In the meantime

The Wright stuff

It is very rare that I agonize over a post.  To be sure, I always try to be careful in what I write, especially when the subject matter is potentially divisive or controversial, but usually the words come easy.  I have started to write this piece on the situation with Rev. Jeremiah Wright four different times and have scrapped the first three efforts.

It has now been 48 days since the Jeremiah Wright story broke in the national media. While I knew Rev. Wright was a somewhat controversial figure, I also had heard good things about his church and his ministry. I don't agree with much of his theology, but I still respect what he has done at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. That said, I was appalled at what I heard in those first sound bytes.

In what can only be viewed as a sign of how bizarre this campaign has been, the issue of what the Pastor of Barack Obama's church said in sermons - in some cases over seven years ago - has been in the news pretty much for all of the last month and a half.  When I heard last week that Rev. Wright was going to respond over the weekend, I fully expected him to be restrained and to reflect the scholarly side of him that we have heard about. I did wonder why he was going on a four day media blitz, though.

The Moyers interview was OK, but nothing was settled there. Rev. Wright's message to the Detroit NAACP was exciting, funny, and showed his great intellect. There were a few moments that made me squirm, but there were also many moments where I appreciated his calls for reconciliation and his explanation of how our culture and upbringing make us different but not deficient.

Then came Monday's appearance at the National Press Club. I cannot presume to know what was in the man's heart, but what came across to me, and to all I have talked with - both Democrats and Republicans - was a man with a monumental ego. It has been said that an egotist is someone who will burn the house down to fry himself an egg. Rev. Wright did his best to burn down the house for his most famous church member Monday. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Why did Jeremiah Wright do it? Was he in over his head? Did he misjudge the audience, thinking it was like his church, and not the hardened, cynical Washington press corps?  Was he intentionally torpedoing the Obama campaign - burning down the house, so to speak - because he felt they had dissed him and thrown him under the bus? Whatever caused the outburst one thing is certain: The argument that he was taken out of context in those now infamous video clips vanished as he clearly stated his convictions about all of those areas - that the US government came up with the AIDS virus to inflict it on minorities, that the US is a terrorist nation, that 911 was retribution for the US's actions abroad, and that the US marines are no different than the Roman centurians who put Christ to death. Knowing now that he really does believe those things, how could those clips have possibly been out of context?

Time will tell if Obama's words today can effectively stop the bleeding. It was obvious that he was genuinely hurt and angry by the position he found himself in. The pundits are split when judging Obama's actions since this story broke. Some are commending him for trying to salvage the situation and not wanting to dump his pastor the moment he became a political liability, and some are taking him to task for not totally disowning Wright 48 days ago.

If Rev. Wright had been her pastor, I have no doubt that Hillary would have dumped him in a nanosecond because her political ambitions take precedence over anything and everything. I tend to respect Sen. Obama for trying and hopig to bring Rev. Wright into the process, essentially building a bridge to a segment of the African American church.  And I might be wrong, but I think John McCain, given similar circumstances would have done something very similar to what Obama did. McCain learned the value of loyalty and integrity in the Navy. He has shown great respect for President Bush, a man that he has been at odds with for most of the last decade and who is, without a doubt something of a political albatross for the Republican candidate at this point. McCain has also shown class and integrity by not attempting to make political hay out of the Wright situation and being upset when others did on his behalf.

The question that keeps coming back to me is, why are we still talking about this? It is yet another example of how very strange this last year has been in politics. Who could have imagined that the news media would be captivated for 48 days by the words of a pastor of one of the candidates?

There is a lot about Senator Obama that America wants and needs to know about. But we won't learn any of it by taking about seven year old sermon clips from Rev. Wright's or playing the endless 'gotcha' game where the slightest gaffe or misstatement by one of the candidates immediately becomes the lead news for days if not weeks.

This is no way to elect the leader of the free world.

Imagine This...

As most of you know, actor and personality Ben Stein made a documentary called "Expelled" that was released in theaters nationwide on April 18.  The premise of "Expelled" is that the academic and scientific communities actively engage in repression, intimidation and outright censorship of anyone who does not toe the Neo-Darwinist party line 110%. 

The reaction to the film thus far has, if not proved their point, at least added significant credence to it.  It reminds me of the incident a few months back where some in the Muslim community expressed their dissatisfaction with someone who said that Islam was a violent religion... by violent riots.  The academic and scientific communities have responded to Stein's charge that they deal heavy-handedly to any positive mention of an alternate theory about our origins by dealing heavy-handedly.

