Category: Wisdom

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Church Leadership Journal Joy Notes Meditations Wisdom

Easter Service at Copper Hill Church

Contagious Victory
Jesus' Victory is Contagious in our lives.

Jesus’ Victory is Contagious was the theme

Watch the service

I was privileged to be asked along with my wife to speak at and lead the Easter celebration at Copper Hill church this past Sunday. Pulpit supply there has been week-to-week lately and it was great joy when supervising pastor Rev. Gene Ott called and asked if I would return for the first time since I retired to lead on Easter. So I am including a link to the service above.

By special permission, JoAnne gathered a choir and arranged an Easter hymn titled, “That Easter Day” for us. It was a compilation of familiar hymn melodies with less familiar but beautiful Easter hymn words. JoAnne brought her harp and played “Rejoice, the Lord is King” and also brought the idle church keyboard back to life. Her piano students, Morgan and Malia Gabbidon, treated us to an inspiring piano duet of “Come Thou Almighty King.”

My message for the day titled “Contagious Victory” reminded us that God has blessed us to be able as Christians to appropriate Jesus’ victory to our own lives. Because he was victorious, we can in his strength overcome the challenges that we face as well. My text was,

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:37 NIV

The cross of Jesus appeared to be the victory of hate and envy.  But in the light of Easter, it became evident that on the cross, God’s Love had spoken an unconquerable word of loving forgiveness which would echo around the world and down through the ages.  The word “love” itself has been forever redefined by Jesus’ giving of himself.  The very concept of servant-leadership was created and exemplified in Jesus.   The love of Jesus continues to be contagious and to speak a better word as it is spread around the world through disciples like you and me!

Jesus’ great Easter Victory is the victory of wholeness over brokenness and of righteousness over sin in our daily lives.  I observed that victory in Jesus is really a very practical thing.  As early as the writings of Moses, the Bible encourages us to follow God’s ways, “that it may go well” with us.  That connection is found seven times in Deuteronomy (Deut. 4:40; 5:16; 6:3; 6:18; 12:25; 19:13; 22:7; Jer. 7:23; Eph. 6:3).  Walking in Jesus’ ways, listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we choose our daily lifestyle, leads to a different way of living. We still have troubles, we still make mistakes, but even in them, we make better choices because those choices are influenced by Holy Scripture and its values.   The fact is that God’s ways are more wholesome ways that generally lead to life and health.  The long-term salutary effects of our Christian walk are then one very important way that we become more than conquerors through him who loved us. And… the victory that Jesus won becomes contagious in our lives.

Jesus’ victory over death is contagious for us as well. When we stand by the casket of our loved ones, it seems like death has won again.  But the eyes of faith see differently.  The Bible says that Christians do not grieve as others do (1 Thess. 4:13). Why?  Because they can see a glimpse of the possibilities introduced by Jesus’ Day of Resurrection! 

It is written: “I believed; therefore, I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.

2 Corinthians 4:13-14 NIV

The joyful conclusion is that because the resurrection power of Easter morning is also at work in us (Ephesians 1:19,20), Jesus can turn the brokenness of our lives into a fountain of grace! His victory is indeed contagious!

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

How to Choose a President

Good Character Tag field
Good Character is leadership qualifier number one

Good Character is Key

With the first Republican candidate debate, the issues of presidential election politics became more pressing. Debate number two will intensify the voters’ dilemma. I know I am not alone when I say that I can hardly bring myself to properly prepare as a citizen because of the contentious and disappointing nature of politics in recent years. Yet, I need to. As I contemplate another election season, the question for me and I think for every voter is simple on the surface. “Who is the best candidate?” But in this era of misinformation and constant spin on everything, making that judgement seems anything but simple!

Media-managed selection of candidates can be alluring and deceiving.

As voters, we need some criteria to help us look past the parroted talking points, the inevitable mudslinging and the constant real-issue avoidance. However, I am very afraid that most voters judge far too shallowly. Camera image, bravado, self-assertion, and smooth talk by picture-ready candidates impress people far more than genuine credentials and honest communication. As constant consumers of media, we are so used to judging actors on their acting, it doesn’t seem to occur to us to ask whether the candidate is genuinely portraying him/herself in front of that camera. Hence TV and media personalities can get elected based on an impressive media persona which may be quite different from who they really are. And we have had a constant parade of such legislators who were quickly revealed to have no integrity and be quite undeserving of their office.

The real threat comes from bad character.

What we all need to remember is that citizens are not protected simply by having many police on the beat or strong armies and navies, but rather by the good moral character of their neighbors and the leaders who are over them all! Bad neighbors and bad leaders both make citizens afraid! John Maxwell, the expert on leadership today, teaches that the number one can’t-do-without characteristic of leaders is good moral character.

