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Preacher's Magazine Church of the Nazarene

9-1-1997 Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 01 Randal E. Denny (Editor) Olivet Nazarene University

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Recommended Citation Denny, Randal E. (Editor), "Preacher's Magazine Volume 73 Number 01" (1997). Preacher's Magazine. 634. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_pm/634

This Journal Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Church of the Nazarene at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Preacher's Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER /.NOVEMBER 1997

SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE

FASTING IN A WORLD OF FAST FOOD NIGHTMARffON OAK STREET-

OVERCOMING AN ABUSIVE PAST

“And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way o f Holiness." Isa. 35:8 i? Preacher'sMAGAZINE

Volume 73 September/October/November 1997 Number 1

Cover Photo by D. JeoneneTiner

Editor EDITORIAL Randal E. Denny Be Honest with One Another 2 Assistant Editor Cindy Osso Randal E. Denny

Highpoint Editor FEATURES David J. Felter Overcoming an Abusive Past 3 Consulting Editors Norman Moore Bill M. Sullivan Director of the A Gift of Life in the Face of Death 6 Division of Church Growth Rick L. Williamson Church of the Nazarene Wilbur W. Brannon Saying Farewell to Your Church 7 Director of Ponder Gilliland Pastoral Ministries Church of the Nazarene Transition Summit at Glen Eryie 8 Norman G. Wilson Wilbur Brannon General Editor The Wesleyan Church PREACHING Contributing Editors Marks of Effective Preaching 11 General Superintendents Church of the Nazarene Robert Premus John A. Knight William J. Prince CHURCH HISTORY James H. Diehl Paul G. Cunningham Forgotten Giant of the British Pulpit 12 Jerry D. Porter Paul Murray Jim L. Bond General Superintendents MISSIONS The Wesleyan Church Earle L. Wilson Renewal Through Social Outreach: Practical Guidelines 14 Lee Haines Jerry L. Appleby Thomas E. Armiger Superintendents EVANGELISM Evangelical Friends Church Stanley Perisho Evangelicals and the “Homosexual Problem’’ 17 Maurice Roberts John R Williams Jr. J. Grant Swank Jr. Howard E. Harmon HOLINESS General Superintendent Churches of Christ How I Know I Am Filled with the Holy Spirit 18 in Christian Union Dan Tipton Victor Wellington Peters General Conference Secretary Brethren in Christ Church PASTORAL COUNSELING R. Donald Shafer When to Refer to a Psychiatrist 19

PASTOR’S PERSONAL GROWTH______Critics—Leave ’Em or Love ’Em 22 Jan McNaught The Problem with Ego 23 Wayne Kiser Fasting in a World of Fast Food 24 Morris Chalfant PASTOR’S PROFESSIONAL GROWTH Nightmare on Oak Street 26 Jimmy Lumpkin Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations The Interim Pastor 27 are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® Ross W. Hay slip (n iv ®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bi­ ble Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing PASTORAL CARE House. All rights reserved. Quotations from the following versions are used by My Church Family: Helpfulness with Brotherly Watch and Care 28 permission: The Amplified Bible, Old Testament (am p.), copyright© Mark William Royall 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Ampli­ fied New Testament (amp.), copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 WORSHIP by The Lockman Foundation. The Bible: A New Translation (m o ffa tt). Copyright 1922, Facing the Music: Choosing Your Worship Style 30 1924, 1925, 1935 by Harper 8c Row, Publishers, Incorpo­ rated. Copyright 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954 by James A. R. Randy T. Hodges Moffatt. The New American Standard Bible (nasb), © 1960, Show and Tell 32 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Dorothy Pryse Lockman Foundation. The New King James Version ( n k jv ). Copyright© 1979, A Different Perspective 33 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. The New Revised Standard Version ( n rs v ) of the Bible, Keith D. Wright copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the CHRISTIAN MINISTRY USA. All rights reserved. The New Testament in Modern English (phillips), Re­ A Loaf of Bread 34 vised Student Edition, by J. B. Phillips, translator. Copy­ right 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips. Reprinted with the Joyce L. Holscher permission of the Macmillan Publishing Company. The Revised Standard Version (rs v ) of the Bible, copy­ CHURCH ADMINISTRATION right 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Educa­ tion of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in Keeping Your Staff 36 the USA. Rhonda Campbell Today's English Version (te v ). Copyright © by Ameri­ can Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. The Living Bible (tlb ), © 1971. Used by permission of TODAY’S BOOKS FOR TODAY’S PREACHERS 37 Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved. PASTOR, BE ENCOURAGED The Message(tm ). Copyright© 1993. Used by permis­ sion of NavPress Publishing Group. Thank God for the Joy of Ministry 38 King James Version ( k jv ).

C. Neil Strait The Preacher's Magazine is published quarterly by Bea­ con Hill Press o f Kansas City, 2923 Troost Ave„ Kansas SOCIAL CONCERNS City, MO 64109. Editorial offices a t 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. Address all correspondence Giving to the Highest Degree 39 concerning subscriptions to your denominational pub­ lishing house. Copyright 1997 by Beacon Hill Press of Carlton F. Harvey Kansas City. Canadian GST No. R129017471. PASTOR’S FAMILY LIFE Where Is Your Daughter Tonight? 42 Shari L. Risoff THEOLOGY The Mustard Seed Vision 43 Delbert T. Morse STEWARDSHIP The Preretirement Years: Emotional Preparation 46 Dennis Apple Here’s the Guy with All the Gold 47 Sami King-Wente CHRISTIAN EDUCATION What Are We Teaching Our Children About the Bible? 48 Wendell Bowes PICTURE WINDOWS FOR PREACHING 51 Compiled by Deri G. Keefer ARK ROCKER Sinners Anonymous 52 WORSHIP AND PREACHING HELPS 53 Authors should address all articles and cor­ respondence to Editor, The Preacher’s Mag­ Carl C. Green azine, 10814 E. Broadway, Spokane, WA 99206. Self-addressed, stamped envelopes HIGHPOINT 81 should accompany all manuscripts. Larry Dennis

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1 Li EDITORIAL Be Honest with One Another

ituational ethics finds accept­ wield truth as a weapon to hurt, but ability in a society that does to help. not believe in moral absolutes. In my earlier ministry, I remember SHowever, pastors must stand out in once aiming at a few stubborn old vivid contrast against the dark, pre­ goats—and I probably only wounded vailing moral climate. Pastors, preach­ some tender lambs. A former pastor ers, staff ministers, ecclesiastical ad­ who attended the church and was my ministrators, and missionaries must very good friend said to me, “Pastor, I have impeccable honesty. think you preached today from frus­ The apostle Paul insists, “Do not lie tration, not from inspiration.” He hit to each other” (Col. 3:9). Whether by Randal E. Denny the bull’s-eye! I purposely have tried true or not, I have heard laypersons Editor/pastor, Spokane, Washington never to do that again. As Paul said, I claim their pastors didn’t tell the really desire to speak “the truth in truth. The hint of dishonesty totally love.” Honest truth can be received disrupts relationships within the eludes ecclesiastical reports. Never when spoken in love! church body. We who proclaim Jesus exaggerate statistics, though we often In Christian ministry, speak the as Lord must be “squeaky clean” with get pressure to do so. Oscar Wilde truth with grace: “Let your conversa­ impeccable honesty. God requires it! noted, “There are three kinds of lies: tion be always full of grace, seasoned Impeccable honesty demands that ordinary lies, white lies, and statis­ with salt” (Col. 4:6). Impeccable hon­ we never deliberately, consciously tics.” Refuse to live on the wrong side esty is “seasoned with salt,” meaning misrepresent the truth. Our people of the facts! it speaks with purity of heart and deserve for us to be stalwart con­ One fellow admitted, “I’ve shed without corruption. Speak honestly. tenders for truth in every arena of our barrels of tears over my tendency to In Christian ministry, speak the truth lives. Our word should be our bond! exaggerate.” in Jesus’ name: “And whatever you do, Abraham Lincoln insisted, “If a man is In Christian ministry, never twist whether in word or deed, do it all in the going to be a liar, he had better have the truth by saying one thing and do­ name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to a good memory.” If we pastors will ing another. For example, any Chris­ God the Father through him” (3:17). If keep faith with the truth, we don’t tian minister who teaches the biblical you can’t say it or do it in Jesus’ name have to remember what we said and truth of tithing must be above re­ and to God’s glory, then don’t say it or we don’t have to hide anything. proach in his or her own giving. Peri­ do it at all. Being honest with one anoth­ Students were once asked if a lie is odically I hear from people who insist er, we must only say what we could ever justifiable. Most answers ex­ their pastors and staff don’t tithe— speak directly into the face of Jesus. We pressed fell into one of five cate­ somehow they consider themselves must only do what we could do with Je­ gories: Yes, in business; yes, in poli­ exempt because they serve in min­ sus standing right in front of us. Let tics; yes, to save a life; yes, in war; istry. (I have no way to verify the there be no gray shadows in our hon­ yes, if in behalf of a great cause. Some truth of the accusations. Yet I have a esty—in committee meetings, in busi­ students thought the ability to lie well sense of how damaging even the per­ ness meetings, in worship services, in would be an asset. Honesty is the on­ ceptions of lacking honesty in tithing counseling, and in private conversa­ ly way to survive in the Christian min­ and giving can be.) If you preach it, tions—especially at home! istry. God never winks at people lying practice it—so you can lead your peo­ Impeccable honesty marks the true for Him or for His cause. ple in the joy of stewardship. Christian. If we love one another, we In Christian ministry, never twist In Christian ministry, speak “the will be honest with one another—af­ the truth by exaggerating. That in- truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). Never ter all, we are family! 1

2 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE I'lS f a i Feature

Overcoming an Abusive Past

ill was born in 1910, the son of However, toxic shame doesn’t say an alcoholic father. He was that what you did was bad and one of six children. Bill’s wrong, it says, “You are bad and Bmom was heavy into the ideologies of wrong.” the Christian Science religion. She ac­ Toxic shame, having grown out of tually became what authors today call my years of abuse, left me with a very a codependent: someone who actual­ low self-image. If I was running for ly participates in another person’s ad­ dog catcher, I wouldn’t have voted diction. She made excuses for her for myself, even if I was the only one husband when he was too drunk to on the ballot. go to work. Bill grew up in what au­ by Norman Moore Then at age 10, a layman from a thors now call a dysfunctional family. Itinerant evangelist; small church in town knocked on our Are you familiar with that word? Who president, Norman Moore Ministries, Inc., front door. He invited me to play soft­ thought up that word anyway? Do Vista, California ball on the church team. He promised you remember when “maladjusted” that I could play my favorite position: was in style? Not now, maladjusted is abuse, physical abuse, emotional first base! They were hurting for play­ out; dysfunctional is in! When I was abuse, and even sexual abuse from ers. But there was a hook: “If you a child growing up, we didn’t know her stepdad from the age of 10 to 18. want to play on the team, you have to those fancy words. We were just Bill and Edith got acquainted. And to do your time in Sunday School.” To messed up, big time! Edith, Bill and his two boys seemed me it seemed like a good trade; at Bill grew up and got married. He like a whole lot better deal than the least I got to get out of the house for and his wife had a baby boy. But be­ abuse she was suffering in her home. a while. fore that boy was three years old, So Bill and Edith got married. They On a Sunday morning this caring Bill’s wife died. Then Bill remarried. did the only thing they knew how to layman drove up to the curb at the In the first year of that marriage, Bill do: to continue to live in a vulgar, vio­ side of our house and honked the and his second wife had a baby boy. lent, abusive, and dysfunctional fami­ horn on the old yellow bus (six cylin­ But before that baby boy was even a ly- ders, running on five on a good day). year old, Bill's second wife died, leav­ I am Bill and Edith’s third child. I I jumped off the back porch steps, ing him less than 30 years of age with grew up in a vulgar, violent, dysfunc­ ran across the side yard, and climbed two boys. tional family where there was physi­ aboard the old bus. A few minutes lat­ Then Bill met Edith. She was born cal abuse, verbal abuse, emotional er I was the new shy boy, staring at in 1922, 12 years younger than Bill. abuse, and sexual abuse. the floor in the junior boys class. Edith had her own “baggage” from How do you handle the negative ef­ Well, on a hot summer night in the past. She was her mom’s first­ fects of chronic abuse? Chronic abuse 1958, during the second verse of born. But things didn’t work in her develops into “toxic shame. ” What in “Softly and Tenderly,” I stepped into parents’ marriage. Her mom and dad the world is “toxic shame ”? Oh it’s the center aisle of that little church, split up. Although Edith’s mom didn’t different from “healthy shame.” Well, walked forward, and received Jesus want to do it, it seemed that her best what’s that? Healthy shame is when Christ as my personal Savior. From option was to place Edith in an or­ your conscience clicks in and says, that point, I grew spiritually. Al­ phanage. Edith also had occasional “What you did was bad and wrong.” though I had many stumblings and visits to the home of an abusive aunt Thank God for a built-in conscience. failures, I tried to serve God the best I in a nearby city. As crazy as this world is now, think could as a born-again, sanctified Later, Edith’s mom remarried and what it would be like if we didn’t Christian. had children from her second hus­ have a God-given conscience to help But even though I was a Spirit-filled band. Eventually Edith was reintro­ retard wrong behavior! Healthy believer, I was dysfunctional and duced into her mom’s household. Al­ shame operated when as a child I emotionally wounded from both past though she was the oldest of the stole a candy bar from the corner and ongoing abuse. children, she was an “outsider” and drugstore and my conscience said, Chronic abuse can contribute to unwanted. She experienced verbal “What you did was bad and wrong.” compulsive and addictive behavior

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 3 that is self-sabotaging. Have you ever as humiliating as it was, as wrong as it past, we don’t have to face it alone! known an alcoholic, a drug addict, or was, as much as it hurt: face it. The “In all things God works for the good a chain smoker? Addictive behavior is good news is that we don’t have to of those who love him, who have an attempt to take an external stimu­ face it alone! God is there with us. In been called according to his purpose” lus to ease the pain of an internal Rom. 8:26-31, Paul writes some en­ (v. 28). God takes even the most un­ problem. Have you ever heard of food couraging truth: desirable ingredients of our lives, stirs addiction? That’s just another way of them into His divine recipe, and taking an external stimulus to distract brings about something absolutely de­ from internal discomfort. Have you licious. Remember verse 31: “If God ever stood in front of an open refrig­ is for us, who can be against us.” erator door 10 minutes after dinner Toxic shame So how do we handle the negative and asked yourself, “What in the effects of chronic abuse? First we world am I doing here?” I must admit doesn't say that must face it and quit living in denial. that sometimes when I’m out “on the But let’s realize that we don’t have to road” and return to my room after the what you did face it alone. God is for us! Praise the evening service, I am nearly over­ Lord! whelmed with an enormous urge to was bad and I’ve often wondered, “If God is eat everything chocolate in the whole love, why didn’t He step in and stop town! In a few towns, I think I almost wrong; it says, the abuse?” I don’t have all the an­ succeeded! swers, but part of the answer is that Have you ever heard of shopa- "You are bad God has chosen not to interrupt the holism ? Some people can’t get far- and full-reaching affects of the fall through the day without going to the and wrong." of Adam and Eve. When those two mall. The inner motivation goes messed up in the Garden of Eden, something like: “I’m not sure what they caused a whole lot of trouble for I’m looking for, but if I find it, it a whole lot of people. And if we were In the same way the Spirit helps might give me a boost because I feel in the garden, we probably would us in our weakness. We do not like a real zero. And it might even be have done the same thing. know what we ought to pray for, on sale!” Both food addictions and but the Spirit himself intercedes for Second, we must forgive it. shopaholism are further examples of us with groans that words cannot Once we face it, we must forgive it taking an external stimulus to solve express. And he who searches our and realize that forgiveness is not a an internal pain. hearts knows the mind of the Spir­ quick fix. It’s a process. Paul writes: Do you know what would be a it, because the Spirit intercedes for “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and mind-blowing statistic? How many the saints in accordance with God’s anger, brawling and slander, along American men are secretly addicted will. And we know that in all things with every form of malice. Be kind to pornography or other forms of sex­ God works for the good of those and compassionate to one another, ual addiction. That’s just another way who love him, who have been forgiving each other, just as in Christ of taking an external stimulus to dis­ called according to his purpose. God forgave you”(Eph. 4:31-32). tract from an unresolved internal For those God foreknew he also Here the Bible teaches us how to pain. predestined to be conformed to the forgive: “Just as in Christ God forgave Have you ever known a worka­ likeness of his Son, that he might you.” In the exact quantitative and holic? The problem with this malady be the firstborn among many broth­ qualitative way God wrote off our is that it is affirmed and reinforced by ers. And those he predestined, he sins, we are to write off (forgive com­ modern society. We have all heard a also called; those he called; those pletely) the sins of others perpetrated man described: “Boy, he sure is a hard he called, he also justified; those he against us. worker.” In many cases, the inner mo­ justified, he also glorified. What, But we have a problem here. We tivation is, “If I hit it hard, and suc­ then shall we say in response to live in an impatient and impulsive ceed and make it to the top, then I’ll this? If God is for us, who can be age. We like fast food from a drive-up finally get the approval from my dad against us? window. We like instant cash from a or mom.” A lot of American men are These verses are very encouraging! bank machine. And we like mi­ neglecting their wives and children, At verse 26, Paul says: “The Spirit crowave popcorn. We like a quick burning the candle at both ends, crav­ helps us in our weakness. We do not fix. But forgiveness on our part is not ing the approval of their parents. It’s know what we ought to pray for.’’The a quick fix; it is a process. It’s not a another manifestation of seeking an Spirit intercedes for us. That means microwave oven deal; it is a slow sim­ external stimulus to solve inner pain. He appeals to the Father on our be­ mer all day, Crock-Pot deal. But we So, how do you handle the nega­ half. Later, Rom. 8:34 says that Jesus have to start somewhere, sometime. tive effects of chronic abuse? Face it. “is at the right hand of God and is al­ Maybe a good place to start is to ad­ Forgive it. And forge ahead! so interceding for us.” mit to yourself and to God that you First, we need to fa c e it. The Holy Spirit is in us interceding really are angry for what happened. We must quit living in denial. What­ for us. Jesus Christ is at the right hand Was there physical abuse? Was ever happened, happened. As embar­ of the Father also interceding for us! there verbal abuse? Was there emo­ rassing as it was, as smelly as it was, So when we face the abuse of our tional abuse? Was there sexual abuse?

4 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE Was there religious abuse? What’s It is possible to “change lanes” and that? Any teaching or preaching that go around the wreckage of the past is unbiblical, either extremely conser­ and watch the mess of the yesterdays vative rigid legalism or extremely lib­ shrink in your rearview mirror. You eral worldliness constitutes religious can get on down the road, enjoy vic­ abuse that results in a warped con­ tory, and becoming a blessing to oth­ cept of God and His Word. ers! How do you handle the negative ef­ One of the benefits related to fac­ fects of chronic abuse? Face it. Quit ing it, forgiving it, and forging ahead living in denial. Then forgive it and is that you can become a “wounded understand that forgiveness is a grad­ ual process. Maybe a good prayer for you would be, “God, I am now will­ ing to become willing to forgive.” Addictive Do you have any idea how I felt as a FACE IT, FORGIVE IT, junior high boy, trying to live a good behavior AND FORGE AHEAD Christian life, when I lied to my physi­ cal education coach? I said, “Coach, I attempts to take by Norman Moore can’t suit up for gym today. I think I’ve got the flu.” The truth was that I an external For some of us, in our past, didn’t want to put on gym shorts and There’s pain and much abuse. a T-shirt where the guys in the locker stimulus to The hurt is great and scars are deep, room would see the stripes on my And we wonder, “What’s the use?’’ legs and back from the belt whipping ease the pain of I had received the night before. /Is anger boils down deep inside The good news is that by God’s an internal grace, the Lord has led me all the way From suffering in our past, Sometimes we react in harmful from an original position of white-hot problem. ways, anger to a current position of: “It’s all forgiven; no hard feelings. They did Needing victory that will last. the best they could, for who they We read and pray and seek advice, were and where they were coming healer.” Having recovered from an from. ” Forgiveness is a process. Trying hard to cope. abusive past, you can empathetically “Flow do we handle our abusive Third, we must forge ahead. minister to others who are hurting. past? But once we break through our de­ By listening and caring and loving and Is there any hope?” nial, face the painful abuse of the sharing, you can make a significant past, and get forgiveness in process, difference in many lives who need “Face it, forgive it, and forge ahead, ” we need to forge ahead! Paul writes: your help. His Spirit comes to say. Not that I have already obtained Are you the victim of past abuse? We can recover from old hurts all this, or have already been made You can face it, forgive it, and forge And enter a brand-new day! perfect, but I press on to take hold ahead! Otherwise you may suffer of that for which Christ Jesus took from unnecessary negative results. To To face the hurt and forgive the hold of me. Brothers, I do not con­ ignore the abuse of the past is like wrongs sider myself yet to have taken hold locking a half dozen hungry Dober­ Is not an easy task. of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting man pinschers in your garage: sooner But only then can we forge ahead what is behind and straining toward or later they will get out and bite you. To real victory that will last. ft what is ahead, I press on toward And what is worse: “If you don’t deal the goal to win the prize for which with it, you will pass it on.” God has called me heavenward in I think the whole process is like Christ Jesus (Phil 3:12-14). pulling the plug in the bathtub. Have How do you handle the negative ef­ you ever watched the water leave the fects of chronic abuse? Face it. For­ tub after you pulled the plug? The wa­ give it. And forge ahead! We cannot ter doesn’t all leave immediately. It afford to drop out of life and pout and slowly swirls and bubbles and gurgles feel sorry for ourselves and blame all until finally it is all gone. of our problems on somebody else That’s the way it is in overcoming who hurt us in the past. We must take an abusive past. But sooner or later, responsibility for our lives and for our you have to decide to pull the plug. behavior and for the consequences of I conclude with these thoughts put our choices. in verse:

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 5 A Gift of Life in the Face of Death

e young mother tenderly held tal number of donors each year is far her 16-week-old son and below the need.2 whispered softly to him: “Did Why the lack of organ donors? T you hear that? You’re going to help Some people, in the trauma of losing another little boy get well.” The child a family member, simply cannot think she held in her arms no longer lived. of further medical intrusion into the He had died as the result of a severe body of their loved one and so de­ head injury. The baby had just come cline to donate. Many families have back from the surgery area. A medical never discussed their wishes about team had carefully removed vital or­ the matter. Without clear directives gans for transplant into other serious­ by Rick L. Williamson from loved ones, families are at times ly ill children. Chaplain, Alliant Health System, reluctant to grant permission. For several hours after being de­ Louisville, Kentucky Organ donation is also hampered clared brain dead, the baby remained by occasional inconsistency in in­ on life-support equipment. Doctors, gesture meant that other children forming families of their right to nurses, chaplains, social workers, and would receive desperately needed choose donation. Some people mis­ a case worker from an organ donor new organs. They had decided that takenly think donation will add to organization worked through the their child who could not live would their hospital bill. There is no charge numbing pain of the family’s grief to bestow the gift of life upon other chil­ to the donor family. arrive at this point. dren. Though no miracle came to While many do not consent to do­ The parents’ ability to think them, they chose to make miracles nation, a number of individuals find through their pain and make such a happen for others. in the prospect of organ donation a j While the warmth of life way to inject some sense, some mean­ faded from the body of this ing, into a nearly senseless scenario child, the donated liver was al­ of loss. “If it can help someone else ready on a flight to Philadel­ to live, then use whatever you can,” phia, the heart valves en route seems to be their thinking. Parents, in to New York, other organs to the face of a child’s death, are often destinations yet being worked especially interested in sparing other out. The liver recipient was a parents a similar grief. Such a gift young boy who certainly both honors the deceased, in a sense would have died otherwise. extending his or her life, while afford­ When the mother heard that a ing a precious gift of life to another. young Philadelphia boy was What is a Christian to think and do the liver recipient, she uttered around the issue of organ donation? the poignant words to her still, Organ and tissue donation is support­ small son, “You’re going to ed, either explicitly or in principle, help another little boy get by virtually all Judeo-Christian faith well.” groups.3 Organ procurement/dona­ Are enough people helping tion does not violate the collective others get well? Currently in conscience of the church. It need not the United States over 37,000 violate the conscience of the individ­ people are on waiting lists for ual believer. vital organs, with someone We understand our bodies as a new added every 30 minutes.' “temple of the Holy Spirit” and are ad­ Apparently only a small per­ monished to “honor God” with our centage of the present U.S. body (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But does this population has been designat­ prevent Christians from being organ ed as potential donors. The to­ donors? Clearly, Paul was speaking to

6 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE practices of discipleship for the Chris­ tians while alive. Even if we extend the principle to how the body is treat­ ed upon death, it need not exclude anatomical gifts. Organ donation does not involve disfigurement. The body Saying Farewell is handled respectfully, with care and tenderness. The possibility of an open casket and a traditional funeral remain unaffected by donation proce­ to Your Church dures. Doesn’t a deep commitment to rev­ erence and support life argue for us to be among those who are willing to by Ponder Gilliland “lay down [our] life for [our] friends” Bethany, Oklahoma (John 15:13) in the form of organ do­ nation? Our consistent support of the yet-to-be-born child and opposition to Editor’s Note: euthanasia can be understood as, in A peek into a wise pastor’s ministerial ethics. principle, supporting life-affirming acts like organ donation. In most states an individual can October 1, 1962 • He, not I, will dedicate your ba­ identify willingness to be an organ bies, marry your young, and Members and Friends comfort you in sorrow and grief. donor by signing the back of his or First Church of the Nazarene I shall not return for any of these, her driver’s license or by filling out Torrance, California an organ donor card. Making our feel­ nor will you ask me. You will always go to your new pastor. I will not be ings known to family members, cler­ All too soon we come to a time of gy, physicians, and attorneys can facil­ writing you—nor will Floy. parting. This coming Sunday will be We are moving only a few miles itate donation. Indicating our wish to my last Sunday as your pastor. And be a donor in our will is another help­ away from you. This could be a prob­ partings of happy people are never lem, except for your respect for my ful way to ensure donation wishes are easy. honored. Most hospitals can assist in own integrity and principles of For only a brief two years you have ethics. None of you will follow me to contacting an area organ donor orga­ called me “Pastor.” This is my favorite nization.4 Long Beach. Your place is in this of all titles. This tide and fellowship has church. If I have built and ministered When faced with the death of a involved me with you in life’s deepest loved one due to sudden, traumatic well, you will continue to strengthen relationships. And it has been good. and support this church and your injury or illness, we can offer the But this Sunday, all of this changes. chance for life to another of God’s new pastor. Drastically. There is no way you can You will not (except perhaps on va­ children. Our tragedy, which can nev­ be taken from the hearts of Floy and er be undone, can become the occa­ cation) leave this good church to me and our children — nor us, we even visit our services in Long Beach. sion for answered prayer for another, hope, from yours. helping a little boy or girl or mom or I know you will understand this— After Sunday, I will no longer be and will realize that just as you now dad get well. In the face of death, we your pastor. These wonderful privi­ can bestow a gift of life. $ give your love and support to your leges I have enjoyed as your pastor new pastor, I must now turn all my at­ now pass to the Rev. Wallis Kornegay. tention, energies, and love to my new You will enrich his life in these rela­ congregation. 1. Factsheet, Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, 1994 tionships as he will yours. And now, may our wonderful Lord, information. • He, not I, will minister to you Up to 80 percent of the U.S. population express who does all things well, give you willingness to donate, however, only 15 percent have God’s Word. peace, vision, and energy for the signed donor cards. Charles J. Dougherty, “Our Bod­ • He, not I, will guide you when great work He has for you to do in ies, Our Families: The Family’s Role in Organ Dona­ you need counsel. tion,” Second Opinion, October 1993, 58. this church. 3. Each sponsoring church of the Preacher's Maga­ • He, not I, will direct the plan­ zine were consulted about this article. Most did not ning and ministries of this In great thanksgiving for your love, have a position statement on organ donation but sup­ ported the right of their members to follow their con­ church. Ponder Gilliland $ science in the matter. The following might fairly rep­ resent their remarks: “The Church of the Nazarene encourages its members who do not object personally to support donor/recipient anatomical organs through living wills and trusts. Further, we appeal for a morally and ethically fair distribution of organs to those quali­ fied to receive them” (1993-97 Manual, paragraph 904.2). 4. For information contact the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, 1250 24th St. N.W., Suite 280, Washington, DC 20037 (202-4664353).

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 7 Transition Summit at Glen Eryie

Editor’s Note: The sensitive pastor, still in This article came as a result o f se­ process of healing, responds, “In lected pastors meeting to discuss my wildest thoughts, I cannot problems and solutions for pastors imagine that this event was even in transition. remotely related to what God want­ ed for me and my family—or for BACKGROUND AND that church. If you ask whether or INTRODUCTION not God has used these events in n increasing number of pas­ our lives, I would say an unquali­ tors are experiencing times fied “Yes!” , of crisis in their personal by Wilbur Brannon “However, for me,” he concedes, Alives and ministries resulting in life- Department of Pastoral Ministries, “there has been a loss o f innocence changing transitions. One anguishing Kansas City, Missouri concerning ‘my church.’ I will nev­ example illustrates some of the issues er again be as trusting. . . . I will pastors face when in transition: her started in her new school. One never again be as open. . . . I will It was a “classic” story of the member of the family flew. The never again expect ‘my church’ to struggle for power and control in others came later. Their trip was take care of me as I had always the local church. The forces at scheduled with an overnight stay, been told it would: ‘Pay your bud­ work remained behind the scenes but they finally decided to make gets, support the district, show for some time. When the conflict the 17-hour trip in one day. some growth each year, and keep surfaced, it erupted with a “It is a trip I will never forget,” your character clean, and the vengeance. It occurred in the midst the pastor confessed. He contin­ church will take care of you.’ I will of the most productive two-year pe­ ued, “It is forever burned into my never again be as ‘innocent’ as be­ riod o f the church’s history. memory as it represents the pain fore.” A church vote was called. The that pastors’ families must endure Such stories cannot leave the sensi­ pastor did not receive the required because of the profession of the fa­ tive church leader unmoved. Yet the two-thirds majority. The district su­ ther and husband.” above narrative is not unique. It iden­ perintendent gave the pastor the They made the long trip in si­ tifies some common threads that run maximum 180 days to relocate. Ac­ lence. The dad tried to converse. through all the stories o f those who cording to the pastor, this was the He attempted to get her to talk are suffering the trauma of being longest six months of their lives. about her feelings, but to no avail. forced to move or feeling the need to Their youngest daughter bore During that painful day of traveling, move without a place to go. the brunt of much pain and an­ the pastor-in-transition had to ad­ A group of 10 pastors met to dis­ guish. Her daddy was “fired” at the mit that there wasn’t 15 minutes of cuss the most salient issues they be­ end of her junior year in high conversation with his daughter. lieve their denomination needs to ad­ school. She had attended that The radio played and occasionally a dress from their perspectives. The school district since the third grade cassette tape played. Other than following observations and recom­ and looked forward to graduating that, only the continual, gentle sob­ mendations are submitted with a de­ with her senior class. That would bing of a 16-year-old daughter sire to be redemptive to those cur­ not be. Her dad finally accepted a broke the silence—an experience rently going through such times. pastorate that he believed God had neither will forget. These suggestions are for those who provided for him. Yet his daughter Thankfully, the daughter came may go through such experiences felt hurt, angry, and frustrated with through the crisis of change as a themselves in the future or who will God, but even more so with “the committed Christian. She has fin­ be working with such persons. system.” ished her freshman year at a Holi­ The group of concerned pastors The circumstances of the move ness college. Does the fact that she centered their focus on the following worked out so that she, her dad, “came through it” justify the hurt areas with reference from the Manual and her small poodle traveled alone and anguish that she and the rest of of the Church of the Nazarene. Per­ to the new church in order to get her family endured? haps each Holiness denomination in

8 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE the Preacher’s Magazine has similar 4. As field hands/field (1 Cor. said.” Spiritual platitudes can issues in each of their denominations. 3:5-9) thwart working through is­ I. Biblical Understandings 5. As teacher/student (Heb. sues. II. Clarifying Spiritual Issues 5:11-14; 1 Cor. 3:1-2) B. It is important to have the III. Lessons Learned D. The Biblical Call to Relational courage to deal with spiritual IV Planned Interventions Unity as an Expression o f Au­ issues. At times we are deal­ V Sabbaticals and Retooling thenticity ing with “principalities and VI. Standardization o f Review 1. John 17:22-23 p ow ers.” It is important to Process 2. 1 Cor. 1:1-3 recognize the reality o f spiri­ I. BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDINGS 3. 1 Cor. 12:12-13 tual warfare and develop the A. The Role of the Pastor 4. Eph. 2:13-22 skills for dealing with it. 1. Manual 401— “The perpe­ II. CLARIFYING SPIRITUAL C. As difficult as it is in the tuity and efficiency o f the ISSUES midst of crises, the impor­ tance of maintaining personal Church of the Nazarene Recognize that all issues are not spiritual health cannot be depend largely upon the spiritual issues. Some are issues o f overemphasized. spiritual qualifications, the personality, some are issues o f leader­ D. Recall and draw on the rein­ character, and the manner ship style, some o f personal prefer­ forcement found in spiritual of life of its ministers. ” ences. The ability to discern whether disciplines (e.g., reflective 401.1 — “The minister of or not the issue is spiritual is impor­ praying, journaling, spiritual Christ is to be in all things tant to develop. retreats, etc.). a pattern to the flock— in In the quest for self-knowledge the E. Remember that w e live ulti­ punctuality, discretion, pastor should be aware of the follow­ mately under the authority of diligence, earnestness; in ing: God. Do not allow people to purity, understanding, pa­ A. Spiritual directors, disinterest­ have too much authority. Re­ tience and kindness; in the ed outsiders, and coaches can member that God is in Holy Spirit and in sincere help bring a more realistic charge. love; in truthful speech perspective. E Maintain a sense o f humor. and in the power o f God; B. Listen carefully to those af­ G. Find a support group and/or a with weapons of righ­ fected by the transitional trusted friend who can be teousness in the right process; meet them with no trusted with confession. hand and in the left’ (2 Co­ agenda other than to see the H. Remember that “who we are” rinthians 6:6-7, NIV).” issue through their eyes. is more important than “what B. The Rights of the Pastor C. We need to recognize that we do.” As difficult as it is 1. To be financially support­ those who disagree with us when going through the ed (1 Cor. 9; Phil. 4:10-14) are not evil/carnal by nature crises, remember that our re­ 2. To be respected (Heb. o f their disagreement with us. actions have far greater con­ 13:7, 17) Every disagreement is not an 3. To be followed (Paul ad­ sequences than the hurt in­ indication of sinfulness. monished “follow my ex­ flicted. “What people say D. The nonanxious presence of ample, as I follow the ex­ about me says nothing about the pastor calms chaos. (Cf. ample o f Christ” [1 Cor. who I am. What I say about Edwin Friedman, From Gen­ other people says everything 11:1].) eration to Generation.) 4. To be prayed for (1 Thess. about me.” E. Journaling can be an impor­ 5:25; Eph. 6:19-20; Phil. I. Be a “Second Coming per­ tant tool in maintaining per­ 1:7) son,” especially in ethical con­ spective. 5. To be treated kindly (Gal. duct. That is, seek to conduct F. Follow the trail of anger as a 6:17; Rom. 16:17-20) life in a manner that reflects trustworthy guide to personal 6. To be confronted person­ the desires one would have in sin or sin in others that needs ally in situations of dis­ eternity. As difficult as it is, to be confronted. agreement or relational seek to give the other person G. Find a place of worship stress (Matt. 5:23-26; the best possible chance to where you are fed and minis­ 18:15-20; James 1:26; 3:3- hear “Well done, good and tered to during this time of 18) faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). need. C. The Character of the Relation­ J. Listen to the perspective of­ H. Give the Lord a good day’s ship Between Pastor and fered by spouse, friends, and work. Trust Him for the rest. Church counselors. 1. Partners in the gospel m. LESSONS LEARNED K. Gain perspective on yourself. (Phil. 1:3-6) A. It is important to recognize Ministers need to recognize 2. Faithful brothers and sis­ the truth about “political that they may not be as im­ ters (Col. 1:2) process.” Avoid overspiritual­ portant as they think. Even 3- As parent/child (Gal. 4:19- izing. Use caution in suggest­ personal failure will probably 20) ing, “God told m e” or “God not result in the collapse of

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 9 the entire Kingdom! The min­ experience in conflict resolution. tion of documents and agree­ ister must not take himself or This approach recognizes that con­ ments currently in existence herself too seriously! flicts between individuals often flow dealing with sabbaticals/ L. Gain perspective on one’s from problems with the organization leaves from ministers such as leadership style as it relates to as a whole. These problems need to Dr. Bill Birch, Dr. Russell Met­ working with other people. be resolved or conflict will continue, calfe, and Dr. Keith Wright as Are there things that need although the players will change from well as resources from other changing? Are attitudes com­ time to time. denominations that are avail­ ing across pejoratively? We recommend that. . . able. A. Districts provide for planned C. We recommend that besides intervention using outside what is being recommended consultants where feasible. It on districts, information and An increasing may be best to move outside recommendations on the sab­ denominational circles. batical leave program be dis­ num ber of B. Lists be made of retreat loca­ seminated through the tions to districts where pas­ Church Growth Research and pastors are tors and their families can go Resource Center coordinators for spiritual direction, coun­ on Nazarene college campus­ experiencing seling, and healing with dis­ es. trict support in such critical D. We recommend the explo­ times of crisis situations. ration of the possibility of es­ C. The ministry mentoring or in­ tablishing a program of ex­ in their ternship used. tended pulpit exchange. D. Help be made available in se­ VI. STANDARDIZATION OF RE­ personal lives curing a new ministry assign­ VIEW PROCESS ment when transition times A. Develop a demonstration and ministries occur. video to be shown at district E. Where possible, a public ser­ assemblies and especially in resulting in vice of reconciliation and af­ local churches, in which the firmation be conducted. proper format for review life-changing V. SABBATICALS AND process is modeled. It could RETOOLING provide a time for the reaffir­ transitions. A. We recommend that financial mation of the bonding. structures be put in place B. Encourage local, district, and that will provide financial general leadership to reiterate support for pastors to take a that the purpose in establish­ M. Recognize the need for some sabbatical. In instances where ing the current review people in the minister’s life sabbatical is not understood process was affirmation of who know nothing about the well, terms such as “study the relationship between pas­ church. A “reality check” leave” or “leave” might be tor and church. The district should be taken from the out­ more descriptive. The group superintendent was envi­ side world. shared a strong feeling to sioned as being a part of the IV. PLANNED INTERVENTIONS have a minimum of three support system for the pastor. We are concerned about the hurt months once every five years, The review should be a experienced by pastors’ families, es­ if possible, or one week for church review and not simply pecially spouses and children. Situa­ each year of ministry up to a a pastoral review. tions where the pastor and members maximum of four weeks. We C. We recognize and affirm the of the local church find themselves in further recommend that the importance of keeping in fo­ disagreement/conflict that escalates issue of a sabbatical leave be cus the need for laypeople to into open hostility inflicts irreparable discussed and agreed upon at be given opportunity to ex­ loss on the pastor, the pastor’s family, the time of the pastor’s em­ press concerns and dissatis­ and the church. In such situations, ployment by the church. The factions they are feeling. A we recommend planned intervention district superintendent properly conducted review with the objective of reconciliation should initiate such discus­ process affords these mo­ between pastor and congregation. sion at the time of review or ments without being destruc­ We use the term planned interven­ call. We recommend that the tive. tion as used in sociological circles pastor report back in an ac­ D. Introduce M anual or other where an issue/problem/conflict is countable fashion for his or denominational disciplines addressed in a holistic or systemic ap­ her use of sabbatical leave. that will facilitate help for proach by persons with training and B. We recommend the collec­ pastors. I1

1 0 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE Preaching Marks of Effective Preaching 2 Tim. 4:1-4

imothy was the pastor at the “Pastor, I am a hypocrite,” said the church at Ephesus and appar­ board member. “When my wife and I ently was struggling in his as­ were married, I went to the altar be­ Tsignment. This was not the first time cause she wanted me to—not be­ Timothy agonized over an appoint­ cause I felt a need. I have been de­ ment. His failure to quell an uprising ceiving her, my church, and, worst of in the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 4:17) all, the Lord, for 15 years. I can no caused Paul to turn to Titus to resolve longer stand the guilt. My wife has the matter (2 Cor. 8:16-17). served me with an ultimatum, get The reasons for Timothy’s inability help or our marriage is history. Please to carry out an assignment were per­ by Robert Premus help me.” haps twofold: One, his natural dispo­ Pastor, Westside Church of the Nazarene, The preacher spoke the truth. Con­ sition of timidity (2 Tim. 1:7). Acts Spokane, Washington viction was heavy. He prayed, he re­ 16:1 throws a flood of light on this pented, he turned around and started subject. Two, Timothy was the prod­ walking in the right direction. must preach the “Word”—the whole uct of a mixed marriage. He was the III. “Exhort”—To implore the effec­ body of truth as revealed in the Bible son of a Jewish mother and a Greek tive preacher must help his hearers (2 Tim. 4:2). father. Both nationalities being very understand that their bodies were proud and boastful, perhaps they Effective Preaching According to not included in their redemption held him in contempt. One thing is 2 Tim. 4:2 Must Consist of Several (Rom. 8:10). They will be redeemed certain: Timothy’s timid nature was of Things in the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:50-52). major concern to Paul. If Timothy al­ I. “Rebuke”—warning especially What should they do with their bod­ lowed those feelings of inferiority to against error concerning the immor­ ies while here on earth? A paraphrase seat themselves in his psyche, his tality of the soul! That saint and sin­ says: “I beg you, place your bodies, preaching would become ineffective. ner alike will inherit eternal life is ax­ i.e., hands, eyes, feet, tongue, lips, Intimidation of the preacher is one of iomatic (Dan. 12:2; Luke 16:25). The minds, at God’s disposal. As alive but Satan’s most effective tools! question is this: “What quality of life under the spirit’s control” (Rom. 12:1- will we inherit?” Will it be a life of tor­ 2). What Is Ineffective Preaching? ment and the gnawing memory of He posed a pathetic figure cower­ “Giving hearers what they want to what might have been (Luke 16:23- ing in the shadows of the church hear instead of what they need to 24)? Or will it be of peace, joy, and steps. At 2 a .m . he had just paid a hear.” happiness bathed in the eternal pres­ street whore five dollars for a “favor.” Two major concerns facing the ence of Jesus Christ (John 14:6)? “My wife is out of town,” he said. “If modern preacher are (1) the tempta­ II. “Reprove”—conviction “being she finds out what I have done, our tion to acquiesce to hearer demands convicted by their own conscience” marriage will be over.” and (2) numbers at any cost that (John 8:9, k jv ) when their sin came to “How long has this been going on? make us appear successful and ac­ light. Conviction has a threefold pur­ This kind of behavior did not develop ceptable (2 Tim. 4:3-4). pose: overnight,” said the pastor. In 2 Tim. 4:2, Paul reminds Timo­ (1) Conviction produces guilt and He answered, “Pastor, I grew up in thy of his responsibility to “Preach shame for wrongdoing (John 4:16- the church, and this behavior began the Word. ” 18). when I was a teenager. I know the What Should a Preacher Preach? (2) Sin, once brought to light, pro­ hour is late—but can you help me?” “Preach . . . the preaching that / duces repentance—a change in atti­ His preacher, with “long-suffering” bid fib ee” (Jonah 3:2, k jv ). The preach­ tude, opinion, and lifestyle (Luke (not quick to blame) but in truth and ing that God bids His preachers to do 13:3). compassion preached the Word! Jesus must be first and foremost “sound”— (3) A repentant heart leads to con­ came and set him free (John 8:36). free from any admixture of error (2 version. “Be converted” (Acts 3:19)— Today he is away at school prepar­ Tim. 4:3)! It is still the truth that sets to turn around and start going in the ing to become a preacher. May he be people free (John 8:32). The preacher opposite direction. a preacher of the Word! i?

