Graduating into the Missing

Christians and especially churches have created the culture of the missing. We’re the ones that have caused many people to go missing. How? We have treated evangelism as strategy, labeled the nonChristians as the only sinners in the world, have turned funerals chances to threaten people out of hell, have outsourced healthcare and disease to someone else, and all the while overlooked the missing in need of relationship right before our eyes. When the paralytic needed additional assitance, we were too worried about whether it would cost too much. When an immoral woman came knocking on our door, we were too busy arguing about worship styles. When over 5,000 hungry people needed to be fed, we were too busy arguing about problems at church.

And when high schoolers, college students, and young adults cried out, we answered with programs, trips, and gymnasiums. But not relationships. This is especially true for our high school graduates. Everyone knows that most people who attend church as young people drop out of church after high school. We assume they'll eventually return, but unfortunately they're just going missing.

One of the most haunting books that I have recently discovered is Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The authors describe the world of former church attenders and non church attenders, primarily age 18-35.

We’ve always noticed that people leave church after high school. No surprise there, but this generation departs faster than we can imagine, and fewer return by age 35 than ever before in America. Roland Martinson, in a recent study of Lutheran demographics said, “75% percent of young men and women leave the church between ages 16-24, and 40% who leave return by age 35; 30% of those who return go to other denominations.” This is probably the same for Baptists.

Kinneman and Lyons report that 40% of people age 18-29 (about 24 million people) are outsiders to Christanity; that is, they are not Christians or are not attending a faith community of any sort. That’s the highest rate of any generation in America today. Compare that to Baby Boomers. About ¼ of all Boomers go to church (21 million people).

Kinnaman and Lyons are beginning to identify the reasons why. 9 out of every 10 people age 18-35 know someone who is a Christian in our country, and most have attended at least one church for several months at a time. The statistics suggest that 9 million young people have said they have had negative experiences at church with Christians or with Christians in general.

Young people who do become Christians, however, make the best evangelists. They’re so dialed into these bruising experiences that most of them try to organize their time in such a way to have friendships with nonbelievers so that they can explain their side of faith. They know how badly we’ve handled it, they want to have a chance to get in another perspective. (Kinneman and Lyons, p. 34)

On these weekends, where we watch graduates walk through newly-opened doors, we are also praying for new ears to understand the language of the missing.

Sunday, April 27 Service

Watch the 11:00 Worship Service at First Baptist

Listen to Me

“Listen to me…when I am lonely. Oh, I know most people think that because I am busy I have a full life. And I am glad I have been successful in avoiding their pity. But sometimes, when nights have been long, the club meetings few, the volunteer work routine, the neighbors busy, and the telephone silent, I want to cry out for human contact, but there is no one there to listen to me.

Listen to me…when I am angry. And if I tell you I am angry with God, will you reject me?

Listen to me….when I want to celebrate, or express joy, or tell of a success without appearing to be a braggart. And, please remember, if you are listening to me, you won’t top my success with one of your own, or stick pins in my balloon of joy by telling me what problems may arise.

While you are listening to me, for those moments that I am the focus of your attention, you are giving me a part of your life. This gift will help validate me, help me see myself as a person of worth. It could even happen that through this gift of yourself, I may be strengthened in my awareness of the infinite power of love. And in spite of the confusion, the anger the fright, and the loneliness I may be experiencing, when I again feel love, I am touched by God.”

Written by a Stephen Minister in Enid, Oklahoma

Missing Healthcare

Video of RAM's Work in Knoxville

Healthcare is the buzz these days. Politicians, pundits, and pollsters have their spin. What about preachers?

Jesus walked by the first century version of a hospital in John 5. The place was the pool of Bethesda. He demonstrated that we can love the missing who are sick, paralyzed, blind, and lame. All needed physical and spiritual healthcare.

