Come as you are . . . oh . . . but please wear a tie.

I had the experience recently of preaching a sermon from which my heart was poured out as I was convinced of the great import of the passage. It was earthy, geared toward both believers in Christ and unbelievers, and authentic. But the hymn following it betrayed the tenor of the message preached. Ouch! What gives? It seems to me . . . now I may be wrong . . . but it seems to me, that if we want to be authentic in our worship and preaching and we want people to be authentic, we ought to be authentic in our musical style. What do I mean?

We have this idea in our head that worship ought to be reverent (and it should) and other-worldly (ought to be different than run-of-the-mill top 40 . . . and it definitely should), yet we ask people from all makes and models to come worship and, in an instant change their 21st century tastes and sensiblities. As if the deep and rich theology isn't enough to grasp, we also expect them to be classical in their musical style. In other words, we come up to Bill Monroe and ask him to play Vivaldi's mandolin concerto and expect him to like it and to enjoy it . . . or else! So often formality betrays the message and the hearers. We ought to have music that is as authentic as the people's lives who sing it and as authentic as Christ's compassion for the people who He saw as sheep without a Shepherd. There is plenty of rich theology being put to authentic tunes out there. Do not ignore the history of hymnody and the music, nor ignore the heart-engaging newer tunes and instrumentation being written to uphold the rich theology. Please do ignore the shallow Christian dung that is so prevalent on the airwaves.

www.igracemusic.com
www.redmountainmusic.org
www.sojournmusic.com
www.gettymusic.com
www.sovereigngracemusic.org

Never Cut What You Can Untie

"Never cut what you can untie." That is a quote from Joseph Joubert. Yeah, yeah, so it was at the top of my Franklin calendar pages. I don't even know who Joseph Joubert is. I think it caught my eye because it is so succinct. It stopped me in my tracks and made me think.

First, the literal cutting of a knot came to mind as I pictured a rope holding down boxes in a moving truck, or some such thing, and I thought, "Well, yeah, instead of wasting the rope, slow down, take the time to work on the knot, and enjoy the benefit of not having to buy a new rope later. Be frugal." But then, my applicatory juices surged (very rare) and I began to think about the quote on a relational level; a level Mr. Joubert probably intended.

I remember a quote from a wise friend of mine who once said, "Deal with the person not the office." In my particular context as a pastor, that means when you are struggling with a person, do not go the easy round-a-bout way and solve the external problem through avoidance of the issue, but get to the real issue for the sake of relationship.

For instance, when a committee chair is not acting in accordance with their office, don't jump to remove them from office, talk to them about their actions. The easy way out is through removal. The loving way toward reconciliation and relationship is through honest conversations, humility, forgiveness, and restoration. Untying the knot rather than cutting the rope.

This is the way of true ministry. If I were Jesus, and Peter had denied my need for dying on the cross, or had lopped off the centurion's ear, or had denied the Lord of Glory three times, I would have said, "That's it! You don't get it. Your ministry is over." But Jesus patiently, kindly, restored Peter helping him to see His deep-rooted need for Christ's death to atone for his sin and His resurrection to bring him new life. That's the powerful motivation that moved Peter to preach at Pentecost, carry the gospel to Gentiles, and to be martyred for the gospel.

Oh! that I would learn quickly to untie the knot.

By the way, I Googled Joseph Joubert and found out he was an eighteenth century French moralist. A knot left tied?

The Liberty You Live For

THE LIBERTY YOU LIVE FOR

The liberty you live for
Is a chain around your neck
Swallow hard you feel it's tightening grip

From slavery to servitude
You're much more of a wreck
Just harder to feel the sinking of the ship

You thought you were the child of a king
A prince with just about everything
You've been duped by half lies
Trusting your own alibis

The hangman holds the scaffold rope
Waiting for the sign
One small step and the knot will slip

Till you figure out your best jokes
Won't earn another set
You'll stand there with a trembling lip

You thought you were the child of a king
A prince with just about everything
You've been duped by half lies
Trusting your own alibis

The confidence you come by
Is a way for you to cope
With the demon-claws underneath your skin

So go buy a new umbrella
The sky is bellowing smoke
Hold on tight . . . here comes the wind . . .

