The Change Up

God gave me a lesson to teach this week, but then He hijacked that lesson and replaced it with another.

Reading this week from the book of Romans - written by Paul - I came across the familiar verse of Romans 12:2-3: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then, you will know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." I understand the larger context of that verse, but it spoke to me differently this time: "Change the way you think, Scott, change up the way you are living. Let God use that to transform you."

I came away from Christmas this year somewhat sick at my stomach.

Every year, we go to bed late on Christmas Eve and get up early on Christmas morning. Then, we rush through our family time so that we can pack up and get on the road to Atlanta. We must be at my parents’ house by 4:30 or 5 because at 5:30 we sit down to a meal of prime rib, Aunt Lou’s rice, green beans cooked in fat back, some kind of strawberry salad, Sister Shubert’s frozen dinner rolls, and chocolate layer cake for dessert. Then, we descend into the great room – all 21 of us – for a marathon of opening gifts most of which everyone knows will be exchanged so receipts are included inside the gift. Then, we watch a little television and go to bed. The next day, Christmas is over, and we all begin to drift back to our homes, and my parents are generally glad to see us leave, taking the chaos of the Christmas celebration with us. Each year, it is a mind-numbing exercise in routine. Over and over, year after year, it is the same scene in the same drama of our lives. And, because it’s monotonous, going-through-motions, the same old same old, we begin to get lethargic with Christmas and with family. Our celebration, unintentionally, becomes stagnant. Christmas becomes more about the “doing just to get it over with” rather than “celebrating family through Christmas.” It's time for a change up.

And, stagnation in one area of our life begins to infect every corner of our lives. Our days, our months, our years all begin to look like one another. Did you celebrate Valentine’s Day the same old way as last year? Flowers, card, candy, dinner out, sex? Maybe all the pieces were there, but how different would it be say if you had sex first? Then, you ate the candy together in bed. At least it would be different. What? Not without alcohol? Well, maybe a little champagne breakfast is just what you and yours need on a Valentine’s Day. And, this year, on a Thursday! Now, that's changing it up!

Stagnation and lethargy are suffocating the human experience. Vicki and I were in Washington DC this past weekend. I was the speaker at a church communication clinic,and we decided to turn the trip into a Valentine's getaway. On Friday, she wanted to visit the national Holocaust Museum. I had been there before, and so I let Vicki tour at her own pace. I went to the various “reflection” areas just to think and pray and listen to the testimonies of the Holocaust survivors. A message kept coming through to me, “count every single day as precious – count every single day as an opportunity to really live it. Don’t let your life become complacent. Don’t let your life become lethargic and stagnant.”

Change things up. Keep your life fresh. Value your relationships.

• Every day with your spouse should be like your first date with your spouse. 
• Every day with your children should be like the first day you held them.
• Every day with your Savior should be like the day you first confessed Jesus as your Savior.

The problem is that life calls us to conformity. It's easy (lazy, I say) to just get into routines and schedules and habits, walking like zombies through life and leaving a wake of complacency, lethargy and stagnation. We do the same things the same way - year after year after year - and then we moan from our death beds, "Where did my life go?" I will tell  you this, more and more I am an advocate of "change for the sake of change." Let's just do things differently. And, see if we can't experience a revival of God in our lives because of it.

Perhaps the most sad thing of all is when we let our faith – our precious faith – slip into stagnation. It is so easy for our faith lives and our practice of faith to be no different in 2013 than it was in 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009. And, I laugh when I hear people say, “I will be a better believer when my children are grown because I will have more time for church and faith.” Great for you - not so good for your children. And, the most unchurched group of people in America? Empty-nesters, who no longer feel the pressure to have their children at church. Stagnation today will be even greater tomorrow. It's a cancer.

You and I need a new enthusiasm.
We need a new enthusiasm over our faith. We need a new enthusiasm over time with Scripture, prayer, the gathering of believers, and the service toward others.
We need a new enthusiasm over our spouses.
We need a new enthusiasm over our children, parents and siblings.
We need a new enthusiasm over the family calendar.
We need a new enthusiasm over our friends, and the finding of new friends in faith.
We need a new enthusiasm over evangelism and telling others about Jesus.
We need a new enthusiasm over this precious life we have been given.

I pray every day that you and I can be part of a revival in Lexington, SC. Not that we necessarily lead it, but that we just have opportunity to be a part  of it. I want to see men and women, husbands and wives, say, I’m going to love Jesus deeply and my life – my priorities, my calendar and even my bank account – will show it. I'm going to change things up.

I’m going to open the Bible every day. I’m going to pray every day – even if I just close my eyes and sit quietly. I’m going to stun my wife by sitting beside her on the sofa and holding her hand – not toward the goal of seeing her naked, but just because I love her. I’m going to go on walks with my children – individually – so I can hear their voices, and I’m not going to be a dream-killer when they share the dreams of their hearts. For no reason whatsoever, I am going to call my parents and siblings and just say, "I love you and I appreciate you."

I decided in December that I would change things up by adding weekly exercise to my calendar. My med-school son pushed me further. "You can't work out 2-3 days a week, dad, and then go eat Rush's chili cheeseburgers. Count your calories, watch  your salt and what your fat. But, mostly, dad, do something every day - walk 20 minutes every day. Do something to get your heart rate going."

I've gotten to where I look forward to the daily walk of 60 minutes or more. I use the time to pray or to listen to Scripture on my iPod, or just listen to a good book - usually fiction or a biography - on tape. I feel better because of the walk. I've met some good people who have encouraged me and whom I have encouraged. I sleep better because of the exercise, and because I sleep better my days are more rested and focused. I'm getting more work done in less time. I'm more patient and sympathetic because I'm more rested and feel better. One hour of walking every day has changed a lot of different places of my life. That one hour has shaken me out of a lethargy that beset me in the final quarter of 2012.

Change something. Let God shake open your life like shaking out a bed sheet on a nice Spring morning. What can God do with me and you if we just change some things to live today differently from this day last year and from yesterday? Revival begins with me and you. We need to change things up.

The Love Dilemma - Friendship

I love Sunday School. I always have.