The issue of healthcare in America runs much deeper than insurance coverage, pharmaceutical companies, and lawsuits. For Christians, healthcare is a platform for listening to the missing. You can find them at the doctor's office, Emergency Room, clinic, or in the case of one group in Knoxville- the Chilhowee building on Magnolia Avenue. In this video, RAM set up a clinic in Knoxville, treated 920 patients, gave away 500 pair of glasses, administered 94 mammograms, and pulled 1006 teeth. They turned 400 people away.

In John 5, Jesus showed us that for believers, healthcare is about two things--

1.) Showing up. No matter what you think about the political solution, Christians show up during a time of crisis. Jesus demonstrated how to go and be with this one paralyzed man.

2.) Asking a question that invites someone on a journey. Jesus' question, "Do you want to be made well?" is more than just, "Can I fix you?" The question implied, "May I journey with you into your soul?"

For the believer today, the most important question we can ask someone we know in a healthcare crisis is, "May I pray for you?" This question has the same effect as, "Do you want to be healed?"

As we pray, we share their needs with others. People become engaged. We remember the other person's needs. We look for answers together, and most importantly, we listen to their spiritual needs. We provide relationship, friendship, and introduce them to the one who offered something more than a new body. He offered eternal relationship that was worth something in the present.

One person at a time, all of us are made well.

Platforms

Everyone needs a platform for making friends with the missing.

I preach from a platform every Sunday, but it's not a good place for relationship.

Talking to the missing requires a venue, a location, or a platform.

In John, Jesus' platforms were
Family relationships in a fishing business- John 1
Water Well- John 4
Healing pool- John 5
Business to buy bread for a mountain full of people- John 6
Cemetery- John 11
Beach- John 21

By extension, our platforms can be the natural places of life where we run into the same missing people every day.
Family relationships
Coffee Shop, Starbucks, Panera Bread. A "Third place" in between home and work.
Hospital
Business
Funeral
Beach

First Baptist Knoxville Receives Award

FBC will receive the prestigious RC Buckner Award for Dedicated Church service this Friday evening in Dallas. For more information, click below.

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/04/buckner-to-honor-volunteers-do.html

Read Dr. Kenneth Hall's comments here.....

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2048430/27937248

Needing the Missing

The most important step a Christian must take in developing a relationship with nonbelievers is in his perspective on the relationship. We actually need missing people.

In John 4, Jesus demonstrates how to talk from a position of need rather than a position of superiority or arrogance. He asks, "Will you give me something to drink?" The question is not a strategy; it's a simple request for help. The question indicates how we should approach nonbelievers. We need them, we want them, they can help us, we can learn from them. The process creates conversations, dialogue, and in the case of the woman, conversion.

Imagine how this might revolutionize our relationships and our churches. We have so much to accomplish as Christians in the work of the gospel. We have good news to share, the poor to feed, justice to deliver, mercy to show. We cannot do it alone; we need our communities, friends, and neighbors. We need believers and nonbelievers alike. Non Christians actually share many of our desires. They want to help the poor, serve communities, make a difference, love neighbors, and volunteer. When we ask them to help us, we create opportunities to have conversations. We give them a chance to change their lives. And we learn again what it's like to follow Jesus' model in relationship with others.

Need the Missing

The best kind of evangelism happens when we show the people we’re trying to love into the kingdom of God how much we really need them. Take one example from my life. Mr. Holt was in charge of the bus ministry at First Baptist Pensacola, Florida, when my parents joined in 1972. They picked up kids in the neighborhoods, brought them on Sunday mornings and had a special children’s church for the bus kids. In the 1970s, this was one of the many popular ways to draw people to Jesus, drive up attendance, baptize a bunch of people, and yes, do evangelism. The church bought 5 used buses from schools, retrofitted them for church, painted them blue, and emblazoned them with large letters, “Follow me to First Baptist.”

