In the meantime

Sad, but so very true...

Before anyone sends me a nastygram about this, please know that this graphic is posted here for its humor factor, not its theological accuracy.  I don't know about you, but personally I am thankful that being a jerk doesn't negate God's grace and mercy in redemption.  Which means there will be plenty of us perfected former jerks in heaven. All of us fall into this category at some point in our lives - some are just better at it due to the daily, sometimes hourly practice of the spiritual discipline of jerkiness!

At the risk of overanalyzing a funny joke (Note to those who fail to see the humor: Lighten up!), keep in mind this cartoon was drawn by an individual who, as far as I know, is not a believer.  Believers and non-believers alike will laugh at this cartoon for exactly the same reason - because it has the "ring of truth" to it.  We've all met Christians who were jerks.

We can learn a lot about ourselves and about how we are perceived by listening to what secular sources have to say about us.  Robert Burns, the famed Scottish poet said, "Oh the gift that God would g'ie us, to see ourselves as others see us..."

A Sad, Short Life

Imagine yourself in this situation:  You are a soft-spoken, mild-mannered person with a genuine desire to help people. One day you find yourself in a situation where your good instincts and attention to detail saves dozens of lives. You are justifiably hailed as a hero.  Then things suddenly go horribly, horribly wrong.

Police begin to suspect that you staged the situation so you could become a hero, and they leak this suspicion to the press.  The press runs with the story and for the next three months you are the most hated man in America.  The FBI executes a search warrant at your home while over a hundred reporters and camera people are there to record the event and broadcast it to the world.  Four news helicopters hover overhead shooting footage of the home search.  Everywhere you go, you have cameras in your face and rude reporters shoving microphones and tape recorders in your face while yelling "Why did you do it?" or "Are you the bomber?"

That nightmare happened to Richard Jewell. 

Richard Jewell saved the lives of dozens of people on July 27, 1996. During a late night concert, he discovered a suspicious looking bag under a bench near a speaker tower.  He immediately alerted Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers. About the same time, Eric Rudolph called 911 to deliver a warning. Jewell and other security guards began clearing the immediate area so that a bomb squad could investigate the suspicious package. At 1:21am, the bomb exploded. In large part because of Richard Jewell's quick thinking and actions, only one person was killed by the bomb itself.  Had the area not been cleared, many more would have died.

For the next four days, life was good for Richard Jewell.  He was hailed as a hero in the press. On July 31, investigators leaked to the press that they believed the hero was actually the bomber.  The theory was that Jewell engineered the bombing so he could be a hero. A headline in the Atlanta Journal screamed "FBI SUSPECTS HERO GUARD MAY HAVE PLANTED BOMB."

The deadly combination of a media feeding frenzy and overzealous (and unscrupulous) federal investigators came down on Jewell and his mother like the proverbial ton of bricks.  They were held under siege in their Northeast Atlanta apartment as FBI agents confiscated their possessions and searched their home, storage shed and pickup truck for clues. TV crews kept a vigil outside the home ready to pounce on anyone coming or going from the Jewell home.

"I felt like a hunted animal, followed constantly, waiting to be killed," Jewell said.

At the height of the hysteria, a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution compared Jewell in print to Wayne Williams, the convicted Atlanta child killer.  Through the entire sad debacle, Jewell quietly maintained his innocence.

After twelve weeks of a hell on earth that you and I can only imagine, Richard Jewell was cleared of any suspicion in the 1996 Olympic Park Bombing that killed two and injured more than 100 people.  Despite statements from federal authorities stating his innocence (and giving a halfhearted, lukewarm apology) a cloud of suspicion still hung over Jewell until early 1997, when physical evidence from two other bombings implicated Eric Robert Rudolph, who remained a fugitive until his capture in 2003.

After he was cleared and Rudolph was implicated in the bombing, several news agencies and his former employer settled out of court with Richard Jewell.  He reportedly received over half a million dollars in compensation and restitution.  Unfortunately, over 75% of that money went to pay legal fees and taxes.  He received settlements from Piedmont College, NBC, CNN, and the New York Post.  The only organization that refused to settle with Jewell was the Atlanta Journal.  That suit is scheduled to go to trial in early 2008.

