I.  Love is Practical

There is no meaning in any belief or philosophy that has no relationship to the way that we live our lives.  Love must have a practical application to have any value.  Jesus said in the sermon on the mount “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man.”

II.  Love is unconditional

Love is many things to any people.  As Christians the standard we are to conform to is the one set by Jesus Christ.  His love is an unconditional love.  That means that we don’t have the right or the authority to make subjective decisions about who is or is not our neighbor.  We don’t get to decide whether or not we will love.  The Love of God described in the Bible is an unconditional love poured out by God on all people.  The Bible also says “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.”  God’s love is unconditional.

III.  Love is public

Paul wrote “I am not Ashamed of the Gospel.”  The love of God should define us in ways that are immeasurable.  It should define us not only in times of deeply private devotion, but also in times of painfully public crisis.  The love of God should be something that is evident to those around us and those who know us.  Unconditional love is public!

In closing we should ask ourselves “Do people see the Love of God lived out in my life?” and “Do people perceive our congregation that is driven by the Love of God?”

In the first century anticipation of Christmas was riding high as well.  The Jewish people had anxiously awaited the coming of the prophesied messiah for centuries.  The people who were exposed to the Baby Jesus; the shepherds, the magi, the innkeeper and Jesus’ own family members did not miss the revolutionary impact that His birth would have.  The day that Jesus was born a revolution started.  It was a revolution that would leave mankind forever scarred by the winds of spiritual change.  Man’s heart could never be the same.  This baby who was born among the filth of the innkeepers animals would change the world forever.  The indelible mark left on the mankind cannot be denied.  Millions upon millions of people claim to follow the teachings and life of Christ Jesus.  Billions in the last two thousand years have made their way onto eternity with the faith of Jesus Christ in their hearts.  As we move toward Christmas, remember that anticipation around what we celebrate at Christmas is not new.

I sometimes wonder if one the devil’s most effective weapon is distraction.  He is about convincing us to change our focus to something it shouldn’t be.  He is about misdirection and illusion and convincing us that reality is something different from the one God has for us.   Misdirect, illusion, distraction:  These are all weapons of Satan.  Focus, unconditional love, patience, and forgiveness:  These are the weapons of faith.   Paul wrote “since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments  and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Satan wants us to be focused on the laundry, the mortgage, the job, and the groceries.  God wants us focused on the mission.  He wants us  focused on the goodness of God, the grace of God, the mercies of God, our eternal destination and Jesus’ sacrifice made for us.

My friend was asked by his father what the difference was and how his grades changed so much.  His answer was that before it was like listening to a radio that wasn’t fully tuned in to the radio station.  There was a lot of static and it was difficult to hear what was being said.   There was too much distraction to be able to focus on being an effective student.

Are there distractions that make it difficult for us to perform our function as believers?

Are there distractions that make it difficult for us to perform our function as a church?

The writer of Hebrews wrote “Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.”

So recently, my beloved Tar Heel Football Team has run into some difficulty.  In fact, from where I sit, the plane seems to be flying itself.  Those charged with being the watchmen of the program and the young men that make it up seem to have no idea what has happened to their team or how the trouble started.  The only thing they do seem to know is that they didn’t know the the train had left the rails(please pardon my mixed transportation metaphors).  As a result, there are several players who have had their eligibility removed and the program could possibly be put on probation.  The watchmen have failed to watch what was entrusted to them.  Only the coach and athletic director were able to secure the program and it’s young men, but they didn’t.

Sometimes, I think some Christians that I know are like the Tar Heels so called watchmen.  They claim  to be people of faith but seem not to be able to determine their spiritual path.  They say they are in the tank for Jesus but the fruit is just not there.  Their faith has taken on a life on its own , and not in a good way.  Their faith is reactive instead of proactive.  It is the result of the experiences and situation life throws at them.  The faith we have been given should be internal not external.  The Bible says “the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”

Only you…

…Are the Watchman of your faith.

…Can determine your spiritual path

…Can decide whether you will be wholeheartedly  committed or not.

We have no no to blame but ourselves for the spiritual condition we find ourselves in.  It has very little to do with our circumstances and everything to do with our choices.  Choices create circumstance.  It is up to you, and only you.

