An Open Door Blog

The Sermon on the Mount: Radical Honesty

2008-08-11T18:25:00.002-05:00

One Sunday morning years ago, I had a startling realization just before I got up to preach. I remembered that, earlier that week, I had gone to a restaurant in our small town, had eaten my meal, and only then had realized that I didn't have any money. The owner, who knew me well, had told me to bring back the money when I had time. I had left the restaurant and promptly forgotten all about it...until now. During the worship service. Just minutes before I was to preach a sermon on....wait for it...integrity. (Quick aside--Assuming it was the Holy Spirit who reminded me of my slip in integrity, couldn't He have done it at a more convenient time? Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?)

In the sermon, I confessed my sin to my church members. I asked them to hold me accountable; as soon as church was over, I needed to head to that restaurant and pay my debt. And I did just that. Then I heard an unusual sound: applause. I turned around and found that at least a dozen of my church members had gone to that same restaurant and had seen me finally buy back my integrity.

Someone has said that if life is like juggling, then our integrity is a ball made of glass...once we drop it, it's awfully hard to put back together. Matthew 5:33-37 is often seen very legalistically, as applying only to the taking of vows. But I believe Jesus was calling for His people to be outstanding in their integrity...so much so, people believe us without asking for proof. This Sunday, we'll explore what that kind of "radical honesty" looks like.

The Sermon the Mount: Radical Purity

2008-08-06T13:56:00.002-05:00

Well, I have been at Westbury now for nearly a year. Everyone has been great. We've made so many good friends, seen so many great things happen...and it's only beginning. But now, this Sunday, I'll get to see how much you all really like me as your pastor. Now, I dive into dark, dangerous and controversial waters. This Sunday, we'll be talking about sex, lust, marriage and divorce...places where angels fear to tread. Fortunately, I have the words of Jesus Himself on the subject, from Matthew 5:27-32, and I will stick as closely as possible to what He said, not trying to give my own opinion. Still, I know how people feel about the bearer of bad news. So this Sunday, think of my children. They're cute and sweet and adorable, aren't they? You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to their daddy, would you?

I jest, of course. Although the things we'll be talking about Sunday will be uncomfortable for us to hear, and some might disagree with my interpretations in this place or that, I know this congregation well enough by now to know I won't be taken out and stoned (right?). At any rate, this won't be a sermon that will leave its listeners struggling to stay awake.

I am approaching this passage with a belief that the lust issue and the divorce issue are linked. In both cases, Jesus was talking about His original vision in creation for sexual relationships. When we vary from that purpose, massive destruction is the result. On the other hand, the response of the Church for much of history--a repressive, prudish judgmentalism, has done more harm than good in restoring sex to its proper place. So how would God have His children behave? That's the topic of the entire Sermon on the Mount. We'll see specifically how that applies to sexual purity.

The Sermon on the Mount: Radical Conflict Resolution

2008-07-31T09:29:00.002-05:00

Last night, I finished watching a three-part documentary on PBS called The War of the World. (Yes, I am a bit of a history geek.) The question that drove the documentary, based on a book by Harvard historian Niall Ferguson, was this: "Why was the 20th Century the bloodiest in human history?" Ferguson's conclusion was that the violence of our times (including two World Wars, countless smaller conflicts, genocides, and terrorism) was not based on ideaologies like fascism and communism, but on ethnic and class differences. Germans sending Jews to the death camps. Stalin's Russia persecuting ethnic minorities. South American killing squads murdering Native American peasants. Serbs sniping at Bosnians. Hutus eliminating Tutsis in Rwanda.

We often look on such events with a detached sadness. After all, none of this is our fault; none of us has engaged in genocide or started a war. But we must admit that the same heart of darkness exists in us. It may not manifest itself in bloody ways, but it rears its ugly head at inopportune moments, destroying our relationships, dividing our churches, disqualifying our witness for Christ, and poisoning our lives. If you think I am being overly dramatic, ask yourself the question: Has anything good ever happened when you became angry?

What are we to do? Jesus has a high standard for His people in every area of life, including the way we are to respond to the attacks and insults of others. Believe it or not, Christ did not preach pacifism. Nor did He espouse a macho, "don't get mad, get even" mentality. His way is far more difficult, more courageous...and more effective. This Sunday, we'll explore Christlike conflict resolution in Matthew 5:21-26.

The Sermon on the Mount: Our Radical Standard

2008-07-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

How many jokes can you think of that start like this: "A man died and stood before the gates of Heaven. He was told, 'We can only let you into Heaven if you pass this short test...'"

I try to avoid telling those kinds of jokes simply because I don't think Heaven is anything to joke about (nor is Hell, for that matter). But they do bring up a valid point: When we pass on from this life to the next, there will be certain standards we must meet in order to spend eternity in the presence of Almighty God. When one considers the concept of eternal life, it is obvious that finding out those standards is the most important topic of all.

Since Jesus is the One to whom we will answer on that day, His standards are the only ones that count. Early in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus tells us what it takes to enter His Kingdom. These are tough, challenging, even terrifying words. What do they really mean? That is what we will explore this Sunday morning.

The Sermon on the Mount: Our Radical Impact

2008-07-17T11:42:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday, I began a series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. It's going to be the longest sermon series I've ever preached (It will last into September), and rightfully so. The Sermon on the Mount is the most famous speech ever delivered. Jesus sat down with His disciples and revealed the radical way He expects for them (and us) to live. I hope you'll committ to hearing every one of these messages, not because of the quality of the preaching but because of the importance of the subject matter.

This week, we'll look at perhaps the most well-known section of the Sermon: Matthew 5:13-16. What did Jesus mean by comparing us to salt and light. Some believe this means we should be distinct from the world. Others believe we should live attractive lives which show the world the benefits of following Christ. I believe Jesus meant more than that. Have a great week, and I'll (hopefully) see you Sunday.