Richard Jewell will never know the outcome of that case.  He died yesterday at the age of 44.  He had continued to work in law enforcement until he was forced to quit in 2006 because of diabetes and kidney problems.  He had been on dialysis.  A autopsy conducted today determined Jewell died of a massive heart attack.

It is safe to say those 88 days in 1996 took at least 20 years off Richard Jewell's life. 

It is frightening to think that what happened to Richard Jewell in 1996 could happen to any one of us. The rush to judgment - fueled by intense pressure to close the case - brought out the worst in the federal investigators in the Jewell case.  They used  questionable tactics to entrap Jewell, including getting one of his friends to wear a bug to dinner at the Jewell home and luring Jewell to an interview at the FBI under the pretense of making a training film.

They were convinced he was guilty and went to great lengths to force the round peg into the square hole.  In the end, they were proved wrong, but the damage was done to Jewell's reputation and, as it turned out, his health.

"While the government can tell you that I am an innocent man, the government's letter cannot give me back my good name or my reputation," Jewell said at a news conference in October, 1996. "In their mad rush to fulfill their own personal agendas, the FBI and the media almost destroyed me and my mother."

Richard Jewell was a hero. A hero who never really got to enjoy his hero status.  A tragic figure who did a wonderful thing and got his life ruined because of it. 

One can only hope that in the years since his name was cleared and his nightmare ended that Richard Jewell was aware of how thankful we all are for what he did and how sorry we all are for how badly it all turned out.

Vick: "I Need To Grow Up"

I watched Michael Vick's apology yesterday.  I have to admit I was fully prepared to find it shallow, self-serving and made out of expedience.  I also thought it would be a prepared, carefully lawyer-crafted statement.

My first surprise was that Vick didn't read from a prepared text, but chose to "take this opportunity just to speak from the heart."

First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that — that I've done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our — for our previous discussions that we had. And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least.

I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up.

I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player.

I take full responsibility for my actions. For one second will I sit right here — not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I've done.

I'm totally responsible, and those things just didn't have to happen. I feel like we all make mistakes. It's just I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions. And you know, those things, you know, just can't happen.

In the most controversial section of his remarks, Vick said that though this situation he had come to faith in Christ and found forgiveness:

Through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now...I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it. But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person. I got a lot to think about in the next year or so.

All in all I thought Vick came across as sincere.  Around the Riley family dinner table tonight, mine was most definitely the minority view.  Everyone else saw it as a lame attempt to salvage his reputation and that he hit all of the talking points he was told to by his handlers.

It appears more of the pundits agree with my wife and kids than see it as I did.  They also found his apology too little, too late and lacking sincerity.

At the end of the day, that is not for me to judge.  Vick said today he had found Jesus, and that makes him my brother in Christ.  If he did indeed turn his life over to Christ through this tragic situation, that will be the best call he has ever made in his life.  I hope he has the opportunity to grow in faith and understanding over the next few years and that he does indeed redeem himself.  He's certainly got a lot of redeeming to do, but Mike Vick is a young man and can still have a great impact for good.

"Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone," Vick said. "And I will redeem myself. I have to."

Click here to view Vick's apology.  Full text of the apology here.

Checks and Balances

They call it checks in balances in the business world.  A liability comes along and sets you back and then an asset comes along and makes things right again.

Here's a couple of assets that have come along lately:

In the world of ministry, reeling from revelations about Randy and Paula White and Bishop Weeks and Juanita Bynum there's Dr. D. James Kennedy, who announced this week he is retiring as pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale.  He has served as pastor of the same great church for over 48 years.

In addition his duties as pastor of CRPC, Dr. Kennedy founded Evangelism Explosion International and Coral Ridge Ministries.  Millions of people have used the EE outline to effectively share their faith in Christ with others. Many millions have prayed to receive Christ through that ministry.  Coral Ridge Ministries is Kennedy's broadcast ministry, bringing Truths That Transform to an international audience.  Dr. Kennedy's velvet smooth voice, his intellect and remarkable communication skills touched many, many lives over the last five decades.

