Put Away the Plastic Forks!

Where have all the biblical preachers gone - those with a true prophetic tone to their preaching? For the last couple of weeks I've been immersed in the first twelve verses of Matthew 3, which present a snapshot of the ministry and message of John the Baptist. In our day of syrupy, sentimental, superficial, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" kind of sermons (oh, and short, too - excuse the alliteration), hard-hitting Gospel preaching is hard to find.

Oh, sure, occasionally you'll come across the stereotypical "hell, fire, and brimstone" preacher who belittles his hearers to build up his own ego and uses his pulpit as a whipping post. I'm not referring to that sort of preaching - a sermon that's "all heat and no light." I'm talking about real Gospel-oriented, Christ-centered, soul-stirring, heart-convicting preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to penetrating people's hearts, there is no substitute for Scripture. "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires" (Hebrews 4:12). What else in the world can do that? Answer: Nothing! As my good friend Steve Lawson, a passionate expositor himself, likes to say to fellow preachers: "Put away the plastic forks, and unsheath your sword!"

Here is a great example of that. Don't focus so much on the graphics, and certainly disregard the typographical errors. Concentrate instead on the preaching. Listen to the words ... the urgent tone ... the voice of authority ... and the plea for repentance. The preacher whose voice you'll hear just retired after 46 years of faithful preaching and pastoral ministry. May we, too, be unwaveringly committed to the uncompromising truth of God's holy word.

"Truth" Video

Thumbs Way Up for "UP"

On Monday evening before dinner, a friend swung by the house to drop off a video that he thought we'd enjoy seeing. It was the latest Disney-Pixar movie, "Up," an animated comedy adventure about a 78-year-old man who ties balloons to his house and flies away, with an 8-year-old stowaway. My friend's timing was perfect. Our older boys had other commitments for the evening, so I snuggled down on the sofa with my ten-year-old son to watch the 90-minute film. Our family had enjoyed previous Pixar productions, so we were anticipating another good film this time around.

We were not disappointed! Maybe it was the mood I was in, but this seemed to have all the wholesome qualities one would want in a family film. The plot was simple enough for kids to follow, yet enjoyable enough to keep adults engaged. Same case with the humor.

But what I really liked about this movie is that it went beyond humor and cool computer graphics to incorporate the serious and meaningful realities of life. (I want to be careful not to print any spoilers here!) There are some sad moments in the film that touch the hearts of children and adults alike. The characters experience not only adventure, but disappointment; not only fun, but loss. Sentimental ties collide with unexpected circumstances which lead to difficult decisions. These tensions are not only real to each person, but they also create balance in our lives.

What I especially appreciated about the film is its strong affirmation of wholesome family values, i.e. the blessings of lifelong fidelity in marriage, the tragic effects of divorce, the joy and freedom that comes from putting the interests of others above our own. In this film, black is black, and white is white. The lines of morality are not blurred but clear - and, sadly, that seems to be so rare nowadays, even in children's films.

There are few films that, after watching, I can get up off the sofa and say, "Now that was a great movie!" This was one of them. Be sure to get it and watch it with your kids. You'll be glad you did.

Modern-Day Martyr

As most of you know, this past Sunday, November 8, was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. In my morning sermon on Revelation 2:8-11, I alluded to the martyrdoms of the apostles. Hundreds of other accounts throughout church history are recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, a book that every Christian should read. (You can read it online by clicking here.)

But it occurred to me that despite our religious liberties here in America, every now and then Christians suffer persecution to the point of death. One such incident occurred exactly eight months ago this past Sunday. I blogged on this tragedy back at the time it occurred, and in light of this Sunday's emphasis on the persecuted church, have posted it again today. Here's the original post from March of this year:

Before heading off to prayer meeting last evening, I checked my e-mail and logged on to the Internet. My home page is Fox News, and the cover story was about Fred Winters, a pastor in Illinois who was gunned down in the pulpit while preaching in morning service. You can read all about it here.

I checked out the church website, and from everything I've seen, this pastor was a godly man who was utterly committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the authority of God's Word. He had a great love for the Lord and for people. Supposedly, as the gunman walked down the aisle toward the pastor in the middle of the service, the pastor said to him, "Can I help you?" - something that another pastor on staff did not find surprising at all. Here's the video clip this morning from Fox News:

Yesterday morning started out like just any other Sunday morning for this preacher. He simply got up behind his pulpit and started preaching God's Word to his flock. As a pastor, I am reminded of how important it is for me to "to preach ... as a dying man to dying men" (Richard Baxter). And certainly all of us should pray, as Moses did,

Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

- Psalm 90:12

What are the practical implications of this verse for us as believers? Perhaps they are best stated in the following two resolutions of Jonathan Edwards:

1. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
2. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

By all accounts, Pastor Fred Winters finished well. God help us to do the same.

Here's Lookin' at You, Christians

In the Nov. 7 issue of World magazine, Joel Belz shared some new and rather interesting statistics from the Barna Group on how those in the 16-29 age group perceive evangelicals. Those surveyed were classified as either "Non-Christians" or "Churchgoers." Here's a chart summarizing the results:

What are we to make of these statistics? Well, first of all, we need to define the term "evangelicals." First, Barna considers evangelicals to be "born again Christians" which may be defined as

people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated that they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

In addition to meeting the born again criteria (described above), evangelicals also meet seven additional conditions, which include:

1. saying that their faith is very important in their life today;
2. believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
3. believing that Satan exists;
4. believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
5. believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;
6. asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches;
7. describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

It should also be mentioned that, according to Barna, being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Also, respondents were not asked to describe themselves as "evangelical."

So keeping all the above criteria in mind, what do you make of the above chart? How do you read these numbers? Are you surprised, pleased, angered, saddened or confused? As we sift through and try to make sense of these statistics, here are - according to Joel Belz - two related questions that thoughtful evangelicals should consider:

When is it that our own clumsiness and klutziness leaves people alienated from the truth that we think should be so attractive? And when is it that the very essence of God's truth drives people away?

As I think through these questions in light of the above statistics, I am reminded of a quote I heard years ago from C. Sumner Wemp, while I was a Bible college student:

If the Gospel is an offense, praise God.

If I'm an offense, that's sin.

So what, in your opinion, are evangelicals in general doing right? What are we doing wrong? Where do we go from here? Please share your thoughts.