Book Review: "The Shack"

2008-07-12T14:50:00.003-05:00

A good friend gave me a copy of William P. Young's novel The Shack a while back. I hadn't heard of it at the time, but since then, I have read numerous articles and blog posts about this book. Originally self-published by a first-time author, The Shack has become a sensation largely through word-of-mouth buzz, and is in the top ten sellers on Amazon. I just finished the book myself, and since you're sure to be hearing about it soon (if you haven't already), I thought I'd share my thoughts here. If you've read the book and want to comment, or have further questions, please chime in.

The Shack is the story of a middle-aged Christian named Mack, who due to abuse at the hands of his churchgoing father has grown up with some problems with God in general, and institutional religion in particular. As the story opens, it has been four years since Mack suffered an unspeakable tragedy, and he finds himself in the midst of what he calls "The Great Sadness." He receives a postcard in the mail from someone claiming to be God, inviting Mack to a meeting at the desolate shack in a State Park where his tragedy took place. Inexplicably, Mack decides to go to the Shack, where he is stunned to find God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit waiting to change his life. The rest of the book is Mack's meeting with the Holy Trinity.

The writing in the book is adequate, on par with most popular Christian fiction (which if you're familiar with the genre may be interpreted as faint praise), but because of the subject matter, this book feels more emotionally heavy than anything you'll read by Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti. Some portions of the book drag, but near the end, there are sections that I found very moving and powerful.

The Shack is intended to be more than a novel; Young says he wrote it originally for his children, to help them know God better. Essentially, it is a theology in fiction form. That's an interesting idea (although not all that new...Pilgrim's Progress has been around a few centuries). This could be the new trend in Christian writing; rather than write a book that reads like a sermon, authors are beginning to write their lessons about God and the Christian life in the form of novels (see also Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian).

So what is it Young wants us to know about God? His dominant theme is that God loves us and desires a relationship of intimacy and trust with us. Young's presentation of the godhead is very unorthodox (more on that later), but it's obvious that Father, Son and Holy Spirit love each other, and love Mack intensely. Young wants us to see that all of our problems are due to our desire for independence from God. When we choose not enjoy this relationship we were made for, our lives suffer. That is true on a worldwide level as well; the wars, pain and suffering in this world are entirely due to our stubborn yearning to live apart from God and His plan. Although Young never uses the word "sin," that's exactly what he's talking about, and he makes his point very effectively.

Forgiveness is also a major theme. At the start of his meeting with the Trinity, Mack is an angry man: Angry with himself, God, his father, and most of all with the person who caused his family tragedy. God brings Mack into a confrontation with each of these resentments, gently but relentlessly. Along the way, there are some very interesting discussions regarding the problem of pain: How could a good God allow such bad things to happen? Young's answers may not satisfy all Christians, but I thought they were well formed.

The Shack has stirred up quite a bit of controversy on the Christian blogosphere. Check out the reviews on Amazon, and you'll see that many people credit this book with changing their lives for the better. This book also has many critics. Tim Challies has written a very thoughtful, much-read critique of The Shack, which you can read here. Southern Seminary president Al Mohler also devoted a portion of his radio program to discussing the book. Both men feel that Young is skating on the edge of heresy, at best. Readers who commented on Challies' blog had many other criticisms. Both Challies and Mohler are from the Reformed/Calvinist tradition, which I respect but do not share, so I don't necessarily agree with some of the things they say, such as:

--The Shack 's presentation of God is unbiblical and irreverent. Spoiler Alert! In the book, God reveals Himself to Mack in three forms: As a large, sassy African-American woman named Papa, as a young Middle-Eastern man named Jesus, and as a small, enigmatic Asian woman named Sarayu (who is supposed to represent the Holy Spirit). Some readers had a real problem with this presentation. I didn't, since God can choose to take any form He wants. But then again, I loved Morgan Freeman's portrayal of the Lord in Bruce Almighty, so maybe I'm just lacking in discernment.

--The Shack encourages a cheap, unbiblical forgiveness. In the book, Mack is challenged to forgive a man who has hurt him deeply, and who has not repented of his sins. Challies says that there can be no real forgiveness without repentance. But didn't Jesus forgive His enemies from the cross while they spat in His face? Didn't Jesus command us to love our enemies and pray for those who hate us? I believe Young's emphasis on forgiveness is a very biblical, healing thing.

On the other hand, I do share one major concern with Young's critics. At the start of the book, Mack is angry with the Church and is doubtful about what he has previously learned in Scripture. I believe if God really did meet personally with someone in this condition, He would correct both of these spiritual dysfunctions. After all, the Church is His bride; with all her warts and problems, God wants His people to love her as much as He does, and to build her up, not abandon her. And the Bible is His holy, inspired Word. He wants us to feed ourselves on it, for this is how He has revealed Himself to us. Yet in The Shack, God seems to brush all of that aside, implying that a relationship with Him is personal, something we can best experience on our own. Never does this God urge Mack to rejoin His spiritual family, or to open the Word. This is very, very troublesome to me. Although I found the book very faith-affirming, I worry that Christians and non-Christians alike will get the incorrect idea that God can be fully known apart from study of His Word and active participation in His Body. In addition, Young says some things in the book which veer perilously close to universalism.

So should you read this book? I think it's a thought-provoking book for biblically knowledgeable Christians to read, to ponder, to critique and to discuss. I would NOT recommend it to a non-Christian or someone new to the faith, for this simple reason: If you want to know who God REALLY is, He's already written the Book Himself. A fictional presentation of one man's idea of God simply cannot compare.