Mr. Holt recruited two people for each of the five buses. One was a college student who could knock on doors, invite kids, and maintain order in the back of the bus. The second was an adult driver who could navigate the neighborhoods. For bus number 5, he asked the son of the local district attorney, Jimmy Magaha, to ride along. Jimmy knew every B.J. Thomas hit on the radio especially two that he loved to sing and taught to all the kids—“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

He asked my dad to drive Bus #5. My dad was everything a late 1970s conservative Baptist church in the South was not looking for in a member. He drank; he smoked, even while he was a member at First Baptist. He had been married previously. At the time, it was not your average “church leader” or volunteer resume. This was still the era when the Southern Baptists prided themselves on how much better they were than the culture. Somehow none of that mattered to Ed Holt. He needed a driver, my dad was willing, and Mr. Holt knew something. That sometimes the best recruits come from the ones who actually need to be needed.

Mr. Holt could tell that my dad was very good at relationships. He was usually the quiet guy in the back of any party making funny witty comments under his breath. And he had a natural warmth about him around others. My dad wasn’t the type to just sign up to volunteer. Like most people, he needed to be asked because he didn’t think he was qualified for most church positions. Even if they sent around a list, he would not have signed his name. But Mr. Holt did not need a list. He had met him at church, and that was enough to qualify him.

So on Sunday mornings, my dad became the first evangelist I ever met. He never preached a sermon; but because someone needed him, he was willing. He became the best church bus driver there ever was. He drove Bus #5, and I sat side saddle on a small metal box that fit my backside perfectly between the steering wheel and the driver’s sliding window. I’m sure today the police would have arrested us.

Early Sunday morning, we drove the Pontiac station wagon, got the keys out of the church office, unlocked Bus #5, and met Jimmy McGaha. From neighborhood to neighborhood we drove knocking on doors and singing to the top of our lungs, “Like a Rhinestone Cowboy, riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo.”

The bus ministry did not last forever, but the memories, and the legacy, still do. For me, my first good taste of church life did not happen on a pew but when someone had the vision to ask someone in need if he could help meet a need.

Listen to the Missing

Easter is the season for sharing this good news, a concept modern Christians call evangelism.
Everyone at church has received the good news, but the idea of evangelizing a nonbeliever is as intimidating to believers as nonbelievers. Either we can tell the story of a really bad Monday night cold calling on the doorstep of a very leery church prospect, or we would just prefer to follow parents’ advice—“Don’t talk about politics or religion with anyone.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus engages people where they live in a series transformational conversations using the right questions at the right time. For Jesus, evangelism is not about selling a product, telling people what they need, or forcing God down others’ throats. It’s certainly not about knocking on doors Monday night. It's not about counting how many conversions you have.

John shows us that Jesus loves people who are missing from the kingdom of God. He demonstrates that love by showing them how much he needs them in his life. He asks critical questions to Andrew, the Samaritan Woman, a man at the pool of Bethesda, the disciples, Mary, and Peter. Through listening, conversing, and being real with others, he reveals to us how we can simply be ourselves. We listen, we respond, we ask questions, we learn from others, and the Spirit changes lives.

Ironically, he uses the platforms of daily life as the place to converse. A fishing spot, a community water well, a healing pool, a business, a cemetery, and a beach all become the venues for friendship. In today’s language, we call these platforms a family, a Starbucks, a hospital, a job, a funeral, and a beach.

I'll be sharing more thoughts on this post as well as recommendations.

Go Deeper
I've posted some book recommendations to the left of this blog.

Ask Great Questions
Here are some questions you can ask a nonbeliever that lead to greater opportunities for listening and open the door to conversations about life and faith.

1.) How are you really doing?
2.) What are you looking for in life?
3.) It sounds like you're struggling with this issue, may I pray for you?
4.) How is your family dealing with this crisis?
5.) Do you want to get past through these struggles?
6.) What have all these things taught you?
7.) Will you help me with this project?
8.) What do you think I should during this struggle in my life? Why?
9.) What role does faith play in your life?
10.) What is your perspective on church people?
11.) What are some of the greatest challenges today? How would you address them?
12.) Is there a way that I can help you with this issue/crisis/struggle in life?


