Freedom...on its death bed?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Call me crazy...I still believe in the Constitution of the United States.  I believe in the Bill of Rights.  I am saddened at what is happening in America.  One important aspect of my "job" as a chaplain calls on me to protect religious freedoms.  In fact, I would argue that one of the primary functions of chaplains in my agency is to protect religious freedoms and to recognize strongly held religious beliefs.  

However, our nation has moved to not only diminishing this amendment of the Bill of Rights, but it seems to have abandoned it.  It appears that we have arrived at a moment in America when our nation is striving to be void of religious expression.  Evidence of this movement to become a nation that doesn't allow any religious expression as part of our societal landscape can be seen in a 9/11 ceremony that occurred in 2011.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/911-ceremony-wont-include_n_936336.html 

Prior to 9/11 pluralism was a buzzword in America.  However, I have sensed that post 9/11 many realized that pluralism was not an acceptable view.  Religious beliefs were radically different.  This propelled a movement to simply remove religious express from our culture as a personal expression of deeply held religious beliefs.  

I sense our nation will always protect the free exercise of religious as long as it occurs in the "church house" or our private homes.  After we depart either of those locations it seems we are suppose to dispose of our "strongly held religious beliefs."  

I don't hold to a worldview that is always proclaiming the sky is following, the country is falling apart at the seams or that the end of the world is near.  However, I will say we are on a very slippery slope when it comes to religious freedoms in America.  Americans should be free to speak against things that their interpretation of the Bible leads them to believe are sins.  This falls under the concept that their view of something as sin is a strongly held religious belief and they should have the freedom to exercise that aspect of their religious beliefs. 

We have reached a point where it seems Americans don't have the freedom to exercise their religious beliefs at schools, as military chaplains or even as business owners.  I found the recent court ruling that a photographer can't refuse to shoot gay ceremonies as a gross infringement upon the 2nd Amendment.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2013/august/nm-supreme-court-photographers-cant-refuse-gay-weddings.html 

Religious expression is important.  The freedom of religious exercise is vital to our nation's foundation...yes, even religious expression we deem as incompatible with our own theological beliefs.  I fear we are steadily marching towards a moment where calling something...anything...sin..will be deemed as hate speech and punishable in a court of law.

Regardless of one's view on what is sin and what it is not...regardless of one's view of the Bible...our nation must remember that we were founded with an eye towards free speech and religious freedom.  It seems our right to religious freedom is dying one court decision at a time. 

 

My thoughts on this 9/11

I was pastor of Newton Baptist Church in Newton, Alabama.  The morning of September 11, 2001 the church was having new carpet installed in the offices.  I remember Shana coming over to tell me that a plane had crashed into the into the World Trade Center.  I remember thinking that it was probably a small private plane that had some sort of difficulties.  I left church and walked next door to the pastorium to see the news.  I arrived to watch a second plane smash into the the other tower.  Clearly our nation was under attack.  The world seemed black...the next few days were a blur.  I remember some channel not broadcasting out of respect to the situation.

In the weeks ahead I determined that it was my duty to serve our nation in some capacity.  One year  later in 2002 I found myself reporting to Fort Sill, OK and shortly after that I found myself on a plane to an unknown land.  My short trip to Iraq seemed to change my life forever.  Operation Iraqi Freedom put many things into perspective for me, but it all seemed to occur in the shadow cast by that tragic day in September know simply as 9/11.   

I am sure that 9/11 changed many people.  Thousands lost their lives that infamous day and thousands more lost their lives in the ensuing war on terrorism.  It was a dark day in our country.  For a short period our nation seemed to bring forth a new sense of patriotism and cooperation.  However, just as an early spring can be shuttered by a cold snap our nation has returned to being divided.  I pray that on this day we simply pause and remember those that have sacrificed - the patriots that have provided for our freedom.  I pray today for the children that lost parents on 9/11...for the parents that lost children...for those that have died from various illnesses due to responding to the events...the fireman that ran in while most were running out...and the family that never got to say goodbye.