As a boy, even when I sat under the teaching of boring old teachers, I still could not wait to get to Sunday School. It was about seeing the other guys, and it was about seeing if someone new would show up. I did not know it then, as I know it now, but there’s so much fun in seeing who God will send on any given Sunday.

I have been to a church property almost every Sunday morning of my life, and have rarely missed an opportunity to be in Sunday School. On vacation, I go to a church and visit Sunday School. Even today as my work – my ministry – takes me to churches all over North America, I will find a Sunday School class and visit.

I know the name sounds stupid – Sunday School. It has implications of small children sitting in a circle. It’s embarrassing to say to adult friends, “Will you go with me to Sunday School?” conjuring up images of Kool-Aid, crayons and round butter cookies. But, I’m not ashamed of it. Sunday School is so much a part of my spiritual DNA that I would crawl to church with a fever rather than miss it. 

What is it that I love? I love seeing people. I still love seeing – every Sunday – who God will send. I love the community – that arm-in-arm laughter together, service together, and work together. Sunday School brings together what I love about faith, the fellowship of believers, and the service to others. Everything is bundled up in one great package.

I realize that everyone does not love Sunday School like I do. For some it’s a place to wait while children are in other ministry areas. That’s okay. Everyone can have their own reason for being in Sunday School. God sent you, and that’s all that matters. But, you get out of it – in encouragement, correction, care, and friendship – what you put into it. To have a friend, you have to first be a friend.

And, I guess that’s it for me. Sunday School is where my true friends live with me. I have lived enough life in a lot of different places and with a lot of different people to know how fickle and shallow people can be. Many are great friends while your lives intersect around this or that, but when life’s cards reshuffle, they are gone. Friends in faith – friends in faith stay with you. Many of my friends on Facebook are ancient friends – and the thread that binds us is the thread of faith. It’s like God laced our lives together – many through Sunday School classes – and I love that about my life. And, I love that God is still lacing my life with others – true friendships – friendships through faith that are cultivated through Sunday School.

And, I love my friends.

I do. Man or woman. When God plows my life together with another person, it’s distinctive. Vicki will always be my best friend. No other person will challenge her for that role. You will never hear me say another human being is my best friend, but her. But, I am aware that God has laced my life with friends in faith, and those relationships are defined clearly by certain characteristics. I encourage  you to examine your friendships against these five definitions. See how your friendships, see how your allegiances stack up. Do you have the lifelong friends of faith?

• Faith defines them. 2 Corinthians 6:14 is clear. Don’t be mismatched with unbelievers. Don’t marry them. Don’t be in business with them. Don’t weave your life tightly with them. Friends will know one another’s faith story, and it’s impossible to share a faith story with saying the word, “Jesus.” In no way I am suggesting you can’t be friendly with an unbeliever – you can and you should build relationship toward introducing that person to Jesus. You must have unbelievers in your life to be a follower of Jesus, and you must love those unbelievers toward a goal of seeing them saved. But, those with whom you weave your live together in tight relationship – Scripture says they should also be believers, and you and I should confess to them and hear them confess as well. Can’t do it? Examine your heart and your relationship with Jesus. Friends are a gift from God, but to understand that – Jesus must be confessed in the center of it. My friends have heard me talk about Jesus.
• Love defines them. 1 Samuel 18:1. “After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between then, for Jonathan loved David.” Jonathan loved David and David loved Jonathan in the way that Jesus loved Lazarus and wept for him. I’ve stood over the gravesite of childhood friends, and wept over memories not because I was sad, but because I loved them. When my life becomes woven with someone, they know the depths of me and I know the depths of them. It’s impossible to be in that deep of a relationship and not love each other deeply, and for me – expressively. My friends know that I love them. I tell them. I find the courage to tell them.
• Truth defines them. In Matthew 26:34, Jesus tells Peter, whom he loved, “Truly I say to you, Peter, this night, before the rooster crows three times, you will betray me.” In Matthew 16:23, Jesus, angry at Peter, says, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.” Friends tell friends the truth – and sometimes it’s going to pinch. You don’t really have friends if you can’t tell them the truth, and they can’t tell you the truth. And, you need to fall to your knees and thank God for the friend who can see your life unfolding foolishly through careless mistakes and say, “Stop right now. You need to stop. You have to change. It’s for your own good.” I love my friends so deeply that I am willing to hurt their feelings for their own good.
• Laughter and Grief define them. In Luke 10:21, Jesus sends out his disciples and they return talking about the great things the Spirit has done through them, and Luke writes, “At that same time, Jesus was filled with joy of the Holy Spirit and began to pray. He said to the disciples, his friends in faith, “you have seen what kings only wish they could see.” I have to believe that Jesus was laughing, even as he prayed. Likewise, we do know that in John 11:35 that “Jesus wept” at the news that his friend, Lazarus had died. Friendship will be defined by sharing the width and depth of both joy and grief together. When you laugh, I laugh with you; when you grieve, I grieve with you. My life is your life. My friends know I am walking in this life with them - good and bad.
• Failure and Redemption defines them. In Mark 14, we know that the rooster did crow, indeed, and we know that Peter did deny Jesus. Wound so closely together, friends do fail one another. We get selfish and we overlook another’s needs. We get jealous of one another. We want to say, “I was there for you, but you were not there for me.” We slip up and say, “Your children drive me crazy.” But, friends in faith know that there is restoration. Peter was Jesus' friend, and Peter was forgiven and restored by Jesus, in John 21. Jesus asks Peter, three times, if he loved Him. Peter responds yes all three times, and Jesus says, “Go and feed my sheep.” I am quick to forgive my friends when they injure me.

I have lived in five different communities – moving to places and not knowing a single soul. I've served on a hospital board of directors. I have been involved in philanthropy, serving on local boards of the cancer society and the heart association. I have been involved in Rotary clubs, and Kiwanis clubs, and the Jaycees. I have been in booster clubs. I have been a leader in recreation sports organizations. I have stood in pouring rain collecting money for the Empty Stocking Funds, cooked hamburgers for booster clubs, and walked 10 miles for the March of Dimes. I have had friends at work, and friends in my neighborhood. As a loyal customer, even today I’m friends with most of the managers at the stores I visit. My doctor is even my close friend.

