The Calm in the Midst of the Storm

I’ve been reading too much news. It seems like I can’t resist or escape paying attention to the economy these days, and every time I do it’s just depressing. To be honest, I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it this morning as I was researching what to write about for the blog. Every story is about the crash of credit or the election (in which, of course, each side is blaming the other for the crash). I imagine many of you are feeling the same way.

Thankfully, I was reminded by a small, still voice this morning that my faith is not in capitalism or politics. My faith is in the Lord. So instead of a nice rant bemoaning the greediness of our materialistic culture, I thought I would get out of the way and let the Word of God do the talking, specifically Matthew 6: 25-34:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I pray that the Lord will protect each of you today and give you His peace.

God's Financial Wisdom

Proverbs is one of my favorite books of the Bible, because I love to read it and see how God's wisdom stands the test of time. The book is several centuries old, and almost all of the advice remains as practical and relevant to our day as it did in Solomon's age.

Sadly, like most things in life, it often takes hardship and tragedy for us to realize that God knows what He is talking about. So when God says, “Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts,” in Proverbs 22:26, we all understand the wisdom of that today. But if you told that to someone 3 years ago, they would have laughed and said that God doesn’t understand the current market.

That’s one of the reasons Christian-owned financial firms are doing surprisingly well at the moment. With Wall Street suffering massive losses from the housing crisis, companies like the Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU), which provides banking for churches and ministries, are actually growing in the current conditions.

"We don't do residential mortgages or investment vehicles that have underlying mortgages," Mark Holbrook, president of ECCU, said in an article in Christianity Today. "The vast majority of churches and ministries are fundamentally sound."

Christian companies like this are seen as a safe place right now, and deposits at ECCU, which manages $3 billion in assets, are up 12 percent this year.

Sounds like they have a strong foundation to weather the current storm. Wait, does that sound familiar?

America: Not As Bad As We Think?

A recent survey by Baylor University shows that America might not be in as bad of a spiritual shape than is commonly perceived.

In the study, which was conducted by the Gallup Organization, the university’s Institute for Studies on Religion sought to look deeper at what Americans believe than a lot of the current polls and surveys do. Instead of just asking, “Do you believe in God?” Baylor’s study would also ask “What do you believe He is like?”

The results are, in some cases, surprising and encouraging. Here’s some common myths or assumptions the study refuted:

1. Megachurches are shallow and disconnected
The common thought about megachurches (at least among those who don’t attend them), is that they are more of a show than a church, a place where people show up for an hour and a half on Sunday mornings to hear a feel-good message and then leave, never making any relationships.

Baylor’s study showed that megachurch tend to show more commitment to their churches by attending more Bible studies, volunteer and outside activities, and tithing more regularly than do congregants at smaller churches. They also have similar views on theological issues, showing that they’re not as shallow as many might think.

2. Atheism is on the rise
Many have speculated that because of the popularity of books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, atheism is on the rise. Baylor’s study shows that the percentage of Americans who are atheists is holding steady at 4 percent. Also, among those who said they have “no religion,” two-thirds believe in a God, more than half pray, and one-third believe in heaven and hell.

3. Christians are fed up with the church and moving on
Many today are saying that Christians are growing dissatisfied with the church and moving on to religious activities not associated with congregations. While it is true that the number of people doing faith-based volunteer work, Bibles studies and prayer groups not associated with a church is large, Baylor’s study found that the vast majority of these people do not see these activities as a substitute for a church home and regularly attend services.

4. Americans no longer believe in hell
In the part of the survey most shocking to me, 73 percent of Americans believe that hell absolutely or probably exists, and a higher percentage believe in heaven. I thought the number would be much lower.

Of course, the results of a single survey are limited and open to interpretation. Just because a high percentage of Americans believe in a God doesn’t mean they have the joy of Christ in their lives. Still, I was encouraged by the results displayed here. It’s so hard to get a good, objective view of the state of Christianity when we see so much of the world through a secular media. But the numbers of people shown here who are dedicated to attending Bible studies, prayer groups and volunteer work shows the Christ still reigns in the hearts of many people across the U.S.

Christianity in the midst of disaster

Why is it that Christianity is at its best when life is at its worst? I’m sure God set it up that way for a reason. When things are down, that’s when we realize that we can’t rely on ourselves and we can’t control our lives, and it’s in those moments that God can really make an impression. He often does this by using His followers to show love to those who are hurting.

That’s true whether it’s a personal tragedy or a disaster that affects millions, as Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav have in the last few weeks, or as the Myanmar cyclone did earlier this summer (see our news piece on the continuing efforts of underground churches there in this issue). These moments are when we as the body of Christ are at our best; when we show our “true religion,” as James 1:27 calls it; and we devote our time and resources to show the love of Christ to others by caring and providing for them.

During these awful events, I love to read the media coverage because it’s one of the few times Christians get written about without any form of criticism or controversy. When we feed the hungry, provide shelter and equipment for the homeless and lend a helping hand or an ear to listen, we show the love of Jesus more than any words can, and no person—no matter how anti-Christian—can say anything bad about it.

Here are four ministries with outstanding reputations that are providing for those hurt by these disasters, both inside and outside the U.S. All of them are in huge need of funds, so I pray that you will give as the Lord leads you and show love as only the body of Christ can.

Convoy of Hope (Assemblies of God):
convoyofhope.org

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief:
namb.net

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:
billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=372

Samaritan’s Purse:
samaritanspurse.org

Living Like An Alien

The other day my wife and I were talking about all the churches we’ve known that have gone through major transitions or splits, and I realized that almost every one of the problems these churches faced relates back to the age-old conflict of how Christians handle being in the world but not of the world.