The last time Kennedy preached from the Coral Ridge pulpit was last Christmas Eve.  Four days later he suffered a massive heart attack.  The 76 year old pastor has been recovering ever since.  On Sunday, his daughter shared with the church family that Dr. Kennedy was retiring from the pastoral post he has held since founding the church in 1959.  Coral Ridge now has in excess of 10,000 members.

In the midst of news of pastors who have allowed their fame and fortune to literally ruin them, their families and their testimony, Dr. Kennedy stands in stark contrast.  He is the real deal. He will be greatly missed.  Dr. Frank Wright, President and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters said of him:

As Dr. Kennedy retires from the scene of active ministry, I praise God for giving the church this man of vision so committed to the Kingdom of God. With his godly wisdom, his courageous heart, and his consistent example, he has inspired millions to love, follow, and serve Jesus Christ. Jim Kennedy is a man among men who will continue to cast a long shadow in the lives of those who know and love him.

Here's another asset:  Dalton Carriker and the Little League World Champion team from Warner Robins, GA.  In a world of Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, et al, it was so refreshing to watch kids playing for the sheer love of the game.  Hollywood couldn't have scripted it better than the final game that decided the championship.  Carriker's walk-off home run won the game and the LLWS for the United States team over a very talented and determined Japanese team.

In a moment that Carriker will remember for the rest of his life, he sent a 2-1 pitch over the right field wall.  Rounding the bases, Carriker said he couldn't feel his legs.  "I felt like I was flying, like Peter Pan," Carriker said. "I didn't know what I was doing."

Thank you, God for sending us assets to balance out our liabilities.  Seems like there's been a lot of liabilities here lately.

Bravo, Roger Goodell

On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasted no time in lowering the boom on the league's biggest embarrassment and PR nightmare, Michael Vick.  Before the ink was dry on his plea agreement, Goodell suspended the soon-to-be convicted felon indefinitely.  The move means that for the time being, Vick's football career is over and the Falcons can begin proceedings to recover some or all of the 22 million dollar signing bonus they paid him in 2004.

As mentioned in an earlier post on this topic, I am at best a fair-weather football fan.  But I really like what I see from the NFL's top dog (no pun intended) so far.  Since taking over the post about a year ago, Goodell has shown that he is a worthy successor to Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue.  In recent years, bad behavior by pro athletes has increased dramatically, and the NFL has certainly had it's fair share of bad press from it.  Goodell has shown that he is committed to raising the bar and taking action to punish those whose behavior sullies the league's image.

In April, Goodell suspended "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season and Chris Henry and "Tank" Johnson for half of the season under the new Personal Conduct Policy.  Now he has taken decisive action against Vick before he even officially enters his guilty plea to federal charges related to dogfighting, gambling and cruelty to animals.

The Commissioner didn't mince words, either.

"You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league's personal conduct policy," Goodell told Vick in a letter after meeting in New York with Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay.

"You are now justifiably facing consequences for the decisions you made and the conduct in which you engaged. Your career, freedom and public standing are now in the most serious jeopardy," Goodell wrote. "I hope that you will be able to learn from this difficult experience and emerge from it better prepared to act responsibly and to make the kinds of choices that are expected of a conscientious and law abiding citizen."

Major kudos to Roger Goodell for doing the right thing. 

Read the story from SI here.  Read Commissioner Goodell's letter to Michael Vick here (PDF).

Personal Tragedies in the Family of God

How should we respond to the public mistakes and shortcomings of Christian leaders?

This is the question that over the last 48 hours the Streaming Faith management team wrestled with as we sought to formulate an appropriate response to the tragic situation concerning Juanita Bynum and Bishop Thomas Weeks. This story is being reported on virtually every secular news outlet in the world.  Some covering the story could barely contain their glee at the misfortunes of these high profile Christian leaders.   

It was obvious to us that many of our colleagues in Christian media were also wrestling with how to handle this story, as they, too, refrained from publishing articles or commentary about the situation right away. Sadly, there were several Christian media outlets who chose to reprint the words of the secular media word for word. Some added a subheading saying we need to pray for those involved - and then preceded to report all of the juicy, gory details.  Their approach is reminiscent of carnal church members we have all known who under the guise of sharing a "prayer request" engage in gossip, which is repulsive to God and damaging to the Body of Christ.  (Read Proverbs 16:28, and Romans 1:29)

Seemingly adding insult to injury, last night news broke of yet another prominent Christian couple who had announced they were seeking a divorce.