But, I have no friends like those in faith - those in  Sunday School. If I died today, I would want my faith friends to carry my casket, I would trust my faith friends to minister to Vicki and the boys, and I would want my faith friends to pray at my graveside. There are no holier friends than those with whom we share Jesus and Christian fellowship. And, for me, it begins and ends with Sunday School.

The Love Dilemma - Sacrifice

John 3:16: "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." NLT

While our faith hangs on this Scripture verse, there are two things within the verse that cause me to pause when thinking about Love. First, God gave his "one and only" so that our existence would be improved. Second, while God "gave," the giving wasn't a gift in the sense of a birthday gift, but in the sense of a sacrifice. God "gave away" so that our existence would be improved. God did not give one of his sons so we could have eternal life; God has his only son - sacrificed his only son - so we could have eternal life.

In the context of our lives, there are four recognized forms of Love. I present them here admittedly over-simplified:

• Eros - Romantic, sensual, erotic love.
• Storge - Affectionate love; the love you share within families. Chance love - "I had no control over being in this relationship, which is bound by affection for one another."
• Philia - Love between friends; love between people who share a common interest or activity.
• Agape - Unconditional, sacrificial love regardless of circumstance.

In the coming weeks, we'll unpack Love from a lot of different angles using the definitions above. It would be impossible to begin this conversation without a quick look at Agape love. As followers of Jesus, this is the Trump Card of Love - it's the Love we are called to replicate in all of our relationships - the one with the Father through Jesus and the ones with others. In fact, our Eros, Storge and Philia forms of Love are stronger when grounded in Agape love. I swear my parents - after 50+ years of marriage - seem to be more in love sense my dad cut back on his deer hunting so he could be available for my mom following her injuries in the past year. He sacrificed what "he wanted" for what "she needed" and their marriage - even in these Golden Years - as improved. Wow, what we can learn from that . . . right now!

When I think of a human example of sacrifice, I look to the life of my Vicki.

Vicki was born in Macon, GA. She was the third of four children. When she was a little girl the family of six moved to Decatur, GA - within Atlanta. Her dad, Don, was an electrical engineer with Georgia Power Company. Vicki's dad grew up Baptist; her mom grew up Methodist. The family was involved in a Methodist congregation while in Macon, but fell away from church and faith when they moved to Decatur. In Atlanta, the Bowens made fast friends with Martha and Larry Creel, who were neighbors and co-workers at Georgia Power. Martha Creel was a strong follower of Jesus, ensuring her children were in church and involved in faith. She began to invite / take Vicki to church with her children. It was through Sunday School and worship, as a little girl, that Vicki prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior. (Vicki made a public profession and was baptized at Watkinsville (GA) First Baptist when she was in college at the University of Georgia).

Martha Creel had her own children to get up and get out the door to church. It wasn't just one time that Martha took Vicki with her family to church - it was all the time. Martha made a sacrifice to ensure her neighbor's child came to know Jesus, too.

When Vicki was a junior in high school, her dad received a job offer from the Lower Colorado River Authority in Austin, TX. It was a job too good to ignore, but there was dilemma. Vicki was entering her senior year of high school. She was a cheerleader. She had good friends. She was at the top of her academic class. She was wrapping up a very strong high school tenure. Don and LaRose made the decision to leave their daughter - their 17 year old daughter - in Georgia with no family nearby. Arrangements were made for Vicki to live out her senior year with a friend's family. They left her behind. Don told me much later that he cried all the way to Mississippi and turned back twice in Alabama. For years I thought there was a measure of shamefulness in his decision to leave his daughter in the care of strangers. But, as I matured, I realized that Don made a sacrifice for his daughter's happiness and for her future. And, had he not left her, I would not have met her, and our lives would be vastly different.

Don Bowen made a sacrifice for what he felt was the best thing for his daughter. He made that sacrifice from a deep place of love and not a superficial place of selfishness.

Unfortunately, Vicki's housing with the friends was short-lived. The friend's mom was unwilling to make the sacrifice, and Vicki was given "notice" to find other living arrangements or move to Texas. One afternoon, her economics teacher, Martha Chastain overheard girls talking about Vicki's situation. Martha talked to her husband, Larry (yes another Martha and Larry), and they agreed that Vicki could live her senior year with them. The Chastain's two-year-old son Michael would love the idea. It was while Vicki lived with the Chastains that I met her, we began dating, and have been together for 31 years.

Martha and Larry Chastain made a sacrifice to "rescue" a young woman in need. It's not an easy thing to open your home - warts and all - to an outsider, and yet they made that sacrifice to help a young woman's future.

Sacrifice. Sacrifice is "giving" with the volume turned all the way up. It's love that's amplified.

Sacrifice isn't opening your wallet and saying, "Here, please take one of my $20 bills." No, sacrifice is opening your wallet and saying, "Take my only $20 bill. Take my entire wallet."

Sacrifice isn't "working someone in" your calendar. Sacrifice is closing the calendar and saying, "Where do you need me?"

Sacrifice isn't community service when it's convenient. Sacrifice is working on all day, and then serving others when you are hungry and exhausted.

Sacrifice isn't serving while on vacation; sacrifice is forfeiting vacation for service.

Sacrifice isn't the dad who buys his children everything they need because he can afford it; sacrifice is the dad who will give up everything but work and toil so that his children can eat, have a roof and be clothed.

It's a dilemma for us isn't it? We want to bastardize sacrifice so that it's comfortable, But, it is not. Sacrifice will never be comfortable. It will always be costly; it will always involve suffering - giving up. And, giving up is like swimming upstream to humans in a world like ours.

John quotes Jesus in John 15:12-14: "Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life (sacrifice) for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command."

So, you and I are commanded to sacrifice for one another as an expression of our love for one another. And, this sacrifice is for everyone because Jesus was a sacrifice for everyone. And, those who are willing to sacrifice are those that Jesus will call His friends.

Gulp. Big gulp.

What can I give up today? What can I sacrifice today? What can I go without so that others can live more prosperous? And, can I make this a daily practice? Can I make this a part of my journey as a follower of Jesus? Love is a dilemma.