The Conversations in John
Jesus counted conversations, not conversions. The opening chapter of John is like a week in the life, a series of the first 8 days of Jesus’ life that set the stage for the rest of the book—how do you go about discipling future disciples? That is, how does Jesus go about the process of getting from point A to B. John doesn’t deal with the same things the Synoptics discuss for a lot of reasons, but one reason (of several) is that the church in Ephesus to whom John has already written three little letters and now a biography, is struggling with this issue—we have a great story to tell. We know the resurrection, we know that Jesus is alive, we know that he died for us. Good information. We’re actually motivated to share it. We’re actually willing to do something about it. We’re actually wanting to attract others to this community of faith.

Jesus shows us all throughout the Gospel of John is that he knows how to use the power of personal networks—the network in this case of a family fishing business (John 1:35-51) to ask perhaps the most significant haunting question of Peter, Andrew, Philip, John, and even Nathaniel’s life—what do you want?

There are lots of ways to ask that question, aren’t there? If you’re standing in the line to see Santa Claus for Christmas—"what do you want for Christmas?"-- is one way. If you’re ordering from the menu at a restaurant, the temptation is to just say "what do you want tonight?" as you look for the hamburgers.

But this question translated from Greek has this effect- "what are you seeking? What are you really wanting out of life? What are you looking for?"

The only way Jesus can ever get the point where Simon can trust him enough to answer the question—is for Jesus to listen, to pay attention right there in the midst of the fishing village.

Peter is responds conversationally—where are you staying. Where are you going to be long enough so I can have access to you—it’s the same language that Jesus later uses to abide, or to remain in God—where are you remaining long enough so you and I can live, work, breathe, touch, I can talk, and you can listen.

Other conversations will follow--
John 3- Nicodemus
John 4- Samaritan Woman
John 5- Lame man at Pool of Bethsaida
John 6- Disciples on a Mountain
John 11- Mary and Martha at the Cemetery
John 21- Peter on the Beach

New Vocabulary
When you’re listening to the missing, you can’t use the same words any more. Here are a few to drop from your vocabulary.

“Soul-Winning”- it’s not a contest any more. This word is not in the Bible. Who really wins anyway if the missing person is rejects Jesus because the Christian is arrogant?

“Going witnessing”- it’s not a program. Christians are always witnesses—good, bad, or otherwise. That’s part of our problem. Everything counts. Even when you’re stuck in traffic or in the grocery line.

“Lost”- you lose things, not people. People are always missing.

“Leading people to Jesus”- something the Holy Spirit does. We don’t lead anyone anywhere. We listen, they talk, we pray, love, and ask great questions.

“Presenting the gospel”- it’s not a speech. It’s news, good news in fact that can be shared conversationally; and the only news we have is the latest way that God is working in our lives.

Platforms
Everyone needs a platform for making friends with the missing. I preach from a platform every Sunday, but it's not a good place for relationship.

In John, Jesus' platforms were
Family relationships in a fishing business- John 1
Water Well- John 4
Healing pool- John 5
Mountainside- John 6
Cemetery- John 11
Beach- John 21

By extension, our platforms can be the natural places of life where we run into the same missing people every day.
Family relationships
Coffee Shop, Starbucks, Panera Bread. A "Third place" in between home and work.
Hospital
Business
Funeral
Beach



New Attitude
The most important step a Christian must take in developing a relationship with nonbelievers is in his perspective on the relationship. We actually need missing people.

In John 4, Jesus demonstrates how to talk from a position of need rather than a position of superiority or arrogance. He asks, "Will you give me something to drink?" The question is not a strategy; it's a simple request for help. The question indicates how we should approach nonbelievers. We need them, we want them, they can help us, we can learn from them. The process creates conversations, dialogue, and in the case of the woman, conversion.

Imagine how this might revolutionize our relationships and our churches. We have so much to accomplish as Christians in the work of the gospel. We have good news to share, the poor to feed, justice to deliver, mercy to show. We cannot do it alone; we need our communities, friends, and neighbors. We need believers and nonbelievers alike. Non Christians actually share many of our desires. They want to help the poor, serve communities, make a difference, love neighbors, and volunteer. When we ask them to help us, we create opportunities to have conversations. We give them a chance to change their lives. And we learn again what it's like to follow Jesus' model in relationship with others.