Documentary filmmaker Roger Moore - he of "Fahrenheit 911," "Sicko" and "Dude, Where's My Country?" fame - not only denounced Stein's new documentary, he confidently predicted that it would fail at the box office.  To say the least, he was wrong.  "Expelled" opened as the No. 10 film in the country, grossing 3.2 million dollars it's first weekend.  By comparison, Morgan ("Supersize Me") Spurlock's new documentary, "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?" grossed a pathetic $143,299.

But there is one reaction to the film that is so hypocritical that it borders on hilarious. 

There is a short clip of John Lennon's iconic Utopian ballad, "Imagine" used in the film, accompanied by commentary about the song's "no religion" philosophy.  Now comes word that Yoko Ono and Lennon's sons Sean and Julian are suing the makers of "Expelled" and asking for injunctive relief - in other words, Yoko is basically asking the court to remove the film from theaters.

Get this picture:  Yoko Ono is suing the makers of a film over the use of a brief clip of a song that espouses world peace, the brotherhood of man, and - best of all - the idea of "imagine no possessions."  Implicit in the filing of the suit is a claim of ownership of the song and that their possession has been been in essence "stolen" from them... again, we're talking about a song that preaches the value of "sharing all the world."

Legally, Yoko doesn't have a leg to stand on.  The clip is clearly covered by the "fair use" doctrine, which allows the use of brief segments of copyrighted works for review or commentary purposes.  The makers of "Expelled" have already prevailed in another legal case where an animator was claiming they infringed upon his rights in the film.  The clip of "Imagine" in the film is less than 15 seconds long. 

Ben Stein weighed in on the issue by saying, "Maybe instead of wasting everyone's time trying to silence a documentary [Yoko Ono] should give the song to the world for free. After all, imagine all the people sharing all the world..."

Yoko's suit doesn't have a prayer (bad pun, unfortunately, intended).  I can't imagine (again, intended) what she hopes to accomplish by this suit.  It is certainly not helping to hasten the time when "the world will live as one."

But it does make you wonder what it is about "Expelled" that has everybody in such a tizzy?  When you boil it down, it's a documentary starring someone who became famous playing an unhip, boring teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and has been showing us in the years since that he pretty much is that guy.  So it must the idea expressed by the film that has everyone so bothered that they feel they must oppose at all costs - including lawsuits, threats, intimidation, and ridicule.

Which is exactly the point the film makes.  Imagine that.

The Ministry of Jesus

It is early in the earthly ministry of Jesus. He has just spent forty days in the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan.  The Bible tells us that after that time of testing, Jesus returned "in the power of the Spirit" to Galilee, where news about Him spread like wildfire.

On the next Sabbath, Jesus was in His hometown of Nazareth and, as was His custom, He went to the synagogue and stood up to read from the Scriptures.  As He stood to read, the congregation was no doubt buzzing with excitement because of all they were hearing about Him.

It is at this point that Jesus makes a definitive statement about His mission - about who He is and what He came to do. They handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah and He read the passage that we know today as Isaiah 61:1.

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.

The next verse records that Jesus then handed the book back to the attendant and sat down.

If you unpack this section of scripture, this is what Jesus intended to accomplish:

• Preach the Gospel to the poor (Evangelism and missions)
• Heal the brokenhearted (Meet the spiritual and emotional needs of people)
• Tell those in captivity they are free (Deliverance from the bondage of sin)
• Tell the blind they can regain their sight (Open the eyes of those who are blind to the truth)
• Set the captives free (Evangelism and missions)
• Proclaim the year of the Lord (Impact the culture with the Gospel)

There is no doubt that Jesus meant for this statement as a whole to sum up his ministry.  It is sad to realize that we, the church - the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today - so often approach the ministry of Jesus in a peacemeal fashion as if we were choosing entrées from the cafeteria.  Rather than taking on the totality of this mission statement as our job description, we tend to want to be busy doing the parts that interest us. So many of our churches zero in on one or two aspects of this mission statement and neglect the others.

Why is it that our great churches that burn with evangelical fire neglect social ministries as if feeding people and telling them the Good News of the Gospel were somehow mutually exclusive?  Why is it that churches that tirelessly work to meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged often neglect to overtly share the Gospel?  Jesus didn't intend His mission statement to be either/or.  It is to be both/and!  We are all called to share in the ministry of Jesus - the whole ministry of Jesus.

When we emphasize one part of the ministry of Jesus and ignore the rest, we are telling only part of the story. Let's examine our approach to make sure we are telling the whole story and living out the totality of the Gospel message.