So many disagreements among believers come down to this issue. The Bible clearly tells us that as redeemed children of God, we will be different from the rest of humanity—“aliens and strangers in this world,” as 1 Peter 2:11 says. But the question of just how different we become is a gray area for Christians, and gives rise to many disagreements.

Look at church services. Obviously all churches want to draw people to Christ, but the varying answers to the question of how much we want our services to look like our culture has given rise to the huge variety you can now find on Sunday mornings, from extreme fundamentalist churches that resemble a foreign culture to extreme seeker-friendly churches that resemble self-help seminars.

Or take a look at raising children. Christians’ views on being an alien, as Peter describes, will affect what type of school they send their children to, what type of clothes they will allow them to wear, and at what age they will let them watch or listen to certain media. Even the media that we allow for ourselves as adults—whether TV, movies or books—comes down to our views on this issue.

Like a lot of things in our Christian walk, a certain balance is needed. We need to be in touch with our culture on some level to function in this life and to relate to our non-Christian friends. On the other hand, if we are not different at all from our neighbors, then why would anyone be attracted to the gospel? That balance is a tough one to find and will be different for every believer.

The key, I believe, is to show more grace and less legalism to those who deal with being an “alien” differently from the way you or I do. That’s a really hard thing because each of us holds our views and convictions for a reason. We believe the way we are doing it is the right way, especially when we believe the Holy Spirit has guided us to a particular decision. It’s OK to discuss these things and try to persuade others of our view as long as we can walk away from a disagreement as loving Christian brothers.

Of course, when dealing with these gray areas, it’s never that easy. We disagree on which of these “alien” areas are gray to begin with, and there’s always the influence of sin on our decisions. But I feel that a lot of Christian disunity could be dealt with better if we started our conversations in a tone of love and grace, rather than criticism and accusation.

Britain's Christian Reality Show

On the surface, the U.K.'s latest reality show, Make Me A Christian, sounds like it could be a good thing. Christian leaders take a bunch of unlikely candidates for conversion—such as a lesbian, a lap dancer, a militant atheist and a lapsed Christian—and attempt to bring them to the faith over a period of three weeks. The show's stated premise is to find out if Christianity can repair Britain's moral decline.

In a perfect world, that kind of show could expose the Christian faith to millions who don't know much about it and, at the very least, start many good conversations. But when I first heard about it, I didn't cheer, I cringed. That's because it seems like the media can never quite get Christianity right. I don't know if it's because we don't make for good TV ratings or because the liberal media is out to get us or what, but whenever there are Christians being portrayed on TV, it's rarely accurate and its rarely good.

That's the case in Britain, as well, because many believers are crying foul at the new reality show.

"The program says little about relationship and a great deal about regulation," Melvyn Cooke, minister of Gillingham Methodist Church, said in a Christianity Today article. "While there is a slim chance it may promote conversation, by and large my view is that it is damaging to the gospel."

Joanna Jepson, a chaplain that took part in the show, told the Daily Telegraph that the program was designed to make Christians look like they were imposing their standards on everyone else. "Christian behavior is only possible after a spiritual transformation," she said.

As cynical as I'd like to be about an evil TV agenda here, I suspect the answer is a little simpler. Christianity is almost impossible to understand unless you've experienced it. There's no way to understand what it feels like to have the Holy Spirit inside of you, guiding your life. Non-Christians often look to our external behaviors to explain us, and in doing so completely miss the point of the Christian life. I guess that's why the Bible tells us that we will be aliens in this world.

(Interesting side note: last Christmas the same British channel ran a show called Make Me A Muslim, and found similar complaints from Muslim groups who said the show focused too much on the rules and not enough on faith.)

Rick Warren’s Politics

Last week Time magazine put Rick Warren on its cover, calling him “unquestionably the U.S.’s most influential and highest-profile churchman.” If that’s true (and it almost surely is), then the face of American Christianity is changing, and I think for the better. Check out The Purpose-Driven Life author’s comments on politics from the article:

“I have never been considered a part of the religious right, because I don’t believe politics is the most effective way to change the world. Although public service can be a noble profession, and I believe it is our responsibility to vote, I don’t have much faith in government solutions, given the track record. It’s why I am a pastor, not a politician.”

The mainstream press tends to look at Christianity through a political viewpoint, which is why many of them have been saying during this election season that the evangelical movement is splitting, or (even more offensive to some of us) turning more “liberal.” And who could blame them, with books releasing such as Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw or A New Kind of Conservative by Joel Hunter?

But that’s not my read on the current situation. I think Warren spoke for many when he said that he doesn’t believe politics is the most effective way to change the world. These “New Evangelicals,” if you want to call them that, aren’t concerned with a move toward political liberalism; they’re concerned with a move away from the political sphere as a whole. They’re not as concerned about the issues we choose to defend as much as the way we defend them, because they don’t want Christianity’s public face to be a negative, condemning one that turns people off to Jesus’ good news (check out this issue’s cover story with Ken Wilson for a particularly articulate viewpoint on this).

A lot of people in this camp are young evangelicals like me who have grown up with horrendous reactions from our non-Christian friends when we tell them about our faith because the main things they know about Christians are what they are against. Though we are against things like abortion, homosexuality and other sins, we want them to also know what we’re for. Specifically, we are for them and the changing power that Christ can have on their lives.

I always thought that Billy Graham handled the political thing well. When he expressed his views on issues, he never compromised the truth, but at the same time he was primarily a loving, inviting figure. Here’s hoping Warren and other public Christian leaders can find that same balance.