A winning culture

2008-07-12T09:36:00.002-05:00

Here's a look at the article I wrote for the August version of the Westbury Word newsletter:

In just a few weeks, an annual rite of passage will begin in every city, town and hamlet in Texas. The Friday night lights will blaze once again over thronged masses rooting for their local heroes. Bands will march, drill teams will strut, cheerleaders will bounce and shout with preternatural enthusiasm, and mascots will sweat it out under their wooly costumes. Meanwhile, boys as young as fourteen will carry the hopes and dreams of their communities, clad in modern-day armor proudly bearing the colors and emblem of their teams.
I am talking, of course, about High School football. It’s a pastime I have a particular appreciation for, in part because it is so simple…and so fair. Professional and College football—while enjoyable—are very much multi-billion dollar businesses. But High School football features young men who play for free—most will never even earn a football scholarship. Since each town and district must play with the boys they have (without recruiting), there is a certain justice, a sense that everyone starts on level ground.
However, there are still teams that consistently dominate the others. My brother-in-law, a football coach, was visiting a football practice at Katy High School a few years ago. Katy is one of those schools which somehow produces big winners every year, and Steve wanted to see what he could learn from them. When he got to the practice, the team was scrimmaging (playing a “practice game”). Normally in such situations, the boys in the scrimmage run their plays halfheartedly, while the boys on the sideline sit disengaged, chatting aimlessly with one another and enjoying their rest. But this practice felt like a real game. The plays were crisp, the hitting was hard, and even the boys on the sideline were on their feet, shouting encouragement. Steve asked one of the boys standing near him, “What’s at stake here? What do you get if you win?” Coaches often use bribes to motivate their players to practice harder. Steve wondered if maybe the group that won the scrimmage got free Gatorade, or could sit out the windsprints that day. The boy looked at Steve like he was from another planet, then said, “We get pride!”
It was then obvious what made this such a good team. Somehow, they had built a culture of excellence. Every player was constantly challenged to give his all, even in practice. That story makes me wonder how we can build a culture of holiness in our church. In such a church, every member would feel a constant challenge to strive for a greater level of commitment to Christ. Not from the pulpit only, but from his fellow members. I’m not talking about a legalistic contest in “who can be more outwardly religious.” I mean people consistently maturing in their ability to really love God and love others. That’s my job as pastor: To build a culture of holiness at Westbury Baptist Church. What can you do to help?

Pray daily for God’s Holy Spirit to renew us. This isn’t something you and I can do on our own. It is a supernatural act. Pray that the Spirit would build a culture of holiness in our church.
Feed yourself. Too many people see church as a spiritual feeding trough, where they get spoon-fed by trained professionals. A church with a culture of holiness is a gathering of people who have spent the week studying God’s word, praying and serving God on their own.
Get involved. If you don’t already have a ministry of your own, consider joining our School Adoption initiative. I foresee a day when every WBC member feels a subtle push to find a ministry outside the walls of our church, when service is as much a part of our identity as is worship and Bible study. Let’s make that part of our culture.

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-07-07T15:23:00.003-05:00

If you're now humming the tune from "Back in the Saddle Again," it's a pretty good sign you're old (by those standards, I am, too...so don't feel bad). If you're not, here's a little hint so you won't feel left out.

What I mean to say is that I'm finally back in the office. Three weeks ago, we had Vacation Bible School, and that meant being in the children's building and the gym much of the day. Two weeks ago, I accompanied our high schoolers to youth camp. And last week, I took a blessed 7-day vacation. Seven days in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. For seven days we:

--Ate some really good food (The Grist Mill in Gruene is even better than I remembered).
--Slept late.
--Tubed the Comal river.
--Hiked...sometimes carrying a four-year-old (which was probably a good thing, considering all that good food I ate).
--Swam in the Pedernales.
--Basically bummed around. I read two books for sheer pleasure...it was great.

That's my idea of a vacation: One where you actually come back rested. Yes, friends, it is indeed possible.

I have already heard from several people that Dr. Tom Billings preached a wonderful sermon. I'm not at all surprised, but I am grateful to hear it. I look forward to returning to the pulpit this next Sunday, but for now, I'm glad to be home.

This morning (no kidding), I thanked God for two things: A vacation that truly refreshed me, and a church I am glad to come home to.

God is Still Here

2008-06-26T17:19:00.003-05:00

My father-in-law's favorite saying is, "Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see." That wary attitude has served him well in life that has been successful from both a business standpoint and (more importantly) a spiritual one.

That saying has some good practical application: It's good to be wary of the latest "hot new thing" in spirituality or in life. It is also wise not to be blindly optimistic about our circumstances: Just because someone believes things are going to work out doesn't mean there won't be pain along the way. Many Christians have had their own faith wrecked by this kind of spiritual Pollyannaism that says, "If I believe it, it will be."

So wariness is wise...but when it becomes skepticism and doubt, it can be one of the most destructive things in the Christian life. When we start to doubt whether God can do anything good with our circumstances, when we give up on the notion of being useful to His Kingdom, when we fail to dream of greater things and settle for a life LESS abundant...then we fall short. We fall apart. We fall away from Him.

On the day Elijah left this earth, his protege Elisha must have faced some serious doubts. How did he respond? How can we overcome the doubts, fears and natural skepticism that tends to attack our faith? That is what we'll discuss this Sunday.

Youth Camp

2008-06-24T09:48:00.002-05:00

I'm spending the week at youth camp! Carrie and Kayleigh are with me, while Will accepted a last-minute offer to spend the week with my parents in the country.

We're on the campus of Howard Payne University in Brownwood. Our bus ride here yesterday was pleasant (believe it or not), and I am looking forward to a wonderful week. Hey, I've even got internet access out here, so I should be able to keep in touch with you all via email.