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 11 Church History Forgotten Giant of the British Pulpit London’s Victorian Preaching Sensation

n Victorian London, the south Hall was too small. The congregation bank of the Thames at South­ moved into the 12,000-seat Surrey I wark was a dark, grungy locale Music Hall, a place renowned for its in the world’s largest city. In that zoo and worldly entertainment. The dreary community stood a large, or­ young preacher became so popular nate, dilapidated Baptist chapel. New that admission to services was by Park was famous in old Baptist history ticket with Metropolitan Police con­ and had once been a prosperous con­ stables in attendance to control entry gregation. It was in decline with its and the vast crowds inside. structure down-at-the-heels and in dis­ A tragedy occurred at the music repair. In despair the church investi­ by Paul Murray hall in October 1858 when someone gated and brought to the city an un­ Director of the Salvation Army’s in the audience screamed, “Fire!” The lettered young preacher from rural Heritage and Museum Center, congregation stampeded. There were Toronto, Canada Cambridgeshire. Within 12 months, 7 deaths and 30 injuries. Because New Park was revitalized, and for 40 there was no fire, Spurgeon’s flock years the young preacher dominated Methodist enthusiasm, “Young man, thought that the incident was the religious life in London. look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! You work of pickpockets wanting to prac­ Charles Haddon Spurgeon stood as have nothing to do but look and live.” tice their trade in the confusion. Spur­ a 19th-century phenomenon. The Spurgeon heeded the exhortation geon felt devastated, and the media sensational Baptist boy-preacher did and was baptized into the Baptist became critical. He recovered but al­ not fizzle out as a passing spiritual faith later that year in the River Lark. ways remembered that terrible meteor. For years the unconventional A year later he began work as a lay evening. and talented pulpiteer had his Sunday preacher near Cambridge. At 18, with New Park decided to erect a large sermons translated into 23 languages no formal seminary training, he new facility of their own to accommo­ with 10 million distributed during his served as pastor to a small indepen­ date the crowds thronging to hear lifetime. His voluminous writings dent Baptist congregation at Water- their preaching sensation. Sixty-two were equal to 27 volumes of the En­ beach, Cambridgeshire. Two years lat­ sets of drawings were submitted for cyclopaedia Britannica. Spurgeon er he accepted the call to London’s the proposed facility, and the one cho­ became the supreme preacher in an New Park Baptist Church. sen followed in the Grecian style. At age of preaching giants. On December 18, 1853, the 20- the laying of the foundation, Spurgeon Of Dutch descent, Spurgeon came year-old preacher stood in the New opined that “every Baptist place of from a family of independent preach­ Park pulpit for the first time. The worship should be Grecian and not ers in Essex. He converted to Jesus country rustic had a congregation of Gothic.” The style of the day had Christ in 1850 at age 16 when he 80 who smiled at his giant cravat and church architecture in the austere wandered into a Primitive Methodist rural mannerisms. However, Spur­ Gothic fashion. Spurgeon, who even chapel in Colchester during a snow geon’s sermons soon began to attract despised being called “Reverend,” felt storm. The regular preacher could overflow crowds and were published that churches should appear as bright, not be present so a layman took his weekly, a practice that continued cheerful edifices. Hence, he opposed place. The man endlessly repeated to throughout his ministry with consis­ melancholy Gothic architecture. his small congregation an Old Testa­ tent success. In two years the church In 1861, when Spurgeon was 27, ment text from Isaiah: “Look unto building was enlarged at a cost of he and his congregation dedicated me, and be ye saved, all the ends of 2,000 pounds sterling. Two years lat­ the magnificent new Metropolitan the earth” (Isa. 45:22, kjv). After ten er Sunday night services were being Tabernacle at Newington Butts near minutes he suddenly singled out Spur­ held at Exeter Hall until the manager the celebrated Elephant and Castle geon and called, “Young man, you decided that he did not want his edi­ public house. The preacher called his look very miserable.” Lifting up his fice renowned as Spurgeon’s church. church building a tabernacle because hands, he shouted with Primitive Anyway, at a capacity of 5,000, Exeter “God’s people are still in the wilder­

1 2 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE n e s s .” He referred to the biblical 12,000 books and “he could have geon married Susannah Thompson chronicle of the Jewish nation, wan­ fetched almost any one of them in the and by all accounts they had a con­ dering in the Sinai wilderness for 40 dark.” It was also claimed that Spur­ tented union. The couple had twin years after their deliverance from geon could name, as he sat upon his sons, Thomas and Charles, both of Egyptian slavery. platform, every one of his 5,000 regu­ whom followed their father as Baptist Someone referred to the Baptist lar church members. clergymen. preacher as “the most hardworking While a serious preacher, Spurgeon It was inevitable that a public fig­ man on the Surrey side of the Thames did not hesitate to use humor. Spur­ ure like Spurgeon would invite peri­ River.” In person, however, he was geon instinctively knew that the ordi­ odic controversy, especially because not impressive. Charles Spurgeon was nary people understood truth best if he was not averse to speaking out on only 5 feet, 7 inches in height and in­ it was presented in a comic manner. public issues. Hyper-Calvinists criti­ clined to being fat, giving a stodgy ap­ His appeal was greatest among the cized Spurgeon for deviation from Re­ pearance. This homely physical ap­ working and middle classes, and they form theology, but his unrelenting op­ pearance hid the dynamic Spurgeon. flocked to his services. position to Methodist theology with He had immense creative energy and The Baptist preacher was not pro­ its emphasis on human freewill and his work extended beyond weekly found, but neither was he a theologi­ universal atonement also brought pulpiteering. Associated with Spur­ cal lightweight. He took his pulpiteer­ censure. geon’s church was a preacher’s col­ ing seriously. He prepared assiduously The brief Tractarian controversy of lege that opened in 1855 where hun­ for services that centered around his 1864 had a hurricane-like effect upon dreds of young men trained for the lengthy biblical expositions. Worship English religious life. Free church ministry. In 1867, Spurgeon also at the Metropolitan Tabernacle had clergy were suspicious of the threat­ opened the Stockwell Orphanage, a no professional musicians. Spurgeon ened intrusion of the state upon their boys’ residence, that was said to be loathed choirs and anthems, so he church life. They became especially “all beauty and love.” Stockwell Girls’ had no church choir, organ, or dubious of the Anglican Church trend Home opened in 1879. The Taberna­ soloists. A presenter led the hymn toward baptismal regeneration. Spur­ cle also operated a London inner-city singing. geon’s sermon of June 5, 1864, on mission. The preacher, though a Baptist, be­ Tractarianism and the subsequent Throughout his ministry, Spurgeon lieved in open communication be­ 350,000 copies in print sparked a was unmoved by the adulation of tween churches. He selected a Con- multitude of replies, both from de­ those who consistently thronged his gregationalist as the first tutor and fenders and evangelicals offended by services. His pulpit successes created later principal of his preacher’s col­ his refusal to differentiate between no conceit. When he began to be lege. Catholics and Anglicans. lampooned by the press and criti­ Spurgeon’s style of worship also The final noteworthy controversy cized by fellow preachers ( “kicked excluded any public appeals for con­ before Spurgeon’s death was the about as a football,” as he put it), he verts, which was becoming the evan­ downgrade dispute about the rise of was not unduly upset. gelical mode. He distrusted statistics, biblical higher criticism in Protestant Those who thronged the taberna­ public appeals for religious decisions, churches. Spurgeon felt that the de­ cle each week came expecting Spur­ and the use of inquiry rooms for seek­ cline in church attendance reflected geon’s Puritan theology and got it in ers. He believed that such practices clerical skepticism. He asked: “Have spades. This “last of the Puritans” led to spiritual superficiality. Spur­ these advanced thinkers filled their who “mouthed rolling periods, piling geon questioned the use of church own churches. Have they . . . pros­ metaphor upon metaphor” was an un­ statistics, remarking in an 1887 ser­ pered through discarding the old abashed Calvinist in his theology of mon, “Long ago I ceased to count methods?” total depravity and original sin. This heads.” Spurgeon took issue with the Spurgeon withdrew the Metropoli­ insistence upon Calvinist belief popular American evangelists Moody tan Tabernacle from the Baptist caused controversy, but the preacher and Sankey over their statistical publi­ Union in 1887 because the denomina­ held to it. He also strengthened the cation of crowds and converts. He tion refused to challenge liberal theol­ cause of the religious dissenters and would have been astounded to hear ogy. He was disturbed because some the purposes of the free churches in Billy Sunday later boast vulgarly that evangelicals were indifferent to theo­ Britain. The free churches were those his converts only cost two dollars a logical liberalism. denominations and independent con­ head. Considering the odious modern Charles Haddon Spurgeon died at gregations outside of the state-con- ecclesiastical trend toward statistics age 58 in Mentone, France. His funer­ trolled Church of England. rather than individuals, Spurgeon’s al on February 4, 1892, was the Spurgeon had a remarkable capaci­ aversion seems prophetic. largest seen in London for years. Vast ty to absorb the contents of theologi­ The gentle family life of the preach­ crowds thronged the road to Nor­ cal journals and translate them into er contrasted with his stern Calvinis- wood Cemetery. Today, over 100 the language of the people in the tic approach to religion yet was con­ years after his death, there is renewed pew. One contemporary said, “He sistent with his public utterances. interest in the “last of the Puritans.” took in the contents almost at a The Spurgeon of the pulpit was es­ His renowned Metropolitan Taberna­ glance and his memory never failed sentially the Spurgeon of the home cle sermons have been reprinted and him as to what he had read.” The parlor. When he was 22, the year of his autobiography is once again popu­ preacher had a personal library of the Surrey Music Hall tragedy, Spur­ lar. $

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 13 Missions J

Who’s Going Back to the Cities? Renewal Through Social Outreach: Practical Guidelines Part Three

Criteria for Pastoral Competency lie somewhere between these ex­ in Renewal tremes.2 One of the key issues in renewal is To overcome natural barriers raised developing leadership that will break by cultural differences, we must pur­ down barriers caused by different so­ posefully train multicultural pastors cial and religious cultural values. and Christian workers. Adaptability is Embedded in many, if not most, the key characteristic in pastors who people in this society is a naive but wish to give the type of leadership tenacious belief that all one has to do necessary to free the Holy Spirit to re­ to overcome cultural differences new His people. among people is to bring them to­ by Jerry L. Appleby Although there are reams of litera­ gether and, rational creatures that Executive director, Restore Orlando, ture written about the competency of they are, they will more or less auto­ A compassionate ministry of the cross-cultural workers in the secular Church o f the Nazarene, Orlando, Florida matically strive to reach harmony. and religious scenes, there is no gen­ The fact is that most cross-cultural eral agreement as to what compo­ contact is likely to create disharmony. acts intended to harm, injure, or sup­ nents should be included to bring At the heart of this discord lies press another person. unity among Christians. prejudice. The Oxford American Dic­ Preachers have been known to use I have drawn from a number of tionary defines prejudice as, “an un­ the pulpit for sermonizing extreme sources to bring the following outline reasoning opinion or judgment before views ranging from acceptance of that I hope will be helpful: a proper inquiry is held or before full racial inequality to the complete erad­ A. P erson ality—The focus is on information is available.”' Prejudice is ication of prejudice when one is filled the kind of person who is socially and usually followed by discrimination or with the Holy Spirit. The truth must psychologically adaptive in a variety of cultural environments. Many ex­ perts agree that this personality type would include the following: 1. They are psychoculturally adap­ tive. That is, they adapt to any situa­ tion according to the individual and/or culture with which they live or work. 2. They are willing to undergo per­ sonal transitions. They have a willing­ ness to give up what has been famil­ iar to them without losing the foundation that is found in their own culture. 3. They realize that their own self­ boundaries are constantly subject to expansion or retraction. This is possi­ ble whether the situation is pre­ dictable or not. Change—that is the key word to the renewal pastor. But these concepts are rather gen­ eral and abstract. They need to be more specific if we are to understand for “snow.” The Samoan language has 1. People should demonstrate an these characteristics. only one, “sinou,” an adaptation of understanding that others generally B. Effective Skills—These are pri­ the English language. This is probably act the way they do because their cul­ mary modes of response to people because Samoa is located on the ture teaches them to satisfy basic different in culture from us and re­ equator, at sea level.4 physical and psychological needs. sponse to new and different experi­ d. put yourself in someone 2. Social variables such as age, sex, ences. else’s place. social class, and place of residence af­ 1. One list includes e. function in a variety of appro­ fects the way people speak and be­ a. open-mindedness toward priate roles within group set­ have. An Armenian from Beirut (mid­ new ideas and experiences. tings, and the capacity to avoid dle class, respected, etc.) will have b. empathy (sensitivity, respon­ highly authoritarian and/or ma­ different cultural distinctives than an siveness) toward people from nipulative roles. Armenian from Russian Armenia other cultures. / Respect other cultural view­ (lower socioeconomic class). c. accuracy in perceiving differ­ points especially when govern­ 3. Know conventional behavior in ences and similarities between ing one’s role in cultural interac­ common situations. A leader should the host culture and another. tion. be able to demonstrate approximately d. being nonjudgmental—a will­ g. not visibly react to new and how people act and react in typical ingness to d escribe behavior ambiguous situations." situations within the cultures repre­ rather than evaluate it. C. General Knowledge of An­ sented in the church. e. astute noncritical observation thropology and Linguistics 4. Understand the key English of one’s own and others’ behav­ Anthropology is the study of man. words that are often misunderstood ior. Linguistics is the study of his lan­ by the various cultures. Study these f. relationship-building skills. guages. Although it is not necessary and teach people to avoid them when g. freedom from ethnocentricity.3 to be highly trained in these areas, communicating to someone that one must at least speaks English as a second language. 1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge 5. Understand and be able to dis­ of the races and their impact on cuss the generalities and prejudg­ Most America. A large number of Ameri­ ments made about each culture and cans cannot correctly define the term cultural groups as a whole. cross-cultural “race.” Surveys have shown, for in­ 6. Give a general understanding of stance, that a significant number be­ the cultures represented in the con­ contact is likely lieve Jews are a race. Others, despite gregation and their characteristics, significant education to the contrary, strengths, and weaknesses. Research to create still state they would hesitate accept­ is a necessity. Most libraries have ex­ ing a blood donation from someone cellent resources for a basic under­ d/sharmony. who is not their skin color (for color standing of almost every cultural reasons and not for concern about group. Be able to locate the material AIDS).6 (even if you do not have it memo­ rized) from the library, media, peo­ 2. Another writer suggests seven Multicultural workers need to ple, and personal contacts. behaviors as indicators of intercultur- know somewhat of a basic outline of al competency, such behaviors as the the history of America without the 7. Observe the reaction of each ability to white overtones that are written into culture to other cultures in the a. express respect and positive so many history books. Ask, “What church and/or neighboring cultures. regard for another person contribution has each race made to Who do they like? Who do they dis­ through eye contact, body pos­ the culture now known in America?” like? This type of observation should ture, voice tone and pitch, and 2. Read, evaluate, adapt, and devel­ find a balance between curiosity and general displays of interest. op materials regarding multicultural empathy. b. respond to others in a de­ principles. Many materials are avail­ Keys to Renewal scriptive, nonevaluating, and able through Intercultural Press, Inc. The Cross points both vertically nonjudgmental way. Use them and adapt them to your sit­ and horizontally. This is a key to the c. recognize the extent to which uations. relationship of renewal that is neces­ knowledge is personal in nature 3. Be able to recognize languages sary for a Christian to have a revital­ (i.e., that one’s perceptions of spoken in the geographical area of ized connection with God. Christiani­ an object have more to do with ministry. ty is most relevant when the life of individual view than with the 4. Be willing to assist other ethnic unselfish love and compassion is in­ object itself.) groups in developing a pride of their fused into all areas of human exis­ ILLUSTRATION: The eye is able to mother culture while they learn and tence. When people are living in distinguish 7.5 million colors and the adapt themselves to the American Christ, they are to be godly in all their ear 340,000 tones. It is no wonder culture. relationships. Christians are called in­ that we need to be careful as to how D. Willingness and Ability to to a vertical relationship with God language is influenced by culture. Teach Others. and a horizontal relationship with One Eskimo language has 86 words Items to teach others: their neighbors. These two connec-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 15 tions are inseparable. God’s callings justice and peace, they overturn op­ There are, however, other rewards] to horizontal and vertical relation­ pressive forces that destroy people’s for those seeking renewal through so­ ships are twin dimensions of the lives and reduce their ability to re­ cial outreach: Christian experience. This is evident spond to the person of Christ. But 1. The reward of learning appreci-j 1. in the prophets,7 most important, social concern mir­ ation of the cultural blend in society. 1 2. in Christ himself,8 rors the caring love of God in the 3. in Paul,9 heart of the individual Christian.13 4. in James,10 Churches and denominations must 5. and in John.11 take their mandate seriously. They The key items in scriptural renew­ must transcend social barriers — Social concern al, then, are spiritual and social recon­ racial, economic, linguistic, cultural, ciliation, bringing people back into sexual, and age—in order to meet the mirrors the an experience of unity within and challenge. To do this reconciling, the unity with all humankind. Because church must construct new roads di­ caring love of humans are made in the image of rectly to where people are living. God, it is only natural that they be Howard Rice points out that if we are God in the completed by a right relationship serious about taking the gospel to with God. Even if the Church was people, then we have to go to the heart of the able to solve all the social problems cities where most of them are.14 For on the planet, there would still re­ the church this means locating in and individual main a gnawing hunger for a sense of among the poor. All too often, how­ Christian. completeness. Holiness and the re­ ever, the path of middle class Chris­ sulting internal unity are the spiritual tians is out of the city, following the glue that holds the Church together. cultural trends of the age. Then they They are the essence of commitment go back as missionaries to try to evan­ 2. The reward of fulfilling the and dedication to discipleship, of liv­ gelize those left behind. It is little Great Commission right in our own ing out the Christian life in fellowship wonder that transplanted missions to backyard. and likemindedness.12 the cities have little effect or respect 3- The reward of resources effec­ when conducted by those who did tively and efficiently used. There is a not want to live with them in the first joy in knowing that our buildings and place.15 resources are used to their fullest.16 To overcome There is progress to be made with­ Successful social ministry linked in the boundaries of the holiness de­ with life-changing evangelism is the natural barriers nominations. However, a new tide of key. We must love and care for the renewal is taking place. All teaching poor just as Jesus did. But let us find raised by given by Old Testament prophets and our greatest gain in the changed life, New Testament writers would indi­ the new soul, and the lost that are cultural cate that spiritual renewal will follow found. $ close behind social renewal. 1. Eugene Ehrlich et al., Oxford American Dictio-\ differences, Implications for Practitioners nary (New York: Avon, 1980), 704. God does not require that all 2. Jerry Appleby, Missions Have Come Home to j we must America (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas ] churches be integrated. However, He City, 1986), 54-56. These pages give a more thorough does instruct all to be involved in re­ treatment of this subject. purposefully newal. This naturally leads into social 3. S. Bockner, “The Mediating Man and Cultural Di-1 versity,” in Topics in Culture Learning, vol. 4. (Hon-1 outreach and programming. The re­ olulu: East-West Center, 1976). train sults are felt individually and within 4. Appleby, Missions Have Come Home to Ameri-1 the church as a whole. ca, 39. 5. Irene Ruben, “Effects of Institutional Change up­ multicultural Second Corinthians 9 promises re­ on a Dependency Culture-Commune Council 275,” 1 wards for those who give themselves Asian Survey (1973), 13:270. pastors and 6. Appleby, Missions Have Come Home to Ameri- '■ to the cause of sowing and reaping. ca, 47. There are four promises given to the 7. Isa. 1:12-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8. Christian faithful. 8. Matt. 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37. 9. Rom. 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 13:4-7; Gal. 5:22-23. 1. The reward will be personal in 10. James 2:8, 14-17. workers. blessings (w. 6-8). 11. 1 John 1:3-4, 7; 3:14-18; 4:20-21. 2. The reward will be to the na­ 12. William Leslie, “God Loves the Inner City,” Christian Life, July 1973, 33. tions of the world (v. 9)- 13. “The Mission of the Church,” early position pa­ Social concern is completely linked 3. The reward will be to persons per of LaSalle Street Church, Chicago. 14. Howard Rice, “Toward an Urban Strategy,” 1 with evangelism in that it helps peo­ and to the church in the form of seed Cities (July 1981), 1-9. JM 622. ple understand the love of God. In ad­ for the sower (w. 10-11). 15. “Mission of the Church” dition, social ministries remove barri­ 4. The reward will be the expres­ 16. Jerry Appleby, The Church Ls in a Stew ] (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1990), : ers such as hunger and emotional sion of praise to God by many people 106-114. These rewards are expanded and explained problems. When Christians pursue (w. 12-13). in this section of this book.

1 6 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE Evangelism Evangelicals and the u Homosexual Problem 99

hey are rude, lewd, and ob­ Then why not treat the homosexu­ scene!” a friend shared with al in such a way? me when concerned about So when the newspaper blasted the manyT gay protestors marching down evangelical community for its aloof­ the city streets. ness regarding the gays, I immediately A parishioner handed me a video wrote that we were welcoming them. tape of gays staging scenes publicly in Why? Because we have indeed an al­ order to get attention for their goals. ternative lifestyle that they just might A political leader asked me to assist want to consider. Not all of them, af­ in “cleaning up our society” of the gay ter all, are totally convinced of their debris. by J. Grant Swank Jr. way. Some of them are even embar­ I visited a church in Texas recently. Pastor, rassed by the shenanigans put on by The bulletin informed me that the Windham, Maine their own kind. And there are others congregation was “inclusive” and who are just plain confused and lone­ championing “diversity.” The two news release to surrounding newspa­ ly. They may even be quite tired. buzz words welcoming homosexuals pers, particularly the liberal weekly Then the Christian cannot afford to without a critical attitude leveled freebie. Then I announced the invita­ put up fences or pass by on the other against them are “inclusive” and “di­ tion to my parishioners. side of the road. The Christian cannot versity.” I immediately picked up the I thought it was the only proper simply play denial by saying: “I don’t code language. gesture to give. After all, with all the see a homosexual; do you see a ho­ I read daily letters to the editor of yelling and screaming going on be­ mosexual?” our local city paper. They are a mix, tween pro and con, I thought it was Granted, there is sin on all sides: but the war goes on: those for homo­ simply time to pray, to reach out, to gossip, live-ins, bickering in churches, sexuality and those against it. A love, to care. Was there any harm in intemperance with food and alcohol, cousin of mine is dying today of AIDS. all that? Was it anti-Bible? Could I be practicing homosexuals and fornicat­ He contracted the disease by way of called on the carpet by the denomina­ ing heterosexuals, meanness on bad blood transfusions; nevertheless, tional elite? I took my chances. After church boards, pornography and illic­ he has had to deal with the stigma. all, I figured that I was merely doing it sex on some church-affiliated cam­ The dean of the cathedral in our something Jesus would do. puses. city goes on television to endorse Then I wondered: does the evan­ So what does the Christian always pro-gay agendas before the voters. gelical community snarl at others do when confronted with a spiritually An all-gay chorus is invited to sing with whom we disagree? Do we put fallen world? in a popular sanctuary nearby. A cler- up our dukes against the alcoholic, The Christian puts out the wel­ gywoman will provide the invocation the promiscuous teen, the thrice-di­ come sign: “Come on in, all you who to the proceedings. vorced man five pews back? are weary and burdened down. There Religion and homosexuality. The Christian does not snub these is another way. Jesus can provide it It puzzles me why all the fuss. I am people. He or she does not conduct for you. He has come to reveal the a Christian. I can deal with this. I do seminars on how to despise them. way of light and love and peace—ho­ not need a seminar to clarify my The Christian does not write newslet­ liness.” ethics. I do not need to listen to some ters ad infinitum to uncover all their Now is that compromising the speaker from California clean out my secrets. gospel message? I think not. It is im­ head on the subject. Nor do I need all Instead, the Christian puts out the plementing the gospel message. those books from publishing houses carpet for the lost and weary, the sin­ And no one knows the wonder that setting forth moral positions. ful and wayward. The Christian begs can come about when a Christian ac­ So being a Christian, I concluded them into the house of prayer. The tually tries it out. Surprise! It works! that I would have a prayer service in Christian even trains other believers For, in fact, it’s God’s way of saving my evangelical church for AIDS per­ in how to compassionately relate to us all, including you and me, regard­ sons and their caregivers. I mailed the those in search of God’s heart. less of our sin. iff

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 17 Holiness How I Know I Am Filled with the Spirit

know the day and hour I was literally handed me a Scripture verse born again. I can show you the to live by: “The servant of the Lord exact place. I had heard of God must not strive; but be gentle . . . pa­ I k jv ) . by the hearing of the ear, but at that tient” (2 Tim. 2:24, I felt the Spir­ moment my eye saw Him; and I knew it enabling me to remain silent and for sure it was I, even I, for whom calm. He gave me a cordial attitude Christ died. No longer did I wonder if toward the offending minister. Out of I were really a Christian. After our the trial grew totally new and unex­ marriage, I suggested to my wife that pected blessings for which I am ever the date of my new birth was much grateful. The whole experience fur­ more worthy of celebrating than the by Victor Wellington Peters nished abundant evidence of the Holy date of my physical birth. Retired elder, Spirit’s power to accomplish what No longer did I labor under the Church of the Nazarene, human reaction alone could never do. Former missionary to Korea, weight of condemnation for sins past. I had the Lord’s answer to my ques­ Pasadena, California But for the present and the future I tion: “Am I filled with the Spirit?’’ was still in need of guidance and When I heard a dear brother recently strength. Preachers intrigued me with state today. I asked the Lord, “Am I remark, “I was filled with the Spirit as glowing descriptions of life gloriously filled with the Holy Spirit?” evidenced by speaking in tongues,” I filled with the Holy Spirit. They said Instantly one or two experiences recoiled. I don’t doubt his genuine the infilling could be received by came to mind. The Lord seemed to love for the Lord, but the evidence he faith, upon complete commitment to ask, “How did you behave in those cited as proof sounded hollow to me. the will of God. I knelt and told the situations?” I recalled the time a minis­ What have unintelligible movements Lord I was wholly His and that I be­ ter in another denomination openly of tongue and lips to do with spiritual lieved He would fill me with His Spir­ spread falsehoods about me and how realities? Speaking in unknown it. unperturbed I felt. The Lord almost tongues carries no moral value. Be­ Yet no emotional experience fol­ sides, that is a past experience. What lowed. I could not point to a day or of the present? hour of transformation. That both­ I’m more impressed when I see ered me. I longed for some kind of af­ fruit of the Spirit being borne. Is my flatus such as others talked about. heart full of love at the present mo­ Then I got to thinking. I had met ment? Am I gentle? Does a wellspring other Christians about whose rela­ of peace rise within? Instead of con­ tionship with God I had no doubt stant inward struggle, am I rejoicing who could not tell when or where today at inner resources that only they were born again. I began to un­ God can supply? derstand that the proof of my being It’s fine if I can recall the day my alive is not to be found in the posses­ anchor gripped the solid Rock. But I sion of a birth certificate. The surest must constantly be cognizant of the proof is seen in my daily activity. As fact the Spirit-filled life is actually an the philosopher said, “I think; there­ ongoing friendship with the Supreme I fore, I am.” A Christian’s genuineness Friend of sinners; and friendship is manifested not in memories of a thrives on constant renewal. Jesus past experience, but in a present as­ brings surprises new every day. So let surance it is well with his or her soul. me forget the past and press forward In time I applied the same reason­ toward my high calling in Christ, as­ ing to the question of the Spirit-filled sured that the indwelling Holy Spirit life. I ceased to be concerned about is fully capable of supplying every the lack of a spectacular moment in need and presenting me faultless be­ the long ago. The real test was my fore the throne. t

18 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE pastoral Counseling 111 • : BBMBI: B : HH When to Refer to a Psychiatrist

astor, have you been intro­ I found that there are some very le­ duced to the world of psychi­ gitimate times for a minister to refer atry? I am not writing from someone to the world of psychiatry. Pthe perspective of an expert who In my trials I rediscovered the truth could fill you in on the technical jar­ that we are psychosomatic creatures. gon. I am a pastor who, due to some I was surprised to find that the main difficult life experiences, has had the treatment for my clinical depression dubious pleasure of having to use the was medication. Research shows that world of psychiatry. Most pastors I about 24 percent of women and 15 know have not had that kind of per­ percent of men will suffer one or sonal experience, yet they are stuck by Rusty Freeman more episodes of clinical depression with having to make educated guess­ Pastor, during their lives. Clinical depression es about what psychiatry has to offer Johnstown Presbyterian Church, can be caused by psychological fac­ Johnstown, Ohio their laypeople. And I think they fre­ tors such as illness, divorce, trauma, quently make wrong choices based even prolonged stress. But it actually on an inferiority complex that I have During my various journeys I was causes a physical imbalance of chemi­ found to be often unwarranted. My cared for by ministers, four different cals in the brain that is very difficult observations are very limited, coming secular psychiatrists, a Christian psy­ to cure by simple counseling from ei­ mostly from my personal experi­ chiatrist, the staff of a psychiatric ther a minister or a psychiatrist. ences, yet I believe that you will find ward, and friends. Let me share with What the world of psychiatry has them helpful as you consider when you what I found helpful and unhelp­ discovered is that simple counseling and to whom to refer people with ful from each. has very little effect on these individu­ psychological troubles. als. Rather, they react much In the last 12 years, I have better to various types of had two major bouts with non-addictive drugs that re­ cancer, each requiring a pair this chemical imbalance. year’s worth of excruciating­ So I found that if a person ly painful chemotherapy and comes to me for counseling radiation treatments, as well with a deep, stubborn de­ as a dozen surgeries and mul­ pression, it’s a good time to tiple life-threatening compli­ recommend someone who cations. Through these roller can prescribe these medica­ coaster rides, I struggled tions. A local doctor can di­ with a lot of deep depression agnose the problem and pre­ and used the world of psy­ scribe these drugs as can a chiatry to help me cope. I psychiatrist. My physician re­ was also given some very peatedly put me on and took strong mind- and mood-alter­ me off these drugs. A psychi­ ing drugs, such as steroids atrist can prescribe medica­ that had mental side effects. tion and be more attuned to On one occasion I became things like depression. psychotic, which also trig­ I found that the world of gered a clinical depression. I psychiatry has a lot to offer checked myself into the psy­ to people with mental ill­ chiatric ward of a major met­ nesses such as neuroses, and ropolitan hospital for a week psychoses, which includes until I could get my mind, schizophrenia. I find that I Woods, and emotions back do not run into these very to an acceptable balance. often in my normal pastoral

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 19 counseling. But I did find that when I ing to explore the spiritual dimension chiatrist is not a Christian, he or she experienced one of these myself, of my being to see if it was still intact. can bring no Christian help, wisdom, though I asked for prayer and got I requested one of the hospital chap­ or teaching to the subject. Many psy­ plenty of it, I also needed some ex­ lains who kindly reminded me that chologists think that this is a good pert care. Just as when people are God still loved me and that He sor­ thing, that it will keep them from im­ having appendix pain, most of us rowed to see His children hurting. posing on you their ideas, that this pray for them and call an ambulance. The chaplain read some scriptures, in­ will guarantee that your cure will So I wanted spiritual help and a men­ cluding the verse “I will never leave come from inside you. It’s true that tal professional. Though it’s true that you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5), and some people get cowed into outward­ sometimes God instantaneously heals, then lifted me up in prayer to the Fa­ ly acceding to something that doesn’t it’s also true that at other times He ther’s throne. I experienced the joy set well with their inner feelings by seems to use normal means. of realizing that in my mental anguish someone trying to help. It’s also true My stay at the psychiatric ward was and confusion I had let go of God, that there is something to the idea of a very positive one. I arrived as a con­ but that He had not let go of me. The collective societal wisdom and to the fused basket case. It took me 15 min­ truth is that we are not just psychoso­ wisdom of the Bible as people utes just to tie my shoes. I was provid­ matic but pneuma-psychosomatic throughout the centuries have wres­ ed with a safe, controlled, and creatures. tled with the same questions that you nondemanding environment. I was un­ On another occasion, I experi­ and I wrestle with. der a constant watchful eye and only enced the time when I weepingly We do not need to reinvent the seconds away from a psychiatric nurse confessed, “God doesn’t make sense wheel with each individual. Many and calming medications as needed. to me.” That’s a scary place for a per­ times the wisdom that someone else All of the normal stresses of life were son of faith to be. God bless the min­ has come to clicks with the inner removed so that my psyche could fo­ ister to whom I confessed. He said, struggle that I’m having. But a secular cus its energies on healing. Various “That’s all right, Rusty. Don’t worry psychiatrist is cut off from the wis­ therapies were used to move me along about that right now. He will make dom of our entire faith tradition. A emotionally as I was ready: physical sense to you again one of these days.” Christian psychiatrist or minister has therapy, small-group counseling, and That minister allowed me to rest in the option of choosing when to allow craft therapy, as well as individual psy­ the faithfulness of God who, when a person to discover a truth and chotherapy. Medications were pre­ He begins a good work, promises to when to help him along. scribed in such a manner that I could bring it to completion (see Phil. 1:6). At one time I was really struggling deal with my problems incrementally, The areas that I found highly lack­ with feelings that God was not there without being overwhelmed by them. ing in secular psychiatry were coun­ and that He did not care. A good sec­ While in the psychiatric ward, I found seling and psychotherapy. When a ular psychiatrist could have asked me also that many mental illnesses besides psychiatrist or counselor is not a some questions such as: “Where do clinical depression have their sources Christian and is trying to counsel a you think these feelings are coming in chemical imbalances and can be Christian, at best he or she will try to from?” or “In your opinion, is this treated by medications. help you explore your inner belief consistent with the way that you un­ system and will try to help you find a derstand God to be?” way to integrate your current experi­ But I wanted someone with some I------1 ences into that worldview. At worst, experience who could show me a lit­ We are ; and I found this in a couple of cases, tle of the road. I wanted some assur­ they will be suspicious of or in oppo­ ance. I wanted someone who under­ psychosomatic sition to your beliefs and will, either stood the ways of God. I sought out consciously or unconsciously, try to the priest at the Roman Catholic hos­ creatures, show you how your faith is inade­ pital in which I was staying. Even quate. In some psychiatric circles it is though I was Protestant, our common i______i popular to believe that religion caus­ Christian worldview allowed him to es mental imbalance. While it is true minister deeply to my needs. Let me say to the pastor that this is that some forms of emotion-denying He quickly led me to our Christian no time to desert your layperson. A or suppressive Christianity do cause heritage and began to talk about the psychiatric ward tends to ignore the problems, many psychiatrists seem to sufferings of Job. He asked me direct­ spiritual dimension. I believe that lump all Christians into this category ing questions that helped me discover most Christians who suffer serious (see David Seamand’s Healing for a common spiritual truth in a person­ mental disorders also have some im­ Damaged Emotions). al way. He asked me first if Job had portant spiritual questions and strug­ I found this second approach to be ever felt as if God weren’t there gles. After I had my psychotic not only offensive but also unhelpful. through his trials. I knew that Job had episodes, I was afraid to think about How can a person relax and explore shared the feelings I was now experi­ God. My inner world had become so personal feelings about faith when he encing. He then asked me if God had jumbled that I was afraid if I thought or she feels that this faith is under at­ ever left Job during all of his suffer­ about God, He would no longer make tack or suspicion. ings. In answering no, I realized for any sense. The first method was better, but myself that God had not deserted me After a few days, though, I was will­ still left a lot to be desired. If the psy­ either. The priest even suggested, and 20 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE I agreed, that it was during his suffer­ “Rusty, it’s been my experience that a psychologist, can prescribe medica­ ing that God was closest to Job. God is a big enough God for you to tions). When more than a prescrip­ A pastor can be unhelpful if he be angry at Him and for Him to still tion for medication is needed, I refer wants to make a person feel guilty for love you.” Doesn’t David find the my flock to Christian psychiatrists, the honest feelings that are being ex­ same thing in the Psalms when he psychologists, or counselors. When I perienced. This is part of the sin of cries out in anger to God? It was a do have to suggest that someone get job’s three uncaring “friends.” Howev­ great comfort to me that God was still care in a psychiatric unit, I try to be er, in dealing with a couple dozen cler­ loving me even when I, like a hurting gently available to supply spiritual gy, I did not once run into this kind. child, was lashing out at Him. needs. Psychiatric units are usually Christian friends can be just as One of the great deficiencies of locked units and permission must be helpful as the previously mentioned psychiatrists or psychologists, both given to enter them, but visitors are priest. But it is true that people un­ Christian and secular, is that they do usually welcome. trained in pastoral care or counseling not know you as an individual, and it often get frightened at deep feelings. takes them a great deal of time to do That’s when pat answers or state­ so, often at excessive fees. I------1 ments like “you shouldn’t feel that One night during my treatments, I I experienced way” turn up. Again, a pastor or Chris­ had a bad drug reaction and thought I tian psychiatrist or Christian coun­ would die in a matter of seconds. At the joy of selor has the best of both worlds, an age 25, it was quite a shock to my sys­ understanding of caring counseling tem to come so vividly face-to-face realizing that in and the Christian faith from which to with my mortality. I dove into a deep draw help and understanding. depression. A psychiatrist was called my mental in to help me. But after an hour, he only had a bare sketch of my problem anguish and I------1 and a little family history. He had no Just as when words to offer me, only the prospect confusion I had of more sessions. people are The next day I called an old friend, let go of God, Dr. T. Nease, professor of pastoral having care at Columbia Seminary in Atlanta, but that He who has since passed away. After appendix pain, about five minutes of explaining my had not let situation, I asked him, “What’s wrong most of us pray with me, T? Am I having a nervous go of me. breakdown?” i______i for them and He laughed gently and said, “I don’t know about a nervous breakdown, call an but it sure sounds like you had the I have seen many ways in which an stuffings’ scared out of you.” ordinary pastor’s assistance is superi­ ambulance. So I had to laugh, too—the first time or and other times when a pastor is a in 48 hours. In about 15 seconds, T helpful supplement to a secular psy­ I wanted had put his finger exactly on the spot. chiatrist. A secular psychiatrist or psy­ I was just really scared at the thought chologist, though trained in areas a spiritual help of dying. In that instant, it became a pastor is not, is lacking in knowledge little easier to deal with the thought of the Word of God and the whole and a mental of dying without also wondering wisdom and history of our faith tradi­ what strange psychological ailment I tion. A pastor who knows how to professional, had. Though T was certainly a won­ rightly apply the Bible and to put the­ derful pastoral counselor with much ology where the rubber hits the road i______i training, I attribute much of this to can be a remarkable soul doctor. the fact that he knew me as a human I recognize many areas in which The following shows the double being already. It made it much easier psychiatrists, psychologists, and help that a minister or Christian coun­ to see into the window of my soul. counselors have more training and selor can be: After the initial shock We pastors who know our people, in are better able to deal with situations. and numbness wore off, one of my my opinion, have a built-in advantage But I have also seen how helpful a first reactions to cancer and the pain over a professional stranger. Christian perspective can be. There­ of chemotherapy was anger at God. From these experiences I have de­ fore, I have developed my own net­ One night I shared with a minister veloped my own set of guidelines for work of Christian counselors and psy­ friend what I was feeling. He didn’t referral to psychiatrists, psycholo­ chiatrists to whom I feel very good scold. He didn’t try to defend God. gists, and counselors. I refer to psy­ referring my people. Through my ex­ Rather, he drew deep from the bibli­ chiatrists for the prescription of med­ periences, I am more confident about cal understanding of God and said, ications (a psychiatrist, as opposed to when and to whom I refer. f SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 21 Pastor's Personal Growth Critics—Leave 'Em or Love 'Em

tick-and-stone words had been 2. Pray for Your Critic hurled at my pastor husband The ancients defined prayer as “a and had hit me too. I limped climbing up of the heart unto God.”' aroundS all week, nursing a bruised I’m learning to run to my Abba and ego, hurt and offended enough for climb into His lap. The Father invites both of us. All too soon Sunday came. me “to tell Him all; to talk over all “How could they have been so un­ anxieties and occurrences with Him; kind, and how can I possibly worship to speak with Him aloud as to a famil­ with them today?” I moaned as I iar and interested friend; to ask His dressed in a huff and stuck on a fake counsel or advice; to stop to praise, smile. by Jan McNaught to adore, and utter words of love; to I plopped down on the padded Pastor’s wife, draw heavily upon His resources, as pew that Sunday and mentally built a Honolulu the branch on the sap and life of the 10-foot wall around myself. My unfor­ vine.”2 giving spirit, still replaying the recent And there, near to the Father’s “The end of all things is near. offense, ill-equipped me to worship heart, I take not only myself but the Therefore be clear minded and or to love. one who has hurt me. I watch as God Nothing penetrated my wall. Duti­ self-controlled so that you can welcomes us equally. I ask Him to pray. Above all, love each other fully I sang, passed the offering plate, teach me how to pray for this one. greeted visitors. Then my pastor invit­ deeply, because love covers over a My Redeemer changes my anger to ed us to bow our heads in prayer. I multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:7-8). compassion. I read the Amplified Bible which ex­ sensed the Lord’s presence as though pands the eighth verse to read: “for­ 3. Love Your Critic He had climbed over the wall and sat The Lord himself is released now to next to me. He was compassionate, gives and disregards the offenses of others.” I was weary of clutching a love that person through me. Where I uncondemning. have been unable—yes, unwilling— “I, too, had opportunity to collect grudge and ready to release it. The Scriptures illumined three steps for me: to love, God has placed a new desire. rocks and offenses,” the Lord confided. He has given me a deep love that can “I, too, was tempted to think primarily 1. Look at Your Critic cover over offenses. Now I can call of protecting myself instead of serving I hate conflict and have perfected my neighbor, even the grouchy one. others. Instead, I dumped the stones avoiding it. Yet God was instructing Now I want to forgive “you-know- in the sea and forgave the ones who me: “Don’t turn away from conflict. who” for “you-know-what.” Maybe I had cast them. Then I stretched out Instead, move toward the one with won’t want to take my critic on vaca­ My arms for them—and for you, Jan.” whom you have the conflict. Look— tion with me, as one evangelist said, In that moment I saw myself really look—at the person. That one but now I can ignore the critical re­ through God’s eyes: a woman is just like you, with warts and marks. wrapped so tightly in her own pain crooked teeth and fears.” A friend of mine recently asked the that she had no arms to genuinely en­ God can reveal our distorted per­ Lord, “What do You want me to do fold another. The offense had been a ception and correct our vision. We now that my pastor-husband is gone?” minor one; others had suffered much can realistically expect to receive dis­ He replied to her, “You are here to worse. The measure of the offense approval and criticism along with ap­ pour out your life in love.” was not the problem. The problem plause and affirmation. The enemy Look at your critic. Pray for your was that I wanted to hold on to my at­ will try to paralyze us with fear of critic. Love your critic. Above all, titude toward the offender. criticism and of the critic, but God love. i The following week, the Holy Spirit can prevent paralysis. He changed me followed me around and whispered by renewing my thought patterns and these six words: “love covers a multi­ my habits. While writing this article, I 1. Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds., realized I no longer can remember Devotional Classics (Harper San Francisco/A Division tude of sins—love covers a multitude of Harper Collins Publishers, 1993), 135. of sins.” Finally, using a concordance, the words or the name of my offend­ 2. F. B. Meyer; Charles Cook, ed., Practical Prayer I located the passage: er. Portions fo r Daily Reading (Moody Press, 1978), 108.

