Athletics vs. The Arts

We Americans love our sports. Think about how many restaurants and bars in this country are devoted to sports fans. There are thousands of people who make their living coaching, scouting, administering, supporting and gambling on athletic contests. (That does not include those who get paid for playing games.) Our cities love having sports teams. In fact, many communities live with special taxes to entice and support professional sports teams.

In recent years we have watched as athletes have begun using drugs and other supplements to enhance their abilities to compete. It has become a contest to see who can get the best drugs and how can we keep the authorities from learning what drugs we are taking. This new kind of cheating has assaulted the record books in ways that we will never know.

Meanwhile, in our schools, we have football stadiums and gymnasiums built for thousands and auditoriums built for hundreds. We charge people to watch a basketball game and they pack the place, but offer a free choral concert and the auditorium is embarrassingly empty.

All of this is not caused by schools, however. It would be ridiculous to build an auditorium that will never be full. Schools are bound by the laws of economics just as businesses and families are. Athletics generates funds. The arts cost money. It is a sad reality that must be dealt with on at least three fronts.

1. First of all, our schools must elevate the importance and visibility of the arts. This must be done within the school and in the community. Steps must be taken to communicate to students that the arts are valuable. And then, schools must market the arts to their communities in the same way that they market the homecoming football game.
2. The media needs to cover arts activities and events in the same way that it covers athletics. My hunch is that there are at least as many students (probably more) involved in graphic arts, music, drama and dance in our schools than in all the sports combined. It is time that local newspapers covered the fall art show in the same way that it covered last week's basketball game.
3. Parents and community-minded people need to support the arts in school the way that sports gets supported. There need to be active groups of parents/adults who will advocate for arts-related programming. Auditoriums need to be filled for plays and recitals.

Only as we take the challenge to get personally involved and make a difference will a difference be made.

Optimism

Optimism is a choice that we make. You get to choose whether or not you will believe in every conspiracy theory that comes along. You have the ability to decide if you will be negative all the time. Or you can choose to be an optimist.

Optimism is a way of life, a worldview. An optimist chooses to think that things will turn out well. He believes that things are always looking up. He still thinks that he can win when he is down four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. And the optimist believes this way, because he has decided to believe this way.

The choice to be an optimist is one that must be made every day. Each morning bad things will happen. There will be complaints and complainers. Tragedies will come. It would be easy to succumb to pessimism and negativity. That is why optimism must be chosen on a regular basis.

In the Bible we are told that love believes all things. In fact, in that passage, 1 Corinthians 13, we have a veritable laundry list of the attributes of love. We would not do it injustice if we were to believe that love is similar to optimism. Love endures all things; optimism never gives up. Love is kind; optimism wants others to do well.

So, there it is. Optimism is a way of life that comes from choices we make every day. It is not unlike love. So love your neighbors every day.

What Gifts Do You Have?

I have been working on a study of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the study is in preparation for a series of sermons that I will be presenting in November. But I have been struck by something that I have never noticed before.

There are lists of spiritual gifts throughout the New Testament. You can find gifts in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. But inevitably, when the conversation turns toward spiritual gifts there are two or three that dominate. We spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the validity, purpose and use of tongues, prophecy and healing, while virtually ignoring some other gifts.

Before I turn to the three gifts that I want to focus on, let me make some general statements about them.

First of all, although these gifts are less glamorous and obvious than some others, they are more important in the context of the daily life of the Christian and the edifying of the Christian community. Secondly, not only are these gifts more important, they are more widely granted and used than any other gifts. Third, we should look for those individuals who have these gifts and lift them up as examples of the work of God's Spirit in our midst. And finally, these gifts, which are often neglected, or at least taken for granted, should be the most highly sought after and coveted gifts of all.

• Hospitality. There is a great need in the world to care for and be kind to others. There are more people in the Christian world who are exercising this gift than we will ever know. We should encourage those people in the exercise of their gift.
• Encouragement. Being a Christian can be one of the most depressing things that you will ever have to do. There are those who disbelieve, who ridicule and oppose you at every turn. Take advantage of the gift of encouragement that some people have in the body of Christ. Allow them to build you up.
• Faith. In a desire to obtain the dramatic gifts, we often overlook the truth that faith is foundational for all of them. Every person has been given faith by God. Now you and I need to express to him our desire for more faith and to use the faith that we have.

