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Pastors, preachers, parents, and others with a heart to share the truth of God with others share a common frustration: sometimes, those to whom they speak will not listen. Parents warn their children endlessly of the dangers of living godless lives and warmly communicate the love that God has for them, and the children seem to have no comprehension. Preachers plead with wayward sheep regarding the greatness of God and the love he has for his people, but they do not change their ways.

Often we then get angry, as if our anger, and even our shouting will get our message across more successfully.

But what if those who do not listen to us do not do so because they are not able to do so? Their not listening is not necessarily due to their intransigence or their wickedness. It may be that their bondage, their pain, and their sorrow is deadening their ears.

Moses in coming to the people of Israel, brings them a great message of hope and deliverance and of the favor of God. One would think they would be eager to listen. But they do not. They reject Moses’ message and they reject Moses himself.

Why? Because in a very real sense, they could not hear him. We read in Exodus 6, “Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”

I wonder how often those who don’t listen to me can’t because of a broken spirit. Shouting will not make my message any clearer. Neither will storming off in a fit of temper. All I can do is ask God to give them ears to hear through their brokenness.

Yesterday at Hope we had the great privilege of hosting Bill Mills of Leadership Resources International for a one day conference on the love and care of God

for us as his amazingly adopted children. What wonderful truths were drawn from the scriptures during our time together. The great thing is that what Bill brought us was nothing new. There was nothing new to tickle our fancies, nothing novel to make us proud of our distinctives.

Rather, Bill simply opened to us in a fresh way the awe inspiring love of God revealed from one end of the Scripture to the other. These are truths we know and truths we celebrate and truths we forget when real life slaps us in the face.

Bill was opening to us, in short, the gospel, a gospel I need to hear and hear and hear and hear. I thank God for enabling us to hear it again from this gifted servant of his.

When I write, I hate to have my writing cut. I have written for editors, and rarely am I pleased with their ‘improvements’ to my work.

But as a reader, I bless them mightily.

I have spent all morning reading a recommended book. I won’t mention the name, because the book only becomes useful at about page 109. I believe that if an editor had sent the book back to the authors and said, “I want you to reduce the first 110 pages to 20 pages, it could have been done. It not only would have made the book better, but it would have saved ME valuable time.

That, I see, is the real blessing of the editor. He saves my time by helping authors say what they need to say and then get out of the way.

God bless editors.

Even those who mess with MY stuff.

Hope Presbyterian’s Associate Pastor Geoff Henderson has a good post on his blog relating to our upcoming series on race. Read it here.

The paper to which he refers is available here. It is a gracious and helpful document.

Our contention, as Geoff mentions, is that try as we might, none of us has been able to eradicate our personal racial attitudes. We are encouraging a process of self discovery and repentance.

We’d be interested in your stories of how God has awakened you to your own racial prejudices. Anyone care to share?

Back in July, I mentioned the intention of several of us in the church to sponsor a series of luncheons on the subject of race. I won’t burden you with repeat content. Rather, I’d like to bring you up to date on how this is coming together. We are growing increasingly more excited about what is planned.

First, the dates have been changed. We will sponsor four luncheons on four successive Thursdays. The first will be held on October 25 and the last on November 15. This gives us a wee bit more time to plan, and it backs our last meeting up against Thanksgiving. This is good because Hope Church and St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church have started a tradition of having a joint service on Thanksgiving day. We look forward to inviting all of those who come to the luncheons to attend the Thanksgiving service.

Secondly, we have narrowed the topic and sketched the basic content. Racism is a broad topic. However, we intend to discuss the racial attitudes and prejudices which prevail even among those who consider themselves ‘enlightened’. None of us would believe ourselves to be racially prejudiced. And yet at some level none of us are pure. We are thrilled by the participation of Pastor James Roberts and a young man in his church, Minister Leverna Williams. Not only are we learning from these men, but we are becoming friends as well.