The Baptists who vowed to reach a million people in 1954 are making their way into eternity leaving an absence of faith, determinism and patriotism in their wake. A recent Southern Baptist Convention President passionately pointed out to current Southern Baptists that we are slipping in our mission to reach the world.  Baptisms are down.  By the way, he was pointing that out not just to my church, but to all Southern Baptists. Clearly, things are changing.

We live in a time where some people have seen almost everything they know change. Our culture is rapidly changing. In 1992, when Bill Clinton became president there were fifty web pages. Now there are over one hundred and thirty million internet domain names registered. People shop online, do their banking online, connect with each other online. They even find spouses online now. Our culture is changing at an almost immeasurable rate.

A few years ago a theologian named Richard Neibuhr wrote a book called Christ and Culture. His book was designed to promote an awareness of how God works through culture. Is He part of culture? Is He against culture? Is He merely the transformer of Culture? Clearly culture is changing, and in my view American culture is changing in a way that is not open to the values of the traditional Christian Faith.  The church that used to be the center of village life is no longer.  The church is one of many things in life vying for the attention of Americans.  The modern church competes with band, camping, soccer or baseball, fishing, NASCAR, our hobbies and our vacations and jobs  to gain our attention.  Our culture has changed.  In the case of some churches, their culture has changed while they watched and squandered their right to speak to their community with the voice of truth.

So here’s the lesson to Baptists everywhere.  Change or die.  Make adjustments or become one of those Denominations that have slipped into insignificance.

The other day I was at an Associational Event and a number of people begin frantically waving at me.  I wave back, putting on that face of recognition that we sometimes wear, while at the same time racking my feeble mind to remember not only what their names are but how I know them.

As I get closer I brainstorm about the inevitable conversation about to begin as I get closer to the group of nameless but all too familiar people.  I greet them and smile my most pleasant pastoral smile.  We have a brief conversation.  I am careful not to reveal I can’t remember their names or where I know them from.

I’m so glad God is not like me.   I can’t remember anything.  God isn’t like that.  I am so glad that God know Exactly who belongs to him.

The Bible says “I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.”‘

I’m so glad that God knows exactly who I am.  I’m so glad that God never forgets who I am.  I am so glad that God values me not for what I might have to offer but for me. 

I have always been fascinated by science fiction and space travel.    As a child, we had a set of those World Book Encyclopedias that everyone seemed to have back in those days.   I would read through the section about space travel over and over again.  I would read about the astronauts and the cosmonauts.  I would read about the gemini and apollo space crafts as well as the modern space shuttles.  I loved reading about it.

Perhaps the thing that i was most stuck by was the power.  The Space Shuttle reaches speeds of seventeen thousand miles an hour.  Upon re-entry the space shuttle reaches temperatures of three thousand degrees.  The early spacecraft and space shuttles are  shot into space atop a pair of powerful solid rocket boosters.  It requires great power to shoot the space shuttle into orbit.  Power, unimaginable power is represented in the space shuttle.

But when I think of power, I think of the Power represented in the resurrection of Jesus.  He broke the most permanent law of nature that is know to humanity.  He broke death.  He stormed the gates of Hell and tore them right of the hinges.  And in the process, he left Satan and all of Hell in total chaos.  Now THAT”S power!!  And the great thing about that is that as his followers we have inherited that power.

The church as we know it is a mix of GPS and stained glass.  It is a mix of history, both recent and ancient and of modern culture.  It’s a mix of the pipe organ and the electric guitar.  It’s a mix of the Public library and of the HD Television.  Clearly the mission of the modern church requires understanding that the mission is a mix of the old and the new.

And in the church, sometimes we find that a tension exits between the old and the new.  This happened here in our church recently when we replaced the hymnals for our worship service.  You wouldn’t think people would get worked up about hymnals would you?  After all, it’s just songs on paper, right?  There were some who thought the hymnals we were using, which were published in 1956, were good enough.   There were other people who felt that it was time to upgrade to a new hymnal that included some of the more modern music as well as the traditional music we have become accustomed to.  So as you can see, there are times when there is a tension between the old and the new.  The people who wanted the older hymnal were threatened by something new.  The people who wanted a newer hymnal felt like the old one was irrelevant and obsolete.

