial setback, THEN I’ll start really working and really saving money!” That may help, but better to invest well in advance.

We never know when the doctor’s report may give us the devastating news we have seen myriads of others receive, and then live and die through – folks no better than us in any way. Though we do not have the immediate personalized threats against our faith as is the sad experience today in Iran, as one would read the anti-Christian vitriol of comments under both these stories, such is not as outlandish as it maybe once appeared. But whatever, the Scriptures remain true in the teaching …“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

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We Are Connected – No We’re Not! …. Yes We Are!

There are so many creative auto insurance commercials out there in recent years. I think I could write an entire year-long devotional book on ideas they generate.

One of the more recent ones features a young, long-haired, “emo” sort of edgy young man who rear-ends an older stereotypical serious business man dressed in a suit, driving a black high-end sedan.

Here is a link to it if you don’t know what I’m talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxlqNht5jg

The older man immediately assumes the young fellow likely has some worthless cut-rate insurance policy, though they quickly realize they have the same coverage – even the same agent.

The younger guy seems to be almost drawn to a meta-physical revelation and says, “It’s kinda like we’re connected!”  This is obviously an odious concept to the elderly dude who twice asserts firmly, “No we’re not!” … though the obvious inference is that, like it or not, they are connected through their insurance coverage.

People who are different from each other – be it by age, interests, occupation, or a myriad of other qualities – will always find some difficulty in rallying around those fewer elements they have in common. This is human nature; it is not new – not even in the church of Christ. The family of faith is filled with quite a variety of people who have found a common eternal life insurance in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul had to remind the Colossians that “here there is no Gentile or Jew, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another …”

We are a very diverse church family at Tri-State Fellowship. We are no longer just a baby boomer church with a lot of teens and children. Now we have elderly people, families with teenagers, young families with little kids, newly-marrieds, young adults and every other category imaginable. But in Christ, we are connected – yes we are … no we’re not … YES WE ARE!

This is not a weakness; this is a strength – if we will embrace it for all it can give in terms of a rich diversity of people saved by grace. Why settle for a cut-rate church experience, where everyone is just like you?

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Baseball and the Apostle Paul

There is hope … hope for the passing of winter. Just as Punxatawny Phil  guarantees only six more weeks of winter (whether the dumb rodent sees its shadow or not), so the onset of baseball spring training means that Spring is about to … well … spring! And yes, dear Christians, baseball has begun again in Florida! All is well in the world.

One of the reasons I like baseball so much is that it is a most fair sport (although, as a high school distance running coach, I could argue that running is the ultimate fair sport). Athletic talent alone cannot make you good at baseball. There are no pure naturals who excel at it the first day. It takes work and attention to detail, and over time, there is reward for those who most invest.

And beyond that, it replicates the realities of life. The season is long. Even the best fail about 70% of the time! No one person can carry a team by himself; it takes everyone working together. But one key player on a given day can win or lose the game for everyone else. Sometimes the team that deserves to win does not, but in the end, the best team who did the most right things the most often will prevail. And in the long run, the statistics don’t lie.

As a pastor and teacher, another reason I love baseball is because it also replicates some biblical teachings – particularly of the Apostle Paul.

Albert Pujols baseball - hopefully he tithes his income!

One of the major teachings of Christianity as expressed in the institution of the Church is that everyone has value and has a place of needed contribution. Though some may seem more important, everyone is given gifts and talents by God to contribute to the good of everyone else. The Apostle Paul (in 1 Corinthians 12) talks about this by using the illustration of the human body – how the body is not all hands or all feet, but many parts. And even the smallest part – one often overlooked and forgotten – when it hurts, everything hurts! So God has made it that in a church, everyone needs everyone else; it is not just teachers and preachers that are important, but equally also those folks who do things behind the scenes like care for people in their times of need.

A baseball team is a great illustration of the same big idea. In fact, if the Apostle Paul (who was clearly a sports fan!) knew about the game of baseball, and if it was played on the isthmus of the Greek peninsula in the 1st century, I am convinced he would have preferred using it as a metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12.

A baseball team that excels is comprised of a wonderful diversity of talents. A baseball team often has big strong guys to play positions like catcher and first base, smaller fast guys for the middle infield (and yes O’s fans, Cal broke the mold on that), and gifted athletes to roam the outfield. Some players hit, some catch, some pitch … where would a team be with all hitters and no pitchers; or, just the opposite?

Baseball is the best game! I am sure God loves it, but can’t give you any reference for that beyond His creation of everything in the big-inning.

If you are an Orioles fan or are interested in my Orioles writing on the Fansided Sports Network, go to http://birdswatcher.com … where if one of my articles is not featured on the front page, you can find my name on the staff writers list and check out my many, many baseball opinions.

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Success Does Not Equal Happiness and Satisfaction

Whitney Houston has died at age 48. I am sad – not because I’m a follower of pop stars and pop culture, for indeed, I am about the most ignorant person on the planet in that regard. No, Whitney Houston was a great, great singer … what a voice.

The passion in her vocals was deeply rooted in the wonderful musical heritage of the Black church. She could sell a song, and look good doing it too.

So many of us, when thinking of her music, remember first the performance of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. It has been recorded and sold over and over, and is to this day played at many sporting events. Just awesome – a fabulous orchestration, and one of the most highly acclaimed renditions and recordings of all time.

Being ignorant of pop culture and the comings and goings of the “stars,” I was not aware until the current news of her passing that she struggling with substance abuse. That is hardly a shocker in her world. And why does it seem that these fabulously popular and wealthy stars often end up dying alone in a hotel?

It seems to me that so many of these folks have indeed two very divergent worlds – a popular one with all the glamour and lights, but a dark one of loneliness, doubt and despair.