You thought you were the child of a king
A prince with just about everything
You've been duped by half lies
Trusting your own alibis

copyright - coreypelton 2009

The more particular we get, the less charitable

The more particular we get, the less charitable

I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m getting older. I find that my tastes are changing and I get more and more picky about the way foods are prepared. When I go to a restaurant for breakfast I don’t just want eggs, bacon, and a biscuit – I want two eggs over easy (but not too easy), Tabasco on the side (not Louisiana Hot Sauce), bacon that is crisp not burnt, and syrup with my perfectly baked biscuit, not jelly . . . not honey.

It was reading C.S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters” that caused me to stop and ponder my particularities and how they can become a real menace against the grace of the gospel. The more particular we get, the less charitable we can become, and therein flee mercy, grace, justice, patience and kindness extended to others.

This uncharitable pickiness knows no bounds of socio-economy. It is easy to spy such raped charity in the likes of British hierarchical Jane Austin characters as we see suitors undergo criticism from sharp-mouthed aristocratic maidens who disdain the underclass for their vile earthen ways. After all, crumpets and tea are next to godliness, as opposed to hoe cakes and chitlins which are next to . . . well . . .

Okay, so the underclass Jane Austin Brits don’t eat chitlins, but you get my drift. I digress . . . pickiness knows no bounds of socio-economy. Which brings me to the other end of the spectrum. Bring up Bar-B-Que in the South and charitableness is gone faster than a hambone tossed to a hound. The most backwoods Arkansan loves his BBQ one way. And that way is the way (no matter if the next county over varies). If you don’t like it, then you must be a &%$# Yank, or from Carolina.

So . . . charitableness. If we are not willing to be charitable in whatever particulars we may sway towards, then we are not willing to extend grace to others. Therefore, self becomes the center of our world rather than Christ. With regard to food, take care that you are not “gauged by the way (your) belly now dominates (your) whole life” (Lewis). Your particular interests can dominate your life so that you control others by your pickiness. Be careful. The gospel tells us to deny ourselves and live for Christ alone.


Let’s play ‘fill in the blank’:

With regard to _____________ (music, dress, traditions, affiliations, hobbies, computer software, tastes, clubs, etc.), I am gauged by the way my ___________, (ear, body, mind, feelings, intellect, education, etc.) now dominates my whole life.

What would it take for Christ to be in the second blank?

Christian Help in Economic Woes

Now more than ever the church needs to come to the aid of her brothers and sisters. With a fast slipping economy, people are struggling to maintain their jobs and their lifelines as savings accounts drop and the unemployment lines bend around buildings. How can the Christian community help? What tangible ways are there to lift someone out of the mire?

In the very early New Testament church the gospel so impacted people's hearts that one of the first signs of letting go of individual rights to serve Christ who gave himself was to share property with other fellow worshippers in need. This was voluntary, not coerced.

Again, not long after the initial Pentecost thrust, there was a famine in the land and the newly formed church immediately responded with help for the gathered church in the hard hit area.

How can you help within your particular church? In my own church we have a mortgage broker who daily wonders how secure her job might be. Others in the congregation have begun pointing their friends who are purchasing homes to her for mortgages. In the same way, if someone own a restaurant, eat there. . . many times. Does someone clean homes? Those who have the ability, hire them. Think through the contacts that you have and maybe, just maybe, that might mean life and sustenance for a hurting brother or sister.

Another practical way to help would be to post your needs before the church or post items you may have that others may need. Have an ailing lawn mower but can't afford to fix it? There may be someone in the church willing to loan or give you one that is not being used.

The gospel is not merely theoretical, but living and active and tangible. In Acts the church grew because others outside the community recognized the hearts swollen with gospel grace. May we have sharing hearts so that God may be glorified, the church may be edified, and others will "know we are Christians by our love."

Eternally Bought

As I watched the news this morning I was saddened to see a story about a young family who had adopted a baby six months ago. For six months the parents and their 9 year old son grew attached to their legally adopted child. Now, a Native American tribe has taken the child for reasons of an exception to the adoption process which gives them the right to do so if the child is in their tribe’s bloodline. Does it matter that the birth mother is unfit to care for the child? Does it matter that the bloodline of the child for this particular tribe is minuscule? Not in the eyes of the tribe. They claim that their 7000 member tribe is losing its heritage as they are a dying breed; therefore, for the sake of carrying the bloodline in the tribe, they have a right to take the child out of the mother’s arms and give it to foster parents.