22 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE The Problem with Ego

was sitting in a Miami airport Falling Is Only a Footstep Away waiting for my flight to Chica­ “Whoever thinks he is standing I go when I saw him. “Where’s firm,” says the Bible, “had better be the guy I was supposed to meet?” he careful that he does not fall” (1 Cor. growled into his portable phone. “I 10:12, t e v ) . Most people acknowl­ was in Fort Lauderdale, and he wasn’t edge that it is better to be humble there.” and to be promoted than to seek glo­ After several more calls he folded ry and to be rejected. It was said of his phone, placed it in his suit coat King Uzziah, “When King Uzziah be­ pocket, and loosened his tie. His suit came strong, he grew arrogant, and had missed a pressing; his hair was as by Wayne Kiser that led to his downfall” (2 Chron. disheveled as his temperament. He President, 2 6 :1 6 , t ev ). took out the phone once more and Graphic and Editorial Services, Somehow self-centeredness seems Glen Ellyn, Illinois called the wife of his contact, inquir­ to be more ugly in those of us who ing why her husband hadn’t showed declare ourselves Christians. It vio­ up. He seemed to be trying to im­ I remember the pastor of a small lates Christian ethics when the “I” be­ press people with his importance— church who addressed a small group comes more important than the his office coworkers, the man’s wife, of colleagues some years ago. He “you.” people like me in the waiting area, talked about the ministry of Rev. Billy How to Conquer Self-Importance perhaps even himself. Graham, but his main objective You can do three simple things to Almost before he had finished his seemed to be to impress his col­ keep your ego in check. calls, I saw someone I thought I recog­ leagues. “I talked to him about this 1. Practice the art of listening. nized. How could that be? He was from matter,” he said. “I said to him, Billy. Everyone has a story to tell. It may the Chicago area, not Miami. “Yes, it . . .’” 1 remember that almost every take longer to get the story from a shy must be him,” I thought as I recognized time I’m tempted to drop a well- person, but if you try, it’s usually in­ his wife. I crossed the wide corridor to known name to impress my peers. teresting. Learn the other person’s greet them. We were not close friends, I don’t know why egotism is so name, and repeat it in conversation. but we would meet occasionally at reli­ prevalent among so many of God’s Go easy on your story, and concen­ gious or publishing functions. He is the people, but it seems so. This summer trate on what the other person has to founder of one of the largest Christian I was part of a team of radio amateurs say. publishers in the Midwest. They had providing communications for a bicy­ 2. Force yourself to meet new peo­ been to Europe to attend the wedding cle race. My job involved sitting on a ple. That might not come easy for a of a granddaughter and were coming corner and watching for accidents. If lot of people, but it’s achievable. The through Miami to take the same flight one happened, I would call the para­ Bible says, “A man that hath friends as I to Chicago. He wore a sport shirt, medics on my radio for assistance. must shew himself friendly” (Prov. now a little wrinkled from the trip. I selected my spot on the lawn of a 18:24, kjv ). When my turn to board the flight church. Eventually a distinguished 3■ Ask how Jesus would act in sit­ came, I thought surely I would see older man stood next to me and be­ uations where you find yourself him and his wife in first class. After gan a conversation. I thought that tempted to claim positions of promi­ all, he was in his retirement years and was nice of him, since he had never nence. That may be difficult in a soci­ certainly could afford to travel in seen me before. It didn’t take long for ety where success is often equated comfort. They traveled coach. me to learn that he was the pastor of with prominence. But I did recognize someone in first the church on whose lawn I was sit­ The Bible says a person ought not class—the man in the wrinkled suit. ting. For nearly an hour he told me to think more highly of oneself than Egotism Is Difficult to See about himself, his wife, his children, necessary. The trick is to hold your in Ourselves and grandchildren. It seemed his only self-esteem without acting superior to On the flight back to Chicago, I interest in me was to verify his impor­ any other of God’s creations. Watch thought about the image we as tance. I wondered if I do that to other others for both good and bad exam­ church members project. people. ples. $

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 23 Fasting in a World of Fast Food

n a singular reference to India’s To fast, according to Webster, is “to most renowned statesman, the practice abstinence from food volun­ poet Rabindranath Tagore tarily for a time as a religious exercise I or duty.” averred that “he fasted to save the soul of India.” But Mohandas Karam- To fast, we are told, is not simply or chand Gandhi, to whom the poet was necessarily to abstain from food but referring, depreciated the poet’s to abstain from anything that hinders grandiose views of his efforts when our communion with God.” Or they he declared that “men say that I am a say, “Fasting means to do without, to saint losing myself in politics. The practice self-denial.” We have only to fact is, I am a politician trying my by Morris Chalfant widen the meaning enough and the hardest to be a saint.” Evangelist, Church of the Nazarene, cutting edge has gone. It is not known whether Mr. Gan­ Bourbonnais, Illinois dhi, before his assassination on Janu­ ary 30, 1948, had come to believe that University in Alexandria. His reason: he succeeded in becoming a saint as a It cleared his head. He asked his stu­ result of his nonviolence techniques dents to follow his example. During my and the severe punishment that he in­ The Egyptians and the Druids fast­ flicted upon himself by fasting. How­ ed. So did the British suffragettes— rebellious teen ever, both history and contemporary “to publicize the inferior status of human experience have witnessed women.” years, Mother that “fasting has, in all ages, and In Russia, Tolstoy fasted. He re­ fasted three among all nations, been much in use,” marked, “To refuse food and drink . . . by individuals of all social classes and is more than pleasure, it is the joy of by persons who had other than reli­ the soul.” days during gious goals for their fasts. Its uses have The modern American wife who been for religious, magical, medicinal, happens to live in Alaska must feel the college and social purposes. thankful that she, unlike the primitive Socrates and Plato fasted periodi­ Alaskan woman, is not compelled to revival for my cally. Pythagoras, a Greek philoso­ remain at home fasting while her hus­ pher, reportedly did a 40-day fast be­ band is out fishing, in order that he salvation. fore he took his examination at the may have a good catch!

It is true that there are many things besides food that may hinder our communion with God. It is also true that we need to practice self-denial in general. The fact still remains that “to fast” means primarily not to eat. According to the Bible and church history, fasting and prayer went hand in hand. It seemed that abstinence from food, coupled with prayer, pro­ vided the catalyst that produced spiri­ tual awakenings of such power and magnitude that nothing could stand against them. Demons fled in terror. Sickness vanished before the advance of mighty tidal waves of deliverance. The spiritually dead and unconcerned

24 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE were revived and joined in the victo­ As a participant in prayer and fasting This truth was made plain to all rious march against the strongholds under the divine directive, my heart who lived in the state of Minnesota of Satan. burns day and night with ever-increas- over 100 years ago. In the summer of Fasting is a spiritual exercise. It ing intensity. And I can see by faith 1876, the grasshoppers did much strengthens and conditions the will. It great tidal waves of deliverance sweep- damage to the crops in Minnesota. In is one of the quickest and most avail­ the spring of 1877, the farmers were able means at hand to reveal how worried, for there was every indica­ much or how little authority I have tion this dreaded plague might de­ over my body. I must have that au­ stroy the rich wheat crop and bring thority or I cannot be victor. ruin to thousands. Jesus employed the fast. His mighty The situation was so serious that victory over Satan followed a 40-day Nothing . . . Governor John S. Pillsbury pro­ fast. It brought Him into complete uni­ claimed April 26 as a day of prayer ty with the Word. That was the combi­ and fasting. He urged every man, nation that blitzed the devil. “Then the I repeat. . . woman, and child to ask God to help devil leaveth him’’ (Matt. 4:11, kjv). against the terrible scourge. On that In the New Testament Paul ad­ nothing April day all schools, shops, stores, dressed the subject in this manner, and offices were closed. There was a “But I keep under my body, and bring reverent, quiet hush over all the state. it into subjection: lest that by any can stand What happened? The next day means, when I have preached to oth­ dawned bright and clear. Tempera­ ers, I myself should be a castaway” (1 before the tures soared to midsummer heat. It Cor. 9:27, kjv) . When a believer prac­ was not normal April weather. Imag­ tices the art of fasting, he is serving ine the disappointment and horror of notice on his body. It is the spirit say­ united the people when billions of larvae of ing to the flesh, “I am the boss, and the dreaded pest began wiggling into never forget it.” prayers of life. There were three days of unusual An interesting sidelight concerns heat, and the larvae all hatched and the expression “to keep under my got ready for their work of destruc­ body,” as used by Paul in the above the people tion. verse. Scholars say the thought is of On the fourth day the temperature going into a boxing ring and fighting of God, suddenly dropped, and that night a fight. To fast is to put up a fight, not frost covered the earth. That frost only with Satan but also with self. killed the creeping, crawling locusts Fasting is a weapon. It is used to invigorated as surely as if poison or fire had been exert pressure, to bring a decision. used. Grateful farmers never forgot Great decisions are not easily ob­ that April 26. It went down in the his­ tained. There is an adversary. “Because and tory of Minnesota as the day God an­ your adversary the devil, as a roaring li­ swered the prayers of the people. on, walketh about, seeking whom he empowered I am so grateful to have grown up may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, kjv). The be­ under the tutelage of parents who be­ liever is involved in conflict. lieved in and practiced the truth of Prayer is for battle. “Praying always by a fasting. During my rebellious teen with all prayer and supplication in years, Mother fasted three days dur­ the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18, kjv) . The Word season ing the college revival for my salva­ adds fasting to prayer. It is further tion. Conviction gripped my heart so leverage. It is pleasing to God and strongly I yielded my heart to Christ. hateful to Satan. It is a combination of of sincere Years later, as I left for college, Moth­ power. er declared Friday noon as the time In my opinion, we have reached fasting. she would fast and pray for her chil­ the time when the world is inhabited dren. Throughout my adult life until by so many people who have yielded her death on New Year’s Day, 1976, I to the power of demons that “this found great comfort and an unusual kind” will not be cast out except “by source of strength knowing that prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21, kjv). every Friday at noon Mother was be­ But if all believers around the world ing across the world. Nothing . . . I re­ seeching heaven on my behalf. would unite in prayer and fasting, a peat . . . nothing can stand before the Jesus addressed His disciples, “When mighty blow would be struck against united prayers of the people of God, you fast ...” (Matt. 6:16). Let us not the forces of darkness, and millions of invigorated and empowered by a sea­ blunt the edge of this great truth; in­ captives would be set free. son of sincere fasting. stead let us practice it often. i

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 25 Pastor's Professional Growth Nightmare on Oak Street

t began at church one morning The elders met by themselves. What just before Sunday School. This should we do about Joe? He’d graduat­ woman, not one of our mem­ ed from college and seminary with Ibers, stood in the back of the sanctu­ honors and had high recommenda­ ary, crying. When the young minister tions from other ministers and church­ tried to console her, she said, “Your es. And our own congregation had cer­ pastor tried to molest my son yester­ tainly grown under his leadership. day.” Shocked, Bob led her into the of­ But what about the young man’s fice and heard her story. She left accusation? According to his mother, when he promised to report the inci­ he’d said that Joe had been “drinking dent to the proper church officials. by Jimmy Lumpkin and smoking” before the attempted After services Bob reiterated the Freelance writer, molestation. We knew that our minis­ woman’s account to the elders and Upland, California ter didn’t do those things. the young pulpit minister she’d ac­ So we called Joe into the meeting cused. ing him all kinds of questions. “They and promised to continue our sup­ “I’m not surprised,’’saidJoe (not his were formal and sounded like he was port. But we advised him to consult real name), the minister, who then reading from a list. A few minutes lat­ an attorney. gave us his version of the incident. er Fred called again and put a police­ He did. And his lawyer told him not Joe had befriended Fred (not the man on the line. The officer said that to worry since the police didn’t have boy’s real name) who he taught the he’d been listening to the conversa­ a case. year before in eighth grade. Since then tion, and there’d be an investigation.” They must have thought they did he continued tutoring the 15-year-old After telling us these things Joe because early Wednesday morning on Saturdays at the parsonage. Only added, “I’m not guilty, but I don’t they arrested Joe. He spent all that this time after his music lesson Joe had want to be an embarrassment to this day and night in jail. None of us could given the youth a massage. church. Just say the word, and I’ll re­ talk to him, not even his wife. “We were in the bedroom when it sign.” We had a special prayer session happened,” the minister ex­ that evening, and some of plained. “I was showing the members volunteered to Fred the new furniture. As raise the $50,000 bail. How­ we were about to go out the ever, the next morning door, he complained that his when his wife went to pay, shoulder was hurting and it’d been lowered to asked for a rubdown.” $ 20,000. Actually, that part wasn’t Thursday the newspaper so unusual. Joe was sup­ had a field day. Pastor al­ posed to have “the magic legedly massaged, propo­ touch” and for years had giv­ sitioned 15-year-old boy. en massages to his family It said that our minister had and close friends. He’d even “convinced the boy to lie given Fred one on a previ­ down and was giving him a ous occasion. ‘sensual massage’ when he This time, though, he did told the boy he was physi­ it on the bed. “There was cally attracted to him. . . . nothing sexual involved,”Joe The youth fled and told his told us. “No touching of pri­ parents what happened. vate parts.” They called the police.” The However, the boy had official charge was “lewd stopped the massage saying, and lascivious acts with a “I d o n ’t feel right about minor and child annoying.” this.” Joe was surprised, but The church phones rang the teenager refused to talk continuously with both our about it as the preacher members and the communi­ drove him home. ty demanding to know what About midnight the boy we were going to do about called, waking Joe and ask- Joe. Many supported him

26 THE PREACHER S MAGAZINE against the “false accusation.” Some of the boy’s teachers told us that Fred was a troubled youngster who’d caused a lot of problems at school. But other people thought we should fire Joe. “Didn’t he learn in The Interim Preaching 101 that you never allow yourself to be alone with a teenager?” one man asked. I preached Sunday morning, and Pastor Joe preached that evening. The following week we put him on “executive leave” while awaiting the outcome of this mess. We offered to strengthening to the body of Christ. pay his full salary, but he accepted In one assignment, we received 13 only the use of the parsonage. new members into membership and Joe pleaded not guilty. in another, 10 new members. I have After a court-appointed psycholo­ also been called upon for weddings gist reported that Joe had no homo­ and funerals. My active pastoral sexual or pedophilic tendencies we record was never to go to a district as­ thought the case would be dismissed. sembly with unpaid budgets, and my Instead, it was delayed and post­ goal during interim services has been poned a dozen times. to make sure that all budgets are cur­ More than a year dragged by with by Ross W. Hayslip rent during this period of my min­ various preachers filling in during Pastor, istry. Joe’s absence. Some of the congrega­ Tucson, Arizona An interim pastorate is a challenge tion wanted us to hire a new minister. to preach new sermons. John Wesley Others insisted that Joe resume his burned all his sermon manuscripts at duties. “You’re treating him like he’s have recently completed my regular intervals. I have found the op­ guilty,” they complained. third assignment as interim portunity to prepare fresh new ser­ Finally the court set a date for a I pastor to a congregation for mons an invigorating experience. It is hearing. The district attorney and whom I have also served some years a joy to find new truths and depths of Joe’s lawyer agreed on a compromise. as associate pastor in the area of pas­ thought in God’s Word. This also calls If Joe would plead guilty to “child an­ toral care. The interim pastorate in for a disciplined program of study and noying,” the district attorney would one sense is a new ministry in the life soul searching. drop the felony “lewd conduct with a of the church. In another sense it has This period of interim pastoral ser­ minor” charge. been in existence for a long time. vice serves as a time for a further cul­ It was a tough decision for Joe. When a pastor moves to a new assign­ tivation of optimism regarding the fu­ He’d already spent more than ment, someone has filled in until the ture of the Church of Jesus Christ. It $30,000 and was told that it might be arrival of a new pastor. Sometimes an­ is all too easy for advancing age to another year before the case came to other minister comes as a supply pas­ bring on a spirit of bitterness and pes­ trial. The church would be left in lim­ tor. I have known gifted laypeople simism. The interim pastorate helps bo. And what if the jury believed the who have taken responsibility for the one to realize that nobody needs to boy? Joe would go to prison. His wife congregation’s worship and other ac­ grow old by merely living a number and parents were already sick with tivities. of years. People grow old only by de­ worry. It has been my experience to work serting their ideals. You are as young By pleading guilty to the misde­ with young pastors in staff relation­ as your self-confidence, as old as your meanor he’d get a year’s probation ships. When they have moved to oth­ fears, as young as your hope, as old as and have to register with the state as er assignments, the church board has your despair. a sex offender. He accepted the plea called upon me to assume the duties Speaking from a background of 50 bargaining. of full-time pastoral duty. The length years of pastoral ministry, it is my opin­ After telling the church the reason of interim ministry has varied from ion that an interim pastorate is a won­ for his decision, Joe resigned as our three to five months. My challenge derful way to stay young at heart. f minister. has been to prepare the way for the Who won in this conflict, God or incoming pastor. My position on my Editorial note: By definition, an in­ the devil? I don’t know. But like a fog­ journey of life provides no threat ei­ terim pastor should be ineligible to horn, it shouts this warning to all ther for the incoming or outgoing be considered for the next full-time ministers and teachers: SHUN THE pastor. I have felt that my role is to pastor. That would serve the best in­ VERY APPEARANCE OF EVIL. The make this a time of growth and terests of the church. slightest imprudence can lead you and your church into the worst night­ mare ever. it

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 27 Pastoral Care My Church Family: Helpfulness with Brotherly Watch and Care

can’t tell you who cried that since it was the pregnancy that more—me, my wife, or our was causing her hypertension, her ; just born Carly announcing her blood pressure should return to nor- 1 I mal after the baby was born. arrival into the world. While this was our third time around in the delivery It was about 4:30 in the morning. room, none of our previous experi­ Seventeen hours had gone by since ences had prepared us for this birth. Glenda was first brought into the hos- -I I had been working away at my ser­ pital. I tried to be there every five mon when Glenda left for her usual minutes to rub her legs and ease the prenatal checkup along with our discomfort of her contractions. Her youngest daughter. When her doctor by Mark William Royall blood pressure still remained danger- | phoned me a couple of hours later my Pastor, ously high. first thought was that Glenda must Kolapore Calvary Church of the Nazarene, It is times like these when I am so | Ravenna, Ontario, Canada have left a toy or something at her of­ thankful for the support of my church fice. I wasn’t expecting to hear that family. I didn’t have to phone and she had been rushed to the hospital. Glenda’s blood pressure dropped to check to see if they were praying for | “Your wife has Preeclampsia,” the doc­ 150 over 90, which was still high but us; I knew they were. How many I tor said, which meant nothing to me low enough, the doctor thought, to times had I come before God on their at the time. “It is quite serious.” induce her into labor. The logic was behalf in their times of crises, really 1 On the way to the not fully understand- 1 hospital I entered into ing what it meant for a very open conversa­ people to know that tion with God, plead­ someone is praying for ing with Him to pro­ them? That is, until tect my Glenda and now. our unborn baby. At Usually it was me, 1 the hospital I was told their pastor, who was 1 that Glenda was suffer­ there to minister to ing from pregnancy-in- them in their time of I duced hypertension, need. However, today ! which had caused her the roles had been blood pressure to rise switched. My church to 200 over 110. My family stepped in so beautiful, little 32-year- beautifully to minister old wife was running to us in so many differ- , the risk of having ent helpful ways. One seizures and a stroke, lady came to the hospi­ not to mention kidney, tal and took our liver, and heart dam­ youngest daughter age! On the outside home for the night and she looked fine but in­ then made arrange­ side the silent killer ments for the school was at work. To add to bus to drop off our this stress was the fact other daughter at her that we might lose the place after school. Vist baby. tors were restricted, so With medication people sent notes, j

28 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE parcels, and flowers to our room to mother to bear. We understood. It her was all right. Eight minutes later an­ let us know they were thinking of us. was so sad. other baby was born across the hall, I realized that sometimes I had taken Later our baby’s heart stopped but there was no infant cry to be heard. these little caring things we do for one beating during the contractions. The Glenda and I cried together with another as ministers for granted. This nurse and I counted the silent sec­ Carly. We were glad that she and the experience made me better under­ onds, listening to the monitor until baby had made it through safely, but stand just how important and meaning­ the beat would start again. We discov­ we felt such deep sorrow for these ful they are to the person in need. ered later that this was caused by the other young parents. While this day When I receive Christians into umbilical cord being wrapped around would mark the birth of our child, we church membership, I read that por­ the baby’s shoulder. knew for them it would always mark tion from the church Manual, which At one point I counted eight differ­ the death of theirs. says, “The privileges and blessings ent gadgets that were hooked up to I wanted to do something for this that we have in association together Glenda. Most of these things required couple. I overheard them making fu­ in the Church of Jesus Christ are very electricity to run. As we approached neral arrangements for the baby. I ap­ sacred and precious. . . . There is the last few minutes before the birth, proached their nurse and said I would such helpfulness w ith broth erly we ran into a problem when another like to offer them my services in as­ watch care and counsel as can be gadget needed to be plugged in. We sisting them in the funeral. But the found only in the Church” (Section had run out of power outlets in the nurse said the couple had already in­ 801, emphasis added). Glenda and I room. As a result, part of my job during dicated they didn’t want any pastoral the delivery was to listen for the nurse involvement. to tell me when to unplug one thing This fact saddened me further, for I and plug in another. At one point the knew then they didn’t have “the priv­ nurse shouted out, “We’ve lost Glen­ ileges and blessings” or the “helpful­ My beautiful, da’s blood pressure!”It was all right. By ness with brotherly watch care” of a accident, I had unplugged the machine church family as we did. I knew that little 32-year-old that measured her blood pressure! over the past 23 hours we ran the real While I was humming the hymn risk of experiencing tragedy in our wife looked fine “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” Carly was own hospital room. But I also knew if bom into our lives on September 27 at that had been the case, we would on the outside, 10:02 a .m ., into a room full of joy and have the needed and meaningful sup­ celebration. She let out a loud cry to let port of our church family. I thank our but inside the us know that all 4 pounds, 6 ounces of great Lord for them. $ silent killer was at work. were certainly reminded of just how true these words are. Another young pregnant mother ar­ rived at our small community hospi­ tal. She and her husband went into the only other delivery room, which was just across the hall from us. I thought to myself, “How wonderful this is that we will be able to share this miracle of our children’s births together. ” I went as far as to picture in my mind’s eye both of our babies growing up together and always shar­ ing and celebrating this very special day together. However, our nurse told us that the baby across the hall would be stillborn. Our hearts sank. Glenda began to worry that our ba­ by would also be born dead. To ease her fears I turned up our baby’s moni­ tor so she could hear its heart thump­ ing away. The nurse from across the hall came and turned it back down. Hearing the live heartbeat of our ba­ by was just too much for the other © 1997 Jonny Hawkins

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 29 Worship Facing the Music: Choosing Your Worship Style

lance through almost any choose your music, you are determin­ magazine targeting pastors ing exactly who you are going to and you’ll see that the con­ reach and who you are not going to Gtroversy over worship styles is hot. reach. More than any other factor, tell Sometimes it even boils over. One me what the music is in a church, and wise guy quipped, “The first murder I will tell you who that church will be in history was over worship styles.” able to reach and who they will never Wisdom demands that pastors and be able to reach. ”1 Observing worship worship leaders heed his observation. services across our country leads me Messing with the style of worship to believe he’s right. Musical style di­ used in many established congrega­ by Randy T. Hodges rectly impacts the outreach potential tions can be dangerous. Yet with so Pastor, Westside Church of the Nazarene, of our church. Also, we have to real­ much attention on differing worship Wichita, Kansas ize that musical style drives people’s styles, some of us will begin asking emotional response to worship. This ourselves what style of worship is menting the changes our decision im­ explains why people can become so best. Will we stick with a traditional plies. quickly upset when the style of music approach, or will services be reorient­ Choosing a worship style is largely in their worship services changes. ed to more contemporary tastes? Per­ a matter of music. Other service ele­ What key factors must worship haps there’s merit in a more liturgical ments may be modified slightly, but leaders consider before changing the style. Will services be “seeker sensi­ none so much as the music. Rick War­ style used in worship? Three key is­ tive” or is worship for the “already ren says, “Music is the most impor­ sues must be faced when we consider committed ”? Even when these ques­ tant factor in determining your evan­ what style of worship will be used in tions are answered and we choose a gelistic target, even more than the services we lead. These same is­ style of worship, we still face imple- preaching style. . . . When you sues won’t disappear even when the style has been chosen. Rather, they remain in tension even as we plan, strategize, and implement. If we re wise, w e’ll keep them in mind as we evaluate our worship services. Let’s touch briefly on three issues worship leaders must consider as we assess our worship: 1. What style is the present con­ gregation accustomed to and how committed are they to that style? The word of advice to heed is this: Never underestimate the commit­ ment to tradition. “People especially treasure the music of their formative years, whether the popular music of their youth or the worship patterns of their most formative years spiritual­ ly.”2 There is no constituency for change, but a large one for keeping

30 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE things as they are. Mark Twain said it cians, singers, and support per­ people who can make the service well, “The only person who likes sonnel to implement the pro­ work willing to commit themselves to change is a wet baby.” The wise posed worship style changes? work with you in making it happen? leader recognizes this important fac­ No matter how deep the talent pool tor in planning and strategizing. may be, there has to be a willingness We are unwise (no, just stupid) if to work together to make good things we believe that forsaking established Music is the happen in worship. Capability must tradition is the quick and easy way to be matched with willing availability. bring worship renewal to most al­ most Some of us will find ourselves in ready established congregations. situations where the talent pool Don’t be stupid. important seems more like a talent puddle—nei­ What if there is heavy commitment ther wide nor deep. It’s good to re­ to tradition? Do we just give up any factor in member that God knows our situa­ hope for improvement? No, but work­ tions. At times our dreams may ing in an environment where there is determining exceed our capacities, and we must a strong commitment to tradition content ourselves to “do what we means that the transition through the your can, with what we’ve got, where we change will take longer and must be are.” more carefully managed to prevent evangelistic When discussing change in wor­ disruptive and counterproductive ship, it is important to issue this re­ conflict. We cannot afford to ignore target. minder: No one’s advocating that you the emotional commitments of our throw out your present style of wor­ people in the style of worship they ship. Rather, the aim is to cause us to prefer. think carefully about what we do in worship and then carefully follow our 2. What style probably best fits It can be easy to overlook the as­ Lord’s leadership. In the business of the makeup of your surrounding sets that another church has used to His kingdom, the issue is not what we community or your target audi­ put together an effective service. Yet, want or even what the people prefer ence? if we try to do their thing with our resources, we may get surprisingly but rather what God wants. Max De- • Tim Keller, targeting a cultured different results. pree challenges us, “In the end, it is population in downtown Man­ • A congregation of 2,500 has important to remember that we can­ hattan, leads worship services deeper resources than a church not become what we need to be by rich in liturgy and classical mu­ of 1,000. remaining what we are.”6 In some sic.3 • A congregation of 1,000 has a churches, change is essential for the • Doug Murren developed a style talent pool greater than the long-range health of the body. For of worship intentionally aimed church of 500. these situations, it will take coura­ at baby boomers. “They will be geous, committed, and patient lead­ drawn to music with a contem­ ers to wisely guide these congrega­ porary sound,” he says.4 tions through the transition. In • Bill Hybels, in order to reach the "The only others, change in worship style pre­ secular-minded “unchurched sents not a cure-all but an unneces­ Harry and Mary,” devised a strat­ person who sary, and even divisive, disruption. egy of worship where “services But wherever we serve, as we consid­ feature lots of upbeat contempo­ likes change er how to best lead in worship, let’s rary music, highly professional commit ourselves to do whatever He singing, and clever skits.”5 is a wet wants. (More on leading worship can None of these pastors lead your be found in the book A Call to Wor­ congregation in your community! baby." ship, by Randy Hodges, released by Don’t imitate their style if it doesn’t Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City in fit the dynamics of your situation. (Al­ 1996.) * so, it may be wise to check your driv­ er’s license. If it doesn’t say “Hybels” • A congregation of 250 deals on it, you’ll do better to not try to im­ with a base greater than a 1. Rick Warren as quoted by George C. Hunter, itate him.) Design a worship strategy How to Reach Secular People (Nashville: Abingdon, church of 100. that fits your place of service and 1992), 151. • A church of 100 has more re­ 2. Howard Stevenson, “Creative Music and Wor­ your own God-given gifts and talents. ship,” Your Church (Winter 1993): 3W. sources than a church of 25. As we assess our current styles of 3. “What It Takes to Worship Well,” Leadership As we consider what worship style (Spring 1994), 17 ff. worship and envision what our wor­ we will use, we must determine if ca­ 4. Doug Murren, The Baby Boomerang: Catching ship should become, we also need to Baby Boomers As They Return to Church (Provo, pable people are available to imple­ consider this question: Utah: Regal, 1990), 188-89. ment the plans. 5. Daily Herald, May 18, 1988, “Hybels: Why do Closely related to the talent-base 12,000 people listen to this man each week?” 2. 3. What talent base in your con­ 6. Max Depree as quoted by John Maxwell in De­ gregation will supply the musi­ question is another issue: Are those veloping the Leader Within You, 64.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 31 Show and Tell

re you looking for a way to I’m not! I’m mad because Ben won add interest to your evening by cheating. , service? Do you desire an MOTHER: That’s a terrible thing to Aidea that will fit in with your sermon? accuse someone of doing. If you Do you want a suggestion to involve lost, you just have to accept it. laypeople in an innovative way? Don’t try to blame it on someone Some ministers have begun using minidramas. On an occasional basis, else and say he cheated. they write, or more often ask a mem­ BOB: But he did! (BOB turns and ber of the congregation to write, a by Dorothy Pryse looks in MOTHER’S face.) His lock­ minidrama that can be performed in er’s right next to mine. When we the chancel area. Freelance writer, Cincinnati, Ohio were getting in our lockers before The minidrama requires no cos­ we left school, he dropped his tumes, takes approximately five min­ notebook. (Shakes head.) I saw an ture their interest in a visual way. utes to present, and makes a point answer sheet fall out. relevant to the upcoming sermon. To illustrate how a minidrama Props are kept quite simple, and the might be written to adapt to a ser­ MOTHER: Did you ask him about it? drama should have only one point. mon, the following minidrama is one Using the minidrama immediately that could be used on Palm Sunday. BOB: Yeah. He just laughed and said, before the sermon makes it more ef­ Let us say the title of the sermon will “You didn’t see a thing, did you?” fective. The congregation will begin be “Success Via Failure.” The drama and left. to watch for the point in the sermon will carry through this theme: MOTHER: So—do you know who re­ that the dramatization has touched ally won? on. Palm Sunday: Lines of dialogue should be kept Success Via Failure BOB: Sure. Ben. short—easier to memorize. Action Luke 19:37-38 should take place with actors close MOTHER: No. You did. by each other so that a stand-up mi­ CHARACTERS: Mother, young crophone can be used instead of indi­ Bob, preteen son BOB: Me? I don’t know what you vidual ones. mean. Nearly every church has members SCENE: MOTHER is sitting on couch, MOTHER: Ben may have won the who have talent for directing, talent reading her Bible, when BOB comes award, but he lost a battle with his for writing, talent for acting. Getting home from school and throws book conscience. He’ll always know you these laypeople involved in a creative bag on floor angrily. really deserved it. He’ll never really way is one more way to get more MOTHER: What’s wrong? You look as enjoy winning the award. members interested in church work. though you’ve lost your best friend. Two to four weeks before an up­ BOB: So? coming sermon, the minister must BOB (flings himself on couch beside give the writer the subject, purpose, her, disgust written on his face): MOTHER: So—you lost the award, and biblical reference of the pro­ It’s not fair! but in your heart you won because posed sermon so that the writer can you learned what was needed to produce a minidrama that is meaning­ MOTHER (closing her Bible): What’s pass the test. You made an honest ful and appropriate. It is probably a not fair? effort. good idea for the minister to ask for BOB: Ben Williams won the science permission to edit if needed, to make BOB: That still doesn’t make it fair! award. (BOB stands up and starts sure that what is written is what is pacing.) MOTHER: I guess not. It’s like what desired. happened on Palm Sunday and These minidramas should vary so MOTHER: Oh . . . (Pats place beside Good Friday. That wasn’t fair either. that different age-groups can be ac­ her on couch.) Sit down and tell tors on different weeks and thus in­ me about it. You studied so hard BOB: What do you mean? volve everyone. for it. Young people have been raised in a MOTHER: Well, Jesus was a success visual world with television, video BOB (sitting back down beside on Palm Sunday, and yet, a Man cassettes, and so on. The minidrama MOTHER): You don’t get it. You without sin, He lost His life on the is one way to use this medium to cap- think I’m mad because I lost. Well, Cross on Good Friday so that He

32 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE could win over death. By doing so, He saved us to eternal life. A Different BOB: So—You could say Good Friday looked like a failure, but it was real­ ly a great success.

MOTHER: Right. Perspective

BOB: So Jesus really won?

MOTHER: Yes. And Ben had success in the test and won the award, but ipley’s Believe It Or Not Muse­ actually he failed because he didn’t um in San Francisco contains measure up. R, many fascinating exhibits. Near the museum’s entrance, three BOB: And? television monitors are positioned MOTHER: You turned failure into suc­ next to three mirrors. The first TV cess because you did your best. displays jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gilles­ What really matters here is not an pie playing his horn. A sign under the award. It’s who really won. adjacent mirror reads, “Can you puff your cheeks like Dizzy’s?” The second by Keith D. Wright BOB (puts arm around MOTHER'S screen shows a man with the unusual Kansas City neck): Thanks, Mom. ability to stretch his bottom lip over his nose. “Can you swallow your (Both stand and walk off, MOTHER nose?” asks a sign under the corre­ tongues. Catching someone else mak­ with her arm around BOB’s shoul­ sponding mirror. The third video’s ing crazy contortions is hilarious. Re­ der.) $ narration claims that a majority of alizing that an hour earlier you were people are unable to form their the featured performer makes the ex­ tongues into a U shape. An actress hibit even funnier. demonstrates and asks, “Can you curl 1 Cor. 13:12, referring to our future your tongue?” A mirror is provided so hope, says, “Now we see but a poor visitors can try. reflection as in a mirror; then we After this initial display, visitors shall see face to face. Now I know in pass through room after room of part; then I shall know fully. ” We will weird and wacky memorabilia. Near always have doubts and questions on the exit are three “windows”—actual­ this side of eternity. Our perspectives ly the backs of one-way mirrors. From are simply limited. Only when we this venue visitors come eyeball to leave this world, viewing it from eyeball with complete strangers puff­ God’s perspective, will we under­ ing their cheeks, trying to put their stand truth and reality in their full­ noses in their mouths, curling their ness. ft Christian Ministry I A Loaf of Bread

lmira needs a ride to the con­ had four small rooms. The door and valescent hospital,” I yelled as single window in the front seemed to E I grabbed my keys that hung swallow up the diminutive frame, giv­ on a hook by the screen door. “I ing it a matchbox appearance. shouldn’t be gone too long.” “Hi Elmira,” I hollered as I watched I stuck out my hand and waved to her push aside the overgrown weeds my husband, Ernie, as I maneuvered to make her way to my van. She the old yellow Volkswagen bus down smiled shyly and opened the door to the rutted, dusty excuse they called a our lemon-colored mode of trans­ road. portation. “Will I ever get used to this?” I by Joyce L. Holscher “How are you today?” I greeted her. thought. “This pastoring stuff sure Freelance writer, “Oomph,” she grunted as she set­ isn’t the picture they painted for us in Irvine, California tled her 70-year-old rounded frame school,” I moaned as I passed the onto the hard bench-like seat. small Native American church where very difficult. We were young and “I’m fine, Joyce. How are you?” Her a few months earlier we had been fresh out of Bible college and not native intonation came through. commissioned to minister. ready for what we were encountering When Elmira smiled, her eyes twin­ We loved the little flock of people, on the La Jolla Indian reservation. kled and glistened like pieces of black but the hurt and heartache we had I approached Elmira’s modest coal. Her dark, weathered face was seen in their lives almost every day home, and my heart began to ache for somewhat angelic in appearance. In over the past three months had been the tiny tribe. Her little stucco house the short time I had known this woman, I had come to love her. It took us an hour to drive down the mountain into town. The dia­ logue between us was difficult. Na­ tive Americans are shy, so it was hard for me to make conversation with Elmira. “Perhaps we’ll find something to talk about,” I thought. “Just to pass the time.” We made our way to visit Elmira’s 68-year-old cousin, Lily, who resided in a convalescent home. She was ill with diabetes. Unfortunately, diabetes is a disease that affects many of the Native American people. Due to her illness, Lily had been convalescing for several months. We intended to encourage her but came away encouraged our­ selves. She loved the Lord, and it was obvious to those around her. After chatting with Lily for about an hour, I decided time had come for Elmira and I to head home. I dreaded the long drive back up the mountain. We bid farewell to Lily and left. The conversation between us picked up a little on the way home. Elmira spoke about the mission and the folk who made up the community in and around the reservation. We al­ so talked about the various problems facing individuals who attended our man bowed his head as if responding little church. “thank-you” in deep gratitude. As Elmira spoke, I thought, “I’m He turned, then vanished as quick­ glad we have Jesus to offer these peo­ ly as he had appeared. ple.” I was not about to leave the scene My heart was heavy for Elmira. I until my curiosity was satisfied. knew life for her had been difficult. “What was that all about, Elmira?” I As a widow, the meager means she shouted as I rolled down the squeaky lived on made her existence hard. window to my left. The little plot of land that was home She shuffled over to the van and re­ to her didn’t offer much in the way of sponded in almost a hush: “He was worldly possessions. hungry. I gave him a loaf of bread.” As the van turned and twisted up The young man had been wander­ the small, mountainous two-lane road, ing in the mountains without any Artful I reflected on my attitude before I had food to eat for days. He spoke only left the mission to visit Elmira. I felt Spanish. Elmira gave food and a bless­ ashamed. My grumbling about the ing to the stranger. dust and ruts in the road to and from I sat there more than humbled. I Agony our little trailer situated on the church felt as though I had witnessed the grounds paled in widow giving her light of her cir­ mite. Elmira was t was not until Bee­ cumstances. Jesus to a thoven had become so stranger. My emo­ “Forgive me, deaf he could not hear Lord,” I breathed tions were I as we approached In His sight, I mixed. Through the fortissimo of a full or­ her humble little Elmira I felt the chestra that he composed home. was the one love of Jesus but Just as we I also felt con­ his chief oratorio. bounced over the dwelling in demnation in my It was not until John Mil­ last hump in the spirit for my atti­ ton had become stone-blind road leading to poverty. tude earlier that Elmira’s house, morning. that he could duplicate the we spotted what I began the sublimest poem of the ages. looked like a day grumbling It was not until Walter thin, dirty young about mundane man. He wandered from the bushes difficulties yet hoped, even planned, Scott was kicked by a horse toward our vehicle, waving his arms. to be a blessing to someone. I, and confined to the house though I was the minister, was minis­ He appeared weak and feeble. for many days that he could I glanced at Elmira. She seemed as tered to by Lily and Elmira. puzzled about the unexpected scene God wouldn’t bless others through write the Lay of the Last as I. my complaining dissatisfied spirit, so Minstrel. “Who is that?” I stammered. He gave me an instruction in charity “I don’t know?” Elmira responded, and humility. In His sight I was the The painter who mixes also posing a question. one dwelling in poverty. Elmira and his colors with blood from Elmira promptly opened the door Lily were fulfilled with their rich spiri­ his own broken heart makes and walked the 100 yards to greet the tual blessings. They had what it takes visiting stranger. I anxiously waited to minister to others—loving, con­ the best pictures. while my curiosity peaked and I tented hearts. The mightiest men of all prayed. I learned a valuable lesson on the ages have been mightiest in I could hear them talking in Span­ reservation. What we endure while ish. Elmira’s head nodded up and we are here is eclipsed by what is to their agonies. down as she gave affirmation to what­ come. Elmira gave away what she —Talmage ever they were discussing. Oddly, she possessed, producing blessings in this turned, walked toward her house, life for others and in the life to come opened the door, and disappeared in­ for herself. side. After a few moments, the door As we give to a stranger in need, opened. Elmira appeared, cradling we become Jesus to that person. We something in her arms. were strangers when Jesus first found “What is she doing?” I wondered. us. He unselfishly became our Bread The stranger reached out with so that we, in turn, can share His thankful hands and received whatev­ blessings with others, humbly and er it was she offered him. The young without complaint. ft

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 35 Church Administration Keeping Your Staff

t’s considered all right to burn up to do your best for God or are you for God, but it’s not all right to striving to have others work to make burn out for God. That’s excel­ you look your best? Do you gravitate I toward certain personalities or do lent advice I received from a pastor recently. That advice goes a long way you enjoy, appreciate, and respect toward meeting the challenge of your staff equally? Do you guide and maintaining staff longevity. manage by word or by deed? One key reason good workers leave What do you want? Truth does set youth service, administrative, choral, us free. Be honest with yourself. What and adult ministries is they feel over­ do you want from a good staff work­ worked. The average size church runs by Rhonda Campbell er? Do you want a staff member who around 90 to 100 members. Whether Freelance writer, will freely work long hours without a congregation is large, average, or Bensalem, Pennsylvania complaint? Do you want a staff mem­ small in size, one element unfortu­ ber who is also a friend, someone you nately remains consistent: 10 to 20 they are born again. If they are not and your family socialize with after percent of a church’s total member­ born again, out of love make clear to work? Do you want a staff member ship usually carries the workload. them that no one can earn salvation. who is introverted or extroverted? Good workers are service-oriented To avoid losing such good workers, This honest assessment is neces­ individuals. These people are either lead them into God’s kingdom. If that sary. Studies have proven that office built-up in the faith or mistakenly goes undone, these good, hardwork­ managers often hinder growth and think they can work their way into ing church attenders will either grow productivity by unknowingly hiring heaven. Even with weekday preach­ bitter or burn out. employees who have personality ing services and Sunday worship ser­ The born-again workers work under traits similar to their own. As the vices, many Christians would be the Holy Spirit’s unction. Individuals Body of Christ continues to grow, it alarmed to discover how many born-again and filled with God’s Spirit becomes increasingly clear that God church members believe they must desire to put their faith to work for God. gives us good things through our in­ earn or work their way to heaven. For Faith in God produces good works. teraction with one another. A lack of these misguided individuals, work is Avoid letting good workers burn the loving touch, the lack of kind key to their relationship with God. In­ out. To avoid burnout, be sensitive to words can kill or psychologically and evitably they burn out, for it is impos­ the members of your church. Be curi­ emotionally cripple a newborn child. sible to reach the point where they ous about their homelife, their school God blesses us through our interac­ continuously feel they have earned a progress, and the demands of their tion with one another. You will also right relationship with God. jobs, especially if they have a part- or find that the best working environ­ Such hardworking church members full-time job outside church. Armed ment is one where different personal­ are constantly busy, a flurry of motion. with this knowledge, you’ll know ities work together toward the uni­ They volunteer for assignments before when to solicit assistance for some­ fied goal of winning people for God other members do. They apply proper one who is obviously working too and strengthening Christians. protocol to all church events. They much or when to encourage a good What do you expect? Whatever you may be either humble or proud. They worker to take a few days off. expect is generally what you receive. know what work they have done in A key to adapting to change is to Truth does set us free. Be honest with the church, for it is important for them provide excellent training. Whether yourself. What do you expect from to keep a mental or physical record of you choose to send staff to seminars, your staff? Do you expect perfection or their labors. After all, they are trying to provide in-house training, or pur­ are you willing to allow room for mis­ earn their salvation. Publicly quiet or chase books and video tapes and takes? Do you expect a quiet office or talkative and eloquent, one thing is cer­ maintain an incisive library, when you do you expect activity in your office? tain: they will be involved in church take time to train, you tell the staff, “I Do you expect an open- or closed-door work. With their names familiar to care enough about you to provide policy for members of the church? Do most of your church’s membership, specific training that will enable you you expect your staff to perform volun­ they work feverishly, their hands stir­ to be the very best staff member pos­ teer work on tasks outside their normal ring many pots. Unfortunately, their sible.” Know yourself. Do you micro­ job description? Or do you expect your zeal may not have come from God. manage? Do you stand over staff staff to remain inside the boundaries of To avoid losing this type of hard­ members’ shoulders when you are their job descriptions? working church attenders, you must nervous that a deadline may not be Share your expectations with staff. first minister to them to ascertain if met? Do you nitpick? Are you striving Encourage them to do likewise with

36 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE you. Make yourself available to your staff for suggestions, complaints, and praise. Today's Boohs It is important to know what is go­ ing on in your staff members’ person­ al and professional lives. It is impor­ for Today's Preachers tant to provide ongoing professional training for your staff. It is important to encourage your staff to: “Take a day off.” “Take a long lunch.” “Go home early today.’’This makes it clear Stuck in a Sticky World: him for handling to your staff that you value them as Learning to See God’s Best in helpfully the individuals and not simply as people Life’s Worst, subjects of why who get the church work done. This by Jon Johnston, the righteous goes a long way toward preventing (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, suffer and how burnout of good workers. 1996), 295 pages we are enabled Put yourself in your staff members’ (PA089-900-752X, $19-99). to react creative­ shoes. Be on the lookout, especially dur­ ly when our ing peak work times, for signs of Jon Johnston, Ph.D., the Nazarene world becomes burnout: complaints, heavy sighs, physi­ scholar and church leader who has garmented with a pale cast. Jon John­ cal weariness, lack of patience, a staff taught the past 20 years at Pepper- ston gives us many suggestions, in­ member hurrying to leave the office day dine University and who has written cluding advice against mere “group- after day. Provide sufficient and stimulat­ five other books, has a new one just think” (p. 38). ing training. Spend time conversing off the press. His list of questions at the close of with your staff without discussing work. This book is exceedingly well-re- each chapter makes this book an ex­ Get to know your staff’s families. searched and well-written. It is in an cellent resource for group study. ft Keeping good workers is a skill that area of Johnston’s professional exper­ —J. Kenneth Grider can be turned into an art form. Keep­ tise as a professor of sociology and so­ Distinguished visiting professor of ing good workers will cause you to cial psychology. The author also pos­ religion, learn and to grow personally and pro­ sesses an honors B.D. from Nazarene Olivet Nazarene University fessionally. Keeping good workers Theological Seminary, which means Professor of theology emeritus will keep you in step with God’s lead­ that he is acquainted with Scripture Nazarene Theological Seminary ership and management style. if and theology—both of which equip Sun Lakes, Arizona

“I see we’re running a little long this morning. For our final Hymn, let’s j'ust sing every other word.”