A Simpler 2013

Church involvement combined with personal Christianity can be exhausting. If we're not careful, we can be pulled this way and that way, attend this and attend that, contribute this and contribute that, and be here and be there. Sometimes I get so exhausted with all of it that I lose the energy to be the effective believer that I'm called to be: I don't have the energy to minister to others toward the goal of talking about Jesus.

And, so my goal is to live a simpler 2013.

In Acts 2:43-47, Luke – the Gentile physician – writes, “A deep sense of awe came over them (all the believers who were meeting together), and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”

In Acts 8, Saul is persecuting – murdering – Christians and many of them have scattered. Look at verse 4: “But (despite persecution) the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus where they went.”

Last week, I went on a three-day trip to Washington, DC. I went with my son, William, who was auditioning for a role in a theatre performance there. William and I rode Amtrak from Florence to DC, primarily because Union Station was within walking distance of both our hotel and the theatre. It was just really easy - no rental cars or taxi rides.

It was on the train ride back to Florence that I began to pour over Scripture and pray. “Lord, we live in such a cluttered and noisy world, where we face all kinds of pulls and pushes – many times from within our own families – and I get so tired sometimes that I don’t have the energy to follow you as closely as I should.

And, the Lord led me to Acts 2 and 8 as a reminder of how simple the community of faith should be and how focused my involvement should be. His message to me – and to our class – was this: Slow down, keep things simple, but be bold in proclaiming the Good News.

In 2013:

• We will certainly continue our regular meeting together, as believers, on Sunday mornings, but we are going to put additional emphasis on our women’s and men’s groups, and other small groups that perhaps some of you want to start. Sunday will be our weekly gathering, but I want to see other groups gather and meet for prayer and Bible Study.
• We will continue to share what we have with one another and with those in need, but we are going to pull this back to a smaller number of benevolent projects.
• We are going to have a push for people to open their homes – big or small, new or old, polished grass or – in my case – weeds, for the purpose of Christian hospitality and the sharing of the Lord’s Supper. I would like to take some time at Easter and see small groups gather in homes for the purpose of prayer and the Lord’s Supper.
• We will continue to enjoy the goodwill of one another through Christian fellowship, providing parties that help us connect and know one another better.

I hope you can see that our emphasis will be more on relationships than "collecting" stuff on Sunday mornings. Our goal this year is to build deeper relationships using small groups, service endeavors and parties toward the opportunity of telling people about Jesus. We won’t “do stuff” just for the sake of “doing stuff,” but for the sake of sharing the gospel. We must separate from what is known as Cultural Christianity – “feeling good about doing good, but keeping Jesus private to themselves.”

For all those early believers did for one another, for others and with others, the bottom line was that they gathered together and then they scattered to preach the Good News of Jesus. That’s what sets us apart. And, don’t tell me that you can’t do it, because that’s a lie. God did not call you to a private faith.

In fact, a faith story that is never or rarely shared cheapens grace, makes a mockery of the cross, and I dare say reflects a life that can talk about faith and church but has no eternal security whatsoever. Every person in your family and every friend you have must know your faith story, hearing Jesus proclaimed. People who know Jesus as their Savior will find it impossible – absolutely impossible – to keep Him private regardless of the personal risk to reputation and profit. To be unwilling to talk of Jesus is reflective of a life that does not really know him as Savior.

I know what you are thinking. Oh, Scott, I’m not qualified. I didn't grow up in church and no one has ever taught me how to share my faith. Or, Scott, my life is a contradiction – I love Jesus, but I like my Budweiser. Oh, Scott, if I start talking about Jesus to my friends, they won’t invite me to the lake; I just don’t want to be that serious. If I sit down with all my family and tell them how I came to Jesus, it will be like passing gas in a room with no ventilation. I'm not comfortable talking about Jesus. My faith is between me and the Lord.

Well, I’m sorry. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” There is no wiggle room for a private faith – a selfish and cheap grace. We must confess it with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord. As Jesus climbed Calvary with that old rugged cross, he never said, “I’m doing this so it will be easy for you – so you can believe, keep me to yourself, and never share the story of my sacrifice.”

But, understand, Sunday School, is and should be the “school” – the education ground – for how to build relationships, how to understand faith stories, and how to get comfortable with talking to others about Jesus – not in uncomfortable ways, but just in seeing opportunities, hearing the Holy Spirit, and seizing the opportunity. Sunday School is where we believers come together to learn from Scripture, learn from one another, and develop our own style for sharing the gospel with others. Through Sunday School, you and I develop our own styles for sharing our faith, but share our faith we must do. And, we must free ourselves from busyness in order to do it. And, sharing our faith doesn't follow a prescriptive, rote process. No, we can open the door to faith conversations by simply praying in the name of Jesus or asking, "Where is Jesus in the storm of your life?"

So, after pouring through all of this on the train ride home, while sitting in the Amtrak’s Café Car, I returned to my seat and took out my 890-page copy of Larry McMurtry’s western classic, Lonesome Dove, which I am reading as part of my 25 books of 2013. William and I were sitting across the aisle from a senior adult man – I later learned was 84. He got on the train with us in DC, and I had helped him lift his bags to the compartment over the seat.

As I began reading Lonesome Dove, I was startled by a sound coming from the old man’s seat. Was that a sob? I know what it’s like to cry so hard that you sob out loud and that’s exactly what it sounded like to me. I looked over and, yes, he was sobbing, weeping so deeply that he could not contain the gasping sounds coming from within.

I closed my book and took a deep breath. I focused on the Lord, and said, “Come on, Lord. Are you kidding me?" And, here’s what I got back, “No Sunday School gathering, no church attendance, no class party, no mission project, no money in an offering plate, no singing of a pretty song – none of that is what you are called to do. You are called for this moment and for all the moments just like it. You are called to step in and love others in the name of Jesus.. All the other “church” stuff provides the education and the encouragement for the moments just like this one – the moment to touch another life in the name of Jesus.”

As I prayed, I heard the old man get control of his emotions. I waited and then I leaned over and simply opened the door to conversation, “Sir, we get off the train in Florence. If you don’t get off there, I’ll get your luggage down for you and leave it in our seats.” He thanked me, and said he was going to Savannah.

