I passed a Sonic the other day. I’ve passed Sonics lots of times. Sometimes I even stop and eat at them.

This one was different, though. It was attached to a gas station. And there were no drive-ins. No car hops. You had to park & go inside, or use the drive thru. My knee jerk reaction was, “That’s crazy! You can’t be a Sonic without a drive-in!!”

But then it hit me. Is Sonic’s purpose to be a drive-in or to sell hamburgers and onion rings? Obviously, it’s the latter. And drive-in service is only one method of achieving that purpose. The geniuses behind this particular location were able to adapt their methods to their circumstances without compromising their purpose.

What a lesson for those of us in church ministry. Don’t exalt the program over the purpose. The method over the message. The style over the substance.

Strong love, strange peace.

A liquidation sale came to town today. I’ve never been to a liquidation sale. I’ll probably never go to another one. But we were looking for something to do with our afternoon, and the prices on the commercial were too good to be true ( they were, everything was about twenty bucks higher than advertised).

Well we walked around and around until we made our way to the NAME BRAND SHOES, CRAZY LOW PRICES department. There my son found a pair of shoes he just had to have. They were thirty bucks. Not bad. So I bought them. I took them to the shoe cash register, and handed my debit card to a bald man with an impressive beard (I just shaved mine on Monday, so I was a bit envious).

Him: Did you have a good day at work today?

Me: Yes, thank you.

Him: Are you a banker?

Me: No, I’m a preacher.

Him: Oh, so you didn’t even work today!

Yeah he really said that! Then he began talking about a church down the road from his mosque. A mosque? says I. Are you a muslim? He assured me he was. Now I was at a crossroads. Do I say “that’s nice,” complete my transaction and leave, or do I try to witness to him? I flashed back to that scene in Hairspray where Tracy Turnblatt tells John Travolta, “Do it, Mom, or forever wish you had!”

So I asked him if anyone ever told him about Jesus Christ. So we began to have a very polite discussion about the gospel. Unfortunately, he was working, and customers kept coming and buying shoes from him. But we were both eager to continue the debate, so I gave him my number and email address.

I’ve never tried to share my faith with a muslim. Here are the main concerns he expressed to me.

He may have been a great prophet, but how can Jesus be a god?

What’s the deal with the virgin birth? If you say Jesus is a god with only one human parent, doesn’t that make Adam more of a god than Jesus?

The Koran tells us that God rescued Jesus from the cross, but he is coming back to save us. (That was a new on for me. I heard about their teaching that Jesus dodn’t die, but was unaware that they expected him to come back.)

I’d like to hear about your experience witnessing to muslims.

I almost split my church the other day, but not for the reason I might have suspected. We’re still studying the book of Mark in our Wednesday night Bible study, and we finally arrived at Mark chapter 13. I, of course, have been hesitant to discuss eschatology since coming to this church.

You see, I don’t subscribe to the popular view of the endtimes propogated through the Left Behind series. I realize however, that many people do, and to try to change their view can an exercise in futility. Needless to say, I try not to bring it up. However, when you’re committed to preach and teach through complete books of the Bible like I am, it is inevitable that you will come across a “controversial” topic, and you cannot just skip over it.

So in Mark 13, we have the Olivet discourse, and Jesus is answering (or not answering) His disciples’ questions about last things. I was careful to be diplomatic rather than dogmatic, stressing that this is an issue we can debate in house, with no need for division. Hank Haannegraff would be proud!

But when it was all over, they began to ask me specific questions about what I believed!

Do you believe in a future antichrist? What about the millenium? Are they gonna rebuild the temple? I humbly and honestly answered their questions. To my relief, nobody walked out! They agreed to disagree! Wow.

But, what really offended some folks happened earlier at the coffeemaker. We have a twelve cup pot. Our coffee scoop is two tablespoons. The industry standard for brewing coffee is 1 tablespoon of coffee per cup of water. Someone with little experience volunteered to make coffee for us. I instructed her to put six scoops in the filter (12 tbsp. for 12 cups).

Oh my! I might as well have denied the Virgin Birth! You should have seen all the dropped jaws. One person even walked out of the room! Several refused to drink the coffee after it had brewed.

But those who did, said it was the best they had ever tasted.

Ah, Lord, give them the same zeal for the Scriptures.

Strong love, strange peace.

I’ve been preaching through Ephesians on Sunday mornings, and I am finally to the Armor of God passage. Sunday, the message will focus on the Belt of Truth (“having girded your loins with truth,” Ephesians 6:14).

I’ve been cross-referencing what the Bible says about truth. Of course, we all know Jesus’ famous line, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

I found it very interesting that the very thing that makes us free is described by Paul as an instrument of bondage.

We had a visitor at church last Sunday. After the service he wanted to talk to me. He told me his grandmother was a member of our church, and her request is that when she dies, whoever is pastor of this church is to conduct her funeral, so for now, that would be me.