A few observations from the short time I've been here:

Our kids are great. They were well-behaved on the bus ride here, and have been that way ever since. Maybe it's because this is a high school only camp, and the kids are more mature (Middle-school camp is next week). Or maybe our kids are just great.
The food is really quite good so far. If you've never been to youth camp before, trust me on this one: The food is never good. Let's hope this camp breaks the trend.
I'm old. Yesterday, someone asked me how old I was. When I said 37, one of our youth girls (her name shall be mercifully withheld) said she assumed I was in my forties. She quickly said that was only because she didn't know any pastors in their thirties, but the damage to my fragile ego was already done. Sigh.
Our speaker this week, Craig Tackett, is very high-energy and entertaining. He gave a great message last night on John 21, focusing on how Jesus' love chases and confronts us. I was enlightened by the message, but I was also thinking about how hard it would be to speak to youth for a living. A few years ago, the youth group at South Avenue Baptist in Pasadena (where I pastored previously) attended a camp where the speaker was boring. They came back saying, "We would've rather listened to Jeff all week." You have to have heard the tone of voice in which they said it, but trust me: They meant it as a slam on the youth speaker, not as a compliment to me. Hence the fragile ego.
The theme of the week is "I am," focusing on the unchanging nature of Jesus. It's going to be a great week. If I get time, I might post some other news from camp. Keep us in your prayers!

Watch out for slippage

2008-06-19T17:17:00.002-05:00

I have been on a through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan since my seminary days, and it has benefitted me immensely. Most of the time, my daily Bible reading is like taking vitamins...it goes down easily, and I don't feel any immediate effects, event though I know it's doing me good over time. But sometimes, the Spirit reaches out to me through the pages of His Word and grabs me by the throat. I had one of those moments last night. I thought I'd share it with you.

I am in 2 Chronicles right now, and last night I read the story of a King of Judah named Asa, found in chapters 14-16. Asa was a good king (so good, he gets three chapters worth of ink!). He reversed the idolatry of his predecessors and brought spiritual revival to the land. He also led the Jews to resounding victory over an invading force of a million Ethiopian and Libyan soldiers, armed only with the power of God.

When Asa had been king for 36 years, the king of Israel invaded Judah. Asa responded by making a treaty with the king of Aram (Syria) to fight on his side. This did the trick--Israel retreated back to their place, and all was well. But a prophet approached king Asa and asked him, "Why didn't you trust God to help you this time? He gave you victory over a much bigger force when you were younger. Why now do you feel you need to turn to a pagan king?" Asa was so enraged at this impertinence, he had the prophet thrown into prison. His health later declined, and along with it, his faith in God. The Scripture tells us that in his last days, he refused even to pray about the pain he was experiencing.

This story hit me hard because I have a tendency to think that my own spiritual growth is a given at this point. I am old enough that the raging hormones and vain personal ambitions of my youth seem silly. I am aware of a new maturity and wisdom that I didn't previously possess. And so it would be very natural for me to relax in the area of spiritual discipline. But I must realize that the same thing that happened to Asa can happen to me. He did far more in his youth than I have, exercised far greater faith than I have ever been called to use. But later in life, his faith was weak.

I suppose the old preachers were right: Faith is like a muscle that grows weak with disuse. Let's not forget to exercise!

Our God is Not User-Friendly

2008-06-19T17:02:00.002-05:00

I remember taking Church history courses in seminary. I found them very interesting (I'll confess...I'm a history nerd), but also a little frustrating. Every generation of the Church had some glaring theological blind spot, some belief or practice that made me think, "How could they do that? Weren't they reading the same Bible I am?"

I am certain our generation has its share of blind spots, too. I sometimes wonder what future generations will say as they study 21st century American Christians. I suspect one criticism they will have is that we have defanged our deity. We have made God into a doting, generous grandfather-figure who never gets angry with us, never punishes us, and never wants anything but our comfort and happiness. Future generations will hear that in our songs and sermons, read it in our literature, and track the results of this unbalance view of the Almighty. It doesn't take a seminary degree to see that such an image isn't biblical.

Of course, God IS a God of grace. Hallelujah for that! Yes, He loves us infinitely. But that infinite love is balanced by an infinite holiness. The author of Hebrews reminds us, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." And that holiness produces some stories in the Bible that are downright scary.

We'll look at two such stories in our series, "The Difference Maker" this Sunday. The first takes up much of 2 Kings 1. The second is found in 2 Kings 2:23-25. I've never heard a sermon preached on either of these passages, so pray for me...I'm going where angels (and far better preachers) fear to tread.

The God of Justice

2008-06-13T09:33:00.002-05:00

Take a minute to read the first Psalm. There will be a test afterward:

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Okay, here's your test: What do you think that Psalm means?

If you said that Psalm is a promise that God is on the side of the righteous, that He's opposed to the wicked...in other words, if you said that Psalm means He's a God of Justice, I would say you're right.

So...why does it so often seem that people who flagrantly flout God's laws, abuse innocent people, and live selfish, greedy lives seem to prosper, while good people can't seem to get a break? That is the subject of the message this Sunday, based on a story from 1 Kings 21. We'll see why it really does pay to do the right thing...and if you're like me, you need the encouragement!

See you Sunday.

Dallas bound

2008-06-02T09:55:00.003-05:00

Keep me in your prayers. I head to Dallas this afternoon for a week of training in the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative. I am excited about the opportunity to learn more about this ministry from people who have been doing it successfully for nearly 30 years. I can't wait to get started on this, but there is a lot of work to be done this summer in getting us ready for the fall. Lord willing, I'll see you on Sunday!

God of the Gentle Whisper

2008-06-02T09:34:00.003-05:00

There's a popular praise song being sung in churches across the country these days. The chorus goes: "Every day with you, Lord, is sweeter than the day before." Like most contemporary praise choruses, it's exceptionally catchy and fun to sing. Unlike most, it's not entirely accurate (in my opinion).

In a spiritual sense, our lives DO get better every day. Though we age outwardly, we are inwardly being renewed day by day, and every day we live brings us one step closer to the great and final reunion with our Lord. But even the most committed followers of Christ will have bad days from time to time. Take a moment to read Paul's "resume" in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. Does it sound like Paul had some rough moments in serving Christ? Jesus even promised us: "In this life you WILL have tribulation."