“Character makes trust possible and trust is the foundation of leadership.”

John C. Maxwell 1

How can we recognize good character in political leaders?

Drawing on biblical wisdom, we can flesh this out with particulars. For example, especially disqualifying characteristics include greed, 2 lawlessness,3 arrogance,4 and lack of compassion for the oppressed.5 All these traits show self-centeredness and predict a decrease in genuine concern for ordinary citizens. They also greatly increase the likelihood of misuse of power.

Chief among favorable characteristics is a demonstrated fear of God.6 The person with this honorable trait believes they are accountable to God and therefore they desire to give a good accounting of their deeds when their own Day7 arrives. The person who fears God is in the process of learning how to live according to the teachings of God. For Christians, instructions of Jesus, such as “Love one another,”8 and “Do to others as you would have them do to you,”9 are in their mind. Such a one is more likely to value personal integrity too. They will likely develop a consistent reputation for value-driven and principle-driven decisions. These traits increase the likelihood that the leader will be genuinely considerate of citizens and benevolent in the use of power.

This is only the beginning

Certainly there are other important considerations in the presidential race. For example, the person chosen must be electable, not just by the party faithful, but by the country as a whole. I’m interested in how the person polls beyond the party faithful? And a candidate for presidential leadership must have the ability to draw and hold talented and wise helpers and advisors. How are they handling their campaign team, for example, because leading leaders is the stuff of presidential life.

Yet, despite all these complexities, good character remains the bottom line.

So I consider it my first job as a voter to try to learn about the character of the candidates. I am interested in their positions on issues too, of course. But character is first! When I read or watch news, when I view a debate, the most important information that I am seeking concerns the character of the candidates. Character is key to everything!

  1. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, p. 9, Thomas Nelson Inc. 2012 ↩︎
  2. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” 1 Timothy 6:10 ↩︎
  3. “When the wicked thrive, so does sin.” Prov. 29:16 ↩︎
  4. The biblical Psalmist describes the wicked this way. “They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.” Psalm 73:8 ↩︎
  5. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” Prov. 29:7 ↩︎
  6. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 110:10
    “Through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.” Prov. 16:6 ↩︎
  7. “”Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Rom. 14:12 ↩︎
  8. John 13:34 ↩︎
  9. Luke 6:31 ↩︎
Categories
Journal Meditations Wisdom

Why go to Church

Church sanctuary interior
Church sanctuary interior

Thought for a Sunday

People-watching statisticians are telling us that more people are choosing to do other things on Sunday morning besides go to church. There are lots of choices from a trip to the beach to the ever-expanding Sunday sports schedule. But even among those who still prioritize a worship experience on the weekend, many are choosing online options for worship. Recently I attended a local church that listed the attendance for the previous week both in-person and online. Online attendance was a full third of in-person attendance. Of course, the availability of online worship is a huge help to many who could not otherwise attend for a variety of reasons. Yet I found when I was on vacation myself that tuning in could also be a choice of ease rather than necessity. Hmm.

All this requires us to ask ourselves again why we attend service at church in the first place. This morning before church, I was reading in the book of Haggai, a short Old Testament book recording the words of a prophet who spoke to people who were trying to get along without rebuilding their Jewish Temple. The folks in his audience had returned to Israel from exile and were building their own houses with great success (Haggai 1:4). Yet they had put forth no effort to rebuild the house of God. However, rebuilding the temple was the very reason they had been allowed to return from exile (2 Chron. 36:23). During his conversation, Haggai gives us some great reasons to worship God in-person at the local house of God whenever we can. The verse that instructed me was this one.

Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

Haggai 1:8

I was reminded that we are always thinking from our perspective, how we like it, how the service impresses us. But God takes pleasure in his house and by implication in the worship that happens there. God reminded the people that one purpose for them being in the temple was to honor Him. I remember a friend in Kirkville who was playing golf one Sunday morning. He later testified at church that it was as if God spoke to him saying that God would be honored best by my friend’s presence in worship at church. From then on he determined to be at church on Sunday morning to honor God. It’s not about our pleasure in the singing though we do enjoy it. It’s not primarily about us feeling inspired though we do. Rather, it is about giving honor to God by our presence and participation in worship.

That is a perspective we need to meditate upon and take to heart!

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Americana Journal Wisdom

Why have a 4th of July church service?

Fourth of July
I am inspired by a traditional Fourth of July worship service

Celebrating the Fourth of July in the traditional way with patriotic hymns and maybe even the Pledge of Allegiance might raise questions these days. Is it too secular? Maybe even partisan? Or just distracting?