Well, I thought I should go meet her while she’s still alive, so I found out what nursing home she is at. I was told she is in her 90s and had just recently lost her sight. I expected to find a tiny frail woman curled up in her bed, bitter at her circumstances, saying Lord take me home already. I’ve seen a lot of those, including my grandmother.

Yesterday, I got to her room, and through the open door I could see the bed was empty. I knocked on the post, and was invited inside by the most chipper voice. Must be a nurse, I thought. I slowly walked in and peered around the corner and found myself face to face with happiness. The woman was sitting in a wheelchair, but she had the most extraordinary posture. Everything about her smiled, from her mouth to her voice to her sightless eyes.

She didn’t talk about death once while I was there. Instead she talked about life. She told me her story so plainly I felt I was there. I love it when I go to give a blessing and receive one in return.

I’m in Philippians in my daily readings and I shared with her chapter 2, verses 13 and 14. “It is God who is at work in you. . . do all things without grumbling.”

I’m surprised she didn’t tell me, “Duh!”

Strong love, strange peace.

I did my first funeral today. He was a member of my church. If I had to pick who I thought I would bury first as a pastor, it certainly wouldn’t be this gentleman. He just collapsed at his home on Monday after an ordinary day of running errands and doing chores. I arrived at the hospital the same time as the family, and before I made it inside, they had pronounced him dead.

Two images have not left from that evening: his widow hugging his lifeless body, and his granddaughter carrying pawpaw’s shoes.

The funeral service went well, I believe. Their former pastor gave the message. Initially, for like two seconds, I was disappointed they didn’t ask me to do it, but considering the history between them, it was very appropriate for him to preach this funeral. I read the scripture, and gave the story of the man’s life, based on my interviews with the family, and did the committal at the graveside.

He was a retired fire captain, so the processional was just plain neat. Firemen served as pallbearers. We followed a firetruck to the cemetery. At certain intersections there were firetrucks parked with saluting firemen. Our route took us past the firestation where there was a firetruck with a fire suit hanging from the open driver’s door and gear sitting on the ground below.

At the graveside they presented the flag to his widow. Then they announced a last call for this man over a fireman’s walkie talkie. The dispatcher called his name and gave the date and time. I had held it together very well up to that point, but then my lip started quivering and my eyes started watering. Very sad.

When situations like this come up for the first time, my mind starts racing. What should I do? What did they teach me? But the most important thing was to just be available. Be there but not intrusive. I grieved with them and I let them grieve. I talked, but I mostly listened.

Funerals, as depressing as they are, have a way of bringing out the best in people. There were member’s of this man’s family that never said a word to me since I moved to town, but for the moment we are best friends. That will pass in time, but I think there will always be a connection, a respect, a kinship, that will last forever because of this experience.

Strong love, strange peace.

I watched Charlie Gibson interview Sarah Palin this evening on ABC News. I must say that Mr. Gibson came off as a disappointed father whose daughter just told him she was pregnant.

I wasn’t terribly disappointed in her answers. I think her lack of experience betrays her in the category of “not answering the question.” More seasoned politicians are better able to “not answer” questions and leave us thinking they had answered them. Unfortunately, it was all too obvious in her case.

Here’s an example:

GIBSON: When I asked John McCain about your national security credentials, he cited the fact that you have commanded the Alaskan National Guard and that Alaska is close to Russia. Are those sufficient credentials?

PALIN: Let me [avoid the question and]speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that’s with the energy independence that I’ve been working on.

GIBSON: [Refusing to let her off the hook] I know. I’m just saying that national security is a whole lot more than energy.

What interested me was her remark about Israel:

GIBSON: What if Israel decided it felt threatened and needed to take out the Iranian nuclear facilities?

PALIN: Well, first, we are friends with Israel and I don’t think that we should second guess the measures that Israel has to take to defend themselves and for their security.

GIBSON: So if we wouldn’t second guess it and they decided they needed to do it because Iran was an existential threat, we would cooperative or agree with that.

PALIN: I don’t think we can second guess what Israel has to do to secure its nation.

GIBSON: So if it felt necessary, if it felt the need to defend itself by taking out Iranian nuclear facilities, that would be all right.

PALIN: We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to defend itself.

Can’t we?  I think I see where she’s coming from. I, too, once felt that we should stay out of Israel’s way. They’re God’s chosen people, leave ‘em alone, or we’ll face God’s wrath. Not anymore. I don’t think they deserve a free pass, any more than Christians deserve a free pass.

First, I am not attempting to answer Mr. Gibson’s question. I just want to comment on the philosophy that says we can’t second guess God’s chosen people. Israel may be God’s chosen people, but they are not inerrant. Additionally I should say that true Israel are those that have faith in Jesus.

As a preacher and Bible teacher, I make a living off second-guessing Israel. The Old Testament and New Testament are full of Israel’s bad decisions, and every Sunday, I have the responsibility of showing people how to make better choices.