So how should we as believers respond when faced with the public shortcomings of Christian leaders?  Let me suggest four ways you can be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem:

1.  Pray about it more than you talk about it. Henry Blackaby once told me that virtually every church he's visited spends at least twice as long talking about prayer in their services as they do actually praying.  I was shocked when he told me that, but then I realized that many times I am guilty of the same thing in my personal life.  How often do I assure someone I will pray for them and then forget to pray?  How often do I talk about a situation but neglect to pray about it?

In the wake of multiple revelations about marital problems with high profile Christian leaders, Bishop Donald Hilliard from Cathedral International in New Jersey is calling the church to prayer.  In a statement released yesterday he said: "Let us pray that the church of Christ continues to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in spite of what may seem to be glaring inconsistencies among the saints... My prayer is that we walk in peace and love, forgive each other, love each other and yet at the same time try to help each other so that the body of Christ will not be shamed."

"This is not the time to throw stones, but rather stand together and show the world that we walk together in love," Hilliard said.

2. Recognize that Christian leaders are human, too.  In America, we have created a celebrity culture around prominent pastors and Christian leaders.  The effect of this has been to greatly intensify the "pedestal" effect and "fishbowl" existence that every Christian leader - from local church pastor to internationally known evangelist - experiences to some degree or another.  We cast them as perfect in every way, and they have to try and maintain that image to keep their ministry and influence.  When was the last time you heard a prominent Christian share about the areas they struggle with and transparently ask for prayer in that area?  The answer is probably never.  To admit struggles and seek prayer support or accountability would be to admit they aren't what we try to pretend that they are. 

There has only been one Person who lived a spotless life and who never sinned when tempted, and that is the Lord Jesus.  Our leaders are sinners saved by grace just like you and me.

I heard the story about two wise sisters in Christ who were approached by the church gossip attempting to run down the pastor.  They wouldn't give her the time of day.  Finally the gossip asked one of them, "So what do you think about the preacher?"  The wise saint responded, "Honey, all I know is that the Lord can shake a mighty lick with a crooked stick!"

The truth is we are all "crooked sticks."  If we waited until we were perfect to share the Good News of the Gospel, no one would ever get saved.  We are like the Pharisees standing near the woman with rocks in our hands.  When Jesus invited those without sin to throw stones at her, one by one they walked away as God convicted them of the sin in their lives. 

3. Be aware you do not know the whole story. For some of us the only exercise we get is jumping to conclusions!  The only people who know the whole story in a situation like this are the two people directly involved.  At best we know part of the story and that part may or may not be one-sided.  Wise people resist rushing to judgment based on what you hear in the news or from the "grapevine."

4. Be a Friend.  If God has allowed you to be a friend to your pastor or any other church leader, you have been given a wonderful opportunity for genuine ministry.  The more prominent and well-known the pastor or leader is, the more "hangers on" he or she will have surrounding them.  Most of these people are not friends, but leeches who want only to use their access to this person for their own gain or self interest.  People who are true friends are those who will listen to you, pray with you and for you, hold you accountable, and allow you to honestly share your hurts, your pain, your struggles. 

I can tell you from personal experience when you are involved in public ministry, friends like this are rare and more precious than gold.  If God has allowed you to be a friend to a leader, be there for them through thick and thin.  Love them for who they are, not what they can do for you.

There is something about our fallen nature that draws us to the misfortunes of others.  Traffic snarls around a wreck because of gawkers, and supermarket tabloids make millions exploiting gossip.  But God has called His people to rise above that. 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — think on these things.  Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Mike Vick's Jury...

Thoughts on the Michael Vick story

I grew up in Atlanta and have lived here most of my life.  And while baseball is a passion, I am also somewhat of a football fan.  One of the reasons I am a less than rabid football fan is that for most of my life the Atlanta Falcons have been a pretty sorry excuse for a football team. 

A few years ago when the Falcons selected Michael Vick as their number one draft pick, I was elated.  I lived in Virginia when he was setting the world on fire at Virginia Tech.  But while I was excited about the Vick acquisition, I remember thinking back to the last time an Atlanta team drafted the most sought-after college player in the world.