The Prosperity Gospel

I have not been everywhere. I have not seen everything. But I have been in some homes with dirt floors, no water or plumbing and no electricity in Africa. I have befriended service workers in the Caribbean who work 60-80 weeks for $100 a month. I have been in homes in Appalachia that you cannot drive to. People live in places where services that I take for granted are not even considered. I have met disciples of Jesus in all of these situations. People with such faith that I feel like a 'doubting Thomas' live in conditions that I would not leave my dog in. These people are poor and they love Jesus.

There are people in my church who live from paycheck to paycheck. They make decisions to pay the rent or to buy their medicine. They do not eat out or go to movies. When they make contributions to the church, or other ministries, it is truly a sacrifice for them. They love Jesus and they struggle to get by.

There are people in many parts of the world who are not only destitute, but they are in danger for their faith. These faithful brothers and sisters in Christ are often arrested, tortured and executed for their faith in Christ. These martyrs love Jesus and prosperity is not even an issue for them.

I have not met the most destitute people in America, in the Caribbean, or in Africa. But I have seen some preachers on television that make me made as anything. I am fed up with preachers who try to justify their extravagant lives and lifestyles by playing on the needs and concerns of innocent, maybe naive, Christians. The idea that God wants me to be rich is at least preposterous and possibly heretical. If God's will was for all Christians to be wealthy there would not be faithful, committed servants of his living in shacks with dirt floors. Surely God would bless the most faithful and the most hurting first.

These preachers, I will not name them because you know who they are (if you do not turn on your Christian television station), corrupt the word and the work of God. They will make more money if they can convince their viewers that God will bless everyone if we just send in some money and have enough faith. So a supposed evangelist is stealing money under false pretenses and challenging the faith of anyone who does not go along with this scheme.

This is a travesty that we have allowed for too long. So do this:

1. Do not watch or support ministers who proclaim a 'prosperity' message. Please continue to participate in every way in the ministries of those who are truly ministering to the spiritual (and physical) needs of viewers.
2. Ask your local television and radio outlets to not support these 'ministries'. Write letters and emails, make calls to request change.
3. Pray for hurting and persecuted Christians all over the world. Find ways to share your resources, time and prayers with those who are in need.
4. Learn to be content with your own possessions and income. God has blessed you. He will continue to take care of you.

The Whole World's After Him

I spent part of last night with an intoxicated 15 year old. It was not my favorite thing to do. First there was vomiting, then staggering, falling down, slurring speech, more vomiting and lying. This was not fun, nor was it funny. In fact, it was a bad situation all the way around. Initially, I was very angry with this boy. My mind went immediately to questions like, "What were you thinking?" "Don't you know how stupid this is?" and "Did you think no one would figure this out?" But after a while my perspective changed.

This boy blamed everyone. He was not willing (ever) to take responsibility for himself. It was his friends' fault. (Interestingly, none of them were as drunk as he was.) It was the fault of his father and mother and their divorce. It was his sister's fault. It seemed to be every one's fault but his own.

This seems like a terrible thing, but it is what most of us do on a regular basis. We want to blame someone else for every bad thing that happens to us. This is the major contributing factor to the Oprah/ Dr Phil phenomena. As long as I can blame someone else, I am off the hook. This is a terrible syndrome that we Americans have. If I continue to blame someone else for all of my problems, I will never get better. I must take responsibility for what I do. But try telling that to a 15 year old drunk.

Another thing that happened nearly broke my heart. While he was waiting for his mother to come pick him up, this boy was talking to his father on the telephone. Although I could only hear parts of one side of the conversation, it seems as though the father was trying to keep the boy calm and focused while waiting for mom. It was then that the boy said, "Dad, are you drunk?" My safe and sane worldview fell apart at that moment. Why should a 15 year old ever have to worry about whether or not a parent would of could help them out of a jam? It was almost too much for me.

It came into focus pretty clearly and pretty quickly. Although my young friend is responsible for his own drunkenness, he needs a much better example than he has. And finally, his mother arrived. The boy did not seem to be in any trouble. Mom was mostly embarrassed that other people saw her son in this condition, and consequently may think less of her abilities as a mother.