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 37 Pastor, Be Encouraged Thank God for the Joy of Ministry

ere is joy in ministry! This for successful ministry. The current must be a premise on which pastor, though a tremendous fellow, we build ministry, or the New did not have all the gifts it appeared T Testament is suspect. The gospel, his predecessor had. which is the central priority of min­ I inquired of a layperson what he istry, means “good news.” If we are thought the secret was to the success dispensers of good news, then joy is a of the church. In a kind way he said, by-product of the proclamation. “Well, this pastor is not always asking Amid all the negatives that define for something for himself. He is, in­ ministry, we must not lose sight of stead, asking how he can serve. He the joy, the victory, and the fulfill­ by C. Neil Strait has turned the focus of the church ment that also come with ministry. In District superintendent, outward. We are beginning to give, to a negative world, it is too easy to col­ Michigan District serve, and our church has never been Church of the Nazarene, or ministry with the wrong hues. more unified.” Grand Rapids, Michigan Paul said to the Philippian church: So there are some ways to thank “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say God for the joy of ministry, for where it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). We must brate relationship. They know the there is no thanks, there is no joy. All have a place in ministry for rejoicing, source of joy and saturate life with the victories of ministry are the by­ for joy, for victory—a place to savor His presence and with His will. product of faithfulness. One of the the success of faithful ministry. Yet another way to thank God tasks of faithfulness is thanks-giving. One way to thank God for the for the joy of ministry is to keep It is too easy to see only the failures joy of ministry is to acknowledge life pursuing the potentials. Suc­ and the problems. Thanks-giving His blessings. If one is not careful, cessful pastors keep their energies helps to keep the books balanced and he or she will see storm clouds in engaged in the big picture. They give in right focus. every blessing or success. We must themselves to the eternal causes. I heard E. Stanley Jones speak years boldly express our thanks for the vic­ They accept problems as part of the ago. He stated that he spent his morn­ tories and live those moments with journey, but not the whole journey. ings thanking God, praising Him, hon­ gratitude and joy. They are given to what Stephen Cov­ oring Him, deepening his relationship Another way to thank God for ey calls, “First things first.” Where life with Him. It was the secret to his life the joy of ministry is to live with a is focused on potential more than on of joy. spirit of expectancy. As I visit with problems, there the Spirit unleashes I heard a Sunday School teacher say those pastors who are experiencing the energies and gifts “for the work of one Sunday, “Let God be large in your joys of ministry, I am encouraged by ministry.” Such focus is the raw mate­ life this week.” Thanks-giving is let­ them. They not only see, feel, and ap­ rial for joy. ting God be large in our hearts. In preciate the blessings of ministry but One other observation of those ministry, a lot of things beg for one’s are anticipating more of them as well. who thank God for the joy of attention. They clamor for attention, They see potential, they dream of bet­ ministry is that they seek to serve for space; they want to be large in ter things, they are not waiting for the and not to be served. Someone has our ministry. As a pastor, I encourage next crisis. There is a spirit of expectan­ written that “fragrance always clings people to stay up-to-date with their cy in their ministry. It is contagious. It to the hand that gives roses.” “thank-yous,” for I am convinced that not only fills their soul with joy but also Several years ago I visited a church thankfulness is a deterrent to selfish­ spreads to their congregations. that had come through a long crisis ness. It is a reminder that life and A third way to thank God for with a former pastor and now was en­ ministry are dependent on others and the joy of ministry is to keep the joying growing days with their cur­ especially on God. Thanks-giving focus on Christ. Pastors must be re­ rent pastor. I was puzzled at what had turns our thoughts to God, to His minded who they are and whose they happened. The former pastor was blessings, to His plans, and to His are. Those who celebrate the joy of well-trained, had a good appearance, counsel; all of which prepares us for ministry keep close to the One who seemed to do things well, and, for all success, for joy, and for exciting min­ called them to ministry. They cele- outward appearances, had potential istry. t

3 8 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE Social Concerns Giving to the Highest Degree: Light Shed on Love from the Dark Ages

ngry and defiant, a young cou­ highest act of charity was to give to ple sat across the desk from the person in need without expecta­ A , me in my office. Bitterly they tion of return. Clothes closets, food spewed out resentful poison: “You depots, soup kitchens, and the like don’t love us. You don’t even care. It headed my list, along with free med­ doesn’t matter to you that we are suf­ ical treatment. While these charitable fering.’’ activities certainly have value, Mai­ Gently I defended myself: “But I do monides places them lower on his care. Don’t you remember all the gro­ scale of charity. ceries my wife and I gave you? And What, then, rises to the highest de­ what about the money we sent over by Carlton F. Harvey gree of charity? Job creation and job to you each Christmas?” District superintendent, placement services rank as the high­ “You didn’t help us!” The wife was Canada Quebec District est form of giving. The principle is Church of the Nazarene, speaking vehemently this time. “You that recipients be given the enable­ Quebec, Canada insulted our dignity. What we needed ment to provide for their own needs. were people to understand and re­ Implied in this notion is an account­ spectable jobs so we could support was Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon (1135- ability for how the recipients disburse our family” 1204), known in Hebrew literature as the resources placed at their disposal. The exchange with this couple de­ the Rambam and in Western culture Although the parable of the talents teriorated further until I realized I since the Renaissance as Maimonides. (cf. Matt. 25:14-30) has often been cit­ was unable to reach them. Healing He is unquestionably one of the out­ ed as a model of fruitfulness and ac­ and restoration would have to wait standing figures in Jewish history. countability, perhaps a new under­ for another day. With sadness I real­ While browsing along in a text of standing in terms of compassionate ized my acts of charity had not just selected writings, I was suddenly riv­ ministries is in order. been spurned, they had been misin­ eted upon a passage that spoke of de­ The idea is that all three individuals terpreted altogether. Never mind the grees of charity. Maimonides, also a in the story were disenfranchised and fact that groceries and money had philosopher, was elucidating with powerless as slaves. The master, with been hungrily consumed at the mo­ amazing insight for 20th-century com­ resources to spare, offered the slaves ment. What I had intended as Chris­ passionate ministries. an opportunity to gain independence tian charity had been received as a through a monetary gift and empow­ counterproductive insult. Eight Degrees of Charity erment. As we learn from the story, Shocked and repulsed by what I 1. The highest degree, exceeded by two responded to their opportunity wanted to categorize as two “ungrate­ none, is that of the person who as­ by multiplying the initial investment. ful wretches,” grieved that my efforts sists a poor Jew by providing him Accountability was a delight as they to show love in a tangible way had with a gift or a loan or by accepting presented the fruit of their labors. In­ driven a wedge between us, I closed him into a business partnership or dependence, dignity, rising self-es­ the conversation. Meekly I offered a by helping him find employment—in teem, and fresh opportunities for ad­ simple prayer that God would some­ a word, by putting him where he can vancement accompanied their how heal the wounds. dispense with other people’s aid. With master’s delightful assessment, “Well What went wrong in my acts of reference to such aid it is said, “You done!” The servant who squandered compassion? And how should I ex­ shall strengthen him, be he a stranger his opportunity was understandably press my understanding of the bibli­ or a settler, he shall live with you” bound in an ongoing state of lost dig­ cal mandate to give to those in need? (Lev. 25-35), which means strengthen nity and motivation. It was not the I never expected to find some an­ him in such a manner that his gift that was defeating, but his unwill­ swers in the writings of a 12th-centu- falling into want is prevented. * ingness to risk personal change. ry Jew, but indeed I did. His name My initial assumption was that the Charity that leads to independence

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 39 via self-support includes empower­ the notion of giving blindly into a Interestingly, however, the citation ment and resources, but it also must fund administered by others runs of one such person worthy of the re­ include accountability. Thus both giv­ counter to current trends. People to­ sponsibility to handle funds properly er and receiver share in the responsi­ day want to know exactly where their emphasizes a modern-day truth. bility of maximizing resources toward gifts are going. Granted, certain organizations have the desired end. The giving of the On the one hand, some organiza­ failed the test of responsible steward­ powerful is matched by the giving of tions have failed to maintain credibili­ ship and giving to them should be the powerless to create a splendid ty through spurious expenditures avoided. But there are a sufficient synergized result. dripping with selfish greed. Others number of worthy organizations who Maimonides challenges those of us have lost their right to appeal for do­ consistently pass tests of accountabili­ desirous of making our acts of charity nations because of an unwillingness ty with impeccable honesty. most effective to consider investment to pull out of unproductive programs in job creation and placement. But and redirect resources into better mmmm m b b m ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ w m m what of the remaining seven degrees projects. Still others have been of charity? dubbed unworthy due to a lazy, lack­ 2. A step below this stands the adaisical system of handling funds. The giving of one who gives alms to the needy in Maimonides would agree with such a manner that the giver knows these modern day concerns. He the powerful is not to whom he gives and the recipi­ states: One should not drop money ent knows not from whom it is giv­ in the charity box unless one is sure matched by the en that he takes. Such exemplifies that the person in charge is trust­ performing the meritorious act for worthy, wise, and competent to han­ giving of the its own sake. dle the funds properly, as was Rabbi powerless to Several issues are raised here. First, Hananya ben Teradyon. create a Eight Degrees of Charity splendid The highest degree is that of assisting a person by providing a synergized way to dispense with other peo­ ple’s aid. result.

The giver knows not the re­ What, then, is at the heart of a re­ ceiver, and the recipient knows luctance to invest charitable dona­ not the source. tions in organizations well equipped to meet the needs of impoverished peoples? Is it possible that the answer is to be found in the psyche of a gen­ The giver knows the recipient, eration infatuated with immediate but the person in need knows gratification, rewards, and results? not the source. The grace of performing the meritori­ ous act for its own sake has been lost on a society desperate for ego gratifi­ cation. The giver knows not the recipi­ A further tragedy is the misdirec­ ent, but the person in need tion of faith on the part of the recipi­ knows the giver. ent who knows the donor. Rather than learning the lesson that all good The giver gives directly to the gifts come from God, the recipient is person in need before being inclined to express faith and gratitude asked. toward people. Ego gratification and misdirected faith are avoided when one learns to give joyously as an un­ The giver who gives only after known to another unknown. And in being asked. the process, the dignity of the recipi­ ent is preserved. The giver gives graciously but 3■ One step lower is that in which less than is needed. the giver knows to whom he gives but the poor person knows not from whom he receives. . . . This method The giver gives morosely. becomes fitting and exalted, should it happen that those in charge of the

40 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE charity fu n d do not conduct its af­ him who, with his own hand, be­ enth down from the highest degree fairs properly. stows a gift before the poor person of charity, there is yet a simple point Here Maimonides offers the alterna­ asks. to be made. Our giving must be char­ tive to giving to organizations that Christian charity is enhanced acterized by graciousness. For at its have violated trust as discussed when, in view of our own good for­ lowest degree, this is what Mai­ above. However, a further point may tune, our first response is thankful­ monides says: be made. The alert donor may wisely ness to God immediately followed by 8. The next degree lower is that of direct funds to a specific need when the question, “Now with whom can I him who gives morosely. otherwise the need would be over­ share?” Adopting this response mech­ The Scriptures teach that “God looked. An example is the case of the anism automatically releases compas­ loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). missionary soliciting funds for a wor­ sionate sensitivity to persons in need. While we ought to accept the gift that thy project but lacking the communi­ No longer waiting for an appeal, the is less than fitting as well as the gift cation skills to convey the need in a generous one searches out opportuni­ given morosely, the greater need is compelling manner. Another example ties to give. that the giver would resolve personal is the individual whose outward ap­ 6. The next degree lower is that of struggles in the light of God’s lavish pearance does not match with a legit­ him who gives only after the poor generosity. Matt. 10:8 is instructive: imate need hidden from public view. person asks. “Freely you received, freely give.” Directed giving in these instances is Let us not pretend to ignore or I still have not completely un­ justified. And again, the anonymity of refuse the one who asks. God has packed all that was contained in the the contributor offers the prospect consistently responded to our re­ angry tirade focused on my acts of that faith and gratitude will be direct­ quests for grace and help in times of charity that day in my office. My ini­ ed toward God. need. The Christian can do no less tial temptation to withhold all my giv­ 4. A step lower is that in which than reply to an expressed need as ing was overcome in the awareness the poor person knows from whom opportunity is given. that I possess more than I can possi­ he is taking but the giver knows not The pace of modern society cou­ bly make good use of. Rather than to whom he is giving. Examples of pled with the screaming demands of horde or waste the generous gifts this were the great sages who would a plethora of charitable causes has God has entrusted to my care, I have tie their coins in their scarves which the tendency to callous even the gen­ elected to go on giving to those in they would fling over their shoulders erous to authentic cries for help. need, performing the meritorious act so that the poor might help them­ When our attention is drawn to a pre­ for its own sake. I am challenged to selves without suffering shame. viously overlooked but nevertheless move up to higher and higher de­ Giving that discreetly preserves dig­ genuine need, it is appropriate to re­ grees of charity. And, thanks to Mai­ nity is not to be neglected. At the spond swiftly and liberally. monides, I want to take a fresh look heart of the matter is one’s fundamen­ And let not the one who asks be at the creation of a job center in my tal opinion and attitude toward per­ despised for their asking. Rather, ac­ city where unemployment is ram­ sons of impoverishment. Sensitivity to knowledge the courage and inner pant. I’d like to enter into a synergis­ erase social classes in the matter of strength required to step forward in a tic partnership of empowering peo­ self-worth is a delicate but essential time of need. How much worse is the ple, strengthening them in such a activity. Going beyond political cor­ one who suffers in the silence of a manner that their falling into want is rectness, it is an issue which strikes at pride that will not admit a need. prevented. s' the heart of the basic belief that all 7. The next degree lower is that of men are created equal and are there­ him who gives less than is fitting but •Quotations printed in italics throughout this article are by Maimonides, quoted in I. Twersky, A M ai­ fore deserving of respectful treatment. gives with a gracious mien. monides Reader (West Orange, N.J.: Behrman House, 5. The next degree lower is that of While Maimonides places this sev­ Inc., 1972), 136-37.

Pontius' Puddle

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 41 Pastor's Family Life

Where Is Your Daughter Tonight?

e teens gather after the ser­ than judgmental. Help them figure vice and form a caravan for out how to solve problems and trou­ the nearest coffee shop, ice bleshoot on their own. Don’t expect T cream parlor, or pizza place. You are every detail, but don’t believe the thrilled when your daughter bounds myth that all teenagers want to keep up to you, asking for $10 to join everything private. Give them a safety them. You are thrilled that she is part net. of the crowd, accepted by the kids in When I turned 16, I was finally al­ the church. After all, it is much safer lowed to officially date. My father to have her hanging around “church gave me a gift that day that I shall kids” than the unsaved “school kids.” by Shari L. Risoff never forget and that I will pass on to Right? Not necessarily. Freelance writer, my teenage son. Even as you peer over the heads of Glen Ellyn, Illinois My father and I dined alone at a fan­ the short white-haired ladies who are cy restaurant, complete with low pumping your hand in the narthex, topuslike hands. They did not know lights and candles. I wore an evening you watch the boys gather around that at the Christian college I attend­ gown; he wore a suit. He treated me her and think you’re safe because ed PK’s were defined as “minks,” with with respect, showing me how a gen­ these boys are the sons of your dea­ the same reproductive habits of the tleman with impeccable manners cons, your board members, your pas­ animal. would treat me and what I should ex­ toral staff. No one actually taught me to adjust pect. However, remember that the my behavior to fit in with the crowd. His gift was a standing date forever. “preacher’s daughter” title carries its In fact, quite the opposite. The crowd If I was ever asked out by someone own connotations and dangers. Add I was warned about was the “school and did not know how to turn him to that the normal teenage need to crowd,” not the “church crowd.” The down, I could always honestly say prove her individuality, distinguishing unsaved kids actually turned out to be that I already had plans. Then all I herself from her parents or family, less dangerous and more respectful would have to do is call my father and and you have a recipe for trouble, than the “church kids.” tell him that we had “plans,” and we possibly outright rebellion. It was my own mental trap that led would have another date. My own father was a wonderful me toward the people-pleasing behav­ I have done it and it works. preacher, not only in his sermon de­ ior at church. After all, this was my Despite the safety net, though, I livery from the pulpit but also in his dad’s job. On the surface anyway, the fell into traps—traps placed by what I ability to shepherd and counsel the family must be united together. One thought were just well-meaning church body. He attended board of my sister’s boyfriends in high “church boys,” traps where I least ex­ meetings every week, visited the sick school actually accused our family of pected them. and elderly, and managed growing being a clique. We had to stick to­ Care about where your daughter is churches. My mother was the perfect gether, protect each other from the tonight. Don’t just give her the mon­ preacher’s wife. She played the organ insensitive clods at the church who ey to go along with the crowd. Give and directed and sang in small groups felt it their moral obligation to spy on her attention, at least as much atten­ and choirs. The church body was like us and report any untoward behavior tion as you give those silver-haired an extended family in our home. to my father. ladies at the end of your sermon. Ask They did not know that the bus Defend your kids! Let the church questions, and then listen when she trip for any outing, whether it be ski­ people know that you and you alone answers. ing or camp, provided many opportu­ are responsible for the whereabouts Deep down she wants you to nities for unchaperoned “feeling up” and activities of your own children. know. She wants you to protect her in junior high school. They did not Talk to your kids. Have regular adult from the enticements of the world, know that the boy from the high conversations with them. Don’t jump especially when the world sits right school group at church whose father to conclusions. Ask them about their in your very own church, probably in was head of the deacon board had oc- lives. Then be understanding rather the same pew every Sunday. i

42 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE Theology The Mustard Seed Vision

n October 1, 1994, the Trinity Church of the Nazarene (for­ O merly The First Chinese Church of the Nazarene) commemo­ rated their years as a church in a “Heritage Celebration.” Having pas- tored this church in past years, I was privileged to be the speaker on this occasion. I was asked to bring a mes­ sage on “My Vision for the Future of Trinity Church,” with a textual back­ by Delbert T. Morse ground in the parable of the mustard Retired elder, former pastor, seed: Oceanside, California He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heav­ While I was on my knees, the Lord en is like a mustard seed, which a gave to me His vision for Trinity man took and sowed in his field; Church, using His parable of the mus­ and this is smaller than all other tard seed. He pleads for permission to seeds; but when it is full grown, it is plant that Mustard Seed of himself in larger than the garden plants, and our hearts. It will grow to where He becomes a tree, so that the birds of is the most important Person in our the air come and nest in its branch­ lives and the most important Person es" (Matt. 13:31-32, nasb). in our church. He promised: “But I, It was an honor to be chosen as a when I am lifted up . . . will draw all speaker for this event and a double men to myself” (John 12:32). honor to be given this very important In answer to my prayer for His topic: “My Vision for the Future of help, the Lord Jesus declared himself Trinity Church.” The only problem to be the Mustard Seed, the least of all was that, after giving this topic my seeds. To emphasize that statement, very best in preparation, I was utterly He pointed my thoughts to Philippi- void of any vision for Trinity Church. ans 2:5-8, k jv : I had nothing to show for my work. Let this mind be in you, which Finally I admitted to myself that I did was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being not have a vision for the future of in the form of God, thought it not their church. That night, in my frus­ robbery to be equal with God: But tration, I prayed, “Lord, please show made himself of no reputation, and me Your vision for the future of Trini­ took upon him the form of a ser­ ty Church in the context of Your para­ vant, and was made in the likeness ble of the mustard seed. ” of men: And being found in fashion It has been my practice for several as a man, he humbled himself, and years to have my morning devotions became obedient unto death, even while the rest of the family are asleep. the death o f the cross. The next morning during my devo­ The Lord emptied himself of His tional time, while on my knees, these heavenly glory and accepted an ani­ words were projected into my mal shelter for the place of His birth. thoughts: “I am the Mustard Seed. I His first bed was a manger used in am that smallest of seeds, which be­ feeding livestock. His parents were came the largest Tree in the garden, common people from Nazareth, a also the largest Tree in the world.” most backward area. His ministry was largely focused on the needs of every­ o f all things, even until now (1 Cor. Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2,

day people. Jesus defended His min­ 4:9-13, nasb). nasb) . I had a new joy in my heart, a istry with these words: “The blind re­ Thirty years ago the Lord gave to constant reminder of His abiding pres­ ceive sight, the lame walk, the lepers me the privilege of serving as the pas­ ence and love for me. He gave to me a are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the tor at Trinity Church. During the last vision o f hell and a taste o f heaven. dead are raised up, the poor have the part of my fourth year, I became very From that day on, I have carried a bur­ gospel preached to them” (Luke 7:22, den for the lost. I know the only pos­ n asb) . His ministry and popularity en­ sible answer, The Lord Jesus Christ. raged the rulers and priests in Jerusa­ The night before Jesus was cruci­ lem. He was arrested, bound as a After giving fied, He told His disciples: “If they criminal, accused of blasphemy, persecuted me, they will persecute flogged, spit upon, ridiculed, con­ this topic my you also” (John 15:20). Also on that demned to die on a cross between same night, He prayed for them and two criminals, shamefully abused, very best in for us a most beautiful prayer: “I have and placed in a borrowed tomb from made you known to them, and w ill which He arose on the third day. He preparation, I continue to make you known in order humbled himself and, like the mus­ that the love you have for me may be tard seed, served as the least of all. was utterly void in them and that I myself may be in Into my mind was projected the them” (John 17:26). mustard seed quality of His disciples. of any vision for Millions of Christians have suffered In comparison to the church o f today and died for Jesus. In their lives was with its great wealth and resources, Trinity Church. that glorious mystery o f His abiding its fine buildings, equipment, semi­ presence: “that is, the mystery which naries, and trained leaders, the disci­ has been hidden from the past ages ples had so little but gave so much, discouraged and depressed. I decided and generations; but has now been even their lives. Shortly after the first that, for the good of the church, I manifested to His saints, to whom Christian Church had its beginning in should resign. One morning, in our God willed to make known what is Jerusalem, Peter and John were arrest­ home at Highland Park, on my knees, the riches of the glory of this mystery ed and faced the same ruling body I asked the Lord to let me resign and among the Gentiles, which is Christ that had condemned Jesus to the take some other ministry. I reminded in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:26- Him o f other talented and successful Cross. “Peter, filled with the Holy 27, n a sb) . Paul, in the conclusion of pastors who could do a much better Spirit,” (Acts 4:8, n a s b ) , replied to his second letter to the church at their charges with such boldness and job as pastor of this church than I was Corinth, urges them: “Test yourselves confidence that the rulers were doing. I also told Him, “Lord, I don’t to see if you are in the faith; examine have the answer for this church.” That amazed. Acts 4:13, n a s b , describes yourselves! Or do you not recognize morning, the Lord changed my life their response: “Now as they ob­ this about yourselves, that Jesus and ministry. He stood in my room; I served the confidence of Peter and Christ is in you—unless indeed you did not see Him with my eyes or hear John, and understood that they were fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5, nasb). Him with my ears, but He spoke to uneducated and untrained men, they Dr. H. Orton Wiley, in his Epistle to me. I heard the words He said: “I am were marveling, and began to recog­ the Hebrews, shares with us this great alive and in this room right now. I nize them as having been with Jesus.” truth: “Nor would w e forget that it is love you and died on the Cross for Paul, in his first letter to the church not by the holy heart that the work of your sins. I am the answer to your in Corinth, writes about some o f the God goes forward, but by Him who church: And I, when I be lifted up . . . problems with which the apostles had dwells within the holy heart. In Him, will draw all men to myself.” to live: and not what He has wrought within For, I think, God has exhibited us us, lies the secret o f progress in the apostles last of all, as men con­ divine life.”* demned to death; because we have The Church, according to the Scrip­ become a spectacle to the world, "Lord, I don't tures, is the Body of Christ in the both to angels and to men. We are world (see Eph. 1:15-23). Ephesians fools for Christ’s sake, . . . we are have the answer compares the relationship of the hus­ weak,. . . we are without honor. To band and wife with that of Christ and this present hour we are both hun­ for this church/7 His Church. In the following quote, gry and thirsty, and are poorly portions of scripture describe this re­ clothed, and are roughly treated, Jesus’ living presence and the words lationship of Christ and the Church: and are homeless; and we toil, He spoke changed my life and min­ He Himself being the Savior of working with our own hands; istry. I now had the answer for our the body . . . the church is subject when we are reviled, we bless; church and every church, the Lord Je­ to Christ, . . . Christ also loved the when we are persecuted, we en­ sus Christ. My Bible became a new church and gave Himself up for dure; when we are slandered, we book. It was about Him from the be­ her; that He might sanctify her, try to conciliate; we have become ginning to the last sentence. I had a having cleansed her by the wash­ as the scum of the world, the dregs new message for my people, “Jesus ing o f water with the word, that

44 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE He might present to Himself the does not give Him that place of honor Fuller Seminary, also an outstanding church in all her glory, having no and authority, as quoted above, is authority on revivals and of dynamic spot or wrinkle or any such thing; open to the greatest of all tragedies, Christianity has written a song that but that she should be holy and that of being put out of His garden. expresses his burden for revival in the blameless . . . because we are My prayer and God-given vision for Church. The words of this hymn are a members of His body.. . . This mys­ Trinity Church: In the mustard seed formula for revival and victorious tery is great; but I am speaking parable, the Lord Jesus is the Mustard Christian living. with reference to Christ and the Seed. The Lord planted that Seed in church (Eph. 5:23-28, 30, 32, n a sb ). His garden. That Seed grew into a Cleanse Me God speaks to us through Paul’s Tree, the largest Plant in His garden. by J. Edwin Orr prayer for the Ephesian church, as to His provision for all Christian churches: Search me, O God, and know my For this reason, I bow my knees heart today. before the Father,. . . that He would Try me, O Savior; know my grant you, according to the riches It is not by the thoughts, I pray. of His glory, to be strengthened See if there be some wicked way in with power through His Spirit in holy heart that me; the inner man; so that Christ may Cleanse me from every sin, and set dwell in your hearts through faith; the work of God me free. and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to goes forward, I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me comprehend with all the saints from sin. ivhat is the breadth and length and but by Him who Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure height and depth, and to know the within; love of Christ which surpasses dwells within Fill me with fire, where once I knowledge, that you may be filled burned with shame. up to all the fullness of God. Now to the holy heart. Grant my desire to magnify Thy Him who is able to do exceeding name. abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power The birds of the air came and nested Lord, take my life, and make it whol­ that works within us, to Him be the in its branches, built their nests, and ly Thine; glory in the church and in Christ Je­ raised their young. That Tree is the Fill my poor heart with Thy great sus to all generations forever and Church. The Church is people: men love divine. ever. Amen (Eph. 3:14, 16-21, nasb). and women in whom Christ has Take all my will, my passion, self, The Lord Jesus, in Revelation 2 and planted the Seed of himself. They and pride. 3, has a message for each of the seven have been born-again and are new L now surrender; Lord in me abide. churches. He commends the church creatures in Him and are to let Him so at Ephesus for their labors and care of fill their lives with himself that He be­ O Holy Ghost, revival comes from the church. Then He said, “But I have comes the largest Tree in their world Thee. this against you, that you have left and the Church. When He used Peter Send a revival—start the work in me. your first love. Remember therefore on the day of Pentecost, there were Thy word declares Thou wilt supply from where you have fallen, and re­ added three thousand to the Church our need. pent and do the deeds you did at first; (Acts 2:41). In the same way He For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly or else I am coming to you, and will wants to use Trinity Church to reach plead. $ remove your lampstand out of its out to neighbors, friends, and families place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:4, to draw them to himself. *H. Orton Wiley, Epistle to the Hebrews (Kansas 5, n a s b ) . Any church or person that Dr. J. Edwin Orr, former teacher at City: Beacon Hill Press, 1959), 239-40.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 45 Stewardship

The Preretirement Years: Emotional Preparation

by Dennis Apple Pastor for senior adults and recovery ministries, College Church o f the Nazarene, Olathe, Kansas Submitted by Pensions and Benefits USA Church o f the Nazarene

s you approach retirement shocked and surprised at the changes is the change in your role from pastor age, you will probably check which retirement brings to them, and to pastor emeritus or retired pastor. , out your pension plans, tax- they are the ones who suffer greatly. When you retire, you move suddenly Asheltered annuities, and other antici­ Someone aptly has said that moun­ from pastor to retired pastor; from pated retirement income. However, tain climbing is a very dangerous pulpit to pew; from a ringing tele­ you may give very little attention to sport but that climbing down the phone to silence; from sermon prepa­ the emotional preparations you need mountain is even more dangerous. ration to sermon listening; from chair to make in order to insure a success­ Retirement, for the unprepared, can of the board to church member. ful retirement. If you have not made be very dangerous. However, it can al­ These are not easy transitions. In fact, these necessary emotional prepara­ so be the most rewarding time in such drastic changes can be danger­ tions, you could be in for big trouble. your life. ous. For over 20 years, I have served as Let’s look at some statistics. In a senior adult minister and have been 1900, life expectancy in the United Pitfalls of Retirement positioned to observe both laypeople States was about 47 for a man and 51 What are some of the pitfalls of re­ and clergy as they make the transition for a woman. Only 10 percent of the tirement? What dangers lurk ahead? from active to retired. Those who population reached “middle age.” To­ Two pitfalls seem to stand out. look ahead and prepare themselves day, the average is 74 for men and 78 1. Moving away from a commu­ enter retirement with little or no for women. People reaching their nity in which you have given a por­ problem. Others are tremendously 65th birthday this year can expect to tion of your life in ministry is often live, on average, a heart-wrenching experience. How­ 11 more years. ever, if you move into another pas­ Fortunately, this torate, the pain of leaving friends is increased lon­ eased somewhat by the new relation­ gevity does not ships. When you retire, you leave a fa­ mean those last miliar church and community where years must be en­ you have filled a well-established role dured in bad to become part of a new church and health or senility. community where you are virtually Today’s 70-year- unknown and where there is no wait­ olds often resem­ ing, well-defined role for you to fill. ble yesterday’s Soon you can come to feel as if you 4 0 -y e a r-o ld s — are in exile. quite a different Oh sure, it is great to travel, see picture from your children and grandchildren, play “Whistler’s moth­ a few rounds of golf, and read that er” who epito­ book without the interruption of the mized old age a phone. But after a while, you miss not century ago and being needed anymore. Fishing, golf, was only 44 and free time all begin to lose their when she sat for appeal. In short, you begin to miss that famous some of the pressure points, and you painting! wish again for the times when people One of the big needed you. shocks for which 2. Another danger is the severing you must prepare of ties from district and general

46 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE church offices. While some of you Driving north to ski or curl, grudgingly fulfill district and general All her days are in a whirl, church office responsibilities, others Nothing seems to stop or block her of you enjoy them and are saddened Now that Grandma’s off her rocker!* when you must hand in your letter of Here's resignation. The same could be said about Grandpas! Strategies for Retirement 4. Study. Keep your mind alive and What can you do when you sud­ growing. Every minister, out of neces­ the denly find yourself headed for retire­ sity, reads a lot. He is compelled to ment and must face these dangers? read if he would feed his flock ade­ 1. Church. If you move to a new quately. However, in retirement you Guy area, you must realize that you now now have the opportunity to read for have the option to be involved as your own interest and pleasure rather much as you wish. You control the than reading through the “sermon degree of your involvement. Many lens.” I know of one retired minister with ministers take a part-time staff posi­ who has a great interest in any materi­ tion at a local church or do supply al written about Paul. In fact, he has preaching. Others give their services made an agreement with a church college library that they will send him All as chaplain or counselor at a local hospital. Many district superinten­ one book a month on the subject of dents wisely use their retired elders Paul. At last check he had read over to teach special courses or help tutor 20 books on the subject. Other options are open to help keep the ministers who are taking the home study courses. your mind stimulated and growing. Con­ 2. Family. Retirement can be the sider taking a course at a nearby college time when the family ties can be or university. You may be surprised to Gold! strengthened. Perhaps the pressures discover the low-cost tuitions available of full-time ministry have taken their to older adults. Still another educational toll. Now, you have the opportunity opportunity is the elder-hostel program. to spend much more time with your Started in 1978, it combines travel with by Sami King-Wente companion and enjoy the fruit of a weeklong educational experience at a Freelance writer, your years in ministry memories. Also college or university. For more informa­ Livingston, California you have more time to spend with tion on the subject, write: grandchildren. Elderhostel, Inc. 3. Travel. Still another positive 75 Federal Street t seems there was a very Boston, MA 02110-1941 thing about retirement is the opportu­ wealthy man near nity for travel. Older adults are travel­ 5. Hobby. Another way to enjoy re­ death. Wanting to insure ing as never before. Someone anony­ tirement is to invest more time in your hobby. Perhaps it’s time to dust Ihis place in heaven, he stipu­ mously penned the following poem off the stamp books or get out that that describes grandmothers who are lated that all his assets be no longer sitting in their rocking can of Indian Head pennies you have chairs. been saving. Or maybe you have al­ transferred to gold and be ways had an interest in ham radio but buried with him. So upon didn’t have time to learn the theory In the dim and distant past, death he trudged to the Pearly When life’s tempo wasn’t fast, or Morse Code. Now is the time to re­ Grandma used to rock and knit, juvenate those old interests in hob­ Gates with his box of gold Crochet, tat, and baby-sit. bies or to start a new one. and presented it to Saint Peter. To be sure, retirement will be very Saint Peter looked inside When the kids were in a jam, different, and your ability to retire suc­ They could always count on cessfully will be tied directly to your and exclaimed: “Oh, good! ability to handle change. One can be­ “Gram, ” W e’ve been waiting for you.” In the age of gracious living, moan retirement, live in the past, and As the man beamed proud­ Grandma was the gal for giving. mournfully long for the “good old days.” Or one can look for new opportunities ly, Saint Peter picked up the of serving in this new chapter of life, if Grandma now is in the gym phone. Exercising to keep slim; *J. Winston Pearce, Ten Good Things I Know About “Michael,” he said. “The She’s off touring with the bunch, Retirement (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982), All Taking clients out to lunch. rights reserved. Used by permission. man to make the street re­ pairs is here.” $

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 47 Christian Education

What Are We Teaching Our Children About the Bible?

pparently not much, accord­ swered 12 or fewer questions correct­ ing to a recent survey con- ly- A , ducted at Northwest Naza- 75 percent of the students answered rene College. In the 1994-95 school 16 or fewer questions correctly. year a survey was conducted of 262 students in six sections of BL101 Bib­ Evaluation lical Literature and History. This is a The results of our survey may sur­ required course for all new students’ prise some of you, but they confirm knowledge of the content of the Bi­ what those of us who teach in Chris­ ble. The Religion Department at NNC tian colleges have observed for many has felt for a long time that new stu­ by Wendell Bowes years. Bluntly stated, most of our dents have a very poor knowledge of Professor of Old Testament, young people are illiterate about the the Bible. However, we did not have Northwest Nazarene College, Bible. They may have attended Nampa, Idaho any hard data to support our belief. church and Sunday School all their We had been operating on hunches. life, they may have participated in Bi­ The survey consisted of 30 ques­ • Number of students who partici­ ble quizzing, and they may have at­ tions, most of which were fairly sim­ pated in the survey—262. tended a Christian high school, but ple. There were a few tougher ques­ • Number of students who attend­ they have never studied the Bible in tions designed to see if any students ed a Christian high school (at an academic manner. As a result, they had done any academic study of the least one year)—32 (12 percent). are ignorant of many of the core facts Bible prior to attending college. The • Number of students who attend­ about the Bible. Our survey did not survey was constructed with 13 ques­ ed church and Sunday School ask any questions about theology, but tions on the Old Testament, 12 on the fairly regularly during the last 3 our hunch is that students would do New Testament, and 5 questions on years—208 (79 percent). even worse on a theology survey. interpretation and versions of the Bi­ • Number of students who grew These statistics are alarming. Fifty- ble. The questions were mostly of the up in a fill-in-the-blank type so that students home where could not guess from multiple choic­ at least one es. Several demographic questions parent was were asked at the conclusion of the C h ristian — survey to determine what type of 230 (88 per­ Christian background and exposure cent). to the Bible these students had expe­ The results of rienced. the survey are giv­ The survey was handed out on the en below. The ac­ first day of class. Students were given tual survey ques­ adequate time in class to complete all tions are listed at the answers. Most were finished in the end of this ar­ about 10 minutes. BL101 is predomi­ ticle. nantly freshmen, probably more than Range of 90 percent. There are a few transfer sco res: 3 to 29 students who may be sophomores, ju­ correct answers. niors, or seniors, as well as a few re­ 25 percent of the peating the course because of an ear­ students an­ lier failure. However, we did not swered 9 or fewer attempt to identify these from the questions correct­ freshmen students. ly- The composition of the group was 50 percent of the as follows: students an-

48 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE eight percent of college freshmen seriously? Do our teachers need more Family Devotions could not name one Old Testament training in the Bible and theology? Can Christian families help their prophet, 85 percent could not name Pulpit Ministry own children gain more knowledge one patriarch, 69 percent did not Pastor, how do you view the teach­ about the Bible and theology? I think know who led the Israelites in con­ ing component of your pastoral min­ they can. Maybe family devotions quering the land of Canaan, 90 per­ istry? Would a person who sat in your could include a learning experience cent could not identify the author of as well as a Scripture passage and the Book of Acts. prayer. Why not a short Christian Biblical and theological illiteracy video for young children on a Bible leaves our people vulnerable to all character? How about games such as kinds of cults, theologies, and reli­ Most of our Bible Trivia for older children? Maybe gious gurus. We can be thankful that grade school children would like to some of our young people are getting young people start looking at a biblical time line or a good foundation of biblical knowl­ some maps of the Bible. edge through their attendance at a are illiterate Christian college. Most Christian col­ Christian College Education leges require at least one course in an about the Bible. Should more emphasis be given to academic study of the Bible, usually at getting our young people to attend a the freshman level. However, what worship services for one year have a Christian college? I think so. The cost about the other young people? Demo­ pretty good idea of what the Bible is of Christian higher education seems graphic surveys suggest that only one- about and what your theological posi­ prohibitive to many parents today, fourth of Nazarene young people go tion is on the great doctrines of the but consider the alternative. If a to Nazarene colleges. The other Church? Some pastors preach only Christian college is the principal three-fourths go to community col­ from a few favorite books of the Bi­ place where young people become leges or public universities or do not ble. Other pastors jump around so literate about the Bible and their go to college at all. Where are they much from topic to topic and book to Christian faith, can we afford not to getting their information about the Bi­ book that people are left confused. send them there? A recent sign in a ble? They have no idea about the impor­ college business office read, “If you What can we do about the situa­ tance of David or Moses or Jeremiah think education is expensive, try ig­ tion? Let me suggest several areas that or the times in which they lived or norance.” Perhaps we need to recon­ need to be studied. These ideas are even who lived before the other one. sider the real value of Christian high­ not intended to be exhaustive or criti­ It is true that some of this information er education in the light of these cal. Their purpose is to stimulate is better learned during Sunday findings. thinking. Maybe we can all work at School hour, but statistics tell us that The survey we conducted at NNC improving the situation once we many church people are not attend­ is already affecting the content of know that the problem exists. ing Sunday School. Maybe we need to what we teach in the freshman Bible reexamine the teaching aspect of our courses as well as the way we teach Curriculum and Teaching pulpit ministry. A series of five or six it. We are trying to learn from this Does the curriculum used at the sermons several times a year on a bib- survey about how better to educate present time by our Sunday School the young people who arrive at our classes and youth groups provide a college doorstep each year. Let’s all— basic core of essential knowledge church and college and family—work about the Bible and theology? Do Sun­ together in this matter of instructing day School teachers and youth work­ 58 percent of our people about the Bible. It’s too ers recognize the importance of help­ important to neglect. ing young people to learn this core of college freshmen knowledge? I don’t know the answer Survey Questions to this. My impression, which I get could not name The questions on the survey are from my teenage daughter, is that listed below, followed by the number many lessons deal with issues of rela­ one Old and percentage of students who an­ tionships such as how to get along swered that question correctly. with parents. These are important is­ Testament 1. To what books in the Bible does sues for young people, and 1 know the word “Pentateuch” refer? 67 (26 there is an argument for making our prophet. percent). curriculum attractive to today’s 2. What significant Old Testament teenage mind, but are we neglecting event occurred at Mount Sinai? 171 to inform our teens of the basic facts (65 percent). of the Bible? This issue applies to lical time period or a character like 3. What river did the Israelites more than just young people. Does all David or Moses or Jeremiah would cross in order to enter the land of Ca­ of our curriculum contribute to a ba­ help many laity to understand the naan? 120 (46 percent) sic understanding of the Bible and progression of biblical history and the 4. What was the name of Israel’s theology? And do our teachers take important individuals who participat­ greatest king? 145 (55 percent). their task of teaching this curriculum ed in that history. 5. Which Old Testament book is