God Bless our Nation on this day that we remember...

 

War isn't all its cracked up to be...

Today is my father's birthday.  He is 71 years old today.  My father is my hero.  He served 2 tours in Vietnam as an attack helicopter pilot.  He retired in 1987 from the U. S. Army with 24 years of service.  I grew up idolizing my father's military experience.  I grew up thinking war was something that every man should experience as a measure of his defense for this nation.  My father never led me to believe that war was "cool."  In fact, he seldom spoke of his combat experience.  I just assumed based on books and movies that combat was something that proved how strong we were as a nation and how strong an individual was that could experience a combat situation.

I remembering being so excited with Bush 41 struck Iraq.  I was in junior high school and wondered if my chance to experience combat had been missed.   

Today we are on the brink of another conflict.  Will we launch a strike against Syria?  Is is justified?  Will a strike stem a killer's appetite to kill his people with chemical weapons?  All of these answers are for politicians, military strategists, and policy wonks to answer.

I know this - war isn't all its cracked up to be!  I deployed to Iraq in 2003 as a chaplain with the U. S. Army.  My experience is different that many.  I was in a combat zone, but a non-combatant.  I deployed with a field artillery battalion.  Combat of any kind isn't pretty.  Living conditions are difficult, family separation is unkind, and as I have often heard "the bad guy gets a vote."  I will confess my time in Iraq was short compared to many.  The conditions were harsh.  I found myself sleeping on the hood of my HUMVEE most nights.  I traveled as much I could in to Baghdad with my soldiers.  I led worship, baptized soldiers in the desert and counseled many lost souls.  I returned home to see marriages fall apart, soldiers experience PTSD, and even later hear of suicides from those I served with.  There is not a single day that passes in which I don't consider my experience. 

Upon my return I performed chilling death notifications and performed a funeral for a soldier that was killed as part of mass causality situation in Iraq. 

War isn't glamorous.  Objectives are hard to achieve.  Mission accomplishments may only be short-term.  Others beside myself will determine if we strike Syria.  I pray for their wisdom.  I pray they consider the hardship of war.  Today, VA has hundreds of thousands of claims behind in providing benefits to our nation's veterans.  Thousands have lost their lives, children have lost mothers and fathers, parents have lost sons and daughters - the cost of freedom is normally very expensive. 

War can be justified.  I am not a pacifist.  There are times that America must strike our enemies.  Even the Bush doctrine of preemptive war can be justified.  But, we must be cautious.  We must remember there are people behind those bombs.  To have "boots on the ground" you must have bodies in those boots.  Proceed with caution.  We have lost too many in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq without securing a measurable victory.  I fear conflict, although it appears it would be limited, will not render a measurable change in Syria.  I am saddened to see the bodies of those that appear to have been killed by chemical weapons.  The pictures of precious children that have died due to chemical weapons are heartbreaking.  I pray for their families, I pray for peace, and for a Syrian administration that will honor life and civil rights.  But, we simply can't serve as the world's policeman.

I share these thoughts with you for you to consider this...war isn't all it is cracked up to be.  The movies don't do it justice.

Pray for our President, Pray for Congress, Pray for our military and Pray for peace in Syria.

What must be done to reshape the Southern Baptist Convention?

I love the Southern Baptist Convention.  I have been endorsed to serve as a missionary/chaplain to the U.S. Army and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  I have been blessed by the Cooperative Program in my Southern Baptist education endeavors.  Cooperative Programs funds have helped keep costs down for my graduate and doctoral work at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  I have been nothing other than a member of a SBC church.  I have pastored SBC churches.

It appears, based upon recently released statistics, the SBC is becoming a less relevant force in America.  My college friend, Dr. Chris Bonts, attributes this to a reshaping of our culture.  It is his belief that "cultural Christianity" is dying in America.  In other words, the culture doesn't expect one to attend church.  Therefore, not only are our churches shrinking, but they are becoming less carnal because those that simply claim Christianity due to the previous cultural landscape are evaporating.  I would never say the gospel is becoming less relevant.  The gospel message will never become less relevant.