In 1970 the Hawks drafted "Pistol Pete" Maravich, the all time leading scorer in NCAA history.  For the most part Maravich never lived up to his billing and he certainly didn't elevate the team to greatness.  He had flashes of brilliance (I've never seen anyone before or since who could pass like him) but he never really reached his potential.  He was never in the NBA what he had been at LSU.

Since being drafted by the Falcons in 2001, Michael Vick has been well on his way to being another Pistol Pete.  Some sports commentators would sometimes say he was the most exciting player in the NFL today, but he has failed to lift the team and overall he has been a disappointment. 

But more disturbing than his lackluster performance on the field has been his character, or lack thereof.  In 2005, Vick was hit with a sex suit, and last season he publicly flipped off the Atlanta fans while the cameras clicked and rolled.  In a way, we always suspected that Mike, like his brother Marcus (who was kicked off the Virginia Tech team for stomping on a opposing player and has had numerous brushes with the law), was not exactly the kind of person we wanted to be a role model for our kids.

Now we know it.

This past April, things started to unravel fast for Mike Vick.  On April 20, his cousin Davon was arrested outside a Hampton, VA nightclub on marijuana charges.  Four days later, Michael was supposed to attend a congressional breakfast to request more money for after-school football programs.  He was a no-show.  The following day, police raided Vick's property in Smithfield, VA and found evidence of dogfighting and animal abuse.

Three days after the raid, Vick apparently told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that his friends and family members were responsible for the dogfighting.  For the last few months, Vick has stated publicly that when the truth comes out, his name will be cleared and he will be vindicated. That statement didn't pass the giggle test here in Atlanta, or in the rest of the country for that matter. Now we know what we suspected - Vick was lying through his teeth and he is guity as all get-out in this matter.

This coming Monday, Vick will plead guilty in the dogfighting and racketeering case. He is going to jail.  His football career is is shambles. He will not play at least for the next two seasons, and since he lied to the Commissioner's face, he may be booted out of the NFL for good.

The news here in Atlanta has been dominated for the last four months with the Michael Vick saga.  I have resisted the urge to write anything about it, but something happened in the last 24 hours that helped me see this in proper perspective.

Cindy, our beloved 15 year old Shih-Tzu was attacked by something in our backyard when we let her out to go to the bathroom.  Whatever it was - we think it might have been a raccoon - tore her up pretty bad.  We were all in tears as she hobbled around the house today and was clearly disoriented. Somewhere in the midst of the heartache I came to the realization that when you boil the Mike Vick case down to it's bare essentials, this is it: This scum bucket's idea of quality entertainment was watching dogs maim and kill each other.  He and his associates cheered and laughed as dogs were ripped apart.  And if the dogs didn't provide him with enough entertainment by fighting each other, he and his buddies got their kicks by hanging and drowning the losing dogs.

Face it, folks.  This is not just about cruelty to animals, as bad as that is.  This guy is a sociopath.  Do you doubt for a nanosecond that Michael Vick would be capable of inflicting this same kind of pain and torture on a human being and never feel a twinge of remorse?  Virtually every serial killer got their start by torturing and murdering animals.  It's not a big leap from animals to humans.

It is an outrage that someone like this, someone with obviously no conscience whatsoever will only have to serve 18 months in prison for this.  It is a travesty that someone like this could ever, EVER again be paid millions of dollars to play professional football and be idolized by millions.

Michael Vick could have been the greatest quarterback in NFL history. As it turns out, he is the most despicable jerk to play the game since O.J. Simpson.  But unlike the Juice, Vick is going to jail.  Not long enough to rot there, unfortunately, although I sure hope he's surrounded by dog lovers wherever he does his time. 

Commissioner Goodell: The world is watching to see if you have any integrity at all or if it's all about the money.  Do the right thing and ban him for life.

POSTSCRIPT:  Despite not reaching his full potential as a pro athlete, "Pistol Pete" Maravich was an incredibly wonderful human being who devoted himself to motivating and inpiring others when his playing days were over.  The jury is still out on Mike Vick.  We can and will pray that he will learn from his mistakes and someday he, too will be an inspiration to others. 