It is when we both show AND tell the love of God in Christ Jesus that we are ministering as Jesus did!

Worship Wars

Have you ever heard the phrase "Worship Wars"?  It is frequently used to describe what has happened in many of our churches over the last couple of decades as worship styles have changed.

The two words that make up the phrase "Worship Wars" ought not to go together.  Worship is holy and sacred.  Wars can on rare occasions be justified, but most often they are the opposite of holy and sacred. "Worship" by definition is all about God. "Worship Wars" are most assuredly not about God.  Worship Wars are all about us, about our personal preferences and what we want.

For those of us who are students of church history, we know the current "Worship Wars" are nothing new.  As music changes in society, the music that is considered to be acceptable in the church changes slowly behind it.  If that process never happened, we would still be worshipping the Lord through the use of first century Hebrew tunes and rhythms!  Just think about it - at one time, Gregorian Chants were the new contemporary music being used in the church!

I read an article recently about a divisive incident that happened at a church in Canada.  This controversy wreaked havoc and division in this congregation for over a decade and it had to do with music and worship. Speeches were made. Petitions were signed. Meetings were held ad nauseam. Threats were made. Families were divided. Many people left the church.

Was it the older members rebelling against singing choruses or the younger members over having the sing the old hymns?  No. The controversy was over whether or not is was appropriate to use an organ in the worship services, and it raged among the members of St. Andrews during the 80s.  But not the 1980s... it was the 1880s!

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart because the vast majority of my ministry career has been spent as a worship leader. And as is usually the case, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.

When we take our eyes off the One we are worshipping and focus on how we are worshipping, we have a heart problem.  When we cause or even participate in conflict in the church over what boils down to our personal preferences, we have a heart problem.

There are those who would say they are not fighting for their personal preferences, they are fighting to keep worship holy and acceptable to God.  I would say to you if you believe that your cultural preferences are tantamount to God's will, you have a heart problem.

Nowhere in God's word does it spell out to us our style of worship.  The closest it comes to that is in two very similar passages in Paul's letters - Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 - where we are told to worship God and admonish each other using "Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs."  Bible scholars and historians disagree on the exact application of those terms, but all agree they encompass a wide variety of musical styles.  In other words, God's words tells us to use a wide variety of musical styles to worship God and encourage each other.

No matter what style of worship you employ in worship, God always focuses in on your heart.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the Father is seeking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23)

Are you or your church embroiled in the Worship Wars?  If so, I urge you to surrender immediately... surrender your will, your desires and your personal preferences to God and direct your focus toward the One Who alone is worthy of our worship and adoration.  Worship is not about us, it is about Him.

Saying We're Sorry

Dr. Richard Mark Lee of The Family Church, FBC Sugar Hill, Georgia - about 45 minutes northeast of Atlanta - is most decidedly my kind of pastor.

(Regular readers of this blog know that I have a semi-irregular series of posts around the "My Kind of Pastor" theme.  Admittedly, most of these posts have been in fun and a little tongue-in-cheek, although I am absolutely sincere in saying every one of these guys are my kind of pastor!)

This past Sunday, The Family Church started a new series called "Confessions."  Over the next few weeks they will be dealing with Insecurity, Loneliness, Criticism, and Sin, encouraging people to confess to each other and to God.

To start the series this past Sunday, Dr. Lee felt it was important to lead by example.  He felt it was important for him to confess and apologize for something that bothered him greatly. 

The sermon was titled "We're Sorry... Really."  In the message, Pastor Lee apologized to those outside of the church who have been hurt because of the judgmental postures and attitudes that the church has adopted toward those who believe or act in ways we disagree with. Lee's apology was both personal and corporate.

His words will no doubt anger many conservatives and fundamentalists who will label Lee as just another postmodern for whom there are no absolutes. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Lee did not back down from his conservative beliefs while asserting that the church's method of relating to those outside the church clearly hasn't worked.

Last Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a story about Lee's plans to apologize to the community on Sunday.  As a result of the publicity, attendance for the beginning of the "Confessions" series was up about 25%.  On a normal weekend, about 1,400 people attend one of The Family Church's three services.  There were over 1,700 present on Sunday.

“I never dreamed the media would have picked this up like they did,” Pastor Lee was quoted as saying in the AJC. “All I wanted to do was engage people in a conversation about Jesus and His love for people and avoid the many traditions of church culture which drive people away.”

In the "We're Sorry" message, Pastor Lee apologized to the gay community, people living together outside of marriage, and people who have had an abortion, among others.