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 49 most like the lyrics (words) of a 23- Who was the first Christian of creation (true or false)? hymnbook? 206 (79 percent). martyr? 62 (24 percent). 30. Paul’s admonitions about ladies 6. Name one prophet for whom a 24. The New Testament was origi­ in the church are meant to discourage book in the Old Testament is named. nally written in what language? 76 women from participating in ministry Ill (42 percent). (29 percent). and church leadership roles (true or 7. Name one patriarch. 38 (15 per­ 25. What city was the capital city false)? cent). of the Jewish nation in Jesus’ day? 125 Analysis 8. Name the person who led the (48 percent). 1. Questions No. 1 and No. 7 both Israelites out of Egypt. 212 (81 per­ had key words that were unknown to cent). many students: “Pentateuch” and “pa­ 9. Name the Babylonian king who triarch.” destroyed Jerusalem and took many If a Christian 2. Students generally do not have a Jews into exile. 53 (20 percent). good knowledge of Israel’s history, as 10. Was the nation of Israel in the college is the evidenced by questions Nos. 2, 4, 9, Old Testament period larger or small­ 11, and 12. er than Idaho? 104 (40 percent). principal place 3. Students who live at a distance 11. Who was the first king of Is­ from Idaho may have had problems rael? 63 (24 percent). where young w ith question No. 10, but as a rule, 12. Name the person who led the most people do not realize how com­ Israelites in the conquest of Canaan. people become pact the land of Israel is. 81 (31 Percent). 4. Time sequence is another prob­ 13- Place these biblical characters literate about lem for many students (question No. in the order in which they lived: 13), even when the characters are David, Noah, Jacob, Matthew. 149 (57 the Bible and well known. percent). 5. Questions No. 16 and No. 18 14. Name the four Gospels in their their Christian were easily the hardest. Only students biblical order. 215 (82 percent). who had studied the Bible previously 15. Who wrote the Book of Acts? faith, can we in an academic manner would have 27 (10 percent). gotten these right. 16. In approximately what year afford not to 6. The lack of knowledge about was Jesus born? 17 (6 percent). the two authorship questions—No. 17. In what town was Jesus born? send them there? 15 and No. 19—was a big surprise. 224 (85 percent). 7. On question No. 22 most stu­ 18. In what city were Jesus’ followers 26. Name one version of the Bible dents were able to name at least one first called Christians? 11 (4 percent). o th er than the NIV (New Interna­ of Jesus’ disciples, but many were 19. Who wrote the Book of Revela­ tional Version). 240 (92 percent). confused with people like Paul and tion? 77 (29 percent). 27. The books of the Bible are gen­ Mark. 20. Name one person who accom­ erally arranged in the approximate or­ 8. Question No. 24 was a surprise. panied Paul on his missionary jour­ der in which they were written (true Many left it blank or suggested He­ neys. 114 (44 percent). or false)? 156 (60 percent). brew. 21. Which epistle of Paul gives the 28. Every part of the Bible is equal­ 9. Most students did better than fullest and most systematic account ly true, relevant, and inspired as any we would have guessed on the inter­ of Paul’s theology? 49 (19 percent). other part (true or false)? pretation questions—Nos. 26-30. The 22. Name two of Jesus’ disciples. 29. The findings of modern sci­ key word in question No. 28 is the 154 (59 percent). ence contradict the biblical account word “relevant.” iff

BEYOND BELIEF

50 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE Picture Windows for Preaching

Picture Windows for Preaching

Compiled by Deri G. Keefer Pastor, Three Rivers, Michigan

Prayer hold of my little finger again. Each you a question. From whom did you A missionary once received a letter time it would be harder. steal the most?” from a little girl whose Sunday School “It happened again. The boy Without a moment’s hesitation, he class had been writing to foreign mis­ looked up at me and said, Daddy, I replied, “That’s the easiest question sionaries. The teacher understood think if you would hold my hand, I I’ve ever been asked. The individual that missionaries get a lot of mail and w ouldn’t fall.’” from whom I stole the most was a possibly would not be able to return a Musser said that as Pastor Temple man named Arthur Berry. I could response to all the children. She ex­ told him the story, he did so with a have done anything, been an execu­ plained that to the boys and girls. The tear in his eye. Temple said, “You tive on Wall Street, a successful busi­ little girl simply wrote: know, he still stumbled many times ness man, or anything I wanted to be, “Dear Missionary Smith: after that, but he never hit the but I utilized my God-given talents “We are praying for you. We are not ground. Now, as you walk with God, and developed them illegitimately I expecting an answer.” don’t try to hold on to Him, let Him could have made it big in business Without realizing it, that little child hold on to you. You may stumble but but I spent two-thirds of my adult life summed up the prayer life of far too He’ll never let you fall.” behind bars.” many Christians. Most of us aren’t James Hewett, comp., Illustrations King Duncan, Lively Illustrations surprised when our prayers are not U nlim ited (Wheaton, 111.: Tyndale for Effective Preaching (Knoxville: answered—we re surprised when House, 1988), 244. Seven Worlds Publishing, 1987), 308- they are. 9. The power of prayer creates a com­ Morality munity of faith where people pull to­ Arthur Berry was a very successful Acceptance gether for the good of the kingdom. jewel thief back in the Roaring Twen­ Nothing devastates like rejection. It Prayer achieves in our lives dynamic re­ ties. He hobnobbed with the famous causes numbing despair and negative sponses from heaven that we thought and rich of Boston’s elite, but he did emotions. Richard Lee tells that G. unanswerable. With prayer we under­ his hobnobbing at night when the folks Campbell Morgan, the famous preach­ stand that God and the church stand weren’t home. It is said that Berry’s vis­ er, wanted to enter the ministry. behind us in our hardships as well as its were a status symbol among the “He gave a trial sermon in front of a victories. Strength, comfort, and hope ladies of Boston’s upper class. His sta- panel of men who were to ordain are for the asking through prayer! tus-orientation wasn’t as intriguing to him. To his amazement and despair, Dynamic Preaching Magazine 9 the police. He was making one of his they turned him down for his ordina­ No. 8 (August 1994), 18. nightly calls when police caught up tion. Knowing his father was waiting with him and shot him three times. He for him at home in anticipation, Mor­ God’s Care fell through a glass window. Shattered gan sadly wired his father with one Fred Musser was about to leave to glass stuck in his body, and he lay on word: REJECTED.’ study for the ministry when his pas­ the ground in horrible pain. While ly­ “He also wrote in his diary that day, tor, Rev. Temple, stopped by and ing there, he came to a conclusion, “I ‘Everything seems very dark. So still. talked about God. ain’t going to do this anymore.” But He knows the best.’ Pastor Temple said, “When my son Arthur Berry went to prison for 20 “Soon after, he received the reply was little, we often walked together years. After serving his time, he moved from his father. It read: ‘REJECTED out through the fields and neighbor­ to a quiet New England town. There ON EARTH, BUT ACCEPTED IN ing pasture behind the parsonage. At he became a respectable citizen. HEAVEN, DAD. ” first the little fellow would hold onto Eventually word leaked out to the The memory of that deep painful my little finger, but he found that press that this notorious jewel thief experience never left Morgan. Each when he stepped into a hoofprint or settled in the tiny New England person knows that type of pain. Be a stumbled over something, his grip town—and the nation’s media ser­ positive influence on others by being would fail and he’d fall down. Not vices arrived in great numbers. One accepting of them as Christ has ac­ giving it much thought, my mind on young reporter asked him, “Mr. Berry, cepted us. other matters, I’d stop and he’d get you stole from a lot of rich people in Richard Lee, Windows of Hope (Sis­ up, brush himself off, and then grab your life as a jewel thief. Let me ask ters, Oreg.: Multnomah, 1992), 11-12. f

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 51 Ark Rocker

Sinners Anonymous

here has been a lot of talk down emotionally, and I yelled at my anytime he wanted to— all by himself. about Sunday night church. Is children too much. My mother called The group would have to disagree. Tit worth the pastor preparing and said they would like to plan a Another old-timer would say that they two sermons a week? How about two-week stay with us real soon. I’m had all felt that way at one time, but it small groups? Why not Sunday School so, so tired. I really don’t know for simply wasn’t true. He would be will­ at night? Maybe films (but certainly sure if I can keep on being a Chris­ ing to talk to this new person anytime not movies) could be shown or spe­ tian.” about becoming a new creation. cial groups could perform. Here’s one As she slowly slumps down into Newcomers would only be expect­ more idea for you to think about: her chair with tears beginning to run ed to sit and listen for the first several Why don’t churches call their Sunday down her cheeks, another group meetings. When individuals felt com­ evening services “Sinners Anony­ member stands. fortable in doing it, they could stand mous?” Christians could tell their This member is an older, grand­ and say, “Hi, my name is Sue, and I friends that they were going to an SA motherly type. “My name is Glenda was a sinner, but since Tuesday, I’m a meeting. After a while they could Mae, Anne. You can make it. I’ll be new creation. ” As they finished, the even invite their friends to sit in on over tomorrow so you can get out of group would welcome them into the meeting. the house. I know it is rough when their midst with handshakes and pats The meeting would start by w el­ the family is sick. Jesus does too. The on the back. coming everyone. Then one of the Bible is full o f people coming to Jesus I really don’t expect “Sinner Anony­ old-timers could get up and say: “My on behalf o f their sick loved ones. As mous” groups to pop up around the name is Roy, and I was a sinner, but for your mother, she and I go back a country. God never does anything for now I’m a new creation. This week I long way. Send her over to my house Christians anymore. That’s very was tempted by many things: my car often when she’s here. I’d like to see strange because He was very active repair took some money I had saved her. Do you remember the story of when I was a child. People would for vacation, but I tithed anyway. My Mary and Martha? It’s in Luke 10, I jump up and interrupt the pastor just wife griped at me, but I maintained think. Try not to get caught up in day- before the sermon because they just my loving attitude. At work I was of­ to-day worries and as a result miss Je­ had to testily to God’s glory and faith­ fered a bribe to look the other way, sus. Dear, I love you very much.” fulness. One after another, people but I refused it. It has been a difficult As Glenda Mae sits, she squeezes would get up and report on the way week. I called on Tim and Frank a few Anne’s shoulder and winks. Anne re­ God had changed their lives. It was a times to offer support. I thank God sponds with a grateful smile and a time of encouragement to everyone. for my daily prayer times, His Son, the nod. They used to call them “popcorn tes­ Holy Spirit, and this group. I love you. One by one other members would timonies” because so many people I guess that’s all.” stand and also say a few words of would “pop up.” But God has At this point, the assembled crowd their struggles and triumphs. The changed. He no longer cares. would murmur approval and clap. group would clap and murmur ap­ Or maybe the church has changed. Another member would then stand proval, nod their heads in understand­ When I reflect back on recent times and recall her week: “Hi, my name is ing, or give some encouraging word. when the service has been opened Anne, and I was a sinner, but now I’m One talk would follow another, build­ up to testimonies, no one has said a new creation. I’d say my week was ing the gathering of individuals into a anything, not even me! How sad! The a two-out-of-ten. I never had devo­ group. pastor covers up the embarrassing tions. The only time I opened my Bi­ As the meeting continues some of moment by singing one more chorus ble was to get Mark’s recipe for bar­ the newer people might get very jit­ of “God Is So Good.” We have beauti­ becue sauce that I stashed in there tery. They would shake their heads in ful songs of testimony and poems of last Sunday when he gave it to me. unbelief. One might stand to angrily great power, but how sad would we Gary is sick with the flu. Little Pete say that he was not really a sinner like be if our children only spoke o f us in had his zillionth ear infection. I was everybody else because he could quit other people’s words? If

52 THE PREACHER S MAGAZINE WORSHIP & PREACHING HELPS

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 53 Carl C. Green

September/October/November 1997 Prepared by Carl C. Green

INTRODUCTION

When I was a student at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Dr. Harold Ockenga spoke in chapel for a week. He ob­ served that, upon arrival at Boston’s Park Avenue Congregational Church 33 years earlier, he began systematically preaching through the Bible, beginning with Genesis, and was not yet all the way through. I decided then to devote one service a week to systematic preaching. The practice, continued during 20 years of pastoral ministry, provided several benefits. First, the practice required me to dig deep. As I alternated regularly between Old and New Testament books, my people gathered a sense of bibli­ cal continuity; my biblical range broadened; and my faith deepened as I tackled tough passages that were not made easy by their familiarity. Second, it protected me from hobbyhorses and the ever-present temptation to let problems shape my preaching. I was often amazed at how God hovered over my prayerful preparation of a preaching schedule. Typically complet­ ed 6 to 18 months in advance, it was not uncommon for scheduled sermons to dovetail with special days (Worldwide Communion and Reformation Sundays in this segment) or to address current issues in society and in church about which no one could have been aware when the sermon calendar was prepared. On other occasions, as with the final sermon in this series, sufficient liberty can be taken to “fit” a series to a seasonal theme. For example, I save Ecclesiastes 11 until last to augment our denomination’s historic practice of receiving an offering for world evangelism on the Sun­ day of the U.S. Thanksgiving. Third, early preparation and a systematic approach gave me increased freedom to speak forthrightly while protecting my credibility because the focus is clearly the Word, not a particular issue or problem. Fourth, 1 discovered great enjoyment in letting scripture dictate the structure, flow, and pace of services. This series, when preached a decade ago, was one of those forages into unfamiliar, even frightening, scriptural ter­ ritory. How does one handle a dark, brooding book like Ecclesiastes? A couple of highlights, perhaps, but the whole book, for 13 long weeks? As happened almost always, by the end of the series I experienced grief over needing to leave an old, valued friend. I approached Ecclesiastes like an expansive character novel, not an action novel. For example, Napoleon’s advance on Moscow is merely the stage for Tolstoy’s War a nd Peace; his primary interest is what drives the characters as they experience the historic events. Thus, he explores the thoughts and motivations of the characters, not merely their ac­ tions. Since I wanted to lead the congregation into Solomon’s inner being in order to spark connection with their own hearts, I found it helpful to memorize each week’s passage from a modern translation. This helped me to explore Solo­ mon’s character, using his words in the common language instead of language that sounds antiquated or clumsy to the modern ear. Written toward the end of Solomon’s life, Ecclesiastes is his reflection on the things learned during the length of his lifetime. Technically, it was not a scientific study, launched from a hypothesis. However, in 1:12-13, Solomon frames his reflection in a manner that sounds strangely like John Dewey’s scientific method. Therefore, I chose to present the series as Solomon’s report on a scientific experiment, believing this would be a useful vehicle to capture the attention of the contemporary worshiper. It is essential that you do your own exegetical work, filling in the blanks that these brief thoughts only suggest, and more important, letting the scripture change you before using it to change your hearers. Then it will be important to wrap each week’s sermon with appropriate openers and closers, something I do not attempt here because of the limi­ tations of space and, more important, because I do not know the personality of your congregation. I submit there is some merit in sustaining appropriate levels of suspense, in not answering every question too quickly too easily, too automatically. However, wisely balance any literary desire for suspense with the need not to vio­ late your congregation’s tolerance. Bring occasional worshipers up to speed and send all away with adequate closure.

54 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE A GRAND EXPERIMENT by Carl C. Green Eccles. 1:12-18

INTRO: B. Solomon’s credentials qualify him for this wide- Ecclesiastes is the report of a long-ago scientist who range research project. His wisdom, given to him by God, conducted a grand experiment to discover the meaning was so abundant that it was said, “There will never have of life. This scientist, a professor named Solomon, lived been anyone like you, nor will there ever be” (1 Kings around 1000 B.C. He was world renowned. His research 3:12). He is still referred to as history’s wisest man. But was well financed. His methodology was modern, as we by the time of this experiment, Solomon, entirely preoc­ will see later, and his conclusions make it unnecessary for cupied with what can be seen and touched, had become us to learn every lesson for ourselves. disinterested in God who had given him his exceptional Most of us learn from others. For example, few of us discerning intellect. This is not unusual. Are we not insist on inventing or reengineering the wheel before we nagged by the sense that there is a national movement, would ride to church. Most of us will enjoy a Sunday din­ led by many of our brightest, away from faith toward ma­ ner prepared with the help of a recipe; few meals are terialism and individualism? originals, the exclusive product of the cook’s ingenuity. ILLUS. Frederick Buechner tells the story of a Harvard Indeed, we use the phrase, “I’m not going to reinvent the homiletics student who came to see him one day. “Al­ wheel,” to describe the wisdom of learning from the ex­ though many of the things I had to teach about preaching perience of others. Yet regarding things moral and spiri­ she found interesting,” he said, “few of them were of any tual, we commonly insist, “I’ll learn for myself.’’However, practical use to people like her who did not believe in the suggestion that we learn from the professor’s re­ God.” Buechner later remarked that “to attend a divinity search is no argument for passively accepted Christianity. school when you did not believe in divinity involved a pe­ ILLUS. When we dropped our daughter off for her fresh­ culiarly depressing form of bankruptcy.”3 man year at Northwest Nazarene College, we explained Having experienced “much of wisdom and knowl­ to her that we expected her professors to help her learn edge,” Solomon informs us that he had “grown and in­ to think, to introduce her to the study and conclusions of creased in wisdom more than anyone” before him (Ec­ others. This, we explained, opened us to significant cles. 1:16). At the top of the class and fully secularized, risk—she might choose a lifestyle or belief system that vi­ he was a persistent investigator, pressing his nose into re­ olated every value we hold dear. Nevertheless, we de­ alism with the persistence of Diogenes’ years-long search sired an education that presented rather than hid options. for an honest man. We wanted her faith to rise out of lively awareness and ILLUS. Solomon’s dogged pursuit of the question, not to be like that of the “dead fish” Frederick Buechner “Where is the meaning?” reminds us of Aesop’s fable describes, “lying on cracked ice in a fish store window about the crow and the pitcher. The thirsty crow finds a with their round black eyes.”1 This required her to tall pitcher one-third full of water—too low to be reached choose Christ, her eyes open wide to the myriad of belief with his beak. He tries to get water from the pitcher by options that exist. tipping it, then by trying to break it, and finally, after I. M eet the Professor some thinking, by filling it with stones to raise the level of water high enough to get his drink.4 A. His title was king but he thought of himself as pro­ fessor. His passions were research and teaching. His na­ II. Observe the Professor’s Project tion, positioned at a major intersection along the ancient A. Solomon’s project is the study “of wisdom, and also trade route, stood at the zenith of its prosperity. Conse­ of madness and folly”—a grand experiment, indeed. His quently, he had free time and abundant resources to pas­ laboratory is “all that is done under heaven” (v. 13), “all sionately pursue his research project. the things that are done under the sun” (v. 14). He ILLUS. Independent wealth is a great advantage. With it “throws himself with intense energy into his hazardous in­ the academic can fund exotic research projects; without quiry!”’ He is not antagonistic toward God; he is just disin­ it research must be postponed until funding is received. terested in the world unseen. He focuses on the world we Thomas Jefferson is an excellent example of the indepen­ can see and touch. He digs deeply and explores widely, dently wealthy scholar-statesman. He read Latin and probably planning to write a self-help book explaining the Greek, became an inventor, experimented with agricul­ source of life’s meaning when his research is complete. tural innovations at his farm at Monticello, founded the B. Solomon’s approach is to study with a microscope University of Virginia, and looked to the new science of and explore with a wide-angle lens “all that is done under political economics for ideas he included in the Declara­ heaven” (v. 13). He does this theology “from below.”6 tion of Independence.2 It is easy to imagine the ways in More than 25 times he uses the phrase, “under the sun” which the United States would have been poorer if and other equivalents. He does not begin with God and Thomas Jefferson had lacked the independent wealth to view man’s situation from above through a theological or fund these various pursuits. religious lens, the typical biblical approach. Rather, he

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 55 says, “Let us . . . rule out higher things.”7 Let’s begin with express lanes as to refuse the advantages of travel, fire, human experience. flight, or a tasty recipe? The wise will benefit from the re­ This is decidedly 20th century! It is exactly how most search of the wise professor’s grand experiment. He tried of us view life, for we have been carefully schooled in the it all. His research project was comprehensive and well- scientific method. Most of us do our theology from be­ funded. Ecclesiastes is his report of findings. low. Like the ancient professor, moderns are most inter­ ested in observable reality. The focus has shifted “from 1. Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), 64. 2. Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins o f the the hereafter to the here and now. . . . Man today [does Constitution (Lawrence, Kans: University Press of Kansas, 1985), 107-8. not look] longingly upwards.”8 Indeed, few of us serious­ 3. Buechner, Telling Secrets 60, 62. ly explore the unseen until life disappoints us. Though he 4. William Bennett, Book o f Virtues (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 532-33. lived 3,000 years ago, this similarity with the professor 5. Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes in Geneva Commentaries Series (Carlisle, Pa.: makes us moderns a kindred spirit with him. The Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), 19- 6. Hans Kung, On Being a Christian (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Compa­ III. Study the Professor’s Thesis ny, Inc., 1968), 83. 7. H. C. Leupold, Exposition o f Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book A. The professor’s working thesis undoubtedly sur­ House, 1952), 42-43. prised him. He surely expected a happier conclusion. His 8. Kung, On Being, 82. bitter summary, dark and moody, voices his disappoint­ 9. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1985), 16. ment: life without God is a heavy burden, meaningless, like chasing the wind. Yet the research has been careful and exhaustive. Using good scientific method, he ap­ proached his inquiry with an open mind and suspended formulation of his final thesis until the research was com­ SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER plete. INVOCATION This is how good science is done. It considers all the CALL TO WORSHIP Sing to the Lord evidence and lets the evidence shape the thesis. The rig­ HYMNS “Sing unto the Lord” ors of the scientific workplace are intended to reveal and “We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer” to discredit research that, skewed to support a preju­ “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise” diced thesis, neglects or purposely shades the evidence. “I Will Bless Thee, O Lord” If the result cannot be reproduced in independent tests, FRIENDSHIP MINUTE an experiment’s conclusions are rendered invalid by the SONGS OF WORSHIP “You Have Called Us” scientific community. “I Worship You” B. Solomon does not end where he begins. The evi­ “Blessed Be the Name” PASTORAL PRAYER dence forces him to abandon his original thesis that SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 1:12-18 (in unison) meaning and fulfillment can be found under the sun. CHOIR “Almighty God” However, he is cautious in stating his findings; he is an OFFERING academic, not an evangelist. You have to stick with his re­ SERMON “A GRAND EXPERIMENT” port to find his real conclusion. It is buried in the text; it BENEDICTORY PRAYER is not in the headlines. Perhaps uttered under protest, certainly uttered in disappointment, his conclusion de­ Creative Worship Ideas clares what he did not expect: relationship with God is Pastoral Prayer necessary if life is to have meaning. Find a way to declare that God stands at history’s Ecclesiastes tells us the evidence is unrelenting. With­ beginning and end. Lead your people to announce out God there are twists and gaps. Human wisdom can­ the confidence— even if that confidence trembles— not solve the fundamental problem of life. Life’s twists that He knows the future and, though unknown to us and full of danger, it is full of possibilities. cannot be straightened by human logic. In fact, Solomon Invocation complains, “the more you understand, the more you On this day, we gather, Almighty God, to under­ ache” (1:18, m o f f a t t ) . “Satisfaction in life under-the-sun stand the meaning of our existence. Meaning in life will never occur until there is a meaningful connection is very often associated closely with work. Too deep with the living Lord above the sun.”9 for us to fathom, we do not believe that the mystery CONCLUSION: of life’s meaning has no explanation. We believe You are the Creator and we are Your creations, created Benefiting from the discoveries of others, we routinely to do good works that You prepared before our sal­ enjoy wheeled travel, fire, flight, tasty food, and more. vation for us to do (see Eph. 2:10). We will worship, We do not refuse the experience of others because if we thankful that You are the Power behind all and the do our participation in technological advance will grind Meaning running through all. Amen. to a halt and the quality of life will plummet. Instead, the Offering discoveries and experience of others become our learn­ Convinced that God was in his dream of the stair­ ing express lanes, hurrying us past the slow-moving con­ way to heaven, Jacob said, “Of all that you give me I gestion of people who insist on making every discovery will give you a tenth” (Gen. 28:22). With our tithes by themselves. and offerings we similarly respond to God’s grace. Isn’t it just as absurd to refuse the moral and spiritual

5 6 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE WHAT IS LIFE WITHOUT GOD LIKE? by Carl C. Green Eccles. 1:1-11

INTRO: likely increase rather than diminish with technological The professor’s grand experiment is underway. The and informational acceleration. hunt for meaning is on. He has studied and explored “all B. If “under the sun” is all there is, life is wearisome, re­ that is done under heaven” (v. 13) in the search for mean­ dundant, endless, monotonous. The universe is a merry- ing. Now he begins to report his findings about wisdom, go-round. Life is an unending treadmill. Nothing changes. madness, and folly (w. 13, 17). Little is achieved. The verses are full of images: “The sun “Meaningless! Meaningless! . . . Utterly meaningless! rises . . . sets, and hurries back to where it rises. . . . Everything is meaningless!” (v. 2). This first finding is dis­ Round and round [the wind] goes, ever returning on its couraging, but it is a reliable finding. This conclusion is course. All the streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is not the report of an emotional or social hypochondriac; it never full. To the place the streams come from, there has, as we shall see in the weeks ahead, been drawn from they return again” (w. 5-7). hard evidence, collected, sorted, and analyzed. The pro­ ILLUS. Picture the mime, walking vigorously but going fessor has not applied his personal prejudices or prefer­ nowhere. Or what about the winners of last year’s World ences to the evidence; the evidence has shaped his con­ Series and Super Bowl? They have to do it again this year. clusions. He has done his homework; he reports no If they don’t make it, it won’t be too many years before unsubstantiated conclusions. We can hardly miss his sur­ the fans scream, “What have you done for me lately?” prise in the discouraged report. “Everything is meaning­ ILLUS. One parishioner greeted the pastor after his Palm less!” is quite different than the thesis he set out to prove. Sunday sermon, asking, “How are you going to top that I. What Is Under-the-Sun Disappointment? next week?” The pastor felt the terror—this week’s Palm (1:4-11) Sunday masterpiece increased the parishioner’s expecta­ A. If under the sun is all there is, life is grim. Man is tion for Easter and the likelihood that Easter’s sermon small and transitory, dwarfed by the universe’s size and would be anticlimactic. permanence. If we deal only with what is concretely ob­ We never get caught up regardless of how hard we try. servable, man is a wisp of air quickly dissipated while the ILLUS. Chuck Swindoll tells the story of seeing a guy in universe, far more durable than the Energizer Bunny, his car with a stereo and four speakers. “They were so keeps going and going. Indeed, our own behavior illus­ big you couldn’t see around them in his little Volkswa­ trates and underlines the impermanence of human life. gen. We re talking wall-to-wall speakers. . . . The guy is a We will not be remembered by those who follow us for rolling sound system, and I’ll guarantee you one thing: the same reason we do not remember those who went he’s not satisfied with it. Why? Because there’s always a before us. better sound. . . . Put this in a Mercedes and double the ILLUS. [Inquire how many of your parishioners know size of the speakers and it’ll blow you away!’”1 their grandmother’s maiden name. Great-grandmother’s C. If “under the sun” is all there is, there is nothing new. maiden name? Great-great-grandmother’s maiden name? You shouldn’t have to retreat very many generations be­ D. Even our ability to understand is a frustration if “un­ fore few hands are raised and the point is made ] der the sun” is all there is. Microscopes, telescopes, and It’s a frightening thought, isn’t it? With few exceptions, countless other technological gadgets are unable to gath­ future generations will forget the things we have learned er enough data from the five senses to make sense of life. and want to pass along to them. Accumulated wisdom is What we find behind every new discovery is not satisfac­ routinely rendered obsolete and forgotten, discarded, or tion but another question mark. Our curiosity is never sa­ devalued. If future generations think about us at all, they tiated. will think us primitive, perhaps uptight and old-fash­ II. What Is the Disappointing Thesis? (1:2) ioned. A. “Meaningless!” Life lived solely on the horizontal Before we react, we should consider our own behavior. plane produces boredom and frustration. It is redundant, Few of us are careful or enthusiastic students of history. endless, useless, monotonous, senseless. Most of us tolerated history in school; we didn’t enjoy it. ILLUS. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby We were impatient to depart the duty past and get on points to the emptiness of a life of materialism. Gatsby is with the present. dashing, deep-pocketed, mysterious. On a “slender ri­ ILLUS. A member of one church where I served said to otous island which extends itself due east of New York,”2 me, “You act like this church had no history before your fashionable folk attend his continuous and opulent sum­ arrival!”I think she was right. mer parties. But the real story is about Daisy, Gatsby’s Future generations will not disappoint us any more long-ago love. When their relationship does not renew, greatly than we disappoint the generations before us. the mansion goes dark and the parties end. Just before They will probably behave just about as we do. This de­ the final tragedy is told, Fitzgerald’s narrator concludes tachment from history, this disconnection to roots will with penetrating melancholy, Gatsby “must have looked

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 57 up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and 7. Samuel Enoch Stumpf, Socrates to Sartre (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1966), 469. shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and 8. Jones, Unshakable Kingdom, 62. how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real. .. "i B. “Utterly meaningless!” Desire is enlarged and multi­ plied. The endeavor to gratify our desires is accelerated. But the frenetic activity leaves behind an aching void, a SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER blank space that is not filled up. CALL TO WORSHIP Lord, We Welcome You ILLUS. “A son of a minister wrote to his father: Dear SONGS OF WORSHIP “O Worship the King” Dad, I’m trying hard to be an atheist, but I’m having [an “He Is the King” awful] time at it.’ He and his wife were in the hands of a “You Are Crowned with Many Crowns” psychiatrist at forty dollars a week each.”4 CHOIR “Trust His Heart” ILLUS. George Bernard Shaw reported, “I grow tired of FRIENDSHIP MINUTE More of You myself whenever I am left alone for 10 minutes.”5 PASTORAL PRAYER HYMNS “I’d Rather Have Jesus” C. “Everything is meaningless!” “Ecclesiastes . . . is an “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” essay in apologetics. It defends the life of faith in a gener­ OFFERING ous God by pointing to the grimness of the alternative.”6 SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 1:1-11 ILLUS. Jean Paul Sartre, the 20th-century atheistic exis­ SERMON “WHAT IS LIFE WITHOUT GOD LIKE?” tentialist, argued that “man is simply what he makes of BENEDICTORY PRAYER himself.” But he conceded that atheism can produce de­ spair instead of hilarity when he said, “we are limited to Creative Worship Ideas what is within the scope of our own wills. . . . Nothing­ Pastoral Prayer ness . . . lies coiled in the heart of being, like a worm.”7 Stir in your people the desire to be as large heart­ D. This conjugation of words—“everything is meaning­ ed as Christ. Confess the sins of littleness, mean­ ness, and narrow-mindedness that too often charac­ less”—is a verbal exclamation point. It is emphatic, not terize us. Admit the need for forgiveness and impulsive. Meaning does not happen under the sun; you amended lifestyles. Repent that we are worn out by have to get above the sun! people’s multitude of demands. Ask for grace to CONCLUSION: sympathize deeply with their needs, to mercifully ex­ cuse things that are unlovely, to helpfully mend ILLUS. A newspaperman once challenged E. Stanley things that are amiss. Pray that love for each other Jones’ declaration that the Christian and scientific ap­ and for everyone else will increase and overflow (1 proaches to life were “rendering a verdict on life and that Thess. 3:12). verdict is a Christian verdict.” So Jones challenged him: “If Prelude to Offering you don’t believe in the Christian way, then why don’t “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The hymn you go out and try it—put it under life and see what life recalls a grand event. The Philistines had occupied will say. I suggest this: Go out for a week and say the un- Israel’s territory for more than 20 years. Samuel in­ Christian thing, think the un-Christian thing, and be the terceded for them with the Lord and the Lord’s thun­ un-Christian thing in every situation for a week and then der threw the Philistines into panic, giving Israel vic­ come back and tell me what you have found, how it has tory in a rout. Then Samuel took a stone, set it up, and “named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far has the worked. ‘Shucks,’ he snorted, ‘You’d be bumped off be­ L o r d helped us’” (1 Sam. 7:12). Let’s make today’s fore the end of a week.’”8 tithes and offerings our Ebenezer. The professor has described for us what life is like Scripture Reading when God is subtracted. Ecclesiastes is the report of test Try organizing the scripture into a choral reading. results. It tells what life is like if “under the sun” is all Engage everyone— men, women, children, young, there is. old—in describing life’s circles, in speaking the great I want to give you an unusual assignment for this questions of this passage, and in pronouncing the week: contemplate what life would be like if under the professor’s conclusions. Use your imagination. How sun were all there is. can you use the rich variety of congregational voices I do not give this assignment to discourage you but to so the scripture sings rather than being a dull, rou­ vitalize your faith and to acquaint you with why many in tine reading? your worlds, their horizons locked beneath the sun, ex­ Benedictory Prayer perience despair they cannot seem to resolve. Lord, guide our contemplations during this week and through the next weeks. We reach above the 1. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, sun, asking You to help us consider what life would 1985), 30. be like if “under the sun” were all there is, if You— 2. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatshy (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, Father, Son, and Spirit—were subtracted from our 1925), 4. existence and from our experience. Use this week of 3. Ibid., 162. 4. E. Stanley Jones, The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person contemplation to renew our appreciation of You, to (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972), 49. enlarge our sense of privilege that You invite us to 5. Instant Quotation Dictionary, comp. Donald O. Bolander (Mundelein, 111. be Your children, and to stimulate us to never take Career Institute, 1972), 37. for granted the love You extend to us. Amen. 6. Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 44.

58 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE DEAD ENDS by Carl C. Green Eccles. 2:1-16

INTRO: ous work of organized and logical thinking. The fool, he ILLUS. Think of all the familiar cliches and commercial reasons, operates in a dark room, not knowing what’s up jingles you can: “Go for the gusto!” “You only go around next. Clear-thinking people with their eyes wide open once!” “Live life to the full!” “Catch it while you can.” should win every contest hands down. “Eat, drink, and be merry.” II. Life Can Lead to Dead Ends The professor’s initial thesis included all these and A. Now the professor states the empirical verdicts. more. The initial assumption of his grand experiment was 1. Pleasure is meaningless. It accomplishes nothing. It that the secret to life’s meaning will be unearthed some­ produces no gain. Laughter is ultimately foolish—empty, where under the sun. nonsensical. I. Can You Apply the Scientific Method to Life? ILLUS. “A . . . man . . . awoke melancholy every morning, A. Applying careful thinking to his experiment, the and he went to bed in the evening deeply depressed. . . . professor begins testing life to see what is good. A master He decided to seek the counsel of a medical doctor. The question drives his research: “How shall we reap happi­ psychiatrist listened to him for almost an hour. Finally, he ness and rest rather than grief and sorrow? ” What is good leaned toward his patient and said to him, ‘. . . I under­ about life on the purely horizontal plane? stand a new Italian clown has come into our city, and His quest was more than a cerebral exercise. It en­ he’s leaving them in the aisles. . . . Why don’t you go see gaged his whole person, not just his intellect. He busied this professional clown and laugh your troubles away?’ himself with everything, leaving no avenue of inquiry un­ With a hangdog expression, the patient muttered, ‘Doc­ touched. He investigated the roots of the question; he ex­ tor, I am that clown.’”2 plored the subject on all sides, twice assuring us that he ILLUS. Natasha is a major character in Leo Tolstoy’s ex­ has not lost his clinical perspective (w. 3, 9). He realizes pansive novel, War and Peace. Natasha’s fiance, Andrew, that any loss of objectivity will void his search for reality is a soldier fighting Napoleon’s advance on Moscow. by jeopardizing his credibility. While Andrew fights, Natasha violates his love, chasing B. The scientist—whether the experiment is social sci­ pleasure and the affections of another man. Tolstoy de­ ence, biology, or physics—tests one factor at a time. Mul­ scribes her at pleasure’s dead end: Natasha “never tiple variables blur the outcome—which variable was re­ laughed without a sound of tears in her laughter. . . . As sponsible for the observed reaction? So experiments are soon as she began to laugh . . . tears choked her: tears of constructed to consist of many constants and a single remorse, tears at the recollection of those pure times variable. By testing the chosen factor in this way, the ex­ which could never return, tears of vexation that she perimenter can document the response to the stimuli im­ should uselessly have ruined her young life which might posed. have been so happy.”3 This is precisely the professor’s plan of action. One by 2. Wine. No gain; it, too, is meaningless. one he tests several possible avenues to life’s meaning. ILLUS. A wealthy California land developer returned 1. Pleasure. He explored harmless and enjoyable forms home, informing his wife that he had just closed a $15 of nonsense, full of rip-roaring laughter and good times. million deal. The garage was full of exotic cars, a yacht He stimulated all his senses in the pursuit of delight. was moored to the back porch of their exclusive water­ 2. Wine. It is unclear whether the use of wine was a front home. There was no limit to the pleasure they separate investigation of a subcategory of pleasure. Nev­ could purchase, but his wife, rich and bored, was an alco­ ertheless, the professor “uses wine, not as a debauchee, holic. Emptiness had moved her from connoisseur of but as a connoisseur.”1 wines to debauchee. 3. Folly. The professor rejects the demand that every­ 3- Folly. No gain; a chasing after the wind. thing must make sense. He establishes a high tolerance 4. Work. “When I surveyed all that my hands had done for absurdity, embracing antirationality—a kind of ancient and what I had toiled to achieve . . . nothing was gained existentialism. under the sun.” 4. Work and self-centered acquisition. His words thun­ 5. Intellectualism. No gain; meaningless. In fact, the in­ der self-sufficiency: “I built,” “I planted,” “I made gardens tellectual’s plight may be the worst of all, for what good and parks,” “I made reservoirs,” “I bought slaves,” “I is intellect if “under the sun” is all there is? The wise owned more,” “I amassed,” “I acquired,” “I became ought to have some advantage, but experience shows greater by far than anyone before me.” “I denied myself they do not.4 Wisdom buys no exemption. Both the wise nothing my eyes desired.” Like Midas, everything he and the fool die. Neither is long remembered. Both are touches turns to profit. He’s got it all—wine, women, forgotten. In the meantime, it is the Ph.D. who can’t get a and song—all “the delights of the heart of man” (v. 8). job. “Overqualified,” they say. 5. Intellectualism. Abandoning antirational existential­ B. The professor speeds down these promising, bright­ ism, he explores rationalism. He gives himself to the seri­ ly lit roads in a hurried search to find what is “worth-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 59 while for [people] to do . . . during the few days of their 3. Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude, vol. 51 of Great Books o f the Western World (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., lives” (v. 3). But each avenue proves to be a cul-de-sac, a William Benton, Publisher, 1952), 373- dead end. Indeed, the word “overtakes” (v. 14) suggests 4. George Aaron Barton, The International Critical Commentary on the Book the frightening, inevitable acceleration of an enlarging o f Ecclesiastes (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1980), 82. 5. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge, 53- snowball that chases one in a nightmare. 6. Ralph Barton, quoted by Dennis Alexander in Beyond Science (Lion Publish­ So which is it? Eat, drink, and be merry; or eat, drink, ing. 1972), 123. 7. E. Stanley Jones, The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person and be miserable? (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972), 49. ILLUS. “Guillermo Vilas—a superb Argentinean tennis pro whose name is a synonym for confidence, strength, and inner security—once dropped his guard in a Sports Illustrated interview: ‘Fervently, I think that many times SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER one feels oneself to be secure and, suddenly, one’s world INVOCATION falls down like a pack of cards in a matter of seconds.’”5 SONGS OF WORSHIP “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” ILLUS. Before committing suicide, cartoonist Ralph “I Will Sing of the Mercies” Barton wrote: “I have had a few difficulties, many friends, “O Most High” “Be Ye Glad” great successes. I have gone from wife to wife, from CHOIR FRIENDSHIP MINUTE house to house, and have visited great countries of the OFFERING world. But I am fed up with devices to fill up 24 hours of SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 2:1-16 the day. ”6 SONGS OF WORSHIP “Jesus, Jesus” CONCLUSION: “I Love You, Lord” PASTORAL PRAYER The professor began his great experiment, confident SERMON “DEAD ENDS” that he could identify “what is worthwhile for men to do BENEDICTORY PRAYER under heaven during the few days of their lives” (v. 3). With persistence and flair, he has explored life’s grand Creative Worship Ideas boulevards of possibility. He’s been down all the streets— Pastoral Prayer pleasure, laughter, wine, folly, selfish work, intellectual Ask God to rearrange the perspective of our lives, pursuit. He has explored the same avenues modern indul- to throw His large horizons around our little days, to gents explore. capture our imaginations with those things unseen Now he adds up his meaning-seeking itinerary and his but more real than what we can see. Announce the multitude of acquisitions. He recalls his transition from self- congregation’s grace-empowered decision to pos­ indulgence to great projects in the service of the public sess the opportunities tucked away in these serious good and his cerebral pursuits. Finally, with bitter sadness, times by choosing great faith instead of preoccupa­ tion with the petty. Ask God to elevate our minds he rages, “My gross worth is millions but when you deduct and to stabilize us so we will return to life reinforced the overhead my net worth is zero!”(Eccles. 2:11, author’s and freshly assured that we are useful in God’s ser­ paraphrase). With diligence and unlimited resources, I vice. have explored the under-the-sun possibilities. I have found Invocation no lasting, satisfying meaning in any of the usual places Through the length of the week past, Father, we people look. Each has failed the test; they do not contain have considered what life would be like if You did meaning. Every boulevard has ended at a dead end. not exist. We are more certain than ever that we Where, then, do we look to find meaning, gain, and need to be in relationship with You if our lives are to true profit? The popular solutions are being eliminated be full of meaning. We intend that our worship shall one by one. reflect that conviction. ILLUS. E. Stanley Jones once said that God “hid secrets Friendship Minute amid the leaves of creation and as he hid them, he must We have considered what life without God would be like. Somehow John 3:16 seems more profound have said to himself: ‘I wonder how long it will take than ever: “God so loved the world that he gave.” [them] to discover that.’”7 Let us give, rejoicing that He is alive, well, and inter­ If viewed with clinical sobriety, “under the sun” seems ested in us. to possess insufficient meaning to satisfy the hearts of hu­ Scripture Reading mankind. Perhaps we need to begin looking somewhere Prepare a dramatic reading, each lay reader else; perhaps we need to look up. dressed to reflect the various outlook their scripture portion describes— hedonist, comedian, academic, 1. H. C. Leupold, Exposition o f Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book landscaper, land developer, etc. Memorized lines will House, 1952), 59. 2. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, be best. The lines are brief. 1985), 44.