What must be done to reshape the Southern Baptist Convention?

My suggestions aren't new, but I think they should be considered in their holistic approach. 

First, we as a denomination must focus on equipping bivo pastors.  When I served in Alabama I was informed through the Alabama Board of Missions that Alabama's SBC churches were about 53% bivo.  This did not take into account the pastors that were able to serve because they were retired, on disability or had a spouse that worked.  I understand that NAMB is making bivo pastors a priority.  I have for years sensed that in the future we will have more bivo pastors.  In fact, I sense we will have a denomination that has large churches at one end of the spectrum and bivo churches at the other end.  I fear there might not be much in the middle.  If this occurs it may be necessary for our seminaries to prepare future pastors to toil in bivo settings.  Our bivo pastors are the backbone of the SBC.  I pray there is a renewed emphasis on recognizing and appreciating the work these men accomplish for the Lord.

Second, we must not stall our church planting efforts.  Planting new churches must be an emphasis.  This is an important and biblical ministry.  It appears that in the future we will lose thousands of SBC churches.  This can be contributed to the migration of the American population to urban areas.  It may be that rural churches may need to merge into a new church that is more effective and efficient at advancing the gospel in their communities.  It seems that many of the churches that are shuttering their doors are in these rural settings.  I think we are consumed with retaining our current number of churches.  I ask you: what would happen if we had fewer churches that were stronger?  Would that be a success?  What would happen if those fewer, but stronger churches, collectively baptized more than in past years?

Third, our convention must make church revitalization a priority.  We have over 45,000 baptist churches.  However, I see more conferences on church planting and issues involving Calvinism than on how to revitalize the local church.  I will note that Alabama recently had a conference on that subject with Johnny Hunt as the speaker.  We have thousands of churches with millions if not billions of dollars worth of land and facilities.  I remember in college I took several classes on church growth.  I have since determined that those books were useless because most were focused upon pragmatic concepts to "grow" a church.  However, it is time to focus on revitalizing what we have to ensure our churches are healthy enough to accomplish the mission.  Additionally, I understand that NAMB is working in this area as well.  I desire that this initiative take root and becomes a priority within our convention.  I pray that our pastors and church members catch a vision about revitalization.  

Fourth...evaluation.  Besides my theological and ministry education I completed a Master of Public Administration degree in nonprofit management.  The key words in public administration are effective and efficient.  One determines if you are accomplishing these words through measuring goals and outcomes.  I fear that far too many churches aren't evaluating themselves and their programs.  Typically we as pastors and churches are hyper-sensitive to evaluation.  Therefore, we usually avoid evaluation at all costs.  It is time to evaluate what we do and how we do it.  A closer look might determine that far too many of our churches are simply bloated "country clubs with crosses" reproducing programs that haven't been effective at "making and maturing" believers in years.  

Fight? Flow? Flee?

My college pastoral ministry professor (Dr. Jerry Windsor) taught us "young preacher boys" that when faced with conflict in church we had three options - we could elect to fight, flow or flee.

I would like to explore these three options in further detail.  First, we can decide to flee.  This means that when faced with conflict or opposition we decide to run, find a new ministry or simply quit.  Before I attempt to stand in judgement of this decision, I must admit that I have chosen this option more than once in my life.  Some of these were on the micro level and other examples of this in my life were on the macro level.  Sometimes people note that fleeing is the easiest option.  I would argue that fleeing isn't the easiest option.  Often fleeing causes disruptions in our families and can destroy reputations.