How thankful I am that the adoption purchased by my heavenly Father of me is a binding contract, not of paper, but of blood and a bloodline - that of Christ Jesus. Jesus himself said that no one and nothing can snatch me out of the Father’s hands. I am eternally bought with the price of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. All of the history of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is a testimony of this assurance for those who would trust him . . . and only Him.

I am Totally His

I am His by purchase and I am His by conquest; I am His by donation and I am His by election; I am His by covenant and I am His by marriage; I am wholly His; I am peculiarly His; I am universally His; I am eternally His. Once I was a slave but now I am a son; once I was dead but now I am alive; once I was darkness but now I am light in the Lord; once I was a child of wrath, an heir of hell, but now I am an heir of heaven; once I was Satan's bond-servant but now I am God's freeman; once I was under the spirit of bondage but now I am under the Spirit of adoption that seals up to me the remission of my sins, the justification of my person and the salvation of my soul.

- THOMAS BROOKS

Stifled By Fear

Fear is the greatest stifling agent in the promotion of the good news of Christ. There is not a Christian who is immune to fear. This is good, since lack of fear would take our eyes off of faith in Christ and place our faith, or lack thereof, in ourselves. Luke records an example of fear turned to faith in Acts 18:9-18a. I believe that it is fascinating (and very comforting) to find that the one in this passage who is being comforted from fear is the apostle Paul. He was the very one who wrote in Romans 8 that we have nothing to fear because nothing can separate us from Christ. Paul had to be reminded of the confidence that he has in Christ over and over just as we do. Fear is real in the most dedicated of people. Why was Paul fearful? Later, as Paul writes to the Corinthian church which he presently is developing in our Acts passage, he says that he came to them in fear and much trembling. Corinth was a fearful place to be sure. Can you imagine being the first one to carry the news of Christ as the only Savior of the world to New York, Las Angeles, or Atlanta with the commission of Christ to speak boldly in His name? The immorality of Corinth was great. The amalgamation of cultures was tremendous. The religiosity was diverse. And Paul was going to argue that he had the one truth greater than all others.

How is fear dispelled? Christ comes to Paul at night and says in verse 10, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."

Words are great, but what about action? It's one thing to say, "I am with you." But how do we know He is with us? The gospel prospers through conversion, growth, and circumstances.

Conversion - After Paul gets to Corinth he meets up with Aquila and Priscilla, a couple whose trade is making tents. While Paul works with them, he does what he ordinarily does when entering a new city and gos to preach in the synagogue to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. The Jews in Corinth reject Paul, so he turns to the Gentiles. As soon as he does, the ruler of the synagogue is converted! In this conversion, God confirms Paul's mission almost immediately.

Growth - God blesses Paul in his choice to move away from the "religious" Jews to the "irreligious" Gentiles. Many came to faith. It is a fearful thing to move out of the comfort of your own people with which you have some common ground. The Jews were Paul's people. He was Jewish. Yet Christ had commissioned Paul to preach to others and, by faith, he must strike out into scary territory. As confirmation, God chooses to bless Paul's faithfulness. Many times, the people within our churches do not want to move out to the irreligious. There may come a time when the leaders of the church need to "move out" for the sake of the glory of Christ in spite of what the church wants. This in itself is a bold move of faith and many times brings greater health the the church although the going may initially bring conflict.

Circumstances - The Jews rose up against Paul and took him before the local law enforcement of Rome because they thought he was teaching things against the law. Judaism was an "official" religion of Rome having been legitimized by the government. If another religion was promoted that was not stamped by the approval of the governing authorities it was considered illegitimate and against Roman law. As Paul was getting ready to defend himself before the proconsul, the proconsul beat him to the punch and the Jews complaint was thrown out as nitpicking. What this did was, for the first time, made Christianity a legitimate religion in Rome in the eyes of the governing authorities! God raised up this gracious proconsul for the furtherance of the gospel through Paul! God directs and disposes all circumstances that He might be glorified and the gospel prosper.

What really do believers in Christ have to fear? Or, as Paul writes in Romans 8, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" His kingdom is being ushered in and He chooses to you the likes of fearful men like me to accomplish His great good of kingdom advancement. May the Lord teach me faith as he taught Paul and every saint before him and after him.