I told him that I had once lived in Southeast Georgia, had been an editor of the newspaper in Statesboro, but that our corporate office had been in Savannah. I told him my best friend from college is a Savannah attorney, and that Vicki and I like to go to Tybee Island.

Mr. Ray McCrary told me that he had recently moved to DC to live with one of his daughters. He was going “home” to Savannah to wrap up things related to the move. And, then, the tears flowed. “My wife wants a divorce – after 50 years of marriage.” He was going home to sign papers and begin arrangements to sell their home.

I asked him about his children – other than the daughter he was joining in DC – and he talked of their four natural children and one adopted daughter. And, then, he took a deep breath, and cried some more. “My daughter Debbie died last year.” He apologized for the blubbering, and then said, “I wish I had been a better daddy; no matter how old you are, losing a child is the most horrible thing that can happen to you.” And, I just wondered if somehow his daughter’s death from cancer had in some way loosened the binding ties of an already fragile marriage.

“Please keep me in your prayers,” he said. And, I held his hand and I prayed for him right there on that Amtrak train. Once I would have worried about what everyone else thought, but no more – the urgency of the gospel opportunity trumps what anyone might think about me.

“You must be in the ministry,” he said. “All believers are in the ministry,” I told him. I told him that I was in vocational ministry, and had come to that through a career in the newspaper business. We talked about faith and church. He regretted not having his family in church more, and he regretted not being that faith-minded leader in his family. “We were in church when they were little, but then we just stopped going. None of them go now. If I had it to do over again, we would have been in church every Sunday,” he said.

And, then, we were approaching Florence.

As I stood up, he reached for my hand and said, “It’s funny how all conversations can easily lead to faith. Thank you for helping minister to me; thank you for reminding me that God cares about me. It’s been a long time since I heard someone talk about Jesus.”

I want 2013 to be about spiritual growth through personal preparedness to share the gospel. I want our class to become a catalyst for spiritual revival in our church and in our community. I want us to build authentic relationships with people toward the single goal of talking about Jesus, and I want us to hold one another accountable to grow in our ability to do it.

Behind and Beyond The Manger

For me, there's a problem surrounding our picturesque Nativity scene.
Coming to us each December, framed with warm and gentle hymns, and quiet lights, we are lulled peacefully by the image of the stable with lots of warm hay, and a family huddle there as the baby Jesus is born. Animals kneel in reverence, we want to believe. Shepherds and wise men approach in order from poor to rich (the least shall be first). Some, honestly, believe there was even a drummer boy, i.e. the Rankin-Bass cartoon. The brilliant star shines on it all. Silent Night, peaceful night, Holy Night.

This Christmas-card scene leads us to quiet, candlelit Christmas Eve services, where we turn down the lights and turn up the candlelight. Peace on Earth, goodwill to men.

I'm pretty sure the birth of Jesus wasn't very peaceful or silent. It was real life. It was messy. Jesus was born into chaos. The birth of Jesus was also unlike any event before or since or ever to be again. And, there is an incredible back-story that we ought to understand in order to fully understand Christmas.

Vicki’s daddy was a brilliant man – an engineer – who ridiculously loved problem-solving, mechanics, and math and science. One weekend, as I visited, I found him on a Sunday morning, removing the engine from the family car. That entire day, he spent removing the engine, cleaning it, eye-balling it, and then replacing it in time for everyone to go to dinner. It was a hobby. I would shake my head and he would say, “You look at it, you think it’s just a car. You open the hood and explore, and you find it’s so much more than that. It’s a machine.”

Let's go under the hood of a conversation within the Christmas story - before the manager scene.

First, a disclaimer. Most Americans are illiterate when it comes to Scripture. We revere the Bible, but we don't read it. We don't study it. Only about 50 percent of Americans can name the four gospel writers; more than 60 percent can't name the Ten Commandments. It's pretty tough to follow God's law when we don't know it. Within the Bible, there's so much teaching that can bring peace, hope, joy and love to our lives and  yet we don't seem to care. Within the Bible, there's so much teaching about what we should be doing, how we should be living, and what we should not be doing. Yet, we would rather plead ignorant, as in, "I can't be held accountable for what I don't know." Unfortunately, that's not true. We will be held accountable according to all that's in Scripture.

I should study the Bible more - every time I do, I am blessed and convicted, encouraged and corrected. Even the correction somehow feels good - like having my hamstrings stretched. It's painful, but feels great. I believe the Bible. I believe every word of it is true. Certainly, I believe it's written by men, but I believe those men were divinely set apart and were writing as inspired by God. I believe that it's dangerous to pick and choose what we want to believe and not believe within the Bible. When that pick and choose subjectivity happens, Scripture begins to unravel, faith can be compromised, and fellowship with God jeopardized. So, for me, it's all or nothing with Scripture, and I choose to believe it all.

And, believing it all requires a lot of faith because there's so much in the Bible that is supernatural and beyond my feeble ability to comprehend: The virgin birth, the Resurrection, David and Goliath, the flood, Lazarus brought back from the dead, the temptation in the wilderness, the strength of Samson, the hand-writing on the wall . . . it goes on and on. Supernatural stuff. I choose to believe all of it for fear that hedging on even a little is dangerous territory for those who love Jesus.

And, that brings us to angels.

Scripture does not tell us much about angels. But, the angel - coming to Mary in full person - is a significant part of the Christmas story. Inexplicable as it is, it happened. A living, breathing angel showed up on planet Earth and this young girl saw him. It happened. Truth.

Humans and angels are the only two-self conscious beings in the universe. The Bible tells us that humans and angels can both have intelligent conversations with God. Humans never become angels - there's no Scriptural  basis for that. It's a cartoon myth.

On the first day of creation, Genesis 1:1 says, "God created the heavens and the earth." Some argue that on the first day, God created both humans and angels. "The earth was empty, a formless mass covered in darkness," Scripture tells us. Humans were created to procreate. Hebrews 12:22 refers to "thousands of angels" without reference to that number being the total of angels. There could be millions. We don't know. But, on that first day of creation, they were probably created first, as part of the heavens, and then watched as the Earth was created. Job 38:4-7 reads, "Where were you (Job) when I laid the foundations of the earth? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone, as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"

It must have been, in simplistic terms, like hitting a walk-off grand slam to win the seventh game of the World Series. Heaven erupted at the creation of Earth. Genesis 1:31 reads, "Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day." Sin - the love of anything over God; the love of self over God - was not present.