There is no secret where this post is going. That lack of surprise supports the overarching thought – there is no satisfaction in life apart from a vital connection to Christ. Happiness is illusive – even for the Christian; but contentment born of eternal perspective is the common experience of a genuine faith connection.

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Who Rescued Who?

Call me stupid; call me fat; call me ugly; insult my family … but don’t you dare say anything bad about my dog! The total truth?… I love my dog – who has an abundance of good character traits most folks will never attain.

I mention this as a backdrop to explain why a little car magnet I have seen a few times has caught my eye. In the shape of a paw print, it merely says: “Who rescued who?”

Of course, there is surely a story behind the owner of the car doing that – likely a story of a poor dog who needed adoption, and later paid that new owner back by providing in some critical season those traits of copious devotion this creature is known for possessing.

It is credited (apparently spuriously) to Harry Truman that he said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”  From my foray into the political world, the only thing not believable about this statement is that a politician would have the insight to utter such a truism.

All of this is to say that the little 3-word phrase on the magnet is basically proclaiming that the way something appears to be true from what is visible is actually just the other way around.

I think this little phrase is illustrative of a major idea in the doctrine of salvation. We think we are saved because we found God, and this appears to be true. We were lost, someone told us about salvation in Christ, we considered it, and we made a conscious step of faith through prayer to accept him and his gift.

Not to get too deep into theological weeds, but I believe the Scriptures teach that truly God did all the rescuing … that He was the one really seeking us in the first place – calling us and opening our eyes and drawing us to Himself. Do not the Scriptures say:

– We love him because He first loved us.

– There are none who are righteous, there are none who seek after God.

– For it is by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

So who rescued who?  Who saved who?

And on top of that, God spelled backwards is “DOG” (Chris Wiles pointed this out to me! And that’s why we pay him a couple hundred thousand a year!).

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Baby Bottle Campaign

It is that time of year again where, as in years past, we encourage your participation in the Hagerstown Area Pregnancy Center’s baby bottle campaign. This is the primary fund-raiser for this valuable ministry in our community.

Where else do you know that it can be said that someone or something literally saved lives? We hear of great stories from time to time, but it is without exaggeration able to be said that the HAPC saves literally hundreds of lives a year.

The medical services provided by the center – services that open deep conversations between workers and clients – come at a cost of operation. Along with an entire host of other evangelical churches in the community, we want to make this possible – to have the doors open as often as possible in order to reach young women at vulnerable times.

It would be wonderful to be able to see the evil of abortion overturned. But until that time, we may make a true difference by our practical support of this ministry of life!

So pick up a bottle at church – fill it up with coins, bills, and large checks – and bring it back by the end of February.

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The Long Arm…

I had to laugh this week at what I thought was a rather humorous Letter to the Editor in the Herald-Mail. It said:

I imagine when a young man took a car and went speeding through a restaurant parking lot on Pennsylvania Avenue and flying into Rest Haven Cemetery at an estimated 70 mph that he had no idea that someone in their final resting place could stop him. But, when he went careening down the hill, he hit the large solid granite gravestone belonging to my grandfather, Joseph Dallas Baker, former sheriff of Washington County.

As a family, we are thankful that the speeder hit the monument rather than the giant oaks directly across the driveway or the outcome might have been tragic. We choose to think Granddaddy got his man and possibly saved a life at the same time, exactly the way Sheriff Baker would have wanted it in his day.

Kind of adds a new meaning to the “long arm of the law.”

I don’t know about Sheriff Baker reaching back across the great divide to get his man, but there is a long-armed presence that we can never escape – the Spirit of God …

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  (Psalm 139)

This is a good truth for us to remember – both at times when we are fearful because of some circumstance where God seems far away, or at other times when temptation seems most especially close. The fact is that God is always there – up, down, east, west – there is no escaping this truth.

It is a long arm!

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UPS and the Delivery of the Gospel

The UPS Delivery System

I was recently watching a business documentary on the shipping and logistics techniques of FedEx and UPS.  Many of you have probably heard me talk about my several years of working for United Parcel Service in Dallas during my seminary years. It was a very, very fast-moving environment. Everyone who worked with me on the primary sort aisle was a high-end college or grad student – all young and healthy guys who could memorize thousands of numbers (zip codes) and also re-arrange on the fly how they would all be grouped.

UPS has the 9th largest airline in the world

I have never worked harder in my life. It was a part-time job, and I’ve always said that you’d drop before you made it to eight hours! We were paid really well… at a rate that even today, over 30 years later, would be a decent wage.

Something I was very proud of is that I was undefeated in a particular test they would give us on eye-hand coordination. The supervisor would show you a grid chart of numbers, and you were timed as to how quickly you could put your fingers on the numbers in consecutive order.

UPS is the most efficient outfit I have ever seen. They timed everything for proficient operation. So, in this modern technological age, I guess I should not be surprised that the job I did is now completely automated with computer tags, scanners, and mechanical devices. These advances came a couple decades too late for my sciatic nerve – which reminds me from time to time of my years in Dallas.

However, the documentary presented one area where the continued personal touch of a human – the delivery guy – was indispensable. Everything else can fall apart if that person acts like a jerk!

The Gospel Message Delivery System

There are incredible advances as well in the resources for the Gospel to be presented to lost people. We have tracts and books and blogs and videos and web pages … literally libraries of materials to communicate the message of eternal truth. Yet it is still a practically indispensable element for there to be a delivery person who communicates the truth by a quality of life and capacity for verbally witnessing.

Romans 10 says this: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

As I said in my opening sermon of the year: “There is no growth path forward for TSF that does not include a church family who cares about lost people and is actively communicating it to people.”  The days of people just flocking through our doors out of curiosity are gone. We need to deliver the truth to them.