Pastor James will take the first session, seeking to awaken us all to the negative racial bias in our own hearts. The second I will present and will consist of a sketch of the insights the Christian worldview brings to the subject. The third session will be lead by Pastor Geoff and Minister Williams and will deal with practical steps one might take to begin to lessen the degree of racial prejudice in his heart. And the final session will be a series of short testimonies outlining how some people have been enabled by God to deal with their racial attitudes. This session will again be lead by Pastor James.

To all of you who suggested material, thank you so much. It is far more than I can digest in time for this event, but your suggestions will not ‘go to waste’.

Please keep this event in your prayers. We do believe God is in it. We hope to have some promo material ready by the end of next week. However, the promotional material, if past experience is any indicator, is only as good as the personal invitation that accompanies. People who come will be those who are invited. If you are local, prayerfully consider whom you might invite, and then do so!

BTW, although details have yet to be worked out, the cost for the luncheons will be ~$10/participant.

“It is my aim and hearty desire that my furnace, which is of the Lord’s kindling, may sparkle fire upon the standers-by, to the warming of their hearts with God’s love.”

— Samuel Rutherford

Below is the text for this Saturday’s article in the Bradenton Herald. Apart from the headlines, they are pretty good at keeping our comments intact. But some of you do not have access to this newspaper, so I am posting the article here. I hope all you hockey fans can forgive me…

———-

When there is a fight, people gather. I don’t know why. It’s just a fact of life. It’s why hockey is so popular.

There is a fight that has caught my attention.

In one corner is Michael Gerson, evangelical Christian, Wheaton College grad, former ghost writer for Chuck Colson, and until very recently a senior speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

In the other corner is Matthew Scully, author, and longtime colleague of Gerson in the Bush speechwriting office.
Until I came upon this fight, I’d never heard of either man.

At our first notice of the scuffle, Scully is pounding Gerson senseless. In an article in the Atlantic, Scully pounds Gerson with both fists (and possibly with a kick or two). He accuses Gerson of being exceedingly proud and self-promoting, manipulating affairs to look as if all the great speeches were the product of his own brilliance. What an arrogant glory seeker he seems. We shake our heads in disgust. And he calls himself a Christian, too. What a shame.

But what’s this? Some heavyweights are jumping into the ring. It is becoming a free-for-all. What fun!

Columnist Cal Thomas begins to strike back at Scully. “[This] is not the Mike Gerson I know,” he defiantly asserts. Peter Wehner, who worked with both in the Bush White House, joins in: “I believe Scully’s piece is deeply unfair to Mike and is itself misleading.” He dares to bring facts into the ring. Scully reels.

Timothy Noah, senior writer of Slate, puzzled by the accusation, notes that “…the Atlantic reader sees flashes here and there of an unreliable narrator” And “I have a [hard] time taking seriously [Scully’s] hatchet job on Gerson.”
The tide turns.

Scully is taking a beating. Will he fire off a counter-volley of furious punches? When the bell rings, will Gerson be confirmed as the pious hypocrite? Will Scully lie bleeding on the mat, exposed as an envy driven serpent? We grab our popcorn and wait for round two.

In the meantime, we can learn much for our own fights.

1) Don’t believe everything you read/hear.
Whether it is about prominent news people, outrageous celebrities, or your neighbor next door. Whether it is published in a major media outlet or whispered from one pew to the next, be skeptical of what you read or hear. There is always another side to every story.

2) Be courageous enough to confront those who offend you.
Since, apparently, Scully never spoke to Gerson in a friendly gesture of concern for the behavior he attributes to him, Gerson never had a chance to either defend himself, repent of his wrong, or attempt to change.

We have untrustworthy hearts. We too easily believe wrong of others. We must have the courage to go to them and give them the chance to respond to our concerns. To avoid this is cowardly.

3) Be humble enough to refrain from comment.
When tempted to say something negative about another, don’t. And if it must be said, be certain that you have the facts.
We may not have the public platform of a Matthew Scully on which to air our gripes about others, but we can do just as much damage with our gossip, our unfounded accusations, and our careless words.