Here are some excerpts from Richard Mark Lee's message on Sunday:

Folks, [18-28 year olds] are not leaving the Church, they have already left. What are we doing to bring them back?For me, I cannot stand in front of God and tell Him that I did nothing to reverse that perception. It’s important to know that the 18-28 year-olds are not against Christ; in fact, they tell pollsters that they have fond feelings for Him and believe in God. But the bottom line is that the Church is still perceived as judgmental, homophobic, and irrelevant. 

I am 37 years old and I believe the Bible is 100 percent truth without error. But the Bible tells us we are to judge our own lives and not the lives of those outside the faith.

Today I want to apologize to our community for getting in the way of Jesus. He really is awesome and you’d like Him, even though you may not like those in the Church.

I have picketed abortion clinics, I’ve held the signs and banners and done all those things. I am pro-life but I regret being involved in those things. I am sorry for having a bumper sticker mentality. If you have had an abortion recently or even several years ago, I want you to know that I do not sit in judgment of you today. I am sorry if you have sensed a spirit of judgment in the way I presented myself and the gospel.

We have used trite phrases such as ‘love the sinner but hate the sin’ in these instances but we should really love the sinner and hate our own sin. The Bible teaches that love does not find fault, but the hard truth is that the world has seen that we do not love those who are different from us.

Time and again, Jesus’ words challenged the religious establishment. He taught us to leave the 99 and go after the lost one. But we have not followed that teaching very well and have actually pushed people further away from church.

Addressing how the church has related to the gay community, Lee apologized for those Christians who had “demonstrated prejudice, bigotry, or a hateful attitude."

“We are sorry for acting like the head of the body of Christ rather than like a part of that body. We are sorry for driving you out of church; that is not of God. “I have apologized to God and now I am apologizing to you" Lee said.

Pastor Lee has demonstrated that you can build bridges to the people you are trying to reach without sacrificing sincerely held beliefs. He has also proved the community will respond to such overtures in a positive way. May his tribe increase.  (You can listen to Pastor Lee's "We're Sorry...Really" message here)

One wonders why it is a pastor in Sugar Hill, Georgia, and not our high-profile leaders in the evangelical community who are setting the pace here.

He Did That For Me

Theologians have a fancy phrase for it... they call it "Substitutionary Atonement."  What it means in plain English is that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin.  From the beginning of the church, there has been a clear understanding of what Christ's death on the cross meant.  It was not simply the unjust murder of an influential if somewhat unorthodox Jewish teacher on a Passover weekend.  It was the only begotten Son of God willingly giving up His life to pay the price for sin. Your sin.  My sin.

But for any truth to be a life-changing one, we must come to the place where it moves from being simple fact to being a truth that we embrace with our entire being.  It is one thing to know that Jesus died for you, but another thing altogether for the full weight of that truth to become painfully clear to you.  Someone once said this process involves making the 18-inch journey from your head to your heart.

I remember when I was 17 years old and a brand new Christian, so excited about my new-found faith. It was the Easter season, so the old movie "King of Kings" was on TV.  When the movie showed the crucifixion, I was deeply moved as I saw Him beaten and mocked.  As Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," tears began to roll down my face.  How could they have done this to Jesus?  Why would they want to crucify Him?  Why didn't He call down angels to destroy them all and save Him?

It was then for the first time in my walk with the Lord I clearly sensed the Holy Spirit speak to my heart, as clearly as if I had heard it audibly.  Just five simple words that pieced my heart like a knife: "I did this for you."

For the first time the full weight of that truth hit me like a ton of bricks.  It was my sin that put Him there.  He suffered and He died in my place.  He did that for me.

Many years later I was reminded of that experience again, as I saw someone else experience the same thing. We went with a group from church to see the film "The Passion of the Christ."  I wept along with most everyone in the theatre as I watched a much more true to life depiction of Jesus' suffering and death.  As we were leaving the theatre, I noticed a member of our church - a 92 year-old retired physician who walked with two canes - make his way to a seat in the lobby and begin sobbing loudly.  Several of us walked over to him. No one said anything for a few moments.  The doctor struggled to regain enough composure to speak. When he finally did, he cried out through his tears, "That was for me!"

How long has it been since the reality of God's grace and forgiveness reduced you to tears?  When was the last time you wept over your sin and what it cost the Lord Jesus?  For most of us it has been way too long.

I encourage you to get caught up - again, as if for the first time - in the awe and wonder of the fact that the only begotten Son of God would give His life for you.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life... my all.