In Genesis 2, Adam and Eve first populated the world, and were tempted, in Genesis 3, by Satan. So, between heaven erupting over a perfect Earth, and Satan tempting Adam and Eve, something happened. Something supernatural happened beyond the realm of human understanding.

Some of the angels sinned, challenging God. They were led by what Isaiah infers was the wisest and most beautiful of the angels, Satan, who challenged God in heaven. 2 Peter 2:4 reads, "For God did not spare even the angels when they sinned; He threw them into hell, in gloomy caves and darkness until the judgement day." (There's a message here, friend: Challenge and mock God with unrepentant behavior will not end well.)

Satan was cast to Earth and many followed him and became demons. A spiritual war began between Satan's armies of darkness and God's angelic armies of light. Satan went after what God loved (John 3:16) - me and you. That's why he tempted Adam and Eve, and introduced sin into the world. Satan went on to tempt Jesus, and in Revelation we know that Jesus leads a powerful army at Armageddon - the final battle - and destroys Satan once and for all. Satan is then cast into the lake of fire. Until then, however, the supernatural war between good and evil, right and wrong, holy and unholy rages all around us. It rages today.

Satan is one of three angels introduced to us, by God, through Scripture. The other two angels are Michael and Gabriel. It's very dangerous to go looking for other angels and studying too deeply about angels. A casual study beyond Scripture can quickly lead us away from the 66 books of our Bible into resources that feel and look like Scripture, but are not. It's easy, especially with web searches, to end up in seemingly fun websites with direct ties to the occult. Remember, Satan is a demon - a dark angel - and you can't study angels without bumping into him. It's also easy to begin worshiping angels. Angels exist, and God certainly uses them to intersect with us. We know that from Scripture. But, there is no Scriptural need for a personal, guardian angel. We have Jesus. I know people - you do, too - who talk more about their guardian angels than they do about their Savior. That's dangerous theology. My opinion.

We know that there is a hierarchy among angels. Jude 1:9 refers to Michael as one of the mightiest of angels - an archangel. Daniel 10:13 refers to Daniel's help coming from Michael, one of the chief princes.

Revelation 12:7-8 reads, "Now, war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon (Satan), and the dragon and his angels fought but were defeated." Clear evidence of Michael, an angel, leading spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness, led by Satan.

And, now we come to Gabriel.
In Daniel 8:15, the prophet writes about Gabriel - "the man" - coming to him. Angels, apparently do or can look like us. There's no mention of wings though lesser angels - seraphs and cherubs - inexplicably have wings. In verse 17, Daniel writes, "As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate." While Daniel fell into a deep sleep, Gabriel brought a message from God about "the time of the end." It all left Daniel exhausted and ill for several days (v.27).

Here's the man who survived the lion's den and who saw God's hand write on the wall, and yet this "man" appearing to Gabriel was terrifying. Clearly, Daniel was in the presence of something unworldly; something crystal clear from God himself; something with a message directly from God.

This is the same Gabriel, sent directly from God, during a heavenly war with Satan's forces, to Mary (Luke 1:26). This ancient messenger of God, who scared the pee out of Daniel 600 years earlier, comes to Mary and says, "You are highly favored! the Lord is with you."

Scripture says that Mary was troubled "at his words" (not his presence). Gabriel comforts her and says (v.31), "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will given him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Mary doesn't question the assignment, but she's concerned - how can a virgin have a baby?

Gabriel says (Luke 1:35-37), "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

This may be one of the most hopeful testimonials in all of Scripture. Here's an ancient being, Gabriel, who is in the presence of God all the time. Gabriel is at the top of the angelic heirarchy, presumably with Michael (Daniel 10) and at one time Satan. Gabriel has directly heard the voice of God. He is a messenger of God. God pulls him from battle with Satan to go to Mary with news that God loves the world so much that He is coming - as Jesus - to deliver those who believe from sin and Satan. Gabriel has heard and seen things in the supernatural - things foreign and strange to us as humans. And, I can almost imagine him grinning to himself as he encourages Mary by saying, 'Trust me, Mary. I know, I KNOW,' that "nothing is impossible with God." Gabriel saw the Earth breathed into existence. He knows that nothing is impossible with God.

The Christmas story is not warm and cuddly. It is a wartime event that comes quietly to us, but is actually an eternal event. How I wish I could see Christmas from God's perspective . . . of even Gabriel's. I'm not sure we can fully wrap our minds around it. That's why we anchor ourselves with faith in Scripture.

Christmas is the turning point in the great battle for the soul of men and women, and boys and girls.
John 3:16, "For God so loved (insert your name) the world that He gave his only son so that whoever believes (trusts) in Him can have eternal life." That includes a peace-filled, joy-filled, hope-filled, love-filled life today, too. Those who believe this join God's family; those who do not will be on the losing end for all eternity.

I believe that one of Satan's deceptions is to lull believers into lethargy and complacency. Many point and complain about commercialism at Christmas or the media's sensationalism at Christmas, but the problem is not "them" as we like to say; the problem is with us - believers who have dumbed-down Christmas into a Christmas card cliche that makes Christmas easy to swallow. We've heard the Christmas story so much that we gloss over it each year and move on to our worldly agendas, which come back to self-gratification. I know believers - you do, too - who give to charity at Christmas to ease the guilt of spending more extravagantly on themselves throughout the year. Gee whiz.

Being reminded of Gabriel at Christmas, reminds me people all around us are living and dying without hope or an eternal future, and most all of us - as believers - seem lethargic about it. We rarely talk about the unsaved. We rarely lift prayer requests for them. (Most of our prayer requests are for self). We don't explore opportunities to share faith. We don't invite people to churches. We don't give Bibles, with notes inside, as Christmas gifts. We don't have luncheons with single-agendas - "may I tell you why I love and follow Jesus?" At some point, we must get serious about what we believe because what we say we believe at Christmas is serious business.