Take one example from my life. Mr. Holt was in charge of the bus ministry at First Baptist Pensacola, Florida, when my parents joined in 1972. They picked up kids in the neighborhoods, brought them on Sunday mornings and had a special children’s church for the bus kids. In the 1970s, this was one of the many popular ways to draw people to Jesus, drive up attendance, baptize a bunch of people, and yes, do evangelism. The church bought 5 used buses from schools, retrofitted them for church, painted them blue, and emblazoned them with large letters, “Follow me to First Baptist.”

Mr. Holt recruited two people for each of the five buses. One was a college student who could knock on doors, invite kids, and maintain order in the back of the bus. The second was an adult driver who could navigate the neighborhoods. For bus number 5, he asked the son of the local district attorney, Jimmy Magaha, to ride along. Jimmy knew every B.J. Thomas hit on the radio especially two that he loved to sing and taught to all the kids—“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

He asked my dad to drive Bus #5. My dad was everything a late 1970s conservative Baptist church in the South was not looking for in a member. He drank; he smoked, even while he was a member at First Baptist. He had been married previously. At the time, it was not your average “church leader” or volunteer resume. This was still the era when the Southern Baptists prided themselves on how much better they were than the culture. Somehow none of that mattered to Ed Holt. He needed a driver, my dad was willing, and Mr. Holt knew something. That sometimes the best recruits come from the ones who actually need to be needed.

Mr. Holt could tell that my dad was very good at relationships. He was usually the quiet guy in the back of any party making funny witty comments under his breath. And he had a natural warmth about him around others. My dad wasn’t the type to just sign up to volunteer. Like most people, he needed to be asked because he didn’t think he was qualified for most church positions. Even if they sent around a list, he would not have signed his name. But Mr. Holt did not need a list. He had met him at church, and that was enough to qualify him.

So on Sunday mornings, my dad became the first evangelist I ever met. He never preached a sermon; but because someone needed him, he was willing. He became the best church bus driver there ever was. He drove Bus #5, and I sat side saddle on a small metal box that fit my backside perfectly between the steering wheel and the driver’s sliding window. I’m sure today the police would have arrested us.

Early Sunday morning, we drove the Pontiac station wagon, got the keys out of the church office, unlocked Bus #5, and met Jimmy McGaha. From neighborhood to neighborhood we drove knocking on doors and singing to the top of our lungs, “Like a Rhinestone Cowboy, riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo.”

The bus ministry did not last forever, but the memories, and the legacy, still do. For me, my first good taste of church life did not happen on a pew but when someone had the vision to ask someone in need if he could help meet a need.

Missing Healthcare
Video of RAM's Work in Knoxville

Healthcare is the buzz these days. Politicians, pundits, and pollsters have their spin. What about preachers?

Jesus walked by the first century version of a hospital in John 5. The place was the pool of Bethesda. He demonstrated that we can love the missing who are sick, paralyzed, blind, and lame. All needed physical and spiritual healthcare.

The issue of healthcare in America runs much deeper than insurance coverage, pharmaceutical companies, and lawsuits. For Christians, healthcare is a platform for listening to the missing. You can find them at the doctor's office, Emergency Room, clinic, or in the case of one group in Knoxville- the Chilhowee building on Magnolia Avenue. In this video, RAM set up a clinic in Knoxville, treated 920 patients, gave away 500 pair of glasses, administered 94 mammograms, and pulled 1006 teeth. They turned 400 people away.

In John 5, Jesus showed us that for believers, healthcare is about two things--

1.) Showing up. No matter what you think about the political solution, Christians show up during a time of crisis. Jesus demonstrated how to go and be with this one paralyzed man.

2.) Asking a question that invites someone on a journey. Jesus' question, "Do you want to be made well?" is more than just, "Can I fix you?" The question implied, "May I journey with you into your soul?"