I have always felt very positive about a traditional Fourth of July service. I even find them inspiring.

  • First, a Fourth of July emphasis keeps the Sunday service relevant on a holiday weekend in the same way that we make services relevant for other national holidays such as Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day, and Thanksgiving Sunday.
  • A song such as “America” which I nearly always choose is itself a prayer and very appropriate for a church service.
  • The Pledge Allegiance to the American Flag seems really to be an affirmation that we will do what we are commanded to do in 1 Peter 2:13, to submit ourselves to the human authority which is over us.
  • The phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance reminds us that our first allegiance is to God. When I use the Pledge to the American Flag in a service, I also use the Pledge to the Christian Flag. And I do the latter one first, noting that our first allegiance is to Jesus.
  • A Fourth of July service with patriotic overtones pays tribute to the Christian heritage of our country’s beginnings. Connecticut was founded by the Congregationalists from Massachusetts and had an established church until about 1818. We don’t wish to return to that but we do want to remember their legacy. In 1892 the Supreme Court declared, “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind.  It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian” (Church of the Holy Trinity V. Unites States). So, there is a close interrelationship between the values espoused in our country’s great documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Christian faith that partially inspired them. A Fourth of July service reminds me of this linkage.
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Journal Wisdom

Living Together is Unwise

Couple moving in
Marriage is wiser than living together.

A Wise Article

When my daughter was of age, I advised her bluntly; “Men want sex, companionship and help at home and in that order. If you give them all three and don’t get a wedding ring in return you are being foolish.” While I believe choosing marriage over living together is also the right moral choice, the reasons for such a decision are plentiful simply from a practical viewpoint. That is the key idea in this thoughtful and well-reasoned article affirming the wisdom of choosing marriage over living together.

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Journal Joy Notes Meditations Wisdom

Wisdom is needed

A key verse

Wisdom is a key theme for my blog. I found this verse during one of my recent devotional times. It is a reminder of how important wisdom is to all our projects, both short-term and long term, both physical and interactive. Success in building for the future requires wisdom today.

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Church Leadership Journal Joy Notes Who Am I Wisdom

The Privilege of Mentoring

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Do we desire wholeness or just what we currently want?

That is a crucial spiritual question in our everyday struggle with temptation of all kinds. Will we take the long view of what leads to long term wholeness for ourselves and those close to us according to the gathered wisdom of our human race or will we choose what we currently crave? It is also a question that is at the heart of current medical and political debates about issues such as transgender surgeries. Should counselors, doctors, psychologists, pastors, etc just serve as hired or volunteer facilitators to help a person get what they currently want, or should they serve the acquired wisdom of humankind in promoting healing and wholeness, personal growth and maturity? This article focuses on that choice as it applies to the issue of gender reassignment surgeries. The article by Ryan T. Anderson is enlightening and gives valuable perspective for this debate. The question raised by this article is much broader than transgender issues. But as regards gender dysphoria, the standpoint of health and wholeness makes a much better starting point for the discussion of transgender than do moral codes. Ethics then enters into the picture as wholeness is defined as a moral good.

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Journal Wisdom

Alcohol abuse increasing

Alcohol abuse is a problem no one wants to talk about. But it is an increasing problem in the US. And more and younger people are losing their lives because of it as this recent news article in USA Today reports. While the Bible does not prohibit alcohol use, there are several warnings about it. For example, Solomon wrote, “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise”(Prov 20:1 NIV). Today the church can encourage those who are trapped by addiction by offering space for AA, by sponsoring Celebrate Recovery Groups, and through pastoral counsel. We can also help by countering the popular narrative that alcohol is needed for a good time. And we can help provide hope for those who are discouraged and, seemingly lacking options, often turn to alcohol to cope.

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Journal News Commentary Wisdom

New study links childhood religious practice with key health advantages in young adulthood

Learning faith in childhood is beneficial to young adult well-being

Here is something that common sense has always suspected. Applied religious faith makes a practical difference in the wholeness of people. Now we can say that the sociologists have confirmed it. A new study has shown statistically that religious practice by kids in childhood and teen years results in better well-being as young adults in crucial areas. Here are the links to both the news article reporting on the study and to the study itself. Among the list of positive effects carrying over into young adulthood are increased reported happiness, decreased drug use, and much less sexually transmitted disease.

If we needed it, it should be just one more reason to take the Bible seriously. And it certainly is an encouragement to parents that practicing faith as a family has a salutary effect on children in so many ways. Remember King David said;
Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. (Psalm 1:1, 3 NIV)

Jesus said;
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matt 7:24-25 NIV