Even Elijah had bad days. We'll look at an extended session of darkness in Elijah's life when we study 1 Kings 19 this Sunday. Ironically, his season of depression came right after the high point of his life.

Please be prayerful for this sermon. There will surely be people there Sunday (including, perhaps, you) who are going through the valley of the shadow of death themselves. I don't expect this sermon to cure all their ills, but I hope it can inspire them to move towards hope. All of us will experience difficult times, just like Elijah. This Sunday, we'll see how God responds to us in those moments.

How Big Is Your God?

2008-05-28T16:12:00.002-05:00

Don't you just love Elijah? In my sermon last week, I described him as "the Dirty Harry of the Old Testament." Most of you, I'm sure, remember those Clint Eastwood movies of the 70s and 80s. In real life, Dirty Harry Calahan would be a menace to society. But in fictional terms, a lot of people resonated with a guy who would break the rules in order to get the bad guy.

Elijah was like that. He didn't care whose feelings he hurt...even King Ahab's. He was going to tell the truth. If he had to call down a little fire from heaven, so be it.

I enjoy reading the life of Elijah because I like his courage. I find it inspiring. I watch him do battle with Jezebel and her prophets, and I live vicariously through his daring moves, like a kid watching a superhero movie.

All that said, I imagine Elijah is the biblical hero I would LEAST like to meet. Why? Because he'd surely have some harsh words for me. One thing he might ask me is the title of our message this week: How big is your God? Do you really believe in the God of Israel, the God of Jesus? Do you believe in a God who is concerned about the state of the world and has the power to do something about it? Or is your divine image that of a distant old man who gives us some nice commandments to ponder, and some nice rituals to perform?

The reason he might ask me such a question is that he would find precious little evidence of the power of God in my own personal life and ministry. He would kick me in the tuchus, spiritually speaking (well, knowing Elijah, he'd probably kick me literally) and say, "If your God is Yahweh, then get out there and act like it!"

I promise there'll be no literal tuchus-kickings at Westbury this Sunday. But I hope that you'll be as inspired by Elijah's actions in 1 Kings 18 as I am.

Good Grief

2008-05-27T19:53:00.002-05:00

I buried my dog on Memorial Day.

We adopted Rudi when she was just a puppy, and I was a youth minister who had dragged his elegant young wife to a trailer house in rural North Texas. The lady at the shelter said, "I have the sweetest little puppy for you," and she was right. When Carrie picked the little brown mutt up, the dog laid its head on her shoulder, and I knew it was love at first snuggle.

We had her for fourteen years. We weren't the type to buy her little outfits and get our family pictures taken with her (well...maybe once or twice). Still, she was every bit our first child. So much so, my wife (for whom "Cleanliness is next to godliness" is not a cliche) let her get up on the furniture whenever she wished. She was a smart little dog with one ear that pointed straight up, while the other flopped over. Our family has so many great Rudi stories.

At first, we thought she was having trouble adjusting to our new house. After weeks passed and she still wouldn't eat, we knew something more serious was wrong. We put her to sleep on a Wednesday. The vet was very sensitive, and told us about a cremation service...this would give us time to figure out what to do with Rudi's remains.

Carrie and I were both very interested in how Will would handle this. It was really his first experience with death. A child's world is full of cartoons and video games that don't show the reality of death. It may seem odd that we as parents wanted to expose our young son to something so morbid, but I believe one job of parents is to teach children how to grieve...and how to approach the end of our own lives. God seems to have the same concern. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. That verse implies there is a distinctly Christian way to grieve.

I knew a guy once who taught at a Christian school. When a teenager at the school died tragically, teachers and students passed around a petition asking people to pray that God would raise the child from the dead. My friend didn't know what to think of such an idea. It reminds me of something I've often wondered about: How did Lazarus feel about being raised? The Bible doesn't say, but I suspect he had very mixed feelings. He probably knew that Jesus needed to raise him to prove He was the Son of God, but he surely also wished he could've stayed in heaven.

I can't say I know everything about the Christian way to grieve, but I'm pretty sure acceptance is part of it. Weeping is, too...one of the few times Jesus weeps in Scripture is at Lazarus' tomb. God's not offended by our tears; in fact, there's a Psalm that says He keeps them in a bottle. Also, those who grieve should lean on the community of believers...let them help in practical ways. And pray...for healing, for the ability to find a "new normal," and for God to use this time of grief to deepen your own relationship with Him.

We buried Rudi at my parent's house. Ironically, their dog Schatzie had died last week, so we placed Rudi next to her, just a few feet away from Freckles, a special dog from my childhood. They haven't had much rain at Mom and Dad's this year, so the ground was rock hard. Dad helped me dig. Will asked what was in the box. When we told him it was Rudi, he said, "Let's get her out." We had to explain why we were burying her, and I told him this is what happens to everyone someday. We talked a little about heaven, too. When I finished burying the box, Will softly said, "I want Rudi." He didn't cry, but I feel like he understands just a little better.

I don't know where you come down on the whole "do dogs go to heaven" question. I'm not even sure what I believe. I want to think God has a place for dogs in the next world. If the lion will lie down with the lamb in the New Earth, maybe we'll see Rudi again. But I don't have any hard biblical evidence on my side, so that's just conjecture. On the other hand, I am absolutely sure I will see friends and loved ones who died in Christ...that's what hope is. And nothing can take that away.

God is up to Something

2008-05-22T10:21:00.003-05:00

This week, I read an online article written by David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist, New Orleans. It's an inspiring read, and I highly commend it if you have a few minutes: Click here.