I’m in favor of protection and self-defense, but my opinion is that if Israel is about to make an unwise decision, a wise President and/or Vice President would be obligated to second-guess them.

Strong love, strange peace.

Are Hal Lindsey & Tim LaHaye the Beast & False Prophet? I suppose not, but I’ve got a question for you. If a Christian doesn’t believe in a pretribulational rapture, and it happens, will he get raptured anyway? Just wondering.

I met a man again today, for the first time. I say that because he is not unique. People like this are everywhere I turn. He has some vague sense that he is Christian. He doesn’t go to church. He doesn’t read his Bible regularly. But he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are living in the last days, because everyone else is so gulldern wicked. Here’s my take on people like this:

1. They get their theology from sensationalist authors like Lindsey and LaHaye and Chick Tracts, cable mockumentaries like the Bible Code, idle babbling from a Pentecostal grandma, or TBN; never from actually reading their Bibles.
2. They do not take up their cross and follow Jesus.
3. They are watching for a sign so they know when to get on the bandwagon.
4. They want a gold one, that’s silver lined.

Boys and girls, if you wait for a sign, you’re gonna miss Him. Jesus can return at any moment. WITHOUT WARNING.

Yet you keep watching for the BIG SIGN, whether it was Y2K, 9/11, or NKOTB reuniting. In the meantime you live your way, comfortable with the idea you can change just before the last trumpet blows.

I never thought “Left Behind” eschatology was good evangelism. You scare people into going to church in hopes of getting raptured and avoiding the tribulation. But as time goes on and they don’t “fly away,” they begin to feel bamboozled.

Don’t get me wrong. We are closer to the end time than we’ve ever been. Yet Jesus’ return was no less imminent in Paul’s and Peter’s day. Their teaching still stands today.

The day of the Lord will come like a thief.

Live in holiness and godliness.

Be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

(2 Peter 3:10-14)

Go to church.

Strong love, strange peace.

I received an invitation to the pastor’s association lunch, and with a little reluctance, I went today. There were nine pastors in attendance, including myself. They were:

The host, a female Episcopalian

A female Methodist

A Catholic priest

A Christian Church/Disciples of Christ

A Baptist

Another (male) Methodist

An Assembly of God

Me, a Free Will Baptist

and… wait for it…

The guy who sent out the sleeping Jesus postcard!!

He’s a pretty nice guy, actually. He’s a prison chaplain, and he may have an opportunity for our church to get involved as well. I mean what I said before, I wish him success.

I asked him about the postcard. He admitted he did not know what the magazine on Jesus’ lap was. I told him it was the Village Voice. He said, “What’s that?” When I told him, he said “Whoops.”

As far as the pastors association (or “alliance” as some insist on calling it), the jury is still out. I want to beware of getting entangled in any theologically liberal agenda, but today I came away with some much needed information on various helps ministries in the city. I do like the idea of churches working together to promote these causes. There is a central location that provides food, clothing, and utilities help for residents; there is a women’s job corps that teaches job skills; and there is a good Samaritan health clinic for people without insurance in the works. All this because Christian congregations come together and pool their resources. So, I’ll stick with it for now to see what good our church can do. Besides, the food was good!

Strong love, strange peace.

I received this postcard in the mail last week, from another local church. I basically agree with the headline. Although I can think of worse things, boring church services are hard to endure. But is this a picture of a boring church service?

We’re expected to come to that conclusion for sure. The hardwood pews. The bare floor. The dark walls. The outdated clothing and hairstyles. Let’s see, what else? Oh, look! Even Jesus cannot stay awake. And look what he’s reading!

That’s right, the Village Voice! Say, he must have found that gay pride magazine a lot more interesting than what the man at the podium was talking about.

But what is really happening? I don’t think this is a staged photo (I think Jesus was photoshopped into it), so consider the context. Do the people look bored? No, they are participating. If those are hymnbooks, they seem to be following the song leader’s direction. If those are Bibles, they are attentively referencing the passage being preached. Good for them! Hopefully they will make good application and live a purpose driven life the rest of the week!

No, this is not a boring church service, but unfortunately many church plants try to convince you that their church is somehow better than the one you attend or remember attending. How is it better? Two words: praise band. Praise bands are nice, but must they be the lure? What happens when the music stops? Your postcard has already conditioned me to think that sitting there listening to you preach is boring.

I wish all Bible believing church plants success, even the one who sent me the postcard. I say that because their website promises to preach Christ. I hope that’s true. We need them. The people need them. But churches are not to compete for business as if we were Wal-mart and Kmart, and they shouldn’t steal sheep. I interviewed for a pastor’s position once and could tell immediately that the members viewed all the other local churches as competition. I told them that was ridiculous and went home. Our job is not to outdo one another in the coolness department. Nor are we to reject relevance outright. Our job is to reach and teach people for Jesus, or make disciples.

The question is not whether Jesus can stay awake in your church, but whether He would even come inside.

Preach the Word.

Strong love, strange peace.