Most believers approach faith with the same casual attitude as going to the grocery store. When that happens, Satan wins and the brilliance of the Christmas story is dulled.

As believers, we are Christian soldiers - much like Mary - and we have a responsibility, as commanded by Jesus (the one born in that manger) to make disciples and teach Scripture. Look what Mary said when Gabriel gave God's orders to her: She said, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." (Luke 1:38). Jesus commands us to go make disciples. Do we respond with, "I am your servant. May it come true"? This Christmas, I pray we are each convicted - and encouraged - about how we will approach 2013 toward helping people discover Jesus as Savior through our words, actions and lives.

Birth Announcements

Job is coming out of a dark and deep valley, and he says to God, humbly and exhausted and broken, "I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you."

When searching for something to fully describe the power of Almighty God, Job's words just stop me in my tracks: God, I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. No one can stop you. Not all the armies and all the kingdoms and all the rulers together can stop you. The forces of evil and darkness can't stop you. You can do anything, God. And, by contrast and comparison, we can do nothing.

And, yet, this powerful, Almighty, sovereign God chooses to love each one of us. For those who love Him, through faith in Jesus, He says that He will keep us from harm, watch over our days, and all things in our lives will work to bring Him glory. He says that He has plans for us, and had those plans before we were even born.

God is all powerful and all loving.

This season of Christmas, we celebrate birth. We celebrate God coming to Earth as Jesus to provide a way for restoration with God. This past week, I've been a spectator of two powerful examples of birth and rebirth. I've been a spectator of what Job says when he says, "I know that you can do anything."

Jeff

Jeff and my oldest son, Andrew, were on the University of South Carolina track team together for three years. They became friends. For the past five years, we have prayed for Jeff - not in pitiful ways, but in expectant ways that God would make Himself known to Jeff, and through Jesus, launch a new chapter in Jeff's life.

For the past few Easters, we have opened our home for the boys to invite their college friends to our church, and then to our home for Easter lunch and an egg hunt. This year, Andrew called to say that Jeff was coming with him. We had a great time, and enjoyed getting to know Jeff. Afterwards, we didn't think much more of it. Yet, prayers continued. (Pictured is this year's group of egg-hunters; Jeff is in the top row, left; Andrew is in the center (blue shirt).

At Thanksgiving, I asked Andrew if Jeff ever attended church with him near campus, and Andrew said that Jeff did not and probably would not attend church with him. And, we just sort of dropped the conversation. Yet, prayers continued.

Last Monday, Dec. 3, at 9:46 p.m., I received this text from my oldest son, "Jeff gave his life to Christ tonight."

And, putting on my "Reverend" hat, I responded in the most call-worthy way I could at the moment: "Holy Crap!!" I texted. And, here's the ensuing text conversation.

Me: I need details.

Andrew: We went to get wings. And, then Jeff asked me to get ice cream. He said he's been thinking about Jesus a lot and what that means. He talked to me about coming to church with me over Easter, and then he just asked questions. I shared the gospel with him as best I could and then asked him, "Why not (give your life to Jesus) right now." And, Jeff said, "Yeah, I want to." So, he asked me what to pray and I told him. It was huge.

Me: Did he pray?

Andrew: Out loud (in the Sandy's parking lot).

Me: Wow, son, you watched someone be born again!

Andrew: I can't stop laughing when I think about it. God can do anything. It is so exciting. God is going to do great things with Jeff.
Since that conversation, I've had opportunity to meet with Jeff and begin discussions about believer's baptism, joining with a fellowship of believers, Bible Study and prayer. I've reminded Jeff that this is not the end of a story or a mile-marker, but the beginning of a new life - a new story in Jesus and following Jesus. In his own genuine way, he's all over it, and I'm confident Andrew will continue to mentor his friend. I will pray for both of them.

Born again. This story has some messages for me and you:

• Never give up praying for people.
• Never doubt that God can do anything, and that His timing often does match our timing.
• Simple hospitality with no agenda can make a difference to people.
• Be ready to share the gospel "as best you can" when you have the opportunity to do it. Don't walk away from the chance to introduce someone to Jesus.

Kelly & Leigh Ann
Kelly and Leigh Ann Roberts are near and dear to my heart. Leigh Ann is my baby sister. I was months shy of 15 when she was born in 1974. She and Kelly have been married 15 years, and have been unable to have children of their own. A few years ago, at Christmas, Kelly and Leigh Ann gave out gift cards to my family and to the families of my brothers. This was unusual because we siblings don't exchange Christmas gifts. When I acted surprised at their kind gesture, my sister said, "Well, we don't have anyone to buy gifts for and this is something we want to do."

In my heart of hearts, I ached for her. It was as if that Christmas gift was her way of saying, "We give up, and surrender the desires of our heart to Almighty God."

My former sister-in-law, Cindy, is a labor and delivery nurse at a south Georgia hospital. Because Cindy will always be the mother of "cousin Paul," we've kept the doors of communication open with her and still love her. Off the family radar - and a few hundred miles away - Cindy has always been on the lookout for a baby in need of adoption.

Last Friday morning, I was visiting my parents in Atlanta. When I came downstairs, about 8 a.m., my mama said, "Cindy has found a baby for Kelly and Leigh Ann." I was two cups short of coffee, but was still able to grasp the reality. A baby had been born in the pre-dawn hours of that Friday, and its parents wanted to place it for adoption. Cindy called my mother, who found my sister. Leigh Ann, a nurse, called Kelly, a school teacher, and told him the news by telephone. It went sort of like this:

God has provided us with a baby. We need to make a decision right now.
The decision was easy.

As long as I live, I will never forget my sister's words when she called me about mid-morning.

"You have no idea how long we have prayed for this, and I know this is a gift from God," she said. "This is how God works in my life - He comes quickly and in big ways."

On Saturday morning, without nine months to plan and prepare a nursey, these two took off for south Georgia, where they adopted this little girl and named her - Emilee Joy Roberts. (Pictured, right, with her mommy) Her middle name is so very appropriate for this Christmas gift from God. How blessed we are that the birth parents chose to have the baby and not pursue abortion; how blessed we are that they loved this girl enough to ensure she has a home dedicated to loving and serving a Holy God; and how blessed we are that God preserved our relationship with Cindy for all these years.