60 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE A GLIMPSE UP by Carl C. Green Eccles. 2:17-26

INTRO: ILLUS. On June 22, 1897, the British Empire celebrated The professor has conducted his grand experiment, jour­ Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The Queen ruled over neying down the broad boulevards people typically travel one-quarter of the earth’s land and 372 million of its peo­ in their search for meaning. The boulevards—pleasure, ple. Many other subjects considered her divine. Newspa­ laughter, wine, folly, work, and intellectual pursuit—seem per editorials predicted that the empire would last forev­ at first to be grand avenues of possibility. But every boule­ er. Almost exactly a hundred years later, the British vard ends up a dead end. Solomon discovered what Jesus Empire and its monarchy have fallen into sad decline: declared centuries later: the grand boulevard that many fol­ Canada and Australia have home rule and are considering low is a road leading to destruction (see Matt. 7:13). withdrawing from the Commonwealth. Ireland and Scot­ I. Life Under the Sun Is Meaningless (2:17-23) land continue to discuss home rule. The popularity of the queen is in a historic decline, and her husband has estab­ A. Having determined to restrict his search for meaning lished a commission to consider downsizing the monar­ to things under the sun, the professor, like many in our chy.1 day, excused God from his considerations. Now he assess­ B. No wonder the professor is disgusted. Wisdom and es his choice, heaping sad words upon each other—la­ hard work are clearly not enough. Everything gained may bor, sorrow, grief, toil, and pain. These emphatically de­ be left to someone who cannot maximize its value or scribe the progress of the professor’s grand experiment. who may not appreciate its value. Painstakingly gathered, The verbal images are powerful. Life is hated; despair the work of a lifetime may be squandered quickly or bad­ consumes his heart; all the things accomplished and ac­ ly This is clearly unjust—a great and meaningless misfor­ cumulated are viewed as “a great misfortune” (v. 21)— tune! grievous, calamitous. Intended to be fun and enlighten­ Where, then, is meaning to be found? Dedicated, skill­ ing, the grand experiment has become a painful ful work, standing alone, is unable to supply meaning to nightmare. life. B. The phrase “under the sun” and the word “meaning­ less” are both used five times in today’s few verses of III. It Is Time to Take a Glimpse Up (2:24-26) scripture. The number five is not important, but this pair­ A. To this point, the Professor has been fixated under ing is very significant. Each under-the-sun inquiry is un­ the sun. Now, for the first time, for a moment, he lifts his derscored and punctuated with its own painful synopsis, gaze: “This . . . ,” he says, “is from the hand of God, . . . “Meaningless!” The professor has put all his marbles in without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” the under-the-sun basket. Now his lament weeps and This is no admonition to eat, drink, and be merry. It is wails: “I hated all my toil because I shall leave it.” the remark of a man brooding over his disappointments II. The Case for Despair Sounds Self-Evident and finding such philosophy inadequate, even distasteful. (2:18- 23) So, lifting his eyes above the sun and rethinking his initial A. We focus and strain to get ahead. We work carefully, thesis, the professor begins to explore a new proposition. prudently, and with well-figured calculation. What hap­ Perhaps life’s meaning cannot be found under the sun. pens? The paradox astonishes us: the employee works Perhaps God must be included if we are to find enjoyment from nine to five, goes home, enjoys the evenings, and and satisfaction in our eating, drinking, and working. sleeps like a baby. Meanwhile, the highly motivated entre­ ILLUS. Francis Fukuyama traces the history of political preneur may achieve wealth but worries interrupt sleep philosophy in his book The End of History and the Last and work interrupts leisure. Man. He recalls how Hegel, Marx, and others considered Look into life’s rearview mirror. We expect hard work God a hindrance to the advance of civilized society. For to produce security and exhilaration. Instead, we get nearly 300 pages, Fukuyama persuades the reader that he worry, sleepless nights, and little that lasts. Now take a is comfortable with this progressive dismissal of God. candid look through life’s windshield. See yourself pour­ Then, taking a sharp turn, Fukuyama surprises us: “Lock­ ing your heart into your work across a lifetime. You learn ean liberals who made the American Revolution like Jef­ your craft, excel at it, and take pride in it. You perform ferson or Franklin, or a passionate believer in liberty and your work with wide-ranging knowledge, inventive wis­ equality like Abraham Lincoln, did not hesitate to assert dom, skill, and craftsmanship. But someone else will in­ that liberty required belief in God. The social contract be­ herit the produce of your lifetime at work. tween rational self-interested individuals was not . . . self- The inheritor may be wise and sincere; he may also be sustaining; it required a supplementary belief in divine re­ inadequately gifted to oversee what he inherits; or he wards and punishments.”2 may be a fool, unfocused and shiftless. Nevertheless, he Fukuyama concludes that we need to reach above the will have full control over what has been carefully gath­ sun if civilization is to be stabilized. Absent any “belief in ered with wisdom and prudence. Our work may not sur­ divine rewards and punishments,” humankind does not vive, and this clearly isn’t what we expect. have sufficient stimulus for civilized behavior.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 6 l Fukuyama’s conclusion supports Solomon’s revised eternity are added to our lives by Him who stands above thesis: it is God’s good work to render our under-the-sun the sun. Meaninglessness is replaced with meaning when pursuits meaningless. This is a device used by God to re­ the first glimpse up becomes a steady gaze, fixed on Jesus mind us that we need Him. (see Heb. 12:2). ILLUS. John Wimber’s wife of eight years sued for di­ ILLUS. A young boy led his little sister on a hike. Soon vorce. Devastated, he drove into the Las Vegas desert, she began to complain, “There’s no path; it’s all rocks gun in hand, seriously considering suicide. Five genera­ and bumps.” tions removed from any church involvement, God was “That’s right,” explained her brother, “the bumps are not part of his frame of reference. Desperate, he got out what you climb on.”5 of the car, looked up into the heavens, and heard himself The bumps in your road are put there by God, not to saying aloud, “O God, if You’re there, please help me.” trip you up but to be your stepping-stones to Him. Surprised and embarrassed by the outburst, he drove Have you looked up? Or are you chasing the wind? “If back into Las Vegas. you don’t have the living Lord in the . . . nucleus of your When he walked through his hotel’s lobby, the night plans, you are facing endless miles of bad road.”6 clerk said, “John, there’s a message from your wife.” He called her and she said, “John. I’ve decided to give 1. Historical information from Pax Britannica by James Morris (San Diego: Harves/HBJ, 1968), 21-23. it one more chance.” 2. Francis Fukuyama, The End o f History and the Last Man (New York: Free Wimber replied, “When did you decide to do that?” Press, 1992), 326. 3. John Wimber, “Personal Testimony & Evangelism,” Tape 1. Produced by Naz- She said, “A half hour ago.” arene Communications. Copyright 1978 by the Fuller Evangelistic Association. Wimber recalls: “When she said that, something that Given at the Evangelism and Church Growth Conference of the Church of the had never been connected before in my life came togeth­ Nazarene. 4. H. C. Leupold, Exposition o f Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book er. I pictured myself out on the desert talking to the dark House, 1952), 74. saying, ‘God, if You’re there, help me.’ And He did. I 5. Heard on the Master Plan radio program, July 21, 1996 (Box 70, Springfield, leaned back against the wall and said, ‘I’m in touch with MO 65801, 1-800-410-7070). 6. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, the supernatural.”’3 1985), 63. Strictly horizontal in worldview prior to this point, the professor tentatively, perhaps hesitantly, reaches above the sun. Each one of us can probably recall some occa­ sion when, like Wimber, we first made the connection that the missing piece of our search for the meaning in SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER life may lie above the sun. SONGS OF WORSHIP “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” This is probably not the time of conversion for most of “I Will Rejoice” us; it is when our investigation seriously reaches, for the “Glorious God” first time, beyond the sun. It is the time when we initially FRIENDSHIP MOMENT consider that God, residing above the sun, may be the CHOIR “All Creation Sings His Praise” one who can give shape to our under-the-sun experience. OFFERING B. If we refuse to look up and extend our horizon be­ SONGS OF WORSHIP “How Great Thou Art” yond the sun, we may be moral and prosperous, but we “Be Exalted, O God (I Will Give Thanks)” will not fully enjoy what we gather and store up. God, “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” Solomon observes, gives the sinner “the task of gathering “I Look to You” CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who HYMN “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” pleases God” (v. 26), while enjoyment is the domain of SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 2:17-26 those who are connected to God. So the little the righ­ SERMON “A GLIMPSE UP” teous have is better than the wealth of many wicked (Ps. PRAYER 37:16) because God adds wisdom, knowledge, and happi­ COLLECTIVE BENEDICTION IN SONG “The Lord’s ness to the prosperity of the righteous. Prayer” The professor is reminding us quietly that wealth with­ out God makes no sense because the task God gives the Creative Worship Ideas sinner includes no possibility of permanent gain. “Real Offertory Idea enjoyment in all things depends on a higher source than Jesus Christ paid for our salvation, and because men.”4 Life can only be enjoyed with God. others gave of their time and resources, we know Him. In thanksgiving we now give our tithes and of­ CONCLUSION: ferings so that, through the ministry of this church The professor’s discovery has been authenticated and our influence, others will come to Christ. across the centuries. Enjoyment, purpose, direction, and

62 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE ^ K A K ££ p !Jn‘versity ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS LlN 0ls by Carl C. Green Eccles. 3:1-22 & _ •*

INTRO: and found in Baltimore’s old Saint Paul’s Church went ILLUS. The Mullen agency, according to the Spokane like this: “Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Spokesman-Review, “has created advertising for light- universe is unfolding as it should.”3 The phrase captures bulbs, luxury cars and apple juice. Now the Wenham, the flavor of the professor’s emerging confidence. Mass., shop is pitching religion.” One of Mullen’s older B. Not only does God make everything beautiful in its ads “is a picture of Earth as viewed from outer space. The time, but also, though we cannot fathom what He has tagline is, ‘Without God, it’s a vicious circle.’”1 done from beginning to end, “He has . . . set eternity in The advertisement’s-tagline sums up the professor’s [our] hearts” (Eccles. 3:11)- viewpoint. Time and eternity meet in today’s verses; the Pondering this insight from above the sun, the profes­ professor’s upward glance lengthens and focuses. sor muses. “What separates us from the animals?” he asks. It is not our physiological functions; we “have the same I. Consider Time (3:1 - 11) breath” (v. 19). Neither does our fate distinguish us; we A. This passage is not a prescription for life; it is a de­ die just as the animals do and “who knows if the spirit of scription of life. A familiar passage of poetic beauty, its in­ man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes tent is protest. It complains that man’s activities are limit­ down into the earth?” (v. 21). So what distinguishes us: ed as well as his knowledge of God’s works. The lament our ability to ponder such questions. wails that life is a series of contrasts; one period undoes ILLUS. Descartes, the 17th-century philosopher, doubted what another period has done with little recognition that everything. “All things I experience,” he said, “are noth­ we have been here before. ing but illusions and dreams.” Finally, he found the “single ILLUS. In the United States, the crew cuts of the 1950s truth which is certain.” “One thing,” he said, “remains and early 1960s are back. Meanwhile, the country’s domi­ about which I can have no doubt at all, that I th in k .'' Up­ nant politics have shifted from optimistic to pessimistic on this famous platform of five words—“I think, there­ in this century, from conservative to liberal and back fore, I am”—Descartes reserved “his doubts about the again. Educational trends demonstrate the same ambiva­ self, things, true ideas, and God.”4 lence—old math or new math, phonics or whole lan­ Most of us, thankfully, worry less severely than guage? [Increase the congregation’s level of participation Descartes did about such things. But Solomon argues that by asking them for examples of things that have come we ponder questions and unravel dilemmas that never oc­ back into style.] cur to animals because eternity, put there by God, resides B. The nagging question keeps repeating itself: “What in our hearts. By ourselves we are animals.5 But we are not does a man get for all the toil?” (2:22; see also 1:3; 3:9). by ourselves; God has placed the awareness of eternity in How do we make sense of life when it shifts like the sand our hearts. Therefore, we are unique among the animals; and swings from extreme to extreme like a pendulum? we are more than mere animals. There is something about How do we make sense of life’s inevitabilities—birth and us that, unlike the animals, is not content under the sun. death? Is there any exit from the meaninglessness of it all? IT.1 .ITS. “Abraham Maslow formulated his famous hierarchy The professor calls the conventional wisdom a heavy of needs back in the 1940s. . . . [Maslow] sought to estab­ “burden God has laid on men” (v. 10). He knows the feel­ lish a list of ‘universal needs’ that affect everyone. . . . ing of time pressure. He knows how the events of time Maslow boiled down his list of needs to five. These were clutch us in their grip. Today’s success will be followed survival, security, belonging, prestige, and self-fulfill­ by tomorrow’s failure, today’s birth by tomorrow’s death. ment.”6 When survival and safety needs are met, we do He knows there is a time for everything, but when is the not coast in neutral; we begin the quest to find higher right time? Timing is a delicate issue. The right thing at meaning. This capacity, Solomon points out, is what sepa­ the wrong time is the wrong thing. So when is the right rates people from the animals. time? Life’s cyclical, pendulumlike behavior will keep us We are unable to comprehend everything God has done perpetually off-balance unless we can find some fixed from beginning to end, but we know enough to perceive point to steady our equilibrium. His hand in our affairs. We may not know everything there II. Consider Eternity (3:11- 14) is to know, but we are able to understand that “under the A. Pondering this reality, “the writer pushes a door sun” is not all there is. If only as a glimpse, we discern the open. You can almost hear it squeak.”2 The perspective gift of God applied to our lives from above the sun. “I changes. Hatred of life is drowned in a refreshing swell of know that there is nothing better for men than to be hap­ optimism. God is sovereign, and He will make all things py and do good while they live,” Solomon says, to “eat and beautiful in His time. All the fluctuations are under ab­ drink, and find satisfaction in all [their] toil”(w. 12, 13). solute control. In Christ, we are conquerors, never vic­ III. Consider Looking Above the Sun (3:14-15) tims (see Rom. 8:35-39). A. Someone has said that life is like a yo-yo, always ILLUS. One of the phrases of an inscription, dated 1692 pulling us back to God. That is precisely the image the

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 63 professor conjures up in verse 15: “Whatever is has al­ vantage. Inserting himself into life’s hypnotic circular ready been and what will be has been before; and God rhythms, He tugs us back to himself, informing us that we will call the past to account.” The figure is not that of a are far more than mere animals because He has set eterni­ “river, but a circle. . . . He conceives of event chased by ty in our hearts. When our earthbound, under-the-sun event, until it is itself brought back to God.”7 perspective has us convinced that life is meaningless, ILLUS. Frederick Buechner tells of being 27, living alone God speaks: “Look up! Connect with Me! Standing above in New York falling in love with a girl who was not in the sun, I will make everything beautiful at the right love with him, and unsuccessfully trying to start a novel. time.” He was not a churchgoer, but one morning, on impulse, Without God, life is purposeless, profitless, miserable, he went to church. He remembers the preacher in the and meaningless. With Him, it will ultimately make sense. pulpit “twitching around a good deal” as he “played varia­ This is the good news of the gospel! tions on the theme of coronation,” and he also remem­ 1. Spokane Spokesman-Review, September 28, 1996, Al6. bers that moment when the preacher said, “Jesus is 2. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, crowned among confession and tears and great laughter.” 1985), 86. “The great wall of China crumbled and Atlantis rose up 3. Desiderata, found in old Saint Paul’s Church, Baltimore, dated 1692. 4. Samuel Enoch Stumpf, Socrates to Sartre (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., out of the sea,” Buechner recalls, “and on Madison Av­ 1966), 249, 254- 255. enue, at 73rd Street, tears leapt from my eyes as though I 5. Michael A. Eaton, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Ecclesiastes, gen. had been struck across the face.”8 Pulled by the great tug ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 85. 6. Paul R. Timm and Brent D. Peterson, People at Work (Minneapolis/St. Paul: of God’s hand, Buechner climbed along the string of West Publishing, 1993), 55. these words into God’s redeeming hand. 7. George Aaron Barton, The International Critical Commentary on the Book o f Ecclesiastes (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1980), 103- God doesn’t let us go easily. Reaching out again and 8. Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace (San Francisco: Harper, 1970), again, He persistently pulls us toward himself. 43-44. ILLUS. Robinson Crusoe grew up in a Christian home. Un­ 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1964), 4. moved by his father’s faith, young Crusoe yearned for ad­ venture. He pursued his dream of a life at sea, but his ship ran aground on a Caribbean island. Only Crusoe made it ashore. There he recalled his lather’s admonition “that if I did take this foolish step, God would not bless me—and I SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER would have leisure hereafter to reflect upon having ne­ glected his counsel.”9 Rummaging through a trunk he sal­ CALL TO WORSHIP SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 3:1-11 vaged from the ship, Crusoe discovered a Bible during his SONGS OF WORSHIP “All Creatures of Our God first year on the island. Opening it, he read, “Call upon me and King” in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee; and thou shalt “Psalm of Thanks” glorify me”(Ps. 50:15, k jv ). Alone and afraid, Crusoe’s soul “All the Earth Shall Worship” opened to God, and he learned to see God’s grace in the FRIENDSHIP MINUTE circumstances that unfold in the 27 years of nearly com­ CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER plete isolation before he is rescued. SONGS OF WORSHIP “All Heaven Declares” God inhabits our goings and our comings, using them “Blessed Be the Name” to remind us of himself. He uses our conclusion that “Lord, I Love You” everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing af­ OFFERING CHOIR “Shine On Us” ter the wind, to cause us to consider Him. SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 3:11 -22 B. Though we “cannot fathom what God has done SERMON “ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS” from beginning to end” (v. 11), life’s unpredictabilities BENEDICTORY PRAYER make sense when we “know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and noth­ Creative Worship Ideas ing taken from it”(v. 14). Call to Worship Someone has said: “It is not the suffering that is diffi­ Several weeks ago, we heard Solomon lament cult; it is the senselessness of the suffering.” Perhaps this life’s unending circle— “The sun rises and the sun is what the songwriter had in mind when reminding us sets, and hurries back to where it rises” (Eccles 1:5). that we don’t need to know everything about tomorrow He complained about life’s unending cycle, calling it if we know who holds our hand. The tortured shapless- meaningless. This morning, Solomon sees the same ness of life under the sun takes shape when it answers phenomenon but his melody is hopeful instead of melancholy. We are going to see what happens the pull of Him who stands above the sun. when God is injected into the circle of life— meaning CONCLUSION: happens. So let’s rejoice! We are captured in time, but God uses time to our ad­

64 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE 1 + 1 = SURVIVAL by Carl C. Green Eccles. 4:1-16

INTRO: enjoyment?” Standing there with everything and nothing, ILLUS. Matt Truell, reporting on the Menninger Clinic’s they each conclude, “This is meaningless, miserable busi­ help to stressed-out executives, wrote: “Corporations ness!’The conclusion is despair. downsize. That means friends are fired. Long hours mean The professor offers a middle-of-the-road solution: “Bet­ you don’t see your family You were unhappy when you ter one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with didn’t get promoted. When the promotion came, you toil and chasing after the wind” (v. 6). were still unhappy.”1 C. The professor offers to us as good counsel that so­ These verses address the emptiness of life at the top. cial fragmentation, whether from rivalry or compulsive Life at the top, the professor insists, is a miserable way to absorption in our work, never produces companionship. live! The question is a good one: Should I sacrifice every­ Therefore, it is better to be “a poor but wise youth than thing in the scramble to the top? an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning” (v. 13). Relationships are more valuable than I. Rivalry Causes Isolation (4:4-8) money and insulated power. A. The professor editorializes on what he has observed. The professor is not giving naive counsel. Possessing His point of view may be, in part, autobiographical. He power and recognition, he has seen the fickleness of pop­ has a cynical view, but he believes it is supported by the ular favor. He understands that the masses frequently and empirical evidence—just watch how people behave. persistently discard old leaders for new leaders, even do­ The primary motivation for labor and achievement is ri­ ing detriment to their situation. And he understands the valry. Skills and techniques are developed to improve the paranoia that the fickleness of the masses can arouse in worker’s performance. Tireless workers, practitioners of established leaders. the work ethic, are applauded. The willingness to work ILLUS. By 1973, President Richard Nixon’s 1972 election hard, the professor says, is very often about one-upman- mandate had devolved into paranoia. Nixon and his staff, ship rather than work. fortressed in the White House, tried to troubleshoot Wa­ ILLUS. The goal of power breakfasts is less about work tergate, which itself was the product of their overactive than to demonstrate that I can be at work earlier than you paranoia. can. The motivation is rivalry—a scramble for wealth, Nevertheless, the counsel sounds: choose simplicity leadership, power, or status. rather than personless achievements (see verse 6). B. The professor observes two kinds of compulsives in Choose relationships rather than independent loneliness the world: the hardworking overachiever and the lazy un­ ( see verses 9-12; cf. 2:24-26; 3:11-15). der-achiever who “folds his hands and ruins himself” (v. 5). The word picture is vivid. The overachiever seeks to III. 1 + 1 = Survival (4:9-12) get ahead by means of self-sufficient independence. The A. Life illustrates God’s Word: “Two are better than under achiever, folding his hands in a kind of living death, one” (v. 9). The buddy system is wise because it works. tries to get ahead at everyone else’s expense. Of the two, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. . . . If two the more common is the tendency to withdraw into iso­ lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one lated self-containment. keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two ILLUS. A recent sociological study reveals the increasing can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not desocialization (isolation) of people in America. It has quickly broken ” (w. 10-12). been given an interesting name: “Bowling Alone.”2 Its ti­ ILLUS. It was May 1986. A class of high school students tle comes from the statistic that bowling leagues are on were stranded on Oregon’s Mount Hood. The entire the decline while individual bowlers are on the increase. Northwest followed daily reports of the search to find The study also mentions that people in crisis tend to stop them. The hours stretched into many days. Finally, news coaching Little League, going to Kiwanis, and so on. came. Huddled together, two or three had survived; all Withdrawing rather than reaching out for help seems al­ who had become detached perished in the mountain’s most instinctive. winter grip. 1 + 1 = Survival. Isolated independents, absorbed in work, disconnect B. Outside community, we simply cannot keep warm; from others. They avoid relational commitments. They standing alone, we are at risk. For this reason, true spiri­ are alone, with no frinds or family. Workaholics, they find tuality connects us; it does not disconnect us. Relational no end to toil. Their eyes are not content with the wealth networks are important: 1 + 1 = Survival. they possess. Paul assures us that we have been blessed “in the heav­ The picture saddens by the lateness of the lesson enly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Eph. learned. Only when life is nearly used up, do workaholics 1:3) and prays for enlightened understanding. He wants ask themselves the big questions about life’s choices: us to know the hope to which God has called us and “For whom am I toiling?” “Why am I depriving myself of God’s incomparably great power. Wedged between those

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 65 two phrases is the one that interests me most: he also the bundle of sticks. A man could not get his quarreling wants us to know “the riches of [God’s] glorious inheri­ sons to live in harmony. So he asked them to try to break tance in the saints” (v. 18). a bundle of sticks tied together. None could. Then he un­ Christ, Paul says, is “head over everything for the tied the bundle, gave an individual stick to each son, and church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills asked them to try again. Each son broke his stick easily. everything in every way” (w. 22-23). This is an unusual Aesop’s moral: “Union is strength.”5 idea. We think about Christ as the believer’s fullness; we “Two [really] are better than one. . . . If one falls down, are not used to thinking about Christ needing fullness. his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls Yet the church, Christ’s body, completes Christ. and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down to­ Paul’s word picture sounds gruesome: When we de­ gether, they will keep warm. But how can one keep tach from one another, we decapitate Christ. We reject warm alone? . . . Though one may be overpowered, two His Body while embracing His severed head when we dis­ can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not connect from others. If this is not sacrilege, it is a signifi­ quickly broken ” (Eccles. 4:9-12). cant departure from God’s way. “The riches of [God’s] glorious inheritance” is extend­ 1. Matt Truell, the Spokane, Washington, Spokesman-Review, Sunday, Novem­ ber 17, 1996, A18. ed to us “in the saints” (v. 18). Each of us is one of God’s 2. Robert D. Putnam, “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital "Jour­ branch banks, a depository of God’s heavenly resources. nal o f Democracy (January 1995), 65. Each of us is surrounded by other branch banks. We must 3. William Bennett, Book o f Virtues (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 388. interact transparently with other believers if we are to have access to God’s resources. When we detach, choos­ ing isolated independence, we end up alone, with nei­ ther friend nor family. ” SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER IT.T.TIS. I was serving my first church. The concluding ser­ SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 4:8-12 vice of our district’s annual meeting was underway. I was INVOCATION seated front and center, flanked by a row or two of our SONGS OF WORSHIP “He Will Come and Save You” people, many of them brand-new Christians. Though our “May Christ Be Exalted in Me” church had experienced good growth, represented by “We Praise Thee, 0 God” the large number of new Christians who surrounded me, “You Have Called Us” FRIENDSHIP MINUTE I was in a spiritual dry spot. When the speaker opened OFFERING the altar for prayer, the Lord prompted me to go forward. CHOIR “Undivided” I argued, “But Lord, what will these who’ve come with SERMON “1 + 1 = SURVIVAL” me think?” SELECTED INTERVIEWS Finally I went forward. When I finished praying, the COMMUNION people from my congregation were gathered around On this Worldwide Communion Sunday, pray for praying for me. My openness deepened and solidified our the Church around the world. Acknowledge that we relationship; it did not diminish my ministry. are never drawn close to God if we are not also Sadly, we operate under the false notion that vulnera­ drawn close to one another. Pray that all discord, bility is taboo. These notions disconnect us and put us at not only in the local church but worldwide and across denominational lines, will resolve into gospel- very high risk. Two are simply better than one when it advancing unity. comes to survival. PRAYER BEFORE THE BREAD: Help us see our­ CONCLUSION: selves strong because our individual lives are a part Choose relationships; reject isolated independence. 1 of the common loaf, united with believers spanning both the centuries and the globe. + 1 = Survival. It is God’s way! A cord of three strands PRAYER BEFORE THE CUP: May the love we ex­ cannot be easily broken! press toward each other be that which we have re­ IT.1.1 IS. God’s Word and my relationship with Him have ceived from You—the wellspring of forgiveness re­ been keys to survival, but small groups of people have al­ ceived, covered by Your shed blood. so been instrumental. One small group met for breakfast. CLOSING SONGS “The Bond of Love” For two years we met every other Tuesday. We developed “Make Us One” close and valued friendship. One morning at a difficult time in my life I shared some of the things I was experi­ Creative Worship Orders encing. When I finished, one by one, these people whom Selected Interviews God had given to me before I knew I needed them ex­ Interview small group participants (select and pre­ tended His help to me. They shared with me their similar pare them before the service). Ask them, “Has there ever been a time when a small group made the dif­ experiences. They affirmed me. Suddenly, surprisingly, I ference between your survival and demise?” Have was not alone; they dispensed heaven’s inheritance to my them describe how their lives have been enriched by frightened heart. Healing began that day. small groups of Christian peers who met regularly to ILLUS. The Roman symbol of the rods bound by cords on share and pray. one version of our dime comes from Aesop’s fable about

66 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT MONEY by Carl C. Green Eccles. 5:8-20

INTRO: ing what you consider important. . . . I vigorously set out “When Solomon writes on money, it’s time to take to better every indicator by which my brigade was statis­ notes. [He] knows whereof he speaks. . . . His base in­ tically judged. And then went on to do the things that I come in gold alone was in the neighborhood of $20 mil­ thought counted. . . . I had detected a common thread lion . . . not to mention his export-import trade lines and running through the careers of officers who ran aground the limitless perks’ that came with being king. . . . We re . . . a stubbornness about coughing up that shilling. They talking filthy rich.’ . . . You and I . . . cannot comprehend fought what they found foolish or irrelevant, and conse­ the immensity of his wealth.”1 quently did not survive to do what they considered These verses are straight, no-holds-barred talk about vital.”4 money and its impact on society. The professor is clearly This slope is slippery because the line between raw ex­ frustrated with the inequities produced by people whose pediency and being a team player is so thin. The profes­ viewpoint falls exclusively under the sun. He punctuates sor is not opposed to building bridges so we can accom­ his talk about money with talk about power or its misuse. plish what is vital for society; he is opposed to Solomon knew what we know—there is a clear symbiosis abandoning all principle just to get ahead. between money and power. Each needs the other and B. The professor gives several snapshots of money-mad each reinforces the other. insanity. Snapshot 1: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied I. The Madness Money Causes (5:8-12) with his income” (v. 10). A. The poor are oppressed in political districts; justice ILLUS. Rockefeller, the story goes, was asked, “How and rights are routinely denied. Are you surprised? Don’t much money do you need before you will feel comfort­ be! Social and political systems are devised to protect val­ able and secure?” ued turf. He answered, “Just a little more.” ILLUS. An old Russian proverb says, “When money ILLUS. In 1987 Mike Mailway reported, “People most dis­ speaks the truth is silent.”2 satisfied with their paychecks are those who earn about ILLUS. In a 1987 Parade Magazine article, “The Reward 25 percent more than average. This, from a University of Is One’s Own Dignity,” Marie Ragghianti said, “In a world Illinois sociologist who says his studies also indicate that where loyalty is often valued over competence, the whis- a raise in salary rarely makes anybody happy. He claims tle-blower can become a pariah.” Ragghianti knows how those who get raises quickly adjust—to higher levels of tenaciously political systems protect their turf. In 1977 dissatisfaction.”’ she lost her position as the head of the Tennessee Board Snapshot 2: Goods increase and so do those who con­ of Pardons and Paroles because she challenged the sale of sume them. Many provide no benefit except for the own­ early releases to inmates and their families by members of er to feast his eyes on them. This, the professor reasons, the Tennessee administration. Ragghianti recalls a conver­ makes no sense. There comes a point when something sation with Tom Murton, another whistle-blower whose else, something newer or better is of little benefit except experience in Arkansas was the basis for the movie to underline one’s wealth. At some point the accumula­ Brubaker. Murton, “forced to teach instead of practicing tion of vehicles becomes a statement rather than a means the profession he had given everything to” she says, of transportation. “railed at his colleagues in the field of corrections, who, ILLUS. “Some modern fabulist once put [it] very neatly; he said, had shut him out. I’m being wasted, Marie.’” he wrote of a wonderful atomic converter which took Ragghianti, angered by Murton’s anger, replied, “Yes, common earth and stone and turned out whatever goods there was corruption, but isn’t that part of the human you wanted. Men rejoiced at the end of all poverty and condition? Yes, we were the ones thrown out, but laughed at the few reactionaries who feared that the haven’t we known fulfillment? And didn’t we know that world might get used up. Five thousand years later, as­ we weren’t playing the game? Didn’t we know that we tronomers were disproving with mathematics the popu­ were jeopardizing our jobs by what we did, and didn’t lar legend that the earth had once been much bigger than we make a decision to do it anyway?”3 the moon.”6 The professor observes another slippery slope. People ILLUS. The current lunacy of athletic salaries threatens quickly learn what they have to do to get ahead, so a two- the financial integrity of the professional sports leagues. way arrangement is worked out: underlings seek upward Shaquille O’Neal, according to a radio report, will receive mobility by compliance while superiors study the confor­ $105 million for eight years. Meanwhile, the median an­ mity quotient of underlings. nual salary level for doctors is $59,000; for lawyers, ILLUS. Gen. Colin Powell describes how he coped with $53,000; for university professors, $46,000; for public the Army system in his autobiography: “You pay the king school teachers, $33,000; for clergy, $23,000; for secre­ his shilling, get him off your back, and then go about do­ taries, $20,000; for construction workers, $18,500; for

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 67 waitresses, $14,000.7 This is clearly not about need; it is bor under the sun during the few days of life God has giv­ about ego. The question is a good one: will ego’s greed en him. . . . When God gives any man wealth and posses­ eventually destroy the athlete’s golden goose? sions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot Snapshot 3: Moral and ethical compromise occur as and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He sel­ people conspire to get ahead at the expense of others. dom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps Who can forget the savings and loan scandal of the early him occupied with gladness of heart” (w. 18-20). 1980s or the post office scandal that felled Congress’s CONCLUSION: Dan Rostenkowski? Seneca, the Roman sage, was right, “Money has never Snapshot 4: The number of dependent consumers in­ yet made anyone rich.” creases in proportion to the increase of wealth and So how do we establish sanity in the midst of money goods. The more you possess, the more “friends” you ac­ madness? Reach above the sun. Seek Jesus, His kingdom, cumulate, all hoping for a piece of the action. and His righteousness; believe that He will sufficiently If JITS. One businessman described his life this way: “My add to you all things (see Matt. 6:33). employees get paid while I get no pay, and they sleep like babies while I spend sleepless nights sweating my next 1. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, payroll.’’This is precisely the paradox the professor has in 1985), 162. 2. Frank S. Mead, ed., The Encyclopedia o f Religious Quotations (Old Tappan, mind: “The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1965), 463. little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits 3. Marie Ragghianti, “The Reward Is One’s Own Dignity,” Parade Magazine, him no sleep” (v. 12). March 22, 1987, 4-5. 4. Colin L. Powell with Joseph E. Persico, My American Journey (New York: Swindoll has it right. “Money can buy us tons of com­ Random House, 1995), 220. fort, but not an ounce of contentment.”8 5. Mile Mailway, “Mike Mailway, ” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 25, 1987. 6. Joy Davidman, Smoke on the Mountain (Philadelphia: The Westminster II. Why Money Madness Is Madness (5:13-17) Press, 1953), 124-25. 7. Heard on a radio broadcast, Summer 1996. A. The professor explains why love of money is mad­ 8. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge, 163. ness. Wealth is often hoarded to the harm of its owner 9. KIRO Radio, Seattle, Washington, March 22, 1987. and is often lost through misfortune. For this reason, the 10. F. B. Meyer, Inherit the Kingdom (Wheaton, 111.: Victor Books, 1904), 121. professor calls preoccupation with wealth a grievous evil. Have you seen this grievous evil happen? SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER ILLUS. A radio talk show host once referred to the mone­ tary instability of life as a “dark cloud.”9 CALL TO WORSHIP “We’ve Come to Worship” It really doesn’t matter whether wealth is hoarded or SONGS OF WORSHIP “We Praise Thee, O God” “Sing unto the Lord” lost. Either way, a person can be left with nothing. Mon­ “How Majestic Is Your Name” ey is transitory. It is highly susceptible to inflation, deval­ FRIENDSHIP MINUTE uation, or economic slump. CHOIR “Seekers of Your Heart” ILLUS. “The uncertainty of riches is proverbial; at any SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 5:8-20 moment they may take wings and fly away. A panic on OFFERING the Stock Exchange, depreciation in the value of securi­ SONGS OF WORSHIP “Nothing as Precious” ties, a new invention, the diversion of trade from one “Higher Ground” port to another, or the competition of a foreigner, may in “Let the Redeemed” “We Will Glorify” a short time cause the carefully hoarded winnings of our CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER lifetime to crumble like the Venice Campanile [an ill-fated SERMON “STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT MONEY” bell tower].”10 BENEDICTION PRAYER The professor concludes his explanation with a bang: “All his days [a person] eats in darkness, with great frus­ Creative Worship Ideas tration, affliction and anger” (v. 17). The argument is sim­ Congregational Prayer ple: it is better to not have a fortune than to lose it. For Lead the congregation to repent of their participa­ loss brings distress and disappointment that will never be tion in the kind of systemic, institutional sins about experienced except by the impoverished rich. which Solomon is concerned in today’s passage. B. This sets up the bottom-line issue: You can’t take it Ask for a holy hatred of sin. Direct such anger at with you. The professor does not say we take nothing out prejudice and wrongdoing institutionalized into state of life. He knows we take our character and our con­ and corporate policy— powerful nations preying on science. He says we take nothing we can carry in our weaker nations, the advantaged classes exploiting the less advantaged, our enjoyment of technology hands. So if we make a bundle, what do we gain? We end and cheap products that steal the health and dignity up with a handful of nothing; our net worth is $0.00. of workers. Pray for the day when employers and Making a bundle, in the final analysis, is like toiling for workers will each give the other the product of con­ the wind. secrated lives. Pray that we will find ways to pur­ The opposite of the bottom-line evil is the bottom-line posely leave enough around the edges of our fields good. In a burst of reassuring insight, the professor sees of plenty so those for whom there is no crop this what he relays to us: “It is good and proper for a man to year may find enough for their needs. eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome la­

68 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE GLADNESS OF HEART by Carl C. Green Eccles. 5:18—6:12

INTRO: Three times he reports God peeking into things under ILLUS. Born with congenital heart disease, Dewayne was the sun (see 2:24-26; 3:10-15; 5:18—6:2). Then seeing a not expected to live through childhood. In his 20s, he developing pattern in these above-the-sun sightings, he had already outlived several prognoses. He grew up in a begins to get excited. After all, every scientist under­ Christian home but, unable to understand his health stands that evidence sometimes alters prior propositions. problems and an accumulation of related life experi­ That is fine. Science is about discovery, not defending ences, renounced the Christian faith and discontinued his false propositions. connection with the church. Now, after several years, De­ B. Realization is that magical moment of insight. In­ wayne again began attending church. sight is quite different than knowledge. We can possess One day Dewayne rehearsed his life history in my of­ knowledge without insight. Insight occurs when what fice, pouring out his questions, disappointments, frustra­ we know first makes sense. Knowledge is a possession, tions, and anger. “I don’t even know if I believe there is a perhaps lightly held; insight is a valued possession, pas­ God! ” he complained. It was clearly a moment of struggle sionately held. with the meaninglessness attached to the purely under- Knowledge is the algebra student, working an equation the-sun viewpoint for which he had opted. flawlessly as she follows the teacher’s instructions step I replied, “Dewayne, you know what I am supposed to by step. It is the aspiring artist painting by the numbers do now. I am supposed to urge you to ask Christ into or the Bible student reading a verse and knowing it is in your heart. But I am not going to do that. You have a the Bible. But these are not insight. Insight is that mo­ problem more fundamental than Christ’s absence from ment when knowledge moves to applied understanding. your heart; you don’t even know if God exists. So some­ Insight happens when the algebra student no longer time in the next days or weeks, speak to the air and ask needs the teacher’s step-by-step guidance; the equation is God to reveal himself to you.” understood, both the way it works and why. Insight oc­ Several weeks later Dewayne told me the story of his in­ curs when the artist no longer needs the lines, the num­ quiry, declaring, “I believe God exists.” Although he did not bered canvas, and the numbered paint containers. In­ leap quickly to full-fledged faith, something foundational stead, what the heart sees and feels shows up on canvas. had happened, something without which full-fledged faith The Bible student, reading a familiar, often read verse or could never have occurred. Over the next weeks and passage, exclaims, “Why haven’t I ever seen that before?” months, Dewayne’s journey to full-fledged faith was not a The professor reports the first occasion when his clini­ straight road; it was full of twists and turns and switch­ cal dispassion gets swallowed up by the passionate ex­ backs. He vacillated between despair and hope as he tried citement of discovery: “Then I realized that it is good and to figure out the relationship that had to occur between the proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction God above the sun and his own under-the-sun existence. in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days This is precisely the situation of today’s scripture. of life God has given him. . . . Moreover, when God gives The professor’s grand research project has led him to a any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to en­ kind of early faith. He has studied the plight of the op­ joy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work— pressed poor who have no advocate. He has researched this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his bureaucratic oppression and injustice, and nearly impene­ life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of trable networks of official graft. He has wrestled with the heart” (5:18-20). senselessness of wealth-gathering and wealth’s certain in­ II. Hope Can Cloud Over (6:1-6) stability (see 4:1; 5:8-15). The dark despair occasioned by A. As quickly as the hopeful realization burst, hope his conclusions has driven him to look above the sun. clouds over with the limited viewpoint under the sun. “I Life under the sun has forced an upward glance that in have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heav­ turn has occasioned a kind of prefaith. ily on men: God gives a man wealth, possessions and I. Look for a Glimpse of Hope (5:18-20) honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God A. The professor intended to explore “all that is done does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys under heaven” (1:13). He walked every brightly lit avenue them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil” (w. 1- of under-the-sun possibilities, but none lived up to its 2). promise. Each avenue ended up a dark dead end posted Few of us enter faith or proceed along faith’s path on a “Meaningless!” Each dead end has darkened the profes­ straight-arrow trajectory. Entry is seldom a straight line; it sor’s mood. He has begun to suspect that no relief from usually zigzags. Even we in personal relationships with life’s meaninglessness exists under the sun. But the pro­ God sometimes find our moods shifting between hope fessor, a diligent scientist, stubbornly proceeds to explore and despair. Certainly this was the case of the psalmist. the question: What is worthwhile for people to do under Through two psalms (Pss. 42—43) he fluctuates between heaven during the few days of their lives? “put your hope in God” and “my soul is downcast within

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 69 me.” You wonder if he will ever get the victory. Yet for us the-sun perspective into your under-the-sun existence? as for him much of life ebbs and flows. Why don’t you invite God to occupy you with gladness of The professor realizes that God gives wealth and pos­ heart? sessions; now he argues with God. He still wishes God were not necessary for life under the sun to have mean­ *Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 108. ing. He resents that God may give a person everything but may also withhold the capacity to enjoy the abundant wealth and status possessed. It is not fair, the professor insists with animated fervency, that strangers and aliens enjoy them instead. This cruel irony makes wealth mean­ SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER ingless, a sore affliction, a heavy evil! In fierce reaction to God’s perceived unfairness, the CALL TO WORSHIP “I Was Glad When They Said unto Me” professor launches into a fervent protest that positions SONGS OF WORSHIP “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story” the stillborn child as better off than we who dwell under “Behold, What Manner of Love” the sun: “A man may have a hundred children and live FRIENDSHIP MINUTE many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 5:18—6:12 enjoy his prosperity . . . , I say that a stillborn child is bet­ SONGS OF WORSHIP “You Have Called Us” ter off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in “Satisfied” darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. Though it “You Are My Everything” never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than “Change My Heart, O God” does that man—even if he lives a thousand years twice CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER over but fails to enjoy his prosperity” (Eccles. 6:3-6). CHOIR “Awesome in This Place” OFFERING B. It is an under-the-sun reality that God does not en­ SERMON “GLADNESS OF HEART” able enjoyment if life is not centered in Him. If God is ab­ SONG OF INVITATION “In His Time” sent, the person who has everything is worse off than a BENEDICTION PRAYER stillborn child. Innocent death is better than unfulfilled death. Wealth simply does not assure happiness; it cannot Creative Worship ideas substitute for internal well-being. And internal well-being Congregational Prayer cannot be supplied under the sun. The only source of Enlarge your prayer to encompass the whole supply is He who resides above the sun. world and its leaders. Pray that the Lord will lay His hand upon our youth, here and around the world, to CONCLUSION: be pioneers in His name of a new era—an era undi­ Do you see it? The professor’s investigative research “is vided by race and language, by territorial disputes, slamming every door except the door of faith. ”* by prejudice, by bitterness and hatred, and by the We know what the professor knew—we exert endless resentments that economic incongruity breeds effort but are never satisfied. Careful behavior produces among the many who starve while a few of us have no socioeconomic gain. Most of life is empty chasing. A more than enough. Pray that we will be peacemak­ new discovery, even an important discovery, does not ers as we pray for peace among our friends, our guarantee fame because “whatever exists has already families, our neighbors of every race, and our ene­ mies. been named” (v. 6). Skill and strength are no guarantees of success because there is always someone stronger and Offertory Idea Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan pictures those more skilled. We cannot even count on a promotion; the who share what they have with those who do not promises may be empty flattery. Our under-the-sun per­ have, taking no thought of what they will get in re­ spective is so narrow and limited that we mostly guess turn. Our world is in need; may we be good Samari­ our way through life. tans, our hearts and pocketbooks open to care. Is this your experience? If so, you are a candidate for Benediction Prayer gladness of heart. Without God, no measure of wealth or Father, we are coming to realize how much we possessions are sufficient; with God, your wealth and need to be in strong salvation relationship with You. possessions, great or small, will produce gladness of Life is teaching us what Your Word tells us: our lives heart. Occupied with God’s gifts to you, you will seldom may be blessed with wealth, possessions, and sta­ reflect on what is missing. tus, but we cannot enjoy them without You. So we turn to You, needing Your good gifts—not wealth or ILLUS. One day, some months later, Dewayne decided for possessions, but the ability to be content with what Christ. Though he was not expected to outlive his own we have, to accept our lot, and to be happy in our childhood, he married and had two children. He enjoyed work. Give us a clarified sense that things under the his family for a decade or more, convinced they were sun is not all there is when we are in relationship God’s gift to him. Dewayne eventually died while await­ with You. Help us discern Your purposes in our pres­ ing a heart and lung transplant, but he died declaring that ent location in life. Keep us occupied with gladness God had been and would remain his stability. of heart. Amen. Isn’t this a good time to invite God to insert His above-

70 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE SOMETHING BETTER THAN STRENGTH by Carl C. Green Eccles. 9:11—10:2