For the believer today, the most important question we can ask someone we know in a healthcare crisis is, "May I pray for you?" This question has the same effect as, "Do you want to be healed?"

As we pray, we share their needs with others. People become engaged. We remember the other person's needs. We look for answers together, and most importantly, we listen to their spiritual needs. We provide relationship, friendship, and introduce them to the one who offered something more than a new body. He offered eternal relationship that was worth something in the present.

One person at a time, all of us are made well.

Graduating into the Missing

Christians and especially churches have created the culture of the missing. We’re the ones that have caused many people to go missing. How? We have treated evangelism as strategy, labeled the nonChristians as the only sinners in the world, have turned funerals chances to threaten people out of hell, have outsourced healthcare and disease to someone else, and all the while overlooked the missing in need of relationship right before our eyes. When the paralytic needed additional assitance, we were too worried about whether it would cost too much. When an immoral woman came knocking on our door, we were too busy arguing about worship styles. When over 5,000 hungry people needed to be fed, we were too busy arguing about problems at church.

And when high schoolers, college students, and young adults cried out, we answered with programs, trips, and gymnasiums. But not relationships. This is especially true for our high school graduates. Everyone knows that most people who attend church as young people drop out of church after high school. We assume they'll eventually return, but unfortunately they're just going missing.

One of the most haunting books that I have recently discovered is Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The authors describe the world of former church attenders and non church attenders, primarily age 18-35.

We’ve always noticed that people leave church after high school. No surprise there, but this generation departs faster than we can imagine, and fewer return by age 35 than ever before in America. Roland Martinson, in a recent study of Lutheran demographics said, “75% percent of young men and women leave the church between ages 16-24, and 40% who leave return by age 35; 30% of those who return go to other denominations.” This is probably the same for Baptists.

Kinneman and Lyons report that 40% of people age 18-29 (about 24 million people) are outsiders to Christanity; that is, they are not Christians or are not attending a faith community of any sort. That’s the highest rate of any generation in America today. Compare that to Baby Boomers. About ¼ of all Boomers go to church (21 million people).

Kinnaman and Lyons are beginning to identify the reasons why. 9 out of every 10 people age 18-35 know someone who is a Christian in our country, and most have attended at least one church for several months at a time. The statistics suggest that 9 million young people have said they have had negative experiences at church with Christians or with Christians in general.

Young people who do become Christians, however, make the best evangelists. They’re so dialed into these bruising experiences that most of them try to organize their time in such a way to have friendships with nonbelievers so that they can explain their side of faith. They know how badly we’ve handled it, they want to have a chance to get in another perspective. (Kinneman and Lyons, p. 34)

On these weekends, where we watch graduates walk through newly-opened doors, we are also praying for new ears to understand the language of the missing.



"Listen to Me"
“Listen to me….when I am lonely. Oh, I know most people think that because I am busy I have a full life. And I am glad I have been successful in avoiding their pity. But sometimes, when nights have been long, the club meetings few, the volunteer work routine, the neighbors busy, and the telephone silent, I want to cry out for human contact, but there is no one there to listen to me.

Listen to me….when I am angry. And if I tell you I am angry with God, will you reject me?

Listen to me….when I want to celebrate, or express joy, or tell of a success without appearing to be a braggart. And, please remember, if you are listening to me, you won’t top my success with one of your own, or stick pins in my balloon of joy by telling me what problems may arise.

While you are listening to me, for those moments that I am the focus of your attention, you are giving me a part of your life. This gift will help validate me, help me see myself as a person of worth. It could even happen that through this gift of yourself, I may be strengthened in my awareness of the infinite power of love. And in spite of the confusion, the anger the fright, and the loneliness I may be experiencing, when I again feel love, I am touched by God.”

--Written by a Stephen Minister at First Presbyterian Church, Enid, Oklahoma.