Although this is a truth every Christian must understand, it sometimes becomes a barrier to the mission of the church.  What is it that makes it so difficult for human beings to make adjustments in their lives?  Why is it so difficult for churches make adjustments?  Or do they simply not see the need?  Yet, churches today continue to use the same methods that were used thirty, even forty years ago.

I lived in England for a year and served a baptist church there.  As a Staff Person at the largest baptist church in the area I was given opportunities to preach at other churches from time to time.  There was one church that I was asked to preach at several times.  I’m sure it had been at one time a vibrant and wonderful church.  But at the time I was there, it was five or six people who worshiped twice a month in a tiny building in a tiny English village.  Five or six people…that’s all that was left.  I wonder if there was ever a time when they thought “Maybe we should make some changes.”  I don’t know if that ever happened, but if it did, they either didn’t make changes or didn’t change enough.  I’ve always wondered how they got to that point.

I write these things not because of some need to desire to communicate certain values or beliefs of mine, but simply as a way of processing and thinking through some of these issues of the small church.  In the coming weeks, I am going to try to write a series of entries about my observations and questions about the future of the small church.  As I contemplate the future of the small church, and especially of my small church, I am convinced that it’s understanding of and willingness to embrace change lies at the very center of it’s future.

So God, bring the changes we need.  Give me a heart to embrace your changes not mine.  Make my desire to lead my people a burning fire that can’t be put out.  Give them a burning desire for Jesus.  Amen.

I have a lot of nicknames for my son Micah.  I call him Bear, M.C., Hammer, Boo Boo, Bee Bee, Dude, Duder and perhaps my favorite, Duderonomy.  So, to summarize, Micah has a lot of nicknames that I use for Him

So recently, my wife and children went to one of those “paint your own pottery places.”. The one we normal go to is the “Mad Platter” in Burlington NC.  The other day they came home with these decorative ceramic letters that they had made when i was away somewhere.  They all wanted to show me the decorative letters they had made.  My wife had made a “C”, presumably for our last name.  I asked them why we had a “w”, to which My daughter Makaley quickly informed me was an “M” for Makaley, not a “W.”

Finally, my son Micah made a “D.”  Using all my empirical powers I racked my brain trying to divine why Micah would make a “D” and What it stood for.  Nobody in our family has a name that starts with a “D.”  I couldn’t think our anybody else that might have a “D” name that Micah might give his decorative ceramic letter to.  Finally, I was forced to admit my intellectual defeat and ask my wife what the “D” stood for.

“D” is for “Duderonomy!”

I hope you all had a good Christmas.  I had a very interesting experience recently.  I took my son Micah to his first Tar Heel Basketball game.  It was an exciting experience for both Micah and me.  The crowd, the band, the cheerleaders, the announcer, and the surrounding fans all added to the moment.

There was one thing I found particularly interesting.  During halftime and at certain points during the game the stadium does commercials on the jumbotron.  These commercials are much like the ones they might run for the universities playing during a televised game.   During one of the breaks they ran a commercial for Tar Heel Basketball.  This commercial took the form of several famous Tar Heel Basketball players and personalities coming on the screen, announcing their name followed with the words “I’m a Tar Heel!”.  Some players got more response than others.  People clapped for Roy Williams.  People clapped a lot for James Worthy .  People went crazy when Phil Ford came on the screen.  There was various response to the different Tar Heel Basketball people.

Now here is the interesting part for me.  The last person to come on the screen was Michael Jordan.  But Michael Jordan doesn’t identify himself.  He never says who he is.  He simply and calmly says “I’m a Tar Heel.”  And the crowd goes absolutely berserk.

He never identified Himself!  He never said who he was!  Everyone else said who they were.   So Here are my conclusions.
1)  Michael Jordan doesn’t have to identify himself.
2)  Michael Jordan is Tar Heel Basketball

There are times When I wonder if this is how Jesus wishes it was in His Church.  There are times when I wonder if the modern Church would recognize Him.

Again, conclusions:
1)  Jesus and His Values should be easily recognizable to the Modern Church.
2)  Jesus should need no introductions.
3)  Jesus IS the Church.