INTRO: ILLUS. A friend of mine maintains a database of baseball ILLUS. E. Stanley Jones penned these words: “Someday statistics and plans his vacation to merge with the at-home science is going to put it down on the table and say: ‘This schedule of the major league teams. He said about Frank and this and this is the way to live. And this and this and Howard: “He was never in the right place at the right time. this is not the way to live.’ And we are going to look on He had ample skill but was always caught by the numbers.” those two lists and our eyes will open . . . wide for we are Natural giftedness is simply no guarantee for success. going to say, ‘Why, Brother, Man, the way you say to live is Neither is the inclination to run faster, be stronger, or to the Christian way. . . .’ And the scientists will reply: ‘We manipulate more cleverly. Uncertainty and unpredictabili­ don’t know anything about that, but this is the way that ty are an unavoidable part of life. We never know when life works and this is the way that life does not work. ”‘ our hour will come. Like fish caught in a cruel net or The professor set out to let life under the sun teach birds caught in a snare, people are often trapped by evil him about life under the sun. He was not interested in times that fall upon them unexpectedly. theology; he was interested in anthropology. But anthro­ B. When the pressure is off and deliverance is accom­ plished, life returns to “normal.” pology has insisted that he become interested in theolo­ gy, especially if he wants to learn “what [is] worthwhile ILLUS. The tendency to relax when the pressure is off is for men to do under heaven during the few days of their illustrated by a teenager who was nearly killed in an auto­ lives” (2:2). mobile accident. Hovering between life and death, she promised God she would serve Him if He let her live. ILLUS. In 1975, Time magazine reported Masters and However, her life was a story of broken promises. When Johnson’s latest research. Time cited their conclusion: the pressure was off, her promises were forgotten. “Sex should mean commitment, ‘developing a long-range The professor illustrates this with his own story—one relationship rather than concentrating it all on short-term that is a mirror showing us ourselves. A small city is at­ pampering of the individual self.’”2 Masters and Johnson tacked by a powerful king. Under siege, the city faces cer­ were not defending or explaining the Bible. They proba­ tain doom. Meanwhile, a poor but wise man devises a bly didn’t read it. Nevertheless, the scientific method, ful­ plan that ends the siege, saving the city with his wisdom. ly applied, affirmed what the Bible has said all along. What most impresses the storyteller is this: Nobody re­ ILLUS. In 1987, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported membered the poor wise man (see w. 14-15). that “AIDS will re-revolutionize sexual behavior. Virginity Why are we so forgetful? Why do we judge the value of and chastity will once again become prized.”3 someone’s statements by the standing he has in the com­ The professor’s experience parallels Jones’s prophecy munity rather than by his content and quality? Why do in the same way Masters and Johnson and the Seattle we, sophisticates of the global economy, find rural wis­ Post-Intelligencer fulfill it. The reason is simple: Life “is dom and country logic too common for our tastes? Are Christian in its essence and in its object.”4 we simply fickle? Why do we quickly forget or abandon I. Life Teaches Lessons (9:11-18) those who have rendered us great service? A. Success and prosperity do not automatically fall into II. Life Creates Choices (10:2-4) our laps, but contrary to popular wisdom, life is not irre­ A. Strength, the professor teaches us, seems more im­ versibly stacked in favor of the swift and the strong. The pressive at first sight than wisdom, but wisdom is better Hebrew text places negative references at the front of than strength. Quiet words from the wise merit more at­ each phrase to increase the emphasis. More literally, the tention than the shouts of a ruler of fools and wisdom is English might read, “not to the swift is the race; not to better than weapons of war. the strong warrior is the winning of the battle; not to the How can this be? Wise counsel is seldom popular. Peo­ clever is the getting of bread; not to the brilliant is true ple turn quickly to the behaviors that got them into dis­ wealth; not to the learned comes favor and power.’” tress in the first place. Stand strength alongside wisdom, We act like we are in control of success. We say things and strength will get the public’s vote nearly every time, like, “You can have anything if you work hard enough.” when they are pushed to choose weapons of war over But life is complicated. It is more than a ceaseless pro­ God’s Word. Nevertheless, the professor, warming to the gression of hours and days, unfolding mechanically and evidence at hand, is unyielding. He drags his initial con­ predictably. Quantum physics, they tell me, represents a clusion, “Wisdom is better than strength” (9:16), through movement away from simple cause and effect to calcula­ the meat grinder, wondering: Why would anyone despise tions that account for unpredictable but observable ran­ the wisdom that saved them just because this wise man dom factors. Again, there is nothing new under the sun. was poor? Why would anyone, let alone a whole city, Solomon knew this 3,000 years ago. Time and chance oc­ abandon the very strategy that turned death into deliver­ cur unexpectedly and are not subject to human control; ance? The professor concludes that the flaw is not in they upset all human calculations. God’s Word; it is the city’s forgetful foolishness.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 71 The professor’s story sounds strikingly similar to the meaning and symmetry. Though it often does not seem story of another poor but wise man who devised a strate­ imminent, He insists that “evil shall fall upon the heads of gy for deliverance. On the Cross, Jesus provided life for its own authors.”7 us to replace the death resulting from our transgressions Barton captures Solomon’s conviction: “One must bow and sins (see Eph. 2:1-9). Although God is fully aware of to the despot, but the despot is not always right.”8 Is Solo­ our tendency to forget our promises, His promise still mon’s conviction yours? stands. If we receive Jesus and believe in His name, He gives us the right to become God’s children—children 1. E. Stanley Jones, The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972), 61. born of God (see John 1:10-13). 2. Time, February 3, 1975, 69. Secure in the integrity of his conclusion, the professor 3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 11, 1987. reaffirms his conclusion. He speaks in a whisper, his con­ 4. Jones, Unshakable Kingdom, 61. 5. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, fidence evident in the serenity of his tone: “Wisdom is 1985), 273. better than strength. The quiet words of the wise are 6. James C. Humes, The Wit and Wisdom o f Abraham Lincoln (Harper Collins Publishers, 1996), 194. more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. 7. Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes in Geneva Commentaries Series (Carlisle, Pa.: Wisdom is better than weapons of war ” (Eccles. 9:17-18). The Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), 243. Wisdom, unapologetically connected to God who is 8. George Aaron Barton, The International Critical Commentary on the Book o f Ecclesiastes (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1980), 170. above the sun, is absolute; the euphemisms we prefer 9. Raymond Bayne, Before the Offering (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book will not forever void the truth. House, 1976), 59. ILLUS. When Union support for the war was ebbing, Abraham Lincoln began drafting the Emancipation Procla­ mation. His advisers urged him to simply issue an edict proclaiming all slaves were free. Lincoln responded that saying slaves were free wouldn’t make them free. He asked, “If you call a sheep’s tail a leg, how many legs SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER does a sheep have?” CALL TO WORSHIP “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” “Five,” they answered. FRIENDSHIP MINUTE “No,” Lincoln replied, “a sheep only has four legs. Call­ SONGS OF WORSHIP “All Hail the Power” ing a tail a leg doesn’t make it so.”6 “Mighty Is Our God” People may dispute God’s Word, revise it, or despise it “Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty” “Holy Is the Lord” in the hunt for peer approval, but contentment is found “I Will Come and Bow Down” in personal relationship with God and in alignment with CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER His ways, not in rewriting truth. The quiet words of the SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 9:11— 10:2 wise throw us at crosscurrents with the world in which OFFERING we live. Yet the world’s way is not working. CHOIR “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow” B. Our choices are simple—we can turn left or right. SERMON “SOMETHING BETTER THAN STRENGTH” The response of the foolish heart is a bad choice. Lacking BENEDICTION PRAYER moral intelligence, moral perspective, or moral will, the fool despises God’s Word. He or she lacks good sense. Creative Worship Ideas With the flair of an exhibitionist, the fool displays stupidi­ Congregational Prayer ty even while walking along the road. Thank God for the Church in all centuries and We can also turn right, which is the response of the around the world. Affirm the Church for guarding great traditions and passing them down to us; for wise heart. The wise-hearted person demonstrates self- speaking to us of faith and redemption; for inviting control in desperate and unfair circumstances. He or she us to kneel at the foot of the Cross; for assuring us chooses to benefit from God’s counsel. The wise person that God will receive us there, forgiving us and knows that one sinner destroys much good, and a lot of adopting us into His great family of believers; for honor is outweighed by a little folly. This one also be­ surrounding us with love, nourishing us, admonish­ lieves, with tenacious confidence in God’s Word, that ing us, and nurturing us. “calmness can lay great errors to rest” (Eccles. 10:14). Offertory Idea Thus, preachers continue to preach God’s Word when “A missionary intern called in the home of an el­ we wonder if it ever makes any difference, and believers derly man and led him to the Lord. Afterward the continue to live by God’s Word even when they feel total­ man said, ‘I haven’t much, but I am so happy I want ly outgunned by the world’s pleasure. to give something for the Lord,’ and he handed over a five-dollar roll of dimes. This is the natural re­ CONCLUSION: sponse of every heart who realizes what it means to Life under the sun documents the truth first given to us be saved.”9 from above the sun: God must rule every search for

72 THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE THE POWER OF WORDS by Carl C. Green Eccles. 10:4-20

INTRO: Wise words are grace, the Hebrew says; they embody ILLUS. In 1517 Martin Luther posted 95 topics for discus­ all that is gracious and kindly. “If the ax is dull and its edge sion on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring words he posted sparked the Protestant Reformation. Lat­ success” (10:10). The meaning seems obscure but the pro­ er, on April 18, 1521, the face of Western civilization was fessor’s point is potent: skill and foresight can overcome reshaped when Luther refused to recant his position at the lack of native intelligence or natural ability. “Wisdom the Diet of Worms. “My conscience,” he declared, “is cap­ thinks ahead.”9 “Success depends on foresight.”10 “Wis­ tive to the Word of God. I will not recant anything, for to dom prepares the way for success.”11 Thoughtfulness, not brute force, brings success. The wise man prepares his go against conscience is neither right nor safe.1 Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen. ”2 tools; the fool, choosing superficiality and haste, nullifies inherent skills by inadequate preparation. ILLUS. Winston Churchill repeatedly captured the atten­ B. The professor has arranged this class picture so that, tion of the world and rallied the British spirit with well- as each of us sits for our portrait, our attitudes and behav­ crafted words. “We shall defend our island, whatever the iors will be compared to the standard of wisdom. Foolish cost may be,” he bellowed at the House of Commons after behavior seems normal in the company of fools; its deep Britain’s defeat at Dunkirk, “we shall fight on the beaches, flaws become clear when compared to wise behavior. we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the The professor is unapologetic about this tactic. One by fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall one, he plans to set foolish behaviors in the shadow of never surrender.”3 Two months later Churchill was back, wise behavior. “Look closely,” he says, “see the embarrass­ memorializing the Royal Air Force for their victorious de­ ing silliness of foolish behavior, its pettiness and eventual fense against the German Luftwaffe. His words still rivet devastation.” our attention, “Never in the field of human conflict was so Today’s text defines a fool as at least one of three much owed by so many to so few.”4 Who can forget his fa­ things: (1) one who, exalted to status for some reason mous address at Harrow School on October 9, 1941? A few other than competence, seems disinterested in develop­ well-chosen words, spoken with fierce bulldog tenacity, ing competence; (2) one who excludes God from his forged the Allied spirit long before victory was sure: “Nev­ lifestyle and decision-making; and (3) one who uses his er give in, never give in, never, never, never, never. .. ,”5 tongue so the everpresent dangers common to all people ILLUS. In his 1961 Inaugural Address, John Kennedy mas­ are magnified and multiplied. terfully turned a phrase into a challenge that aroused Watch the parade of fools carefully. It is a tragedy, America’s optimism to new levels when he said, “My fel­ played as a comedic parody—a Laurel and Hardy routine low Americans, ask not what your country can do for or maybe the Three Stooges. Never seeing the dangers, you; ask what you can do for your country.”6 fools gladly embrace inexcusable risks; they dig a pit for Words are powerful; words have shaped history. The someone else to fall into but fall into it themselves, invari­ professor knew words were powerful; he also knew what ably getting hurt more than the victim. Watch the fre­ modern research has documented: “Approximately 35 quency with which the fool’s foolishness is revealed by percent of the social meaning in a normal conversation is the tongue. Isn’t it a bit frightening that our tongues, to conveyed by the verbal components and 65 percent by great degree, identify us as wise or as fools? the non-verbal components.”7 We speak the words as car­ II. Look at the Portrait of a Fool riers of meaning, but our attitudes and behaviors are the A. Work wearies the fool. Speaking with conviction energy that drives the meaning. about everything, though making no effort to learn what Chuck Swindoll remarked, “In a day of soft diplomacy, is going on in the world, and being known by his or her straight talk is rare. . . . T. S. Eliot was correct when he opinionated lack of social skills, the fool routinely si­ said that we humans cannot bear very much reality.”8 But lences dissenting or informing viewpoints. Words multi­ the professor is ready to engage in straight talk. Reaching ply but incoherence never diminishes. No one can tell above the sun, he also reaches deep into our hearts and the fool anything. No one can make sense out of what he our behaviors. or she says. George Barton, quoting Genung, got it right I. Life Is like a Portrait Studio in the early 20th century: “One cannot make out of a A. We arrive at the studio for a class picture. The cam­ fool’s talk the way to the nearest town.”12 era is ready; the backdrop is hung. The professor has The professor is heaving a sigh. He wonders, do fools arranged the setting. He intends to reveal the defects of ever get tired of talking? Does their chatter ever stop? He foolishness by viewing it against wisdom. We understand concludes that silence is better than foolish words; much the technique. For example, an inferior stereo seems fine talk is harmful.13 until compared to a superior system. Your shoes look fine ILLUS. Martin Buber said, “When a man grows aware of a until you wear them into a shoe store. new way in which to serve God, he should carry it

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 73 around with him secretly and, without uttering it, for conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand; I can nine months, as though he were pregnant with it, and let do no other. God help me.” others know of it only at the end of that time, as though Reject the company of fools. Embrace wisdom; receive it were a birth.”14 holiness from beyond the sun. Abandon sin’s lazy float The fool, the professor says, is like a snake biting be­ downstream with the tide of peer pressure. Build good fore the charmer has secured his profit. Lacking social relationships with positive behaviors; don’t destroy rela­ grace and refusing to learn, the fool uses words that are tionships with negative behaviors. Take your stand on the foolish at the beginning and wicked madness at the end. right side of right and wrong. Determine that the words Speech becomes malicious and brings about the fool’s from your mouth will be gracious and redemptive. Use own undoing.15 the power of words for positive, godly ends. B. These characteristics, while aggravating, are not the fool’s worst characteristics. The fool’s worst characteris­ 1. Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand (New York: Abingdon Press, 1950), 185. 2. John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, ed. Emily Morison Beck (Boston: Little, tic is a negative and critical approach to life. Though he Brown and Co., 1980), 155. or she doesn’t recognize or practice basic social skills, a 3. Ibid., 744. foolish person can’t figure out why everyone steers clear 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid., 745. and why he or she can't get ahead and doesn’t have 6. Ibid., 890. friends. 7. Paul R. Timm and Brent D. Peterson, People at Work, 4th ed. (Minneapolis/ St. Paul: West Publishing, 1993), 225. Because the fool is too lazy to work, the rafters sag; the 8. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, house leaks because his or her hands are idle. The fool re­ 1985), 293. viles superiors and curses anyone who has more than he 9. Ibid. 10. George Aaron Barton, The International Critical Commentary on the or she has. Negative criticism controls the fool’s thoughts Book o f Ecclesiastes (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, Ltd., 1980), 172. and words. The foolish person seems oblivious to the fact 11. H. C. Leupold, Exposition o f Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book that a bird in the air may carry words back to the one House, 1952), 242. 12. Barton, International Critical Commentary, 174. about whom they were said. All these can’t be fixed be­ 13. Loader, Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdman’s, 1986), 121. cause the fool will not accept helpful reason. 14. Martin Buber, Ten Rungs: Hasidic Sayings, 74, 84. 15. Leupold, 242. III. Study the Class Portrait of Fools A. A culture, nation, or community can be foolish, too, concerned only about present pleasure, unconcerned with morality or righteousness. Fools eat at improper times—not for strength but for drunkenness (see Eccles. 10:17). Hedonism swallows them. Because they do not SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER live with self-control, they cannot experience blessing. CALL TO WORSHIP Stupidity is not the exclusive domain of the unlearned SONGS OF WORSHIP “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” peasant; it is also evident among sophisticates—the rul­ CHOIR “Great Is the Lord Almighty” ing class, leaders, people with clout, those who possess “Be Still and Know” CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER power. A position of leadership does not guarantee that a SONGS OF WORSHIP “To the Lamb” person will speak with wisdom or act without error and “Make Us One” with fairness. Human institutions, the professor observes, FRIENDSHIP MINUTE routinely advance cronies instead of those who merit ad­ OFFERING vancement. Just look around. Many who behave with so­ SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 10:10-20 cial clumsiness ride in society’s limousines while others, SERMON “THE POWER OF WORDS” behaving with the grace and dignity of princes, walk or BENEDICTION PRAYER ride bicycles. B. Foolishness is sin, not because God decided to be Creative Worship Ideas difficult or demanding, but because it is bad public and CaH to Worship social policy. We may choose to disregard wisdom or vio­ On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses late wise counsel. We cannot say, “It’s my own life!” for to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Ger­ our life is not isolated and insulted from the lives of oth­ many. Convinced the Bible taught that we are saved by faith and not by works, Luther simply intended to ers. Sin, inevitably social, cuts a wide swath. (AIDS, call the Church back to a biblical posture. Charles V, spreading uncontrollably is commonly known as a social emperor of Germany, ordered Luther to renounce his disease.) “One sinner destroys much good,” the professor ideas before the Diet of Worms. Luther refused. He says. “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little was subsequently excommunicated and the Protes­ folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (9:18— 10:1). “One tant Reformation was underway. Luther preached bad apple,’’ the old proverb goes, “spoils the whole bar­ the Word and reformed public worship, introducing rel.” One hypocrite can cast negative reflection on the in­ congregational singing and using hymns to teach tegrity of a whole community. biblical theology to the illiterate 16th-century mass­ es. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” one of his first CONCLUSION: hymns, became known as the battle hymn of the Take your stand with Martin Luther, saying, “My con­ Protestant Reformation. science is captive to the Word of God. . . . To go against

74 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR by Carl C. Green Eccles. 12:1-7

INTRO: Burke argues that, if organizations want to be healthy, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (v. they will take action to reduce the differences when they 1). This is no detached argument; it is an impassioned become aware of gaps between their stated beliefs and plea. The professor originally approached his experiment their behavior.6 unconcerned about anything not under the sun. By the This is precisely how the professor uses the word “re­ end of the experiment, he is convinced that nothing un­ member”—it urges more than some kind of distanced in­ der the sun can have meaning if it is not connected to the tellectual recollection; it is a call to action, to move theo­ Creator who stands above the sun. ry from “espoused” to “action.” The adages abound: “Youth for pleasure; age for busi­ II. Remember Your Creator (12:1-5) ness; old age for religion.” “Let the devil have the prime A. The first word following the professor’s injunction and God the dregs. Time enough to think of religion to remember is a demanding word. “Before” demands when we are old. . . . Now is the time for pleasure. . . . that we hurry up: before life turns discouraging and dis­ Religion will come in course.”' These may be the popular tasteful; before aging progresses; before the days of trou­ view but they are not the view of the professor. Informed ble come; before the years empty of pleasure arrive; “be­ by his wide-ranging, in-depth research, the professor in­ fo re the sun and the light and the moon and the stars sists, “Mankind needs to look not merely to his well-being grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain” (v. 2). but to his Maker.”2 B. Our attention aroused, the professor paints a picture I. Remember God at Life’s Front Side (12:1) of inevitability, repeatedly emblazoned with the word “when”: “when the keepers of the house tremble and the A. Remember your Creator at the front side of life, strong men stoop; when the grinders cease because they while you have years to invest and sufficient energy for are few, and those looking through the windows grow service. We discard much opportunity for meaning if we dim; w hen the doors to the street are closed and the save religion until life’s tail-end. sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound TI.I.ITS- In Sherwood Anderson’s memorable short story of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when men are “Sophistication,” 18-year-old George Willard encounters afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the manhood the first time he takes a “backward view of almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself life.” George’s youthful confidence is invaded as he thinks along and desire no longer is stirred” (w. 3-5). about his future and his ambitions. Looking back over a As aging runs its course, physical ailments compound, life not yet lived, he sees his limitations and experiences increasing limitations. The limbs, the keepers of the with a strange surge of regret. The eyes of his imagina­ house, once sturdy, tremble and shake; the steady, erect tion open wide. He sees, “as though they marched in pro­ step of youth becomes an increasingly stooped shuffle. cession before him, the countless figures of men who be­ ILLUS. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recorded this 1987 fore his time have come out of nothingness into the interview with two participants in an old-timers baseball world, lived their lives, and again disappeared into noth­ game: “‘I’d still be playing if I could find someone who’d ingness. The sadness of sophistication,” Anderson ob­ let me play,’ the 48-year-old [Gaylord Perry] said. Joe Foy, serves, “has come to the boy. With a little gasp he sees a mere 44 years old, has no such thoughts. ‘This is the himself as merely a leaf blown by the wind through the first time I’ve touched a baseball since 1984,’ said Foy, streets of his village. He knows that . . . he must live and who retired in 1971. ‘I was daydreaming at the banquet die in uncertainty, a thing blown by the winds, a thing [Saturday night] about hitting a home run and making a destined like corn to wilt in the sun. . . . The 18 years he diving stop. But every swing is an adventure. Your mind has lived seem but a moment, a breathing space in the says go, but your body says no. . . . You never forget what long march of humanity. Already he hears death calling.”3 to do, but you can’t get your body to do what you want it The possibility of old age and life’s termination are qui­ to do.’”7 eting. This is precisely why many of us, if asked to write The teeth (grinders) cease to function too. The uppers our own epitaph, would decline to do so. We’d rather not don’t meet the lowers or become too few. think about death. But death’s inevitability makes this ILLUS. Chuck Swindoll recalls the trip to the grocery one of literature’s sobering passages. store when his four children were small. “I was at the ba- B. Remember means “reflect to discern ultimate reali­ by-food section, piling those jars in my cart. Nearby was ty; let remembrance shape [your] conduct;”4 “act deci­ an older gentleman very carefully picking and choosing sively.”5 ‘strained this’ and ‘mashed that.’ . . . I smiled and said ILLUS. Walter Burke cites the work of Chris Argyris in his something like, ‘Boy, I bet it’s great having those grand- book on learning and changing. Argyris, he says, address­ kids around the house!’ He frowned, This ain’t for the es “the gaps . . . between what [people] say (he calls it grandkids, sonny; this is for me!”’8 espoused theory) and what they do (theory in action).” “Those looking through the windows grow dim” (v. 3)-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 75 Solomon sounds like a former eye doctor of mine. One be empty without Him. Finally, now is the time to pre­ day following church he asked me how old I was. I told pare for eternity. So act decisively; respond to God while him. With a confident twinkle in his eye, he said, “You’ll you are young. Do more than acknowledge His existence; come see me when you hit 40!” He was right. How did he establish a personal, saving relationship with Him. Re­ know? Predictable inevitability! member your Creator. With anecdotal snapshots, the professor vividly illus­ trates the deterioration of hearing. The doors to the 1. Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes in Geneva Commentaries Series (Carlisle, Pa.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), 285-86. street close, sealing us off from human interaction; the 2. Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, sound of grinding fades; people rise at the sound of birds gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 147. but all the bird songs grow faint. The irony of age is not 3. Sherwood Anderson, “Sophistication,” Theme and Form (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1962), 124-25. lost on the professor. Awakened by the slightest sound, 4. J. A. Loader, Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdman’s, 1986), 273- the aged can’t hear well enough to enjoy the songs the 5. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1985), 349. birds sing. 6. W. Warner Burke, Organization Development, 2nd ed. (Reading, Mass.: Ad- He continues, announcing the vulnerability that age dison-Wesley Publishing, 1992), 44. brings. Heights and dangers in the streets breed fear for 7. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 15, 1987. 8. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge, 353. the aged they never experienced when young and agile. 9. Bridges, Geneva Commentaries, 287. Indeed, the time comes when the spring blossoms on the almond tree leave them like a worn-out grasshopper, no longer inspired by life’s potential for rebirth. SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER ILLUS. In her middle 90s, Annie became so frail she CALL TO WORSHIP Eccles. 12:1-7 couldn’t leave her house. It took a full day’s energy to INVOCATION make the short trek from her bedroom to the living room SONGS OF WORSHIP “Crown Him with Many Crowns” sofa and back again at night. Each week when I stopped “I Will Bless Thee, O Lord” to visit her, she would quote the psalms in her frail voice. “A Child of the King” One late winter day, I remember her saying: “I would like “All Hail King Jesus” to see my fruit trees blossom just one more time. Then “O How He Loves You and Me” I’d like to go home to heaven.” Annie lived through sever­ FRIENDSHIP MINUTE OFFERING al more springs. Her faith never flagged, but she never SONGS OF WORSHIP “Ah, Lord God” again expressed the desire to see another spring, only dis­ “A Shield About Me” appointment that heaven still waited. “Meet Us” III. Remember with Urgency (12:6-7) “God Is So Good” CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER A. The professor is no longer a dispassionate clinician; CHOIR “How Great the Love” he has become an evangelist, a persuader admonishing SERMON “REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR” urgency. Death, an unavoidable reality, approaches. As be­ SONG OF INVITATION “Jesus, I Come” fore, the professor urges us to hurry up. The time to re­ BENEDICTION PRAYER member our Creator is now, before we go “to [our] eter­ nal home and mourners go about the streets” (v. 5); Creative Worship Ideas “before days of trouble come” (v. 1); before the shatter- Invocation ings of life come, “before the silver cord is severed or the Before the beginning, Lord Jesus, You were. You golden bowl is broken; . . . and the dust returns to the were with God, and You were God. Through You all ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who things were made; without You nothing was made gave it” (w. 6-7). that has been made. Life resides in You (see John B. Life also demands urgency if we want to live well. 1:1-4). And we have gathered to remember You, our Creator. Not content to believe with our minds alone, ILLUS. Mrs. Wesley wrote to one of her sons that the we conform our behaviors, our attitudes, our re­ time to “mend our lives” and to lay “the foundations of sources, and our lives to the beliefs we speak. We solid piety . . . in sound principles . . . [is] while strength worship, declaring that You are both our Creator and and vigor last . . . [before] the infirmities of old age over­ our Lord. May You find our worship acceptable. take us.”9 Amen. Ecclesiastes speaks the materialist’s despair profoundly. Offertory Idea It also announces God, not as one to whom we cling in Giving is less an act of obedience than it is an act pitiful last resort desperation, but as the phoenix rising of recognition. When we recognize royalty or come triumphantly from the ashes of our materialism. within arm’s reach of a hero, adulation happens nat­ urally, effortlessly, and with joy. God, our Creator, is CONCLUSION: near. Our tithes and offerings are evidence that we Solomon’s research faces us with three facts: First, I’m recognize Him and affirm His Lordship. not getting any younger. Second, God has designed me to

76 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE GOD’S GOOD GOAD by Carl C. Green Eccles. 12:9-14

INTRO: been meticulously pondered, the equations checked and The professor’s project is complete. His homework is rechecked, the conclusions rigorously verified. The pro­ done. His conclusions are not half-baked theory; they are fessor seems to infer that we will arrive at the same an­ the result of exhaustive reading, research, and study. He swer if we try the experiment ourselves, though he has “pondered and searched out and set in order many hopes to save us the trouble. proverbs. [He] searched to find just the right words, and He set out to “study and to explore by wisdom all that what he wrote was upright and true” (w. 9-10). Hoping is done under heaven” (1:13). He has done that. He has we, his readers, are wise enough to benefit from his ex­ looked at “all the things that are done under the sun” (v. hausting study, he has set before us what he has learned. 14). In fact, he studied until his body was wearied and he I. What Is the Bottom Line (12:13)? thought he was never going to find an end to the books he needed to read before drawing his conclusions. He set A. The professor’s from underneath conclusion is this: out to put both wisdom and madness under the tele­ “Fear God and keep His commandments” (v. 13). Meaning scope of his high-powered wisdom and knowledge, let­ can be found at no other source. The research has con­ ting nothing escape his investigation. That, too, has been vinced the professor that every other source is inade­ accomplished— “all has been heard ” (12:13); there are no quate to turn the few days people spend under the sun blind spots. into meaning. B. Now comes the most important part of the profes­ “Meaning” is an important word because our cognitive sor’s project: effective communication. A first-rate acade­ culture frequently confuses intellectual and relational mician, he desires a broader audience than one of aca­ knowledge. They are not the same. It is not sufficient to demic peers. Understanding the language of academic believe God exists. Meaning requires entry into “fellow­ elites, he chooses the vernacular in order to impart to the ship knowledge, that comes in the context of knowing a masses the things he has learned. person.”' “When many hear someone who is confusing, they ILLUS. Imagine arriving home some evening. Relaxing think he is deep,”3 especially if their names are followed music plays in the background. The smells say dinner will by degree initials from prestigious institutions. But the be special. The table is set with formal dinnerware. The professor does not want to impress the masses with in­ dining room flickers in the soft light of candles. Your comprehensible eloquence; he wants them to under­ spouse greets you and says, “I worked all day to make this stand. So he ponders the research and searches for the evening special. I love you.” right words to teach the research’s lessons—words that You reply, “I believe you exist.” are upright, true, right on, and reliable. Then he orga­ Is your spouse going to be impressed? Probably not. “I nizes the lessons and their applications into easy-to-re- believe you exist” is not the desired response. Your member-and-apply proverbs. spouse wants to hear you say, “Thank you. I love you ILLUS. An aspiring but frustrated preacher once com­ too.” plained about the response of listeners to his sermons. “I In this same way, God is not impressed when we say, “I know what I was trying to say,” he complained. “If they believe God exists.” He desires us to enter into fellowship don’t, that’s their problem!” If this preacher’s perspective with Him. God gives meaning to life under the sun; not is true, every communicator’s task is made much easier. “fate, not mischance, not calamities, not men, not After all, the most challenging part of every preacher’s rulers”2—God. weekly task occurs after he has achieved personal under­ B. “This [fearing God and keeping His command­ standing of the material, much of it rigorously technical. ments],” the professor says, “is the whole duty of man.” Then he has to translate it into language the hearer can He has traveled the whole circuit of possibilities for understand and apply. Preaching is about far more than meaning, diagnosed each possibility, and assigned to each speaking; it is about communication. Communication a carefully reasoned valuation. His conclusion? Vanity does not occur until the hearer understands what the makes meaning inaccessible and destines the soul for mis­ preacher is trying to say. ery. There is one single opportunity for meaning in hu­ The professor, believing that the art of effective com­ man life: reverence God in the intimacy of a knowing re­ munication is as important as the research itself, wrestles lationship and express that knowing reverence by with the manner of presentation as a dog worries a bone. keeping His commands. Any reverence that does not ex­ With thorough diligence, he searches for words that will press itself in obedient attention to what God says is not grab the reader’s attention and win a hearing. He weighs true reverence. his words, carefully evaluating whether they are honest II. What Is Careful Communication (12:9-10)? and balanced. He wants his words to clarify rather than A. Again, this bottom-line conclusion is not the conclu­ confuse, riveting “themselves into minds that are clut­ sion of a flawed research methodology. The research has tered with other things.”' Like the professor, effective

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 77 communicators always work hard to state their cases things necessary to our salvation.”9 Anchored people af­ with unmistakable clearness so no one will fail to under­ firm the embedded nails and rejoice in the authority of stand. the Bible. ILLUS. Robert Short wrote, “The author of the Book of CONCLUSION: Job was a consummate dramatist. The psalmist was a lyri­ The words of wisdom imparted to us by the professor cal poet. The author of Jonah knew how to tell a fascinat­ were “given by one Shepherd” (v. 1). They have power ing short story. The author of Genesis and Exodus was a because they open the road of meaningful communion historical novelist who could recount powerful sagas of with God and satisfaction in life. This conclusion drives epic proportions. But Ecclesiastes? . . . The preacher was the professor’s call to action: “Remember your Creator in . . . an artist of another sort. He was a photographer.”5 the days of your youth” (v. 1). Fear Him. Obey Him be­ Chuck Swindoll may be right. He pictures Solomon cause someday you will stand before Him, and He “will with a camera hung around his neck, taking snapshots of bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden life. “He reveals it all as he takes one snapshot after an­ thing, whether it is good or evil” (v. 14). other. None of them is in color. All of them are in stark black and white.”6 1. Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Should not we, carriers of the gospel, find ways to gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 153- 2. H. C. Leupold, Exposition o f Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book speak the gospel in the vernacular rather than in the lan­ House, 1952), 300. guage of the Church, a language increasingly foreign to 3. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, the person on the street? 1985), 367-68. 4. Ibid. ILLUS. The great advances of the gospel have always 5. Robert L. Short, A Time to Be Born, a Time to Die (New York: Harper and been accomplished in the vernacular. The New Testa­ Row, Publishers, 1973), 3. 6. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge, 364. ment was penned in the Greek of the marketplace, not of 7. Ibid., 370. the Greek classics. In a .d . 405, Jerome’s Vulgate gave the 8. Leupold, Exposition, 295. 9. “The Holy Scriptures,” Manual, Church o f the Nazarene, 1993-97, 27. scripture a new voice—this time in Latin. In a .d . 1611, the gospel again found its way to the street as the King James Version when Shakespeare’s language was the lan­ guage of the street. Then of course, there are the stories of Luther and the Wesleys, teaching theology by putting Christian words to the top 40 tunes of their days. It was SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER not until the Great Awakening, 1734-44, that harmony re­ CALL TO WORSHIP “All Creation Sings His Praise” placed unison in congregational singing. FRIENDSHIP MINUTE As we give witness to our faith in a grand variety of so­ SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 12:9-14 cial interactions throughout every week, we, like the pro­ SONGS OF WORSHIP “Ah, Lord God” fessor, must organize our thoughts to create interest and “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise” spiritual insight rather than disinterest or confusion. Per­ “My Heart Rejoices” “Jesus, Jesus” haps this is what it means to be a “new wineskin” (Matt. “Amazing Grace” 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37-38) as we participate in God’s “He Is Lord” 43 19 “new thing” (Isa. : ). CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER III. God’s Word Is a Goad (12:11) OFFERING SERMON “GOD’S GOOD GOAD” A. “The words of the wise are like goads” (v. 11). Like SONGS OF WORSHIP “Jesus Loves Me” the large sharp-pointed sticks used to drive cattle, the “I Will Serve Thee” professor’s inspired words of wisdom intend to prompt, BENEDICTION PRAYER prod, and stimulate us to obedient action. II.I.IIS. “Skeptic David Hume was seen making his way to Creative Worship Ideas a little chapel where George Whitefield was preaching. Congregational Prayer Someone said to him, ‘Mr. Hume, I didn’t know you be­ Thank God for each confession of personal faith; lieved this message!’ He responded, I don’t, but that man pray that each confession of faith will become an in­ in the chapel does, and I can’t stay away.’ He [couldn’t] si­ tercession turned to action under God’s leadership. lence the words because they [were] prodding at him, Ask God to bring to our minds someone to whom we will minister this week in His name. Pray that we .”7 pushing at him, exploding silently in his mind will go, not passing by quickly on a distant side of B. “The collected sayings [of the wise are] like firmly life’s road but making goodness attractive and carv­ embedded nails” (v. 11). “They furnish a kind of mental ing God’s will into this world. anchorage. ”8 Offering We recognize the collected sayings of the wise as the Jesus tithed. He affirmed tithing (Matt. 23:23). Bible. “We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy When people asked His disciples if He paid the Tem­ Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the ple tax, they said yes (Matt. 17:24). Let us follow Je­ Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, in- sus’ example now. errantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all

78 THE PREACHER’S MAGAZINE THE RETURN OF BREAD by Carl C. Green Eccles. 11

INTRO: ILLUS. Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Kidnapped The professor’s grand experiment has demonstrated is the story of David Balfour. David’s father, Alexander, that the wisest decision we can make is to remember and died a poor man, leaving only a sealed letter and some in­ to reverence God, not merely with statements of belief structions on what to do with it. The instructions send but by keeping His commands. This decision, once made, David to a run-down highland Scottish estate occupied by impacts every other decision we make and all our behav­ Ebenezer, “a mean, stooping, narrow shouldered, clay­ iors. faced creature.”5 Upon receipt of the letter, Ebenezer This morning we want to return to chapter 11 and let arranges David’s kidnap. After many adventures of es­ it become a kind of postscript to this series. “The life of cape, David returns to Shaw Castle and learns the story indifference and unbelief has been placed against [the life that provoked his kidnap. Ebenezer and his father were of faith] on the scales and been found wanting. Now the brothers who loved the same woman. When she rejected Preacher [professor] calls for a verdict.”1 He wants us to them both because of their hostile rivalry, Alexander left explore ways to give visible evidence that we have decid­ his portion of the inheritance to Ebenezer and departed ed for wisdom. These verses declare several truths that to the lowlands. Affected by Alexander’s attempt to end are important on Thanksgiving Sunday. the hostility, the young lady followed. She married him I. Invest Life Wisely (11:1-3) and bore David. They lived a full, though poor, life. Mean­ while, Ebenezer, left with the estate, lived like a miser. He A. “Cast your bread upon the waters” (v. 1), the profes­ saved every penny, eating only cold porridge. In the end, sor urges. Be a giver. Contribute; don’t just consume. An the pitiable Ebenezer, with no friend in the world, was re­ educator, he is also a trade baron—the king of a prosper­ quired by the law to surrender to David two-thirds of ous, prospering nation. His experience with his merchant everything he saved during a life of self-imposed, suspi­ fleet becomes a spiritual lesson: life is not all instant grati­ cious poverty.6 fication. Significant lag time occurs between the assign­ Keep it in mind, the miserly life is a bad choice. If you ment of goods to long commercial voyages and realized shut your ear to the poor, someday you’ll cry all alone profit. Casting bread upon the waters is an act of faith. (see Prov. 21:13). On the other hand, if you forge friend­ The distribution of goods and resources includes no guar­ ships and make helpful alliances, friends and allies will antee of profit; disaster may come on a ship or the entire rally to you in situations of disaster. fleet. That is why returning bread occasions thanksgiv­ ILLUS. The ancient story of Androcles and the lion dra­ ing—astonishment mixed with delight. matically tells how Androcles’ own kindness in the end The professor is not content to encourage timid faith sets him free. A Roman slave, Androcles fled from his cru­ or token giving. “Large-heartedness,” Charles Bridges el master. He encountered a moaning lion. Instinctively, wrote in I860, is “true Christian prudence.”2 Swindoll, he turned to escape, but the lion did not pursue him. An­ with the vigor of an enthusiastic cheerleader, says, “Be drocles returned and saw the lion’s paw, swollen and bullish! ”5 Invest your resources liberally. Invest your bleeding. A huge thorn was causing the lion great pain. friendship expansively. Offer your help graciously, not as Androcles pulled out the thorn and friendship was a get-rich scheme, but as acts of godly service. struck. Eventually Androcles was captured, returned to ILLUS. “A war correspondent watched a . . . nun swab Rome, and sentenced to die in the arena. The emperor the blood and pus out of a young soldier’s leg. Gangrene and thousands of people were present for blood sport. had set in. The correspondent was repulsed by the sight. Androcles was led to the middle of the arena, where a li­ He almost gagged as he turned and mumbled under his on, loosed and hungry, roared and bounded toward his breath, ‘I wouldn’t do that for a million bucks.’ Overhear­ victim. Then the lion recognized his friend and licked his ing his remarks she looked up and responded, ‘Neither hands like a friendly dog. The surprised emperor sum­ would I.’”4 moned Androcles who told him the whole story, where­ You do not know what disaster may lie just around the upon both were freed.’ corner. Nevertheless, give seven portions, even eight. Re­ ject pessimism, paranoia, and fear. Give liberally. Remem­ II. Embrace Life’s Risks (11:3-5) ber, life at its best is a faith venture. Gain does not always A. The professor’s advice does not fail to account for come instantaneously. Some loss is part of operational the risks built into life. He knows we get rained on and overhead, but if we give liberally the net gains will out­ knocked down. J. A. Loader calls these verses an “ode to weigh the net losses. uncertainty. ”8 The professor is not naively blind to the un­ B. Resist the urge to hoard, to save, to keep. Instead, certainty. His two examples, falling trees and raining invest, push away, give—“cast your bread upon the wa­ clouds, illustrate human helplessness. We are unable to ters” (v. 1). The invested life shares. The shared life is the control the difficulties of life, some of which are unantici­ best hedge against disaster. Do you want friends? Invest! pated and others that, although anticipated, simply freeze Make friends. us in our tracks.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 79 B. Some of us tend to wait to give until life seems safe heart feels, when Christ’s Spirit whispers to your heart. or to make decisions until the success of our decisions is Remember: If you cast your bread upon the water in obe­ sure. But the professor rebukes this kind of procrastina­ dience to the inner promptings of Christ, you will find it tion. We cannot wait to scatter seed until there is no again. The return of bread is a wonderful, glad sanctifica­ wind or we will never sow. If we wait to cut our grain un­ tion of the despair over life’s circles (1:3-11)- til there is no possibility of rain, we never reap. Educated risk is part of life lived well. 1. Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. J. Wiseman (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 139. ILLUS. Colin Powell describes his decision making 2. Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes in Geneva Commentaries Series (Carlisle, Pa.: methodology in his autobiography. “We do not have the The Banner of Truth Trust, 1983), 268. 3. Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, luxury of collecting information indefinitely,” he says. 1985), 313. “Before we can have every possible fact in hand, we have 4. Ibid , 322. to decide. . . . I have a timing formula, P = 40 to 70, in 5. Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped (London: Octopus Books Ltd., 1987, first published in 1886), 15. which P stands for probability of success and the num­ 6. Ibid., 128-29, 136. bers indicate the percentage of information acquired. I 7. William Bennett, Book o f Virtues (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 118. don’t act if I have only enough information to give me 8. Loader, Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986), 127. less than a 40 percent chance of being right. And I don’t 9. Colin L. Powell with Joseph E. Persico, My American Journey (New York: wait until I have enough facts to be 100 percent sure of Random House, 1995), 393. 10. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge, 323. being right, because by then it is always too late. I go with my gut feeling when I have acquired information somewhere in the range of 40 to 70 percent.”9 So don’t watch to see which way the wind is blowing. Don’t look at the clouds to see if they’re going to rain on SUGGESTED WORSHIP ORDER your parade. God’s work cannot be fully understood for CALL TO WORSHIP “We Gather Together” the same reasons that we do not know the path of the INVOCATION wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb. So FRIENDSHIP MINUTE stay busy. Sow seed in the morning; work with your SCRIPTURE READING Eccles. 11:1 -6 SONGS OF WORSHIP “Let All Things Now Living” hands in the evening. What will succeed? This or that? “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” We do not know, but something will succeed, and there “Give Thanks” is an outside possibility that both this and that will do “We Praise Thee, 0 God Our Redeemer” well. Simply put, chances are that no time will be better, “The Worship Song” less hazardous, than now. So go for it. “I Will Come and Bow Down” While you are living life aggressively, be a person of CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER conviction. Set the pace; don’t follow the crowd. Study CHOIR “He’s Been Faithful” God’s Word, learn God’s ways, do right even if it means SERMON “THE RETURN OF BREAD” walking into the wind or being rained on by the world. COLLECTIVE AFFIRMATION OFFERING (Congregation sings) “My Tribute” III. Invest All of Life (11:6) CONGREGATIONAL BENEDICTION “All Hail King A. Get started making a contribution early in life; don’t Jesus” wait until life falls into your lap ready-made. Banish anxi­ “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” ety from your heart. . . . Youth and vigor are meaningless (v. 10) if you never cast your bread upon the waters. Creative Worship Ideas B. Resist the urge to say, “leave me alone; I’m retired; Collective Affirmation I’ve paid my dues.”10 Do not use advancing age as an ex­ [Congregation speaks this recitation, adapted from Eccles. 11, a phrase at a time.] We do not fully cuse to become idle. understand God’s work—the path of the wind, why a CONCLUSION: mother’s womb expertly cradles and nurtures life, Don’t reject everything you cannot understand. Above why falling trees and clouds full of water fill life with all, don’t reject God because you don’t understand how danger. Nevertheless, banishing anxiety, we cast up­ on the waters of faith our tithes and offerings, visible your life unfolds or because you think it unfolds unfairly signs of our confidence in God’s provision. In seven with too many falling trees and raining clouds. The life of and eight portions we give our resources and our joy never comes to the waverer. selves to God’s service. Trusting the Maker and Sus- We simply don’t understand all of life. So accept life’s tainer of all things, we believe that what we set adrift risks; invest wisely; invest vigorously. Be thankful that for God’s service this day will return to us again, en­ God guides the ultimate outcomes. Expend your re­ riching our lives with news that our obedience to sources in doing good. Respond to life’s wind and clouds God has enriched the lives of others. Amen. by sowing when God calls, when grace moves, when the