Doomed To Repeat It

It is always a tragedy when a church is torn apart by conflict, but the tragedy is compounded when that conflict is splayed all over the news media. It is even more tragic when you realize this scenario plays out the over and over again in church after church after church on a daily basis.

That great philosopher and social commentator Yogi Berra once described a situation by saying, "It's like déjà vu all over again."  That is exactly what went through my mind today when I read several articles about the conflict currently happening at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville.  As I read I kept thinking, "I know these people.  I've heard this before.  I've lived this before."

Two Rivers is a large church, but it is not a "megachurch" as it was described in news articles.  They average about 1,500 people on a weekend which by modern standards is not all that large.  It is well known because it is where many Southern Baptist leaders and executives worship (Nashville is home to the SBC's Executive Committee, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Lifeway Christian Resources, the denomination's publishing and distribution arm).  Dr. Jerry Sutton has been the Senior Pastor at Two Rivers for the last 21 years.  In 2006 he ran for SBC president and finished third in a field of three that included himself, Dr. Ronnie Floyd and Dr. Frank Page, who was the surprise winner of the election.

According to the news reports, a group of people in the church are trying to force Dr. Sutton's resignation or termination.  The group seeking to remove the pastor is led by a former church trustee who was recently expelled from the church by an "overwhelming" vote of the congregation.  Despite that action, the group is undeterred and is currently circulating a petition to force a vote to remove Sutton.

Reading the articles - especially those in the secular media - it is hard to discern what the issues are.  If you have ever been a part of a nasty church conflict you know that the issues that are identified publicly as the key issues are rarely, if ever, the real issues.  The real issues are most often power, authority, loss of trust and issues related to change.  The publicly identified issues are most often smokescreens.

The dissident group has a website (which is all the rage now in cases like this) but it crashed earlier this week, a fact which I'm sure is fodder for conspiracy theorists among the group.  The site enumerated the concerns of the group seeking the pastor's removal.  They included "steady decline in membership," "lack of accountability in finances," "poor stewardship of God's people," "authoritarian style church management," "rapid turnover rate of church staff in the past 10 years," "lavish lifestyle and receptions," "questionable allegations," and "serious communication issues."

The Nashville Tennessean reported that the dissident group is "older, long-term members who attend the traditional service."

Two Rivers has recently started a contemporary service which was scheduled to move this coming Sunday from the Chapel to the main worship center. Pastor Sutton was quoted as saying "We know that because of the demographics in the city, we're having to change some of our ministries. And I suspect that some of the change is part of what is driving the conflict, quite honestly. The contemporary service is at the top of the list."

According to an article on Forbes.com, the expelled former trustee said the crux of the problem is that Two Rivers "appears to have been manipulated from a people-led church to a staff-run church."

The funny thing about church messes is that even when you are in the middle of it, it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Everyone in the conflict thinks they are right.  Everyone in the conflict thinks they are doing God a favor by contending for the faith.  Everyone in the conflict thinks that God is on their side.  And usually, everyone in the conflict is acting in an unbiblical and unchristian manner toward those on the opposite side.

One thing is for sure: The loser in any church conflict - especially when it is allowed to escalate outside the four walls of the church into the news media - is the reputation of the people involved, the reputation of the church in the community, the reputation of the Gospel, and ultimately the reputation of the Lord Jesus.  The world is looking at us to see what Jesus is like and when we act like idiots, the world assumes that Jesus could not possibly be who He claimed to be if His followers are like this.

The statistics are sobering: 75% of congregations say they experience conflict regularly. 40% of pastors report a serious conflict within the church at least monthly. Nearly one-fourth of pastors have been terminated or forced to resign. Nearly two-thirds of forced-out pastors said the church that dumped them had also forced out previous pastors.  41% percent said the church had done so more than twice.  Only 20% of terminated pastors said the real reason for their leaving was made known to the congregation.

It is never a matter of if your church will have serious conflict, it is a question of when.  Bill Hybels says "The popular concept of unity is a fantasyland where disagreements never surface and contrary opinions are never stated with force. We expect disagreement, forceful disagreement. So instead of unity, we use the word community. The mark of community — true biblical unity — is not the absence of conflict. It’s the presence of a reconciling spirit.”