Second, we can decide that we will simply flow.  When we decide to flow we are saying that the health of the organization isn't that important to us.  Additionally, when we decide to flow we are determining that our ideas can't make the organization better.  We are also deciding that our ideas aren't worth communicating within a larger battlefield of ideas.  An organization should strive to accomplish its mission in hopes of fulfilling its vision.  When important individuals in an organization decide to flow the vision of the organization may be stalled because there is a lack of competing ideas.  Those competing ideas have the potential to make the organization more effective.

Third, we can fight.  Now, when we hear the word "fight" we assume we are talking about either full-scale military operations or a slug-fest in the street.  However, I think determining to fight is something radically different that those impressions.  When we determine to fight it means that we have determined that our ideas are worth considering.  Fighting also means that we believe that a profitable exchange of ideas and advancement for the organization can come from conflict.  Conflict is not always the end.  In fact, conflict can be a means to a more effective and efficient organization. 

There are situations when each of these directions are the right choice.  There are moments when we must elect to flow because the issues simply aren't worth a fight.  In other words, we must decide if every hill is a hill worth dying upon.  Additionally, there times when fleeing is the best and most appropriate option.  There are moments when we decide the casualties of conflict are too great to fight.

Regardless of which option we choose - the most important principle is that we glorify God in the selection and execution of an these options.

The Fallen

Memorial Day - 2013

Memorial Day for many is the inauguration of summer.  It normally assures us that school is finished for the year and summer is beginning.  It is marked by mattress sales, cookouts, and
parades.

But, Memorial Day has such a deeper meaning. Here you will find the history of Memorial Day-

http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp

History is about the legacy of heroic men and women that have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country.  As a former Army Chaplain I am extremely sensitive to this holiday.  I have performed military funerals, death notifications for those killed in Iraq and met with family members of a friendly fire incident.

This Memorial Day our nation may focus on those that have perished in recent conflicts, but the wounds are still raw for families that have lost loved ones in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

Our nation is grateful for those that have given all.  However, our gratitude will never fill the void for those family members that lost fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, daughters, and sons.  The country moves on past these deaths, but the families are haunted daily be these absences.

My desire isn't that you sit around in a somber trance this Memorial Day.  My desire is to remind you to never forget the sacrifice that has been paid.  Enjoy the day, spend time with family, but remember the express reason we have a holiday of this nature.

Here is a way you can honor the fallen.

http://iava.org/splash/

I will go silent for:
Peter Marshall
Steven Conover

Pushing Out Into the Deep and God's Provision

³ And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. ⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” Luke 5:3-5 (NASB)

Luke 5:4 has made a considerable impact in my spiritual life since sitting in Dr. Bill Cook's New Testament Survey class at The Baptist College of Florida.  The call to "put out into the deep" or "push out into the deep" was a call by Jesus to challenge the faith and understanding of his soon to be followers.  These men had been been fishing all night long.  These rugged fishermen would have fished at night, cleaned their nets and then rested during the day.  In other words, they worked the third shift.  Jesus calls them to let down their nets during the day to show them that he was sovereign over all things...even the fish of the sea.  He is preparing to show them they can succeed at fishing - even against their logic - because he is preparing to send them out to catch men, rather than fish.

But, this verse has always pushed me to live by faith in the deep waters.  I once preached a sermon on this passage.  The sermon was entitled, "Deep Water Evangelism."

To be honest with you, I haven't always lived in the deep waters of faith.  In fact, there have been moments of life when I didn't trust God's provision.

This passage should propel us towards living by faith.  God hasn't called us to wade in the shallow end.  God has called us to live by faith and trust his provisions.  Our Father will provide for our needs.  On that day, Jesus brought forth a harvest of fish from the deep waters.  I sense the rewards of spiritual fruit are in the deep waters.  Additionally, sometimes the mission that we are called to for God will involve things that seem illogical - like requesting these men to fish during the day.

I challenge you to live deep...push out from your comfort zone...understand that Christ hasn't called us to sit on the shoreline and serve in the shallow waters.  Go deep and relish the challenge of following God's call.

Love God, Love Your Neighbor, and Go "Push Out Into the Deep."