A life born to one day be born again. This story, too, has messages for me and you:

• Never give up pouring out the desires of your heart. God hears them; He absolutely hears them. And, in His time - not ours - He will answer those prayers even if it's not how we might expect them to be answered.
• Never doubt that God can do anything.
• Preserve the relationships that come in and through your life. Finish well this life with no ill will toward anyone. You never know how that person might be used, by God, to love and serve the ones you love down the road.

This Christmas, be reminded. Please be reminded, "Oh God, I know you can do anything, and no one can stop you." Amen.

Christmas Warmth

No one will ever convince me, ever, not ever, that you can go to a building each week, sit as a spectator for one hour, never be introduced to another person, and then claim you were in church. Being with the church is about being in a meaningful group, surrounded by people you can join in fellowship, love and service together, and be warmed by the family of faith. Being with the church is not about being a consumer; it's about investing your entire life into other people.

In Ecclesiastes 4:7-11, the great King Solomon is reflecting on his life, which he largely lived apart from God. He's lamenting in this look back, and he's offering wise counsel for all of us: "Don't live like me." In these verses, Solomon equates going at life "alone" as meaningless. His words also remind us that:

• We should avoid working so hard and long that relationships are compromised.
• Two people working together can get twice the work accomplished.
• When trouble comes, one can help the other.
• In the coldness of the night, two can keep each other warm.
• Two - and even more - can protect one another from harm.

The reason we have Christmas parties is to celebrate the value of relationship that Solomon writes about. And, when those parties and celebrations are framed in faith - by families of faith (churches, Sunday School classes and small groups) - we are reminded of the warmth that comes from being a part of a family of faith. Christmas gives us that gift.

My dad was very involved in our community’s Empty Stocking drive at Christmas each year. The community came together, donating toys and coats and food items, packaged it all together in church basements.and warehouses. Families would join together to sort and package the items from lists provided by the community's social services. And, then on Christmas Eve, men - mostly through the community's Jaycee organization - would take the lists and deliver the toys, clothing and food.

Late one Christmas Eve, my dad had one final delivery. He took me with him because we were headed home to a family Christmas celebration afterward. The delivery was to a “neighborhood” of dilapidated mobile homes arranged in a neighborhood along a red clay hill with a ragged dirt road connecting the housing units. By the time we got to this small, shabby community, it was almost dusk. My dad parked his panel van and went house-to-house delivering boxes. I won’t ever get over the images of that evening. I was surrounded by poverty.

Poverty is ugly because it reveals the hardest reality of life. In describing the poverty (my word) of life, Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, about man's condition at the crossroads of "Ignorance and Want." Poverty, for me, is that place where people want xyz, but don't care enough about themselves or others to even try and achieve it. It's a horror. And, that's what my boyish eyes saw that evening delivering toys to the neighborhood. I saw a generational cycle of poverty - "wanting" but no desire to improve.

Before you and I thumb our collective nose at those living in cycles of economic poverty, let me add a dimension to it. As King Solomon reminds us - we need each other. We need each other for warmth, security, defense and support. Going at life alone is foolish. Going at life alone is another form of poverty - the absence of the warmth of other believers is a horrible place of poverty. Human Nature craves relationships - poverty is not caring about or ignoring that impulse. The Holy Spirit, I believe, craves relationships with other believers - poverty is not caring about or ignoring that conviction.

I know a lot of affluent people living in poverty. They are surrounded by friends, and yet don't have a single friend in faith. They don't have one person in whom they can confess life's pain for fear their social friends will quickly turn to whisperers. They don't have one person who will hold their hand and pray over them; not a flippant "I will pray for you" that never results in prayer. They don't have one person who will "drop everything" and come running to provide Christian warmth in this cold world.

This is a form of poverty: Being surrounded by "friends" and yet not having a single one in faith.

On occasion, my church youth group would have bonfires. We would gather for food, music, devotion and, yes, flirting. Just before one of those bonfires, our beloved youth director, Ron McClure, called a few of us together for an object lesson. On a blackboard, he drew a bonfire with several rings around it. The fire represented the faith family with its light and its warmth. Each circle around the fire represented where people stood in relationship to the fire. The further people stood from the fire the more they stood in the cold and dark. He told us to be attentive to where people stood at the upcoming bonfire. Who would be nearest the fire, fully enjoying the bonfire? Who would be standing further removed? Who would be standing in the shadows? Who would not even be there? He reminded us:

• Believers will always want to be as close to the fire as possible, but many don't know how to break through the crowd to get there. How can we keep the inner circle open?
• Sometimes the fire can be too hot for people, and we have to let them be content to stand a few steps behind, but always inviting them to be closer.
• Many in the shadows choose to be there because, sadly, it's gotten comfortable to be in the dark and the cold. There's no risk in the shadows, it's easy to be invisible, and it's easy to walk away. But, these good people will never fully know the joy, peace, love and hope that comes from the warmth of being arm-in-arm with other believers. Friends, I've been there. Scott Vaughan has been in the shadows while being at the church property every single Sunday.
• How do we invite more people to the bonfire? We are surrounded by people who want to be with us, who need to be with us, but don't know it's available or the benefits of it. Keep in mind, some of these are regularly sitting in worship services - never fully experiencing the benefits of faith community.

Where are you? Are you as close to the fire of faith as possible? Are you out there in the shadows, engaged in the exercise of casual faith? Are you showing up here and there, sitting back, perhaps waiting on your spouse to endorse taking faith to the next level, wanting to get more involved in the exercise of faith but just not able to pull the trigger . . . afraid of what they might expect or ask you to do?

If you are warm and cozy beside the fire, are you turning around and making room for others to join you at the fire? Or, have you slipped into ugly "faithful sin" - claiming the warmth and forgetting about those not at the fire? I'm guilty. So are you.

Solomon reminds us that there is power, protection, service, love, warmth, and defense when we are joined with one another in the family of faith. It's time for some of us to step up to the fire, and for others to make room. Jesus came for such a reason as this one - that the gospel comes alive through the warmth of faith relationships.