We love to watch a fight. That’s why we go to hockey games. But let’s leave them there. Rather, let’s deal with conflict in a fair and biblical way, and stay out of the ring (or off the rink).

I have always maintained that theology, as it is the study of God, of his person and his ways, should never be dry or impractical. Too often, however, it is.

A glowing exception to this is Donald Macleod’s book The Person of Christ. This book, though academic in nature, cannot help but be devotional throughout because the subject matter draws out the author’s own devotion and wonder.

Here are a couple of quotes from a scholar who sees scholarship as a guide leading us to worship.

“For the Son of God, the incarnation meant a whole new set of relationships: with his father and mother; with his brothers and sisters; with his disciples; with the scribes, the Pharisees and Sadducees; with Roman soldiers and with lepers and prostitutes. It was within these relationships that he lived his incarnate life, experiencing pain, poverty and temptation; witnessing squalor and brutality; hearing obscenities and profanities and the hopeless cry of the oppressed. He lived not in sublime detachment or in ascetic isolation, but ‘with us’, as ‘the fellowman of all men’, crowded, busy, harassed, stressed and molested. No large estate gave him space, no financial capital guaranteed his daily bread, no personal staff protected him from interruptions and no power or influence protected him from injustice. He saved us from alongside us.” (page 180)

“The giving of the son is seen as the outstanding proof of the love of the Father. There was a unique bond between the Father and the Son, arising from the fact that th Son was uniquely lovable and the Father was uniquely affectionate. God could not have made a greater sacrifice. His love is astonishing precisely because at this point he put the world before his Son. The statement, ‘God gave the world for his Son’ would evoke no wonder. The statement, ‘God gave his Son for the world’ borders on the incredible. Conversely, the Son could not have suffered a greater loss. To have ‘lost’ the Father, as he did in the dereliction (Mark 15.34), was the greatest of all possible pains.” (page 73)

In Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1939, an isolated farmer and his son travel four miles to visit their nearest neighbors, a carousing, irreverent bunch. As they sit down to dinner, the hosts determine that since they have company, they should ask a blessing. Reluctantly, the host father at the table prays:

“Oh Lord, once more Thou hast done see fit to bless our sinnin’ souls and bellies with good rations. Amen.”

Could have been worse (see Talledega Nights). It’s not prayer-book quality, but I like it.

I was asked yesterday, “How did the retreat with the elders go?” A good question, and since I asked for prayer here it is only appropriate that I give a brief report here. The shortest answer is that the time went very well. I never like to do things like this out of my routine. However, this was certainly worth it. Some highlights:

1) Prayer. Friday night was given over to worship and prayer. Geoff led us in a time of Scripture and song after which each elder shared some realities in his own life and then each of us prayed for the elder who had shared. This was a very special time. We were made to realize once again how really human we each are and yet how each of us craves godliness. The end of our time on Saturday was also devoted to prayer as we spent an extended period praying for each of the members of the church by name.

2) Fellowship. After the heaviness of the prayer time, we lightened up by playing a game called Whoonu. Laughs are good for guys who often have to struggle with weighty things and even differences of opinion.

3) Reflection. All Saturday morning, Geoff led us in reflecting on the overall ministry of the church, particularly the way people come to us and the way in which we either are or are not successful in aiding their discipleship. This has us all thinking about how we might better structure ministry to further the tasks God has given us. We have a lot more thinking to do!

4) Food. Dayspring Episcopal Conference center is a gem. It is a first class facility only minutes from Hope Church. It is well designed and beautiful. But their greatest asset is their kitchen. I guarantee you I ate too much.

Our prayers for some time regarding the leadership of Hope Church has been for unity. We are individuals each with strong opinions and strong wills. Only God can mesh us into a unit pulling in the same direction. Weekends like these further our unity, and for that I am grateful to God.