Our job is spread abroad the fame and renown of the Lord's name.  All too often we do just the opposite: we bring shame upon His name.  God sent Nathan the prophet to King David to confront him after his sin with Bathsheba. When David confessed, he was assured that God had forgiven his sin, but told him he would have to bear the consequences of that sin because his public failure had harmed God's reputation.

David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."  Nathan answered, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You will not die. But what you did caused the Lord's enemies to lose all respect for him.  For this reason the son who was born to you will die."   (2 Sam 12:13-14 NCV) 

To paraphrase Santayana, when we fail to learn from church history, we are doomed to repeat it.  In literally hundreds of churches in every denomination right now we are repeating it.  And as we fail to live out what we claim to believe the world finds itself in agreement with Mahatma Gandhi who said "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

The Best Gift

If you travel in the mountains of North Georgia between Gainesville and Cleveland, you might pass by a church with the unusual name of Dewberry Baptist Church #2.  If you drive on a little while longer, you will come upon another church called Dewberry Baptist Church.  When I first encountered these two churches years ago, I asked a friend of mine who was the unofficial Baptist historian for North Georgia about it.  His face lit up.  "Oh, that's a great story.  That church split over a chicken leg." 

Dewberry Baptist Church # 2

As you can imagine, I was hooked by that intro and had to hear the rest of the story.  It seems that in the mid-1800s a controversy arose among the congregation of Dewberry Baptist Church over predestination (imagine that, Baptists fighting about the sovreignty of God). 

About half of the congregation had strong deterministic feelings and the other half had very strong feelings about human freedom.  At the height of the controversy, the two main proponents of the two points of view were sitting next to each other at a covered dish dinner.  At some point in the meal the non-predestination ringleader turned to the predestination ringleader and said, "You mean to tell me that before the beginning of time it was predetermined that I was to eat this drumstick?" 

"Yes, brother, you were" replied the other.

The non-predestination leader then said, "HA!", threw the chicken leg across the room and walked out.  About half of the church walked out with him.  They started a new church, but did not want to give up the church name to "those people," so they named their new church Dewberry Baptist Church #2.

Today, many years later, the controversy is long forgotten and all that remains is the funky name.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to allow ourselves to get sidetracked by things that aren't even a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of eternal consequences?  We all can tell stories we've either heard or experienced of churches splitting apart over the color of carpet, the chandeliers, the pastor's salary, building programs, the style of music, or non-essential areas of theology.

This is exactly what motivated the Apostle Paul to write one of the most, if not the most beautiful passages in the entire Bible: I Corinthians 13.  We know these four paragraphs of Paul's letter as "the love chapter," but many people don't realize the context in which it is placed.  The gist of I Corinthians 13 is that if we as followers of Jesus Christ do not have love as our overarching goal, aim, creed and passion, then we are worthless to the world and to the Kingdom.

The Corinthian Church had many problems, and one of them was that people were using the gifts of the Spirit, and tongues in particular as some sort of spiritual merit badge.  Those who exercised the gift of tongues felt they were more spiritual than others, which apparently caused other people to seek earnestly after that gift so they, too would be considered spiritual.  In chapter 12, Paul states clearly that God gives a variety of spiritual gifts to people so the church can function well.  Just as the eye can't say to the hand, "I don't need you" we cannot say that one gift is more important, or spiritual than another.

At the end of chapter 12, Paul says, "I will show you a more excellent way."  His next paragraph (what we know as Chapter 13) begins with, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal..."

Here is what Paul is saying to you and me in those four brief paragraphs: All of our efforts to advance the Kingdom or to help others are meaningless unless love rules our lives and our actions. Even if we give up our lives for the sake of the gospel, if love does not rule our lives and our actions that sacrifice is meaningless.

Just think about it.  Imagine what we could accomplish if love was our consuming passion instead of issues, ideas and preferences that are of little or no eternal consequence.  Where would we be if we truly, honestly, deeply loved our brothers and sisters in Christ?  What kind of impact would we have on our world if we loved the lost as much as Jesus does?

Here's where you start:  Desire the best gift.  Let God's love consume you and guide everything you do.  See the world - and the church - through the eyes of Jesus and with the heart of God the Father.  Love as you are loved. 

That is the most excellent way.