Wedding Rehearsal

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding for God’s Son. God has invited people to join him at the wedding feast of his Son Jesus Christ. Who would refuse an invitation like that? Surprisingly, the first ones invited did. God sent his servants to ask even more to come. By implication, Jewish people were the first two groups to receive invitations and Gentiles the third. Another surprise awaited.


Jesus indicated that accepting an invitation, knowing the groom as a “friend” (22:12-13), and attending the wedding are not enough. One must be clothed correctly, or prepared through one’s obedient living, in order to enter the feast (Garland, Reading Matthew, 225).



The customs of an ancient wedding banquet are analogous to the modern wedding rehearsal and dinner. Even though our weddings do not last for a week, we rehearse the parts, prepare for the event, and feast together the night before the big day. In a rehearsal, the coordinator positions the attendants, practices the processional, coordinates the instrumentalists, and prepares for the big day. As the rehearsal goes, often so does the wedding itself. In the same way, believers prepare for the wedding of Christ to the church each time we gather for worship and serve others. The bridegroom (Christ) has invited all people to come to his celebration. The guest list is open-ended; he has sent people to invite everyone because most of the first invitees refused to come.


When we gather in a church, the service functions like the wedding rehearsal. When we worship, serve, and study, we are learning our parts. We learn how to be obedient. We learn more about the groom and discover the others in the wedding party. We meet the other members of the family who are also on the bride’s side. We study the groom’s story (the Bible). We serve in other ways, too. We visit people in nursing homes, homeless shelters, hospitals, and prisons
who wish they could attend the rehearsal.


The problem, however, is that most people are too busy to come for the rehearsal. They are busy getting ready for other things. They are either at the office working extra time on Sunday morning, going to the ball game, golfing another eighteen holes, or simply staying at home. In essence, many refuse the invitation. It’s their choice. And it is none of our business to worry about their choices. Most of their decisions come naturally to them, and they would not think otherwise.


God says that in order to come to the wedding, though, we must accept the invitation and be prepared when we arrive. According to the parable, some who attend the rehearsal (called
“friend,” 22:12-13) will not be at the wedding, just as there are plenty at church who are not fully prepared for the end.


To be prepared, we need the right garments. The clothes are not a description of the required attire for a worship service. They are the symbols of obedience. Righteousness is clothing for the feast. It’s not merely enough to accept the invitation; we must live appropriately
as well.



(A selection from Sessions with Matthew available now from Smyth and Helwys.)

Secret Students

Which is more surprising? That Pilate's wife sent him a note or Joseph of Arimathea lived past the burial of Jesus?

According to some scholars, wives of procurators were not even allowed to travel with their husbands. The government wanted the magistrates focused on their duties-- not on their families. Pilate's wife appearance in Jerusalem is shocking.

Joseph of Arimathea possibly risked death to ask for the body of Jesus. If it had not been Passover season, the Romans might have just left the bodies on the poles to be picked off by birds. Most people would not risk association with a crucified criminal publicly.

When both of these characters appear from the backstage of Matthew's dramatic account, suddenly secret practices have real meaning. These people, who have studied Jesus' life privately, have eternal insight.

Pilate's wife listens to her dreams, echoing the dreams of the magi who went "home by another way." Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the same religious establishment responsible for Jesus' arrest, reveals that he has been on Jesus' side the entire time.

You never know who might be lurking-- or learning-- behind the scenes of good vs. evil.

Secret Justice

Lent gives us the opportunity to work secretly—behind the scenes—to do justice. For these six weeks, we go backstage to carry out Jesus’ commands to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned. This kind of work is happening in Macon County, Tennessee. While other agencies have backed off, Christian people are going to work to do justice and to bring hope. Here’s one first hand account from our own Sharon Vandergriff after she returned from one of the groups organized by 1B.

“We were in an area about 7-9 miles from the heart of town. The path of devastation was like all the things you hear and see about tornados – one house leveled and the neighbors, untouched. When we first arrived at our assigned location, I thought, there is nothing very fulfilling about picking up shingles, glass and every piece of debris imaginable in a pasture. I was amazed how