80 THE PREACHER S MAGAZINE

WELCOME TO HIGHPOINT

What kind of world do we live in? Obviously, it all de­ ferings for those interested in “Making training work in pends on those with whom one is talking. Numerous de­ the ‘learn-more/do-more-in-less-time’ world.” When I read scriptors can be used to describe our times. that description, I thought of Larry Dennis’s Sunday Recently, while opening the mound of bulk-rate mail evening sermons for Highpoint. That’s really where many that accumulated on my desk during a two-day absence, I of us are living . . . caught in the jaws of a learn-more do- noticed a flyer advertising a seminar. I am a seminar more-in-less-time world. junkie. I would love to attend many more than I do; fortu­ The significance of Larry’s contribution cannot be nately, budget constraints limit my participation to about overlooked. Every pastor needs to read, then preach this one a year. This participation advertisement was plugging series. If we don’t find ways to help our people manage a training event for those interested in the virtual corpo­ the demands of this age, the casualty list will be stagger­ rate university. ing. May God bless you as you “stand between the living Lifelong learning intrigues me. I am also intrigued by and the dying.” the recent marriage of high-tech, sophisticated learning David Felter, editor delivery systems. This flyer advertised a wide range of of­ Highpoint Series

Biography

Larry Dennis is the senior pastor of the Highland Park has received over 200 new Nazarenes into membership. Church of the Nazarene in Lakeland, Florida. Dennis be­ Prior to serving in Florida, Dennis served growing gan his ministry there in 1994. Since arriving, the Sunday congregations in Texas and Ohio. He is a regular speaker School has grown from a yearly average of 445 to 645 and at pastor and spouse retreats, Sunday School conferences, worship attendance has increased from 791 to this year’s and seminars across the country. Larry is married to Deb­ average of 1,070. During the past 24 months the church bie, a registered nurse. They have three sons. INTRODUCTION

When I received the assignment to write 13 sermons influenced my life. It is Richard Foster’s Celebration of for the Preacher’s Magazine, the first inclination was to Discipline, published by Harper and Row. send my “candy sticks.” My mind began racing over the Once or twice each year I teach a class using this past 25 years, and immediately I wanted to pull my 13 fa­ text. Some very positive fruits are continuing to be vorite sermons from the barrel. reaped. As a part of my life for the past 15 years, I have Once reality set in and I realized my assignment was had a chance to read it, digest it, and practice it. I hope, if to provide Sunday night preaching material, I became you choose to use these teachings, you will make the in­ painfully honest with myself. In the early ’70s, evangelistic vestment in the book and allow it to become a part of messages on Sunday night were common (and occasional­ your own personal disciplined life. ly effective). As you well know, that is rarely the case now. These disciplines include: Our Sunday night crowd for the most part is made up of Meditation regular, faithful saints of the church. Prayer A shift in Sunday night preaching has occurred in Fasting most evangelical churches. Actually, it is more teaching Study than preaching. As with your evening sermons, often my Simplicity p.m . sermons are prefaced with, “Tonight I will be ex­ Solitude changing my preaching hat for my teaching hat.” The fol­ Submission lowing 13 lessons represent something I have used in my Service last two pastorates. Few series have received more posi­ Confession tive comments. Better than the comments, these 13 ser­ Worship mons have been instrumental in bringing tangible changes Guidance in the lives of the people who have internalized and put Celebration the teachings into practice. I would love to take the cred­ it, but to be very honest these are not even my sermons. Celebrating Discipline! The primary source for the information I will be sharing with you is the one book, next to the Bible, that has most Larry D. Dennis

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES— THE DOOR TO LIBERATION By Larry Dennis

Outline: 1. The Celebration of Meditation 2. The Discipline of Prayer 3- Celebration of Fasting: “When You Fast” 4. The Discipline of Study: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Loving, and Studying God’s Word 5. Celebration of Simplicity 6. The Discipline of Silence 7. Discipline of Submission 8. Discipline of Service 9- Discipline of Confession 10. The Discipline of Worship 11. The Discipline of Guidance 12. The Discipline of Celebration Week 1 spiritual reality and the inner attitude of the heart is 1. Spiritual disciplines are inward far more crucial than the mechanics of coming into changes. the reality of the spiritual life.”* SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES— THE DOOR 2. These inward changes come to TO LIBERATION This first teaching really is designed to help us pass because we open understand our need for the inward disciplines. ourselves to God’s healing, directing, and forming hand. INTRODUCTION. As a congregation we need to move First, we look at these facts: beyond surface living. More than that, as individuals, we 3. We joyfully see ourselves with are hungry to live deep below the surface. All the Jeremiah in the potter’s house children of God are hungry for the deep things of God. I. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE HELPS US TO FOCUS ON voluntarily climbing on the John Woolman has said, “It is good for thee to dwell INGRAINED HABITS. potter’s wheel and allowing the deep, that thou mayest feel and understand the spirits A. All of us know what it is like to be defeated in Lord to gently and masterfully of God’s people.” our spiritual life. shape us into what He wants us We are tempted to believe that only the spiritual to be. giants are able to reach into the spiritual depths. But it 1. Trying harder. is not so. Through spiritual disciplines all of us can 2. Making promises to oneself and to God often experience the transforming effect that will take us results in defeat and discouragement. IV. WE ARE DEALING WITH LOVE, NOT beyond the mundane and the ordinary in our LAW relationship with God. B. There is no way we can free ourselves from sin that can easily creep into our lives. A. Jesus taught us we must go beyond the righteousness of the C. Spiritual disciplines move beyond willpower. I. JOY IS THE KEYNOTE OF ALL SPIRITUAL scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). DISCIPLINES. B. The best way to nullify the impact A. We find a new liberation from the stifling II. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES OPEN THE DOOR. of the spiritual disciplines is to interest of selfishness and fear. make them into laws. They are A. The needed change within us is God’s work not beyond the scripture. “Touch not; B. Our inner spirit is set free. Once we begin to ours. (Hurrah!) taste not; handle not ” (Col. 2:23, understand and live the spiritually disciplined 1. It must be an inside job. Kjv). life, there is new joy, singing, shouting, and jubilation because all become a part of our 2. Only God can work from the inside. C. The spiritual disciplines are a spiritual lives. loving way of life in which we B. Paul went to great lengths to remind us that continually look to the Lord to righteousness is a gift of God. It has nothing to help us in disciplining our lives so II. THE PRIMARY REQUIREMENT FOR GROWING do with our own personal works. (Eph. 2:8-9) that we can live out the deeper DEEPER IS A LONGING AFTER GOD. experience and existence He has The psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for the water called us to. brooks, So my soul longs for Thee”(Ps. 42:1, nasb). III. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES BRING NEW HOPE. D. Spiritual disciplines bring a new A. As our lives become totally and wholly His, some effectiveness and joy that we wonderful things begin to happen. cannot know apart from them. III. DEEP CALLS TO DEEP. B. The message of Gal. 5:22-23 becomes a living “I remember thee upon my bed, All of us in the subterranean chambers of our heart reality. and meditate on thee in the night feel this continuous calling. We long and hunger for watches” (Ps. 63:6, k jv). it. Along with this, we desire a real commitment to Our lives become living examples of love, joy, hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, *A11 quotations are taken from Richard Foster’s book, spiritual discipline to bring it to pass. Foster says it Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: Harper and so well, “The spiritual disciplines are an inward and faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Collins, 1988). C. The fruits of the Spirit are lived out as a natural expression and an outflow of what God is doing Jfighpoint inside of us. Week 2 II. MEDITATION IS DESIRING THE LIVING VOICE OF B. True meditation revives our love GOD. for God’s Word. Only to sit and think of God, THE CELEBRATION OF MEDITATION oh what a joy it is! C. Meditation is a very practical aid to To think the thought to breathe the name help us through life’s difficult INTRODUCTION. Most Wesleyan-Arminian Christians are earth has no higher bliss. journeys. scared to death of meditation. When the word is even —Frederick W. Faber mentioned, our mind conjures up pictures of Zen D. Here’s how to meditate: Buddhists or New Agers on a California beach with A. We humans tend to want someone else to talk to Take a passage, any recorded bodies contorted in painful yoga positions—at ease! Take God for us. specific event from God’s Word. a moment and read Foster’s chapter on meditation. You For example, look closely at Matt. will see it in a new and refreshing ray of light. “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not 8 where Jesus calmed the storm. God speak with us, lest we die” (Exod. 20:19, Look into the terror stricken eyes n k jv ). of the disciples. Feel the boat I. UNDERSTANDING MEDITATION being tossed about like a cork on B. This is a sad mistake. The voice of God is so real, the sea, and allow yourself to feel A. Slam on the brakes! Put your fears aside and crisp, and clear if we will but take the time to the spray of the sea in your face listen to the Word of God. “And Isaac went out listen. and the terror of what appears to to meditate in the field in the evening” (Gen. be your soon coming death. In the C. It is difficult for most people to even believe we 24:63, n k jv ) . “My eyes are awake through the midst of the panic and the stress, night watches, That I may meditate on your can hear God’s voice. now envision Jesus standing up word”(Ps. 119:148, n k jv ) . Surely John was and saying those welcomed words, meditating on the Lord when he wrote, “I was in “Peace, be still.” As we meditate III. PREPARING FOR MEDITATION the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10, k jv ) . In on that simple little four-verse the very first psalm, David writes, “Delight is in passage, the storms of our own life A. It is impossible to learn how to meditate from a the law of the L o r d , and on his law he meditates can be quieted and diminished book. day and night” (Ps. 1:2). because we are reminded again B. Meditation comes from an inward desire. that we serve a Savior who cares B. Fear n ot. . . the wonderful freeing difference about our problems and is able to between transcendental meditation and the 1. Most of it is tied to Paul’s admonition “pray help us solve them. As we meditation of us Christians is very simple. without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17, k jv ). prayerfully meditate on any of a 1. Transcendental meditation calls for a 2. We must continually hunger for our hearts to thousand passages, we will find detachment. Meditation associated with live in a constant state of communication and strength, comfort, and Buddhism, New Age, and Yoga all call for the communion with the Lord. encouragement. detachment of the mind from present circumstances. CONCLUSION. So let’s get busy! The 2. Meditation for the child of God is a call for IV. COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT! scriptural call to meditation is clear. Once attachment. This meditation upon God and A. God has given us a wonderful gift. we learn this discipline, we will be able to His Word draws us closer and attaches us face many more of the storms of life with more firmly to Him, His presence, and His 1. It is the gift of imagination. an assurance of God’s help and care. obvious will for our lives. 2. Our imaginations can transport us anywhere around the world and His universe if we will C. Meditation forces us to slow down. Life really is just allow it. moving too fast. 3. God gave us this gift so we could bless and Jfigfpoint honor His holy name with it. W eek 3 3. Love what God loves. B. Willingness to abide in Christ John 15 reminds us of Jesus’ desire that we have our being in Him. He THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYER is the vine; we are the branches. II. PRAYER AS LIFE’S MAIN BUSINESS INTRODUCTION. This is an opportunity for you as a C. Don’t complicate it! pastor and teacher to use your very best teaching on A. Biblical examples abound. “In the morning a great while before day, He prayer and also pull from some of Foster’s wisdom and 1. The Lord’s Prayer is an easy and rose and went out to a lonely place and there He experience on the subject. precise model of how all of us prayed” (Mark 1:35, author’s paraphrase). One of the great questions that all pastors are asked should pray. from time to time is “Why can’t the church today be The psalmist David said, “Early will I seek thee” like the New Testament church?” One of the simplest k j v ) . (Ps. 63:1, 2. We need to be specific in our reasons is that for the most part the New Testament prayers. James said, “You have church was made up of Messianic Jews. These people, B. Historical examples are everywhere. not because you ask not” (4:2, as students of the Old Testament, already had the n k jv ). disciplines in place that we are studying. Prayer was 1. Wesley, “He that has prayed well has studied already a part of their life. Meditation was a regular well.” practice. Fasting, study, simplicity, tithing, worship—all these things were a part of their spiritual repertoire. CONCLUSION. Don’t forget it, “Prayer- 2. David Brainerd, “I love to be alone in my secret, fervent, believing prayer—lies at cottage where I can spend much time in the root of all Godliness” (William Carey). prayer.” I. TO PRAY IS TO CHANGE. Someone has said that, “Prayer catapults us into the frontier of spiritual life.” III. PRAYER IS WORK, BUT IT WORKS! A. We struggle with change; all of us do. 1. It is a learning process. 1. Those unwilling to change often abandon prayer. 2. It calls us to persistence.

2. The closer we come to God, the more we see 3. It is a listening process. our need to be transformed. 4. We tune in to God. B. Prayer changes our motives. 5. Our imagination of possibilities and potential is enhanced and enlarged. Foster says in his 1. So often we pray for our circumstances to be book, “We are working with God to changed. God uses prayer to change us determine the future! Certain things will (James 4:3). happen in history if we pray rightly. We are to change the world by prayer” (Richard Foster). C. Real prayer causes us to

1. Think God’s thoughts. IV THE PREREQUISITES OF REAL PRAYER 2. Desire God’s desires. A. Desire Jfigfpoint “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1, k jv ). Week 4 B. We have been taught that it is harmful to the c. jealousy body to go without a meal in a given day. cl. strife and CELEBRATION OF FASTING C. Our own brain tells us, “This is not a good idea. e. even fear. “WHEN YOU FAST” Times of fasting can be times of Matt. 6:16 great personal revelation. II. FASTING IS LIKE A CONTINUOUS THREAD WOVEN THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES. INTRODUCTION. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus CONCLUSION. We have to be wise when A. The list of biblical “fasters” is a “who’s who” of gave us no options. He didn’t say if you fast or should we talk to our congregations about the Scriptures. Moses, David, Elijah, Queen you choose to fast, but He said “when.’’Very clearly, He fasting. Our pews are dotted with those Esther, Daniel, Hannah, Paul, and, of course, was saying to us He expects us to fast. struggling with sugar diabetes, chemical Jesus himself. My brother Mike, who pastors in Xenia, Ohio, imbalance, and various protein, mineral, recently concluded a 40-day fast. I can’t even and/or vitamin deficiencies. Our comprehend going 40 days without solid food. He felt B. It is important to understand the types of fasting. approach can never be on the side of that God had laid it on his heart; unable to get away guilt. It cannot be legalistic. from God’s direction, he said yes. 1. There is fasting from solid food with the We must give people options. For I shared the story of Mike’s fast in a sermon taking of liquids. example, some people who are diabetic illustration, so my whole congregation knew about it. could never fast an entire meal in a day, After hearing that the fast had been concluded, one lady 2. There is partial fasting, which would involve but they could give up coffee or came to me and wanted to know the results. She was the type of fasting Daniel did in the Old something else they really enjoy. For a anticipating a great stirring, moving, or miracle within Testament, eating only selected foods. person who is chemically imbalanced, his congregation. I shared with her that Mike had told there are foods they must take in on a me that there was no “boom” on the 40th day. No one 3. There is the absolute fast, the giving up of regular basis, but there are others they was raised from the dead. There was no check for $2 food and water for a period of time. could certainly leave out of their diet. So million to pay off the mortgage and build the new we remind our people there are a number school they desperately need. of options and different ways to fast. Something more significant did happen. Mike said III. FASTING HAS REAL PURPOSE. Sometimes food is not even an option, so the fasting changed him. It gave him a new reliance and we can fast television or even purchases dependency upon God. It brought him closer to the A. Fasting must be centered on God as a part of our of things. The idea is to give up things Lord than he had ever been and in the weeks and personal worship. that are important to us and that in the months following his fast, he saw a hope, a joy, and a absence of them we would definitely feel personal communion with the Lord that he had not B. Fasting reveals the things that control us. a dependence and closer walk with our experienced before. Lord. That’s what fasting is. Fasting is not done to show God how serious we are and force Him to do something. 1. Food We enter into fasting to express our renewed dependency and reliance upon God for all things. 2. Our dependency upon external things

3- The psalmist David said, “I humbled my soul I. FASTING IS ANTICULTURAL. with fasting” (Ps. 69:10, author’s paraphrase). Often times the things that control us are A. Many of us worship at the shrine of the golden revealed during times of self-denial such as: arches! , a. anger ffigfpoint b. bitterness Week 5 understanding from your precepts” (Ps. 119:104, matter of discipline, but oh what a author’s paraphrase). wonderful reward comes from memorizing God’s holy Word. THE DISCIPLINE OF STUDY: THE PATH II. READ IT WITH PRAYER. TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH, LOVING, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in IX. LET THE WORD OF GOD your law” (Ps. 119:18). In tune with David as he CONTROL YOU. AND STUDYING GOD’S WORD seeks God’s help and understanding His Word “I will always obey your law, forever through prayer. and ever” (Ps. 119:44). INTRODUCTION. The purpose of embracing spiritual As we seek to be spiritually III. READ SYSTEMATICALLY. disciplines is the total transformation of the person. disciplined, we ask ourselves, who “I will not neglect your word” (Ps. 119:16). It is a Nowhere is the purpose more clearly seen than the is in control: I, my spouse, a close daily commitment. It is also a commitment to discipline of study. friend, or God himself? understanding the context of the Word, who is Paul said the way to be transformed is through the writing it, to whom was it written, and what was X. BE PREPARED TO SACRIFICE. renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:2). Studying God’s Word the intended purpose of the message. “It was good for me to be afflicted will enable us to “think about these things”: “Whatever so that I might learn your decrees” is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, IV. CONCENTRATE AND GIVE YOUR FULL (Ps. 119:71). No pain, no gain! What whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is ATTENTION. a wonderful opportunity to join the gracious, if there is anything worthy of praise, think “Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; great heros of our faith, Peter, about these things” (Phil. 4:8, author’s paraphrase). then I will meditate on your wonders” (Ps. Thomas, Paul, and Jesus himself, on Jesus said that the knowledge of truth will bring 119:27). No radio, no CDs, no TV, no dozing— the road to willingly sacrificing freedom. “You will know the truth, and the truth will God’s holy Word is truly worthy of our undivided whatever necessary to draw closer set you free” (John 8:32). attention as we read it. to our wonderful Lord. The lack of study in our lives is a loss for us V BELIEVE AND ACCEPT GOD’S WORD AS TRUTH. personally and for those we are attempting to influence. CONCLUSION. Major Van Side was “How can a young man keep his way pure? By Foster says, “They may sing with gusto, pray in the associated with the Salvation Army for many living according to your word” (Ps. 119:9). It is His Spirit, live as obediently as they know, even receive years. He was known as a tremendous soul Word, and His Word is truth! divine visions and revelations; and yet the tenor of their winner. He later relocated in Washington, lives remains unchanged. VI. READ WITHOUT PREJUDICE. D.C., and his ministry centered around “Why? Because they have never taken up one of “Teach me, O Lo r d , to follow your decrees” (Ps. helping hopeless alcoholics. In dealing with the central ways God uses to change us: study.” The lack 119:33). Our study of God’s Word, if it is to one of the most severe cases he said, “If you of study brings: change us, must eliminate cultural and doctrinal take the Gospel of John and read it 50 A. Bondage prejudices. What does the pure Word of God say times, I guarantee you deliverance from B. Shallowness to me about who I am and who God wants me to alcoholism.”It seemed like a bold thing to C. Frustration be and what God wants me to do? do, but the alcoholic was so desperate he did it. The man read John 7 or 8 times and TEN STEPS TO SPIRITUAL LIBERATION VII. APPLY WHAT YOU ARE READING TO YOUR accepted Christ as his Savior. He kept THROUGH BIBLE STUDY DAILY LIFE. reading the Gospel of John, and before long “You are my portion, O Lo r d ; I have promised to he was completely delivered from alcohol. I. READ THE BIBLE ITSELF! obey your words” (Ps. 119:57). In a day when we are bombarded with study aids, He came to know the truth, and the truth Our prayer before entering into study must always set him free! Major Van Side said that over a computer Bible packages, video series, and TV be one of seeking God’s direction for our daily preachers by the score, there is a call to purity and period of some five years he had seen 100 lives through the reading of His Word. focus for our study times. Before searching through conversions and deliverances from alcohol what someone else says about God’s Word, we VIII. MEMORIZE GOD’S WORD. by this simple prescription. “Read the Gospel of John 50 times and I guarantee need to learn to read it, study it, and digest it “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might deliverance from this habit.”It is the Word ourselves. The psalmist said, “I gain my not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). Most of us are of God that brings life and godliness and t out of the habit of memorizing. It really is not as hope. Jiigfvpoint difficult as we have convinced ourselves. It is a Week 6 E. Christ taught us that our focus should not be A. We understand that everything we upon our possessions (Matt. 6:19-21). receive, we receive as a gift from CELEBRATION OF SIMPLICITY God. F. We see a potential young disciple rejecting INTRODUCTION. This chapter represents one of the Christ because of his unwillingness to turn loose B. Everything we have is cared for by most inspirational yet challenging disciplines. Simplicity of his possessions (Matt. 19:16-22). God. is freedom. Simplicity brings joy and balance to our Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently lives. Yet simplicity also speaks of personal sacrifice and reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely C. All that we are stewards over is self-denial. Solomon said, “God made us plain and enjoyed without destroying us. available to others. simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated” (Eccles. 7:29, tev ). The old Shaker hymn says: II. A SEARCH FOR A PLACE TO STAND IV THE OUTWARD EXPRESSIONS OF ’Tis a gift to be simple, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth” SIMPLICITY ’Tis a gift to be free, (Archimedes). ’Tis a gift to come down where you ought to be, A. Buy things for their usefulness And when we find ourself in the place just right, A. The majority of Christians have never seriously rather than their status. ’Twill be in the valley of love and delight, wrestled with the problem of simplicity. When the true simplicity is gained, B. Reject anything that produces an To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed. 1. We conveniently ignore the words of Jesus on addiction in you. To turn, turn will be our delight, the subject. Till by turning, turning we come ’round right. C. Develop the habit of giving things The Christian discipline of simplicity is an inward 2. Simplicity challenges our vested interests in away. reality that manifests itself in an outward lifestyle. an affluent lifestyle. One of the great problems of our contemporary D. Learn to enjoy things without B. Our place to stand is on the Word of God. “But culture is that most people feel trapped in a maze of owning them. competing attachments. Most people have no real unity seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, or focus in their lives. As believers, we must understand and all these things will be yours as well” (Matt. E. Develop a healthy skepticism that the lust for affluence is psychotic. It is psychotic 6:33, author’s paraphrase). toward the conventional wisdom because it forces us to completely lose touch with 1. The call is very simple. regarding debt that says, “Buy reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. now —pay later. ” 2. Our focus, desire, and intentions are all to be wrapped up in seeking God’s kingdom first. F. Reject anything that breeds I. THE BIBLE AS A TEXTBOOK ON SIMPLICITY oppression in others. A. We are prohibited from exploiting the poor. C. The person who does not seek the Kingdom first does not seek it at all! G. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of B. We are cautioned against possessing too much God. (Lev. 25:23). D. One of the great benefits of simplicity is the freedom from the anxiety of owning, holding, C. We are warned about trusting in our riches and possessing things. (Prov. 11:28). CONCLUSION. May God give us the courage, wisdom, and strength to always D. Jesus clearly speaks against the love of money III. SIMPLICITY AND THE FREEDOM OF ANXIETY ARE hold the kingdom of God as the number (Luke 16:13). SYNONYMOUS. one priority in our lives. To do this is to The three keys to possessing the freedom from live the life of simplicity. Jfigfpoint anxiety are: W eek 7 II. THE FREEDOM FROM EXCESSIVE STRESS “Be still and know that I am God”(Ps. 46:10, k jv ). THE DISCIPLINE OF SILENCE A. Stress ties us in knots. INTRODUCTION. Jesus calls us from loneliness. B. It alters our personalities. Loneliness is inner emptiness; solitude is inner fulfillment. Prayer, fasting, simplicity—each spiritual discipline C. It keeps us from God. results in distinct freedoms. D. It blurs our vision. We often miss the most beautiful places on God’s earth. I. THE FREEDOM TO BE ALONE

A. Not in order to be away from people but in order to hear better III. FREEDOM FROM TUNNEL VISION Sometimes God creates solitude. Elijah “came to a broom tree, sat down under it and B. Ministry in the desert (Matt. 4:1-11) prayed that he might die”( l Kings 19:4). Before choosing the Twelve, Jesus spent a night In the solitude he discovered that God was not in alone in the desert hills (Luke 6:12-13). the wind earthquake C. After news of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus fire. withdrew in a boat to a lonely place (Matt. After the fire, however, came a gentle whisper 14:13). containing the voice of God (v. 11-12). D. After feeding 5,000, Jesus “went up into the hills by himself ” (Matt. 14:23, author’s paraphrase). IV THE FREEDOM FROM CONTROLLING OTHERS “On the Lord’s Day I was in the spirit’’(Rev. 1:10). E. When the Twelve had returned from a preaching mission, Jesus said, “Come away by yourselves to A. Our insecurities often cause us to seek to a lonely place” (Mark 6:31, n a sb ). control others. F. After healing a leper, He “withdrew to the B. We sometimes use words to control others. wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16, author’s paraphrase). C. Let us seek God’s control of ourselves, not our G. Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:19) control of others!

D. Best friends are those with whom we can be H. Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-46) silent—they are not afraid of the pause. We must seek out the “recreating stillness of “Silence is the discipline by which the inner fire solitude ” if we want to be with others of God is tended and kept alive” (H. Nouwen). meaningfully.

f Jfighpoint Week 8 deny himself and take up his cross and follow dictates of the state. m e” (Mark 8:34). 3. Teen is asked to smoke pot in DISCIPLINE OF SUBMISSION 2. First must be last (Mark 9:35). order to join a fraternity. C. Others are not so easy. INTRODUCTION. Freedom of submission—what a 1. Unsaved husband, unsaved wife relief. U. SUBMISSION AS TAUGHT IN THE EPISTLES Christ’s example set the tempo. 2. Student in school who knows 1. Laying down the burden of “my way” teacher is biased 2. Laying down our obsession for things to go our A. Paul 3. Employee dealing with unsaved way 1. Count others better than yourself. employer 3. Being free to value others 2. “He . . . emptied Himself, taking the form of a 4. Giving up our rights for the good of others—the bond-servant” (Phil. 2:7, nasb). paradoxical way to real freedom IV ACTS OF SUBMISSION 5. Breaking with the Old Testament directive, an B. Peter “eye for an eye” and accepting Christ’s law— 1 Pet. 2:21-25 A. Submission to the triune God turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39) 1. In the morning, we wait before Freedom of Identity—not losing it. C. General call to submission Him. 1. Did Jesus lose His identity at Golgotha? 1. Cultural subordinates (Col. 3:18-22) 2. “Thy will be done” throughout 2. Did Peter lose his identity when he followed a. wives the day. Jesus? b. children 3. In the evening, last words of 3. Did Paul lose his identity when he was crucified c. slaves the day with Christ? 2. Cultural dominates (Col. 3:19) They found their identity in the act of self-denial. a. husbands B. Submission to Scripture Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it and he b. fathers 1. To hear the Word who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). c. masters 2. To receive the Word 3. Perfect illustration—letter to Philemon 3. To obey the Word

I. SUBMISSION AS TAUGHT BY JESUS C. Submission to family (Phil. 2:4) Christ's most radical teaching was His reversal of III. LIMITS OF SUBMISSION 1. Make allowances. the notion of greatness. “The limits of the discipline of submission are at the 2. Listen to each other. points at which it becomes destructive. It then A. Living example D. Submission to neighbors becomes a denial of the law of love as taught by 1. Sharing food, baby-sitting, “He humbled himself and became obedient unto Jesus and is an affront to genuine biblical mowing lawn death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). submission” (see Matt. 5:6-7 and 22:37-39). 1. Cross death and cross life 2. A moment to visit—no task too 2. Submission to follow Jesus A. Apparent contradiction—“submit yourselves to large or small 3- Servant to all every ordinance” E. Submission to church community 1. Peter calls for submission to the state (1 Pet. B. Abolished conventional wisdom 1. Job to be filled 2:13). 2. Task to be done 1. Privileged position 2. To the high priest he states, “We must obey 2. Status God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). 3. Order of leadership F. Submission to needy and the 3. Go back to the biblical formula. world C. Expected followers to become examples B. Easy to comprehend some limits 1. “If anyone would come after me, he must 1. Child is asked to aid an adult in breaking the t law. CONCLUSION. Submission—the glorious act of resting in Christ. Jfigfpoint 2. Citizen is asked to denounce his faith for the Week 9 Richard Foster offers some specific ways that IX. THE SERVICE OF SHARING THE service must take form and shape in our daily lives. WORD OF LIFE DISCIPLINE OF SERVICE “Preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2).

INTRODUCTION. “Whoever wants to become great I. THE SERVICE OF HIDDENNESS among you must be a servant. . . just as the Son of Man “Except your righteousness shall exceed the did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matt. 20:26- righteousness of the . . . Pharisees” (Matt. 5:20, 28). Kjv). The spiritual authority of Jesus is an authority not found in position or title but in a towel. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “Learn the lesson that, if you are to do II. THE SERVICE OF SMALL THINGS the work of a prophet, what you need is not a scepter References to Dorcas who made coats and but a hoe.” Most of us would agree that whenever there garments for the widows (Acts 9:39). is trouble over who is the greatest, the real trouble is over who is the least. Most of us know we will never really be the greatest. Just don’t let us be the least. Jesus III. THE SERVICE OF GUARDING THE REPUTATION redefined greatness with His towel and basin. “If I then, OF OTHERS your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also “Speak evil of no one” (Titus 3:2, n k jv ). ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15, n k jv ). Most of us are more prone to be drawn to radical IV. THE SERVICE OF BEING SERVED self-denial than the call of servanthood. In service we “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (John 13:8, kjv). must experience the many little deaths that go beyond ourselves. Service often banishes us to the mundane, the ordinary, and the trivial. V. THE SERVICE OF COMMON COURTESY As with all other disciplines, service offers a great “To be gentle and show perfect courtesy to all liberty. Enabling us to say no to the worldly emphasis on men” (Titus 3:2, author’s paraphrase). promotion and authority, service frees us from the great pecking order of society. There are great differences in choosing to serve VI. THE SERVICE OF HOSPITALITY and choosing to be a servant. “Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another” Paul reminds us that we are called to be love slaves. (1 Pet. 4:9, author’s paraphrase). He also reminds us that there is a justifiable fear of being stepped on. But who can really hurt someone who has freely chosen to be stepped on? “So subject. . . that all men may go over thee and tread upon thee as VII. THE SERVICE OF LISTENING upon mire of the street” (Thomas a Kempis). “Just as love to God begins with listening to His Francis of Assisi believed that of all the graces and Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is gifts of the Holy Spirit that Christ gives to His friends, learning to listen to them” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). perhaps none exceeds the power to conquer one’s self, willingly enduring sufferings, insults, humiliation, and hardships for the love of Christ. VIII. THE SERVICE OF BEARING THE BURDENS OF EACH OTHER “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law Jfigfpoint of Christ” (Gal. 6:2, n k jv ). Week 10 “This is a time where a soul comes under the Him to deal with it, and then gaze of God and where in his silent and loving turn from it and walk in the DISCIPLINE OF CONFESSION presence this soul is pierced to the quick” new light. (Douglas Steer). INTRODUCTION. “Confession”—As Wesleyan-Arminian Christians, some may struggle with this word. Especially B. Genuine sorrow CONCLUSION. “The Discipline of the thought of developing a lifestyle or discipline in the Confession brings an end to pretence. area of confession. 1. Sorrow is necessary because it is the God is calling into being a church that It is important that we realize that at the very heart abhorrence of having committed the can openly confess its frail humanity and of God is the desire to give and forgive. Jesus’ horrible wrongful act. know the forgiveness and empowering death upon the Cross is a constant reminder to us that graces of Christ. Honesty leads to God was willing to go to any cost to absorb all of the 2. It is a deep regret of having offended the confession, confession leads to change. evil of humanity, to heal it, forgive it, and redeem it. heart of God. May God give grace to the church once The Bible views salvation as both an event and a again to recover the discipline of process. To converted people, Paul says, “Work out your C. A determination to avoid sin confession” (Richard Foster). salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Clearly In the Old Testament we are called to repent and we are forgiven of our sins at the point of our initial turn. This is the key. We must become like coming to Christ. The infilling of the Holy Spirit has the Joseph with Potiphar’s wife. He ran from sin. power to cleanse us and free us from sin. Yet we are still “Give me one hundred preachers who fear reminded there are points in our lives when we nothing but sin and desire nothing but God . . . continually and willfully stray from the love and grace of such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up our Lord. It is important for us to understand and the kingdom of heaven on earth” (John Wesley). embrace the discipline of confession. Christ himself in His teaching prayer told us we should pray, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12, k jv ). II. WE DO NOT HAVE TO CONVINCE GOD TO Foster’s approach to confession is well rounded in FORGIVE that it deals with our lives personally and the desire within believers to walk close to the Lord and do A. The heart of the Father is like a shepherd who is nothing to mar that relationship. He also deals with our willing to risk anything for one lost sheep. responsibility to forgive others. In a very beautiful and simplistic way, Foster brings us to a point of daily opening up to the Lord. He says, “The evidence of B. Confession begins in sorrow but ends in joy. mercy and grace sparks a contrite heart and allows confession to flow. As we open our hearts to the Lord, C. God faithfully calls us and speaks to us. we are reminded that His greatest delight is to forgive. God calls his beloved children, now residents of heaven, 1. He hungers to examine our hearts. “In all to a great celebration whenever one person on earth areas we are called to be aware of makes a confession.” weaknesses. God affords us the opportunity to confess our fears, confusion, abilities, and blindness.” I. THREE KEY INGREDIENTS CONSTITUTE REAL CONFESSION BEFORE GOD. 2. We have the wonderful opportunity to cry out with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, A. An examination of conscience f and know my heart” (Ps. 139:23). However painful, once God has revealed it, Jfigfvpoint then we are responsible to confess it, allow Week 11 II. THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP give Him praise” (paraphrase of 95:2). THE DISCIPLINE OF WORSHIP A. There can be no question about it; “You shall worship the Lo r d your God, and Him only shall C. Worship avenues you serve” (Matt. 4:10, k jv ). Our hearts hunger to INTRODUCTION. “To worship is to quicken the see God. 1. It’s personal! Personal worship conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind must be developed by each of with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the us if we are to enjoy corporate beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to 1. The need is desperate. worship with our brothers and devote the will to the purpose of God” (William sisters. Temple). 2. Like Isaiah, our hearts desire to see Him high Pastors everywhere are focusing on worship. Every and lifted up. We come into His presence to 2. Corporate worship church I know of is in transition. We are all trying to worship Him for who He is. a. Those leading prayerfully find worship style or worship patterns that both please must seek the face of God. God and meet the expectations of the worshipers. So The responsibility is awesome many things cloud and complicate our attempts to III. THE ACTS OF WORSHIP b. to bring people to the place worship. Our culture, our background, our where they “declare the presuppositions, our likes, our dislikes, our comfort A. We understand that worship is a priority. “Love praises of him who called you level, our interpretations of the Scripture, our fears and the Lord your God with all your heart and with out of darkness into his anxieties—the list is endless. As most of us in the all your soul and with all your mind and with all wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9). church world are aware, congregations around the your strength” (Mark 12:30). world are engaged in what is known as “worship wars.” 3. We are called to be free before So what is the answer? Where do we go? How do we 1. The primary function of the Levitical priests the Lord in our worship worship? was to “come near Me to minister to Me” experience. “For freedom that God is actively seeking true worshipers. Jesus (Ezek. 44:15, n k jv ). declared, “The true worshipers will worship the Father Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers 2. Today God is calling His church back to the Father seeks” (John 4:23). yourselves be burdened again worship. by a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).

B. Preparation for worship I. WORSHIP IS THE HUMAN RESPONSE TO THE DIVINE INITIATIVE. CONCLUSION. Fruits of worship are 1. We open our hearts before Him. unbelievable. True worship is lived out in a life of holy obedience. Worship enables us A. Adam and Eve were drawn to God in the garden. 2. We allow Him to search us. to hear the call of God, the call of service so very clearly that we respond, “Here am B. In the crucifixion, Jesus drew men and women 3. We allow Him to look deep within and reveal I! Send me!” (Isa. 6:8). Authentic worship to himself (John 12:32). any barriers that would prohibit us from will empower us to join in the Lord’s war worshiping Him. against the demonic powers that war C. Scripture is filled with examples of God’s efforts against us in the Christian church. to initiate, restore, and maintain fellowship with 4. “We must worship Him with a holy expectancy.” “Worship is a deliberate and disciplined His children. “Those in the upper room were not surprised adventure in reality” (Willard Sperry). when the building they were meeting in “Let the word of Christ dwell in you D. Worship is our response to the overtures of love trembled and quaked. They had been expecting richly as you teach and admonish one from the heart of God. God. ” We must daily cultivate our expectation of another with all wisdom, and as you sing f worship. The psalmist told us to, “Come into His psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs with Jfighpoint presence with thanksgiving in our hearts and gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). Week 12 to decisions of shared approval, so our inward missionary evangelism. fellowship gives us an inward knowledge of the d. In Acts 15 Peter before the THE DISCIPLINE OF GUIDANCE ways and directions God would have us go. assembly defends his ministry. As the Spirit met with the entire group, they INTRODUCTION. “In our day, heaven and earth are on III. THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVING AND DWELLING INSIDE stated, “It seemed good to tiptoe waiting for the emergence of a Spirit-led, Spirit- OF US IS USED OF GOD IN A NUMBER OF WAYS the Holy Spirit and to us . . .” intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people. All of creation TO BRING GUIDANCE. (Acts 15:28). watches expectantly for the springing up of a A. Scripture They had faced the toughest disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people who know in issues of their day and had this life, the life and power of the kingdom of God. It has B. Reason discerned the voice from on happened before. It can happen again” (Richard Foster). C. Circumstances high. This is the high The discipline of guidance takes us to a watermark in the Book of Acts. wonderfully important point. The goal of guidance is D. Promptings of the Spirit not specific instructions about this or that matter but In addition to: rather conformity to the image of Christ. Paul said, “For V IN A VERY REALISTIC SENSE, THE whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be 1. Angels CHURCH FUNCTIONS BEST WHEN IT ALLOWS THE LORD TO USE ALL conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29, kjv). 2. Visions and dreams Specific guidances are the happy by-products of ITS TALENTS AND POWERS OF 3- Continued influence of other godly people in the goal of conforming to the image of Christ. The DISCERNMENT. our lives discipline of guidance speaks of our conscious A. Accountability and trust is a vital obedience to God’s will, an ever-present hunger to live IV THE BLESSING AND PRACTICALITY OF part of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. day in and day out doing the will of God. CORPORATE GUIDANCE. B. The Spirit himself stands ready to I. THE WILL OF GOD IS DISCOVERED AS WE A. God led the children of Israel out of bondage as give leadership, but there is a BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH GOD. a people. wonderful place for check and balance. So often today culture A. Learn His ways. B. Christ taught a corporate guidance as we find in invades our churches rather than the often quoted “if two of you shall agree on B. Become His friend. our churches impacting culture. earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it 1. Even in church business 1. As we become Christ’s friends, He takes great shall be done for them of my Father which is in meetings there is a place for pleasure in producing fruit in us—love, joy, heaven. For where two or three are gathered corporate guidance. peace, patience, kindness, goodness, together in my name, there am I in the midst of faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. them ” (Matt. 18:19-20, kjv ). 2. This calls for a newness of trust in one another and complete 5:22-23). 1. The New Testament Church as chronicled in dependency upon the moving the Book of Acts gives numerous references. of the Holy Spirit. II. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S GUIDANCE BECOMES a. Pentecost was a corporate event. INSTINCTIVE. b. The Church gathered, worked together, and CONCLUSION. Dallas Willard says it well. in many respects were led as a group. “Now A. Our relationship with the Lord continues to “The aim of God in history is the creation the company of those who believed were of grow. of an all-inclusive community of loving one heart and soul and no one said that any persons, with himself included in that B. Our decisions are made in accordance with His of the things which he possessed was his community as its prime sustainer and most will. own but they had everything in common” glorious inhabitant.”It sounds somewhat By way of illustration, just like the intimate (Acts 4:32-33, author’s paraphrase). idealistic but biblical—the Body of Christ knowledge of love between spouses guides them c. Acts 13 gives us a wonderful example of working in a synchronized fashion to lift up t corporate guidance in the calling of Paul and glorify our Lord and King Jesus Christ. Jfigfpoint and Barnabas to enter the field of Week 13 A. There is a correlation between joy and power.

THE DISCIPLINE OF CELEBRATION B. On the days when the joy of the Lord seems to engulf us, there is an overwhelming flow of God’s life and power from us to others. INTRODUCTION. It is interesting, isn’t it, that the last discipline is the reverse of the title of the text. I sometimes think that this particular chapter should have been first. It is such a practical application of IV. CELEBRATION IS BOTH A GRACE AND A God’s joy at work in our lives. Augustine said, “A DISCIPLINE. Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.” Celebration is a happy characteristic of those who walk A. A grace because it truly is unmerited from the cheerfully over the earth in the power of their Lord. hand of God

B. A discipline because, though it is a gift from I. THE JOY OF THE LORD IS NOT MERELY A GOOD God, it is also something we must be conscious FEELING. of. “Continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge A. It is acquainted with suffering, sorrow, His name”(Heb. 13:15, author’s paraphrase). For illustration’s sake, we need to begin the day heartache, and pain. by letting the Lord know that we love Him, adore Him, worship Him, desire His will and way B. It is not found through seeking. all day long. And we conclude the day thanking the Lord for His love, presence, strength, and C. It is not trying to pump up the right emotions or grace. Praise and thanksgiving inevitably bring forcing a cheery disposition. joy and power.

n. JOY IS THE RESULT OF THREE THINGS. CONCLUSION. Real joy, happiness, and celebration in life are found in the assurance of being rooted and A. Provision grounded in God. The ancient priest Brother Lawrence said, “Lord, I am yours; dryness does not matter nor B. Place affect me!”

C. Personality, functioning properly in the course of our daily lives. It all stems from the abundant life Jesus promised us. It often slips in unaware as our attention becomes focused upon the kingdom of God and not the kingdom of this earth.

III. JOY MAKES US STRONG.

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Dr. George Lyons is professor of biblical literature^ Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa,idaho. He is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University and received his Ph.D. from Emory University. He is a coauthor of A Dictionary of the Bible and Christian Doctrine in Everyday English and author of Holiness in Everyday Life, A ppl ie d C hristianity , $7.99, PA083-411-6618

Great H oliness C lassics, V o l .1 Holiness Teaching: New Testament Times to Wesley Heart purity, perfect love, sanctification—though John Wesley is acclaimed as the chief articulator of the doctrine in modem times, believers have both sought and known its truth in every generation of the Church. Included in this collection of Holiness classics are writings from the Shepherd of Hermas, Ire- naeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and others. The volume editor Introduces each writer’s contributions with pertinent facts and commentary that place them in their proper historical and doctrinal context. Volume 1 in the six-volume set of Great Holiness Classics, this text is a must for any serious student of holiness or theology.

Dr. Paul Bassett is professor of the history of Christianity at Nazarene Theological Seminary. A graduate of Olivet Nazarene University and the Divinity School at Duke University, he holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and has done postgraduate studies at Ohio State Uni­ versity and the University of Kansas. Dr. Bassett previously served asa professor at Trevecca Nazarene University, West Virginia Universi­ ty, and Seminario Nazarena de las Americas in Costa Rica. T h eo lo g y , $29.99, PA083-411-5751

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