Here's my favorite part of the article:

Sometimes, around some people, it is hard to get a thank you in edgewise. I suspicion that people who are busy trying to change their world are also very grateful as a matter of disposition.
Our environment here in New Orleans is being changed one hammer stroke at a time. For us, the progress is visible and palpable. It may be hard to extrapolate our progress to the rest of the world, but all the same principles apply whether we are looking at changing a city or changing a world. The accumulated effect of millions of tiny hammer strokes is the rebuilding of a devastated region. If multiplied throughout the world, the goal of eradicating poverty housing seems truly within reach.
Of course, the only people who hope for and expect such a transformation in our city or our world are the people swinging hammers. Hope springs eternal only when we are busy building what we hope for. If despair or resignation benched us, our inactivity reinforces the despair and quells the hope.

What I get from that is that there are three kinds of people in the world: 1) Those who do nothing about the problems all around them, 2) those who do nothing...but gripe, and 3) those who make a difference. The people in category 3 are the ones who I want to be around. They have hope and joy and a vision for the future.

Unfortunately, many of the people who have read the article instead got hung up on the fact that former president Carter is a main subject. If you read the comments below the article (including mine), you'll see they missed the point of the article entirely.

Here's the thing about category 3 people: They are the ones going with God, because God is a difference maker. That's the name of my next series of messages: The Difference Maker. They will be based on the life of Elijah, but the real subject of the sermons is God. Even when all the world seems to be in chaos and we can't see a hint of the divine, our God is up to something. He does not rest; He always finds a way to redeem. This week's first message in the series is based on 1 Kings 17. Pray with me that this series will inspire us to make a difference in our world for the Kingdom of God.

School Adoption--More Info!

2008-05-19T14:50:00.003-05:00

After much prayer and a couple of dead-ends, we've found the local elementary school we want to adopt. McNamara Elementary is located at 8714 McAvoy, very close to Westbury. The school is around fifty years old. Three years ago, they had around 200 students who were evacuees from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, of which around 75 still remain. In addition, many students are children of undocumented immigrants. Click here to learn more about the school. Last week, I met with principal Tiffany Chenier and Mr. Porter Renfro, who works with Communities In Schools on the McNamara campus. Both told me that the idea of Westbury adopting their school was an answer to much prayer. I left with a strong confirmation that this is indeed the place God has in mind for us to begin impacting our community in a new way. I wish we could start now! But first things first...

The first week of June, a small group of us will head to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas to attend training in their National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative. The folks at OCBF have been working in public schools since 1985, and I have no doubt we'll learn a great deal from them. Pray for our training that week, and pray that God would call out a person or persons to serve as lay coordinators for the school adoption.

In the meantime, here are some ways you can look forward to participating in this new ministry for us:

1. Pray. Mrs. Chenier said that prayer was her school's biggest need. We'll come up with ways that folks at WBC can serve as prayer partners in this ministry. Remember, if all you can do is pray, you can do a lot!

2. Serve as a tutor or mentor. Adult involvement is a huge need at McNamara. Some kids need help with homework. Others just need an adult to take an interest in them.

3. Help beautify the campus. Mrs. Chenier showed me areas of the campus that desperately need the touch of a skilled landscaper. A more attractive campus can make such a difference in the morale of students and teachers.

As we get involved in this campus, in the lives of teachers and students, we will learn about other needs, which will lead to more ministry opportunities. My dream is that we would be a blessing to this school and to everyone associated with it. I hope this transforms us into a more outwardly focused church that is truly An Open Door to Transform our World. With God on our side, why not dream big?

An Open Door to Transform the World

2008-05-15T13:08:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, when violence broke out between Israel and Lebanon, a certain famous preacher who shall go umentioned here immediately proclaimed that it was a sure sign the Second Coming was imminent. "His hand is on the door!" he gleefully and confidently intoned. Some of my church members at the time asked what I thought about that. In response, I scrapped my sermon plans for that week and preached a message about how God's people should respond to disasters in the world. I don't think Jesus would have us publically express joy about the suffering of others, simply because we think it's a foreshadowing of our own exit strategy from this sorry world. What does that communicate to the lost? Something like, "So sorry to hear that people are dying...but it's all good for us. We're heaven bound and you're not--whoopee!" Don't get me wrong, I am as excited about the return of Jesus as anyone. That is our true hope. But when Jesus was here in the flesh, He responded to human suffering with compassion, not glee. And His compassion--let us not forget--was more than mere emotional pity. It was action. So, I preached, our first question when we hear of "wars and rumors of wars," famines, earthquakes, and other disasters, should not be "is this a fulfillment of prophecy?" Christ will come back at the pre-determined time, and we won't see it coming in advance. Instead, our primary concern should be, "What can we do to show Christ's love in the midst of this?"

I bring this up because we have witnessed two devastating disasters in recent days, in Myanmar and in China. Incidents like this should provoke us to pray and seek to respond. Baptist disaster relief teams are already mobilizing to address these calamities (although they, like other relief agencies, are meeting much beauracratic resistance in Myanmar), and your offerings to WBC will help with these efforts. But these incidents should also remind us that there is suffering and lostness right near our doorstep, and God's people are uniquely gifted and called to make a difference.

In the last message in our series, "An Open Door Church," we'll look at the third step in our ministry process. We want to be an open door to know God through worship, and an open door to community through Sunday School. But if we stop there, our church will be entirely inwardly focused, offering ministry only to its own members. Our church would therefore be almost completely irrelevant to the people outside our walls. Instead, we must be An Open Door to Transform the World. That idea comes from something Jesus said to the Philadelphian Christians in Revelation 3:7-8, and from Paul's use of that "open door" imagery in 1 Corinthians 16:9, Colossians 4:3, and other places.

Admittedly, this is going to the be the toughest of the three steps for us at Westbury. How will we become this kind of church? What kinds of actions will we need to expect of our members? That's what we'll talk about Sunday.

"This is it!"

2008-05-12T14:27:00.003-05:00

I preached on community yesterday, then I read this article on the internet this morning. I think it makes an important point to tack on to what I said in my message:

A few years ago, a friend assembled a weekend work party to lay sod in his yard. The sun was shining. He had fresh coffee and cinnamon buns. And the crew he'd called together were all good friends. We liked each other immensely.