So here is my prediction: Whether this was the first drunken night for this boy or not, there will be more. Dad is setting an example. Mom is enabling it to happen. The boy is not taking responsibility. There is no question in my mind that this scene will repeat itself.

It is probably time that more severe action is taken, for the sake of this boy. Perhaps a ride with the sheriff and a round of court proceedings would make a difference. Maybe some time in a rehab program is necessary. Or it could be that this boy just needs an adult or two who will care for him.

Faith or Ego??

Sometimes you can get a bad rap. Sometimes people look at you and get the wrong idea. They think that you are arrogant or full of yourself. They see your confidence and think that you are an egomaniac. There are many cases of this misidentification in history. A political leader seems full of vanity, but actual he is just self-assured. A sports figure might appear to be stuck on himself, but he is just confident.

I can think of a couple of situations in the Bible where the same sort of thing happened.

1. Joseph was despised by his brothers. His first problem was that he was his father's favorite child. There were 12 sons in the family. Being the favorite of 12 is a big deal. The brothers grew to resent Joseph because of his preferred status in the family. But that was not enough. Joseph began to have dreams in which he seemed to be exalted even further above his brothers. The resentment of the brothers grew to hatred when Joseph shared his dreams with them. However, their hatred was based on the belief that Joseph thought he was better than his brothers. This may not be the case. Joseph received a message from God which caused his confidence level to go up. His faith in God was at an all-time high. The brothers thought they were hating the egomaniacal rantings of Joseph, when in fact, they were protesting a work of God.
2. David had much the same experience with his brothers. Although he was the youngest of the family, he was the one chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. And although it seems that David received no special treatment from his family, surely some attention must have been paid to this unusual event. One of the most famous stories in the life of David gives us our story, though. When he heard the challenge of Goliath, David was filled with the confidence of God. He was the granted the faith to challenge the giant. But his brothers didn't see it that way. They thought their little brother had gotten too big for his breeches.

Now there are two things that we need to know/do. First of all, when you are filled with the confidence of God, stand for him and do what he asks. Pay no attention to those who may accuse you of being arrogant and headstrong. Do what God has called you to do. And secondly, when you are tempted to complain about the ego/vanity of someone else, think about whether or not their ego is of the flesh, of faith given by God.

Why I Do It

I was involved in Christian ministry for several years before I truly evaluated what I did, what I was trying to accomplish and why I did it. In many ways it was a waste of time. All that I accomplished before this self-evaluation was good, and my work was effective. But I had no focus. There was no understanding or purpose behind what I was doing.

This all changed the first time I really read Ephesians 4. Now I had read this Scripture dozens, maybe hundreds of times, but when I read God's plan for his work in it, my life and work were brought into clear focus.

"He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4.12-13 NKJV)

It is clear that God has a big picture mentality. You and I are part of his big picture. I get to be an evangelist and you get to be a pastor-teacher. Once we find our place in God's ministry-order we can begin to equip the saints. And then, once the saints- that is, Christian people- are equipped, they can begin doing the work of ministry. When the saints are doing ministry two things happen. First of all, new saints are added to the number. As we do our work for the glory of God, new men and women will come into the faith. Secondly, the edifying of the body of Christ serves to equip saints for ministry. That is, as we are equipped to do ministry, we realize that our ministry is to equip someone else.

All these thoughts were rambling around in my head when I came up with the three points that make up my philosophy of ministry. This is why I do it.

1. Do evangelism. This is a hard one because I do not believe that I have the gift of evangelism. Each Christian is given specific gifts by God. My gifts do not include being and evangelist. However, that does not negate my responsibility to do the work of evangelism. I am called to take the message of the gospel to as many people in as many places as possible.
2. Make disciples. Often Christians get the idea that the only work they are required to do is to make a convert. This is not the case. And I am sure that it is not so in my life. My job is not only to get an individual to make a declaration of faith in Christ. I am also responsible for helping disciple them. I am to encourage them to become more Christ-like.
3. Develop Leaders. I am supposed to help increase the level of leadership in the church and the world, and the increase the effectiveness of the leaders I know. I am charged with equipping the saints so that they can be effective in ministry. Helping them become better leaders makes everyone (including myself) more effective.