Then Al said, "Guys, do you realize something? This is it! This is it!" We stopped.
"Al, this is what?"
"This is community."
We all murmured our assent and congratulated one another. Yes. This is it.

But then I said, "Al, this is great, but I don't think this is it. I like you all too much. Add a person or two to this company who lacks social graces, who looks different, who's needy, smelly, and irritating. If we truly loved a person like that, then that would be it."

Silence. Then one of guys said, "Uh, Mark. We've accepted you, haven't we?"
We all laughed, but they granted my point.

We're always tempted to turn the church into a club. With our kind of people. With a strict decorum designed to keep up appearances and keep out the, shall we say, undesirables. But Jesus said it's no credit to us if we love those who love us—our kind of people. We don't need God to love them; natural affinities are sufficient. But you, Jesus said, are to love the least of these and the worst of these—losers, enemies. That takes God: a supernatural subversion of our own prejudices, and a heaven-borne infusion of God's prodigal love.

I preach that. I try to live that.

A year or so after our sod-laying party, Wanda arrived. Wanda was not our kind of people. She was thirsty alright, for beer, port, rum, vanilla extract, whatever. She had only one way to pay for that. I'll let you guess.

But she was desperate, and thirsty for something else. She called the church one day, wondering if she could see a pastor, and now! Two of us met with her. She told us her troubled story. I told her about the woman at the well whose life, like Wanda's, wasn't going well. But she met Jesus and he offered her living water. I explained what living water was, and asked Wanda if she'd like some.
"Oh yeah!" she said. We prayed. She confessed, repented, surrendered. Drank deep.

The other pastor said, "Now, Wanda, this Sunday will be your first time in church. Don't feel you have to fit in right away. You can sit at the back if you like, come late, leave early. Whatever is comfortable."
Wanda looked at him sideways. "Why would I do that?" she said. "I've been waiting for this all my life."

That Sunday, Wanda was the first to arrive. She sat at the front, and loudly agreed with everything I said. She was the last to leave. The next Sunday, same thing, except she brought a friend, one of her kind of people. I preached on servanthood. My main point: if you've tasted the love of Jesus, you'll want to serve. It was Communion Sunday. In those days, we called our elders The Servant Leadership Team. I asked the Servant Leaders to come and help with Communion. That day only two of our team were in church. They straggled to the front.
All Wanda heard was the word servant. And she had been listening intently to my sermon: if you've tasted the love of Jesus, you'll want to serve.

She walked straight up to serve Communion with the other two "servants."

I flinched.

Then I remembered Luke 7, Jesus' words to Simon the Pharisee as a woman, not unlike Wanda, washed Jesus' feet: "Do you see this woman?"

Do you see her?

I leaned over to Wanda and said, "Since this is your very first time doing this, do you mind if I help?"

So Wanda and I served Communion. The best part was watching the faces of the people I love and serve and pray for and preach to.

Not one flinched. They saw her.

This is it.

Mark Buchanan, "This Is It, " Leadership journal (Spring 2008)

An Open Door to Community

2008-05-08T09:42:00.002-05:00

I once received a pretty good sermon illustration from an online source I subscribe to. It described a man going to visit a friend who was a guard at a prison mental hospital. When he found his friend, the man was out in the prison yard with dozens of inmates. The friend told the guard, "I'd be scared to death out here among all these criminal types. There must be a hundred of them, and only three or four of you guards. Aren't you afraid they'll band together and overpower you?" "Naw," said the guard, "lunatics never unite." I used that illustration in a sermon at another church, making the point that the Devil doesn't fear the Church anymore, even though there are millions of Christians in America, and even though we have abundant spiritual resources at our disposal, because we never manage to work together.

Afterwards, a man in the church told me how much he appreciated the story. He had come to our church years before from another church in that same small town. He had been forced to leave that church because the people in control blamed him for his divorce, even though his wife was the one who had left. He chuckled and said, "You're right. Lunatics don't unite." His unspoken implication to me was that he was still waiting to see if this church would be different, if his new spiritual family would show the ability to love one another.

We're in the middle of a three-part sermon series at WBC asking the question, "What if our church really followed Jesus?" Last week, we learned that a true Christ-following church would be an open door for people to experience and know God in worship. But there's more to the Christian life than loving God; Jesus (you'll recall) said that the greatest commandment was really a two-parter: Love God and love your neighbor.

It's amazing how much time is spent in the New Testament epistles talking about that very subject. It seems God designed the Church in part to be a laboratory where we learn how to love other people. A local church is supposed to be a place where we pray for each other, support each other, rebuke each other when necessary, learn to forgive and overlook others' mistakes and foibles, rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. The Greek word for that is koinonia. In Baptist life, we've traditionally called in fellowship, but that word has lost its snap over the years...now when people hear "fellowship," they think of covered-dish dinners. Instead, we're going to use the word community. Ironically, in our fast-paced, digitized world, an old word like community captures the longings of people's hearts.

Why do we need community in order to be true followers of Jesus? What does real community look like? That's what we'll talk about Sunday.

Special Sundays

2008-05-06T15:54:00.001-05:00

Since this is my first Mother’s Day at WBC, it’s probably a good time to talk about my own philosophy of how churches should treat “special days.” Many pastors feel that it is important to preach a special, holiday-specific sermon on days like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the Sunday nearest July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Valentine’s Day, and so on. Many people expect their pastors to do so. And so perhaps many of the people who will attend Westbury this Sunday will come expecting a message on motherhood, perhaps from Proverbs 31 or the story of Mary.

I am of a different philosophy. I am fine with such holidays being observed in another part of the worship service. For instance, this Sunday we will recognize all mothers early in the service. On July 6, we will sing some songs that speak of God’s goodness to our nation. On other Sundays, we recognize veterans, graduates, and other people as the situation requires. But I rarely refer to these events in my preaching. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you. But if it does, I want to explain why I do not observe holidays in my preaching (aside from holidays that correspond with specific biblical events such as Christmas and Easter), and give you a chance—through your comments on this blog—to let me know how you feel. So here is my (admittedly rather long) explanation:

1. I believe preaching should be as biblical as possible.

The Bible does not speak of holidays like Mother’s Day or Independence Day because they did not exist in the biblical era. One could easily make the argument that if we want to be biblical, we would preach an annual Passover message or Pentecost sermon. True, the Bible does speak of mothers and duty to our country, and so there is certainly nothing “un-biblical” about a preacher addressing these subjects and tying them to specific holidays. But the sheer amount of biblical content on these subjects is so limited, I feel that a preacher who feels compelled to preach on them every year would be giving his people essentially the same message annually, to the exclusion of other important scriptural themes. My job as a preacher is to help you get a balanced diet of God’s Word.

2. I believe preaching should be as inclusive as possible.

In one church I know of, there is a pair of ladies who skip church every Mother’s Day. They rent a hotel room somewhere else and have their own spiritual retreat. Why? One of these ladies is childless, in spite of years of trying with her now-deceased husband to produce a baby. Every year, as the church celebrates motherhood, she feels like a bit of a failure as a woman, especially since the message is directed only to women who are raising children. Don’t get me wrong; I was raised by an outstanding mother, and I am married to another one. I strongly value godly moms. But when we focus on a narrow group such as mothers, we exclude singles, the childless, and…well, men from the message. I believe I should “cast a broad net” in my preaching, speaking to the life situations of as many people as possible, instead of focusing on select groups.

3. I believe preaching should be as God-centered as possible.

Early in my pastoral ministry, Carrie and I took a vacation. I was looking forward to going to church on vacation, worshipping without having a sermon delivery hanging over my head, and being fed from the Word rather than being the one doing the feeding. We arrived at church ready for a true worship experience…not realizing that we had walked into this church’s annual Memorial Day service. After a long slideshow presentation recognizing the graduating seniors, we had several congregational songs which were very patriotic but which had no spiritual content. Then an old deacon got up and recited (from memory) a poem about “The Ragged Old Flag.” By the time the pastor got up to preach, all he had time to do was give a brief devotional thought encouraging us to write a letter to someone who had lost a loved one in a war. We left feeling cheated. Don’t get me wrong; As the son and grandson of veterans, I am all for patriotism. But I go to church to praise God, and we hadn’t even remotely done that. A few years later, we went to the same town on vacation, and attended the same church. At the start of the service, their new pastor got up and said (I promise I’m not making this up!), “Welcome to our annual Flag Day service.” Then we had the same patriotic songs, the same old deacon, the same poem.

I believe we should keep our worship God-centered. Our primary concern should be enabling as many people as possible to have a genuine encounter with the real God. We love our mothers and our country, but what we do on Sunday mornings at 10:30 is about Jesus.

An Open Door to Knowing God

2008-05-01T09:46:00.002-05:00

All this year, I have been preaching on the theme, "What if we really followed Jesus?" We've looked at the difference that would make in our relationship with non-believers. We've also looked at how it would affect our relationship with God. But here's a tantalizing thought: What would it look like if an entire church were not merely religious, not simply moral, but were all unaminously, radically committed to following Jesus? Can you imagine such a church?

This Sunday, I'll begin a three-part series on what that kind of church might look like: An Open-Door Church. The first thing about such a church is that it would be a place where people would meet God in worship. Anyone--no matter their background or predispositions--would know in our worship services that God was present and would know that they could have an encounter with Him. How do we get to be that kind of a church? Let's pray together, and we'll talk about it this Sunday!

WBC on your TV

2008-05-01T09:32:00.002-05:00

We recently shot a television commercial that will soon air on Comcast. Yes, that's right, we'll be on TV (even if only for thirty seconds).

Here's how it all happened: As you may be aware, last year our church was blessed with a significant budget surplus. As a result, we were faced with a rare and wonderful problem: What should we do with all that extra money? The church made the wise decision to give the surplus monies to our administrative and church life councils to find the proper way to use them. Some of this money has already been spent on addressing physical needs on our church campus apart from the sanctuary renovation. The Church Life Council voted a few months ago to set aside some of this money for television advertising. Our thought was that we would try this out...if it helps us reach some people, it will be worth it.

Randy Mitchell researched TV advertising and found that we could afford to shoot and air an ad on Comcast cable TV. I met with the Comcast folks a few weeks ago and found out more about the process. I wrote up a script (my Radio-TV degree from UH finally came in handy), they tweaked it a bit, and we set up a shoot time. Two weeks ago, Ricardo Amell from Comcast came out to shoot the ad. It took a couple of hours (and required an unexpected cameo from our receptionist, Harriet Ward), but I think the end result is good.

In designing this ad, I wanted to avoid the trap that most church TV ads fall into: The "Look at all our great programs...our church is better than yours!" trap. I wanted the ad to specifically appeal to non-church people, not to members of other congregations. I wanted it to speak of Jesus, more than about Westbury. In other words, I wanted this to be something God could use to draw people to Himself, whether they ever come to WBC or not. So, tell me what you think:

Our Ad

I'd love to hear your comments. Also, ideas for other types of ads we could do would be welcome. Please forward this link to your friends. Use it to invite people to WBC.

As for the broadcast schedule, here is how it will go; The ad will only air on Comcast, so if you use an antenna or a sattelite dish (or another cable company), you won't see this on your TV. It is scheduled to air on Fridays and Saturdays between 6 AM and midnight during May, June and July on the following channels: ABC family, ESPN2, Liftetime, The Learning Channel, and TBS. Hopefully, that gives us a wide enough range to reach a variety of people.

Pray that God will use this ad to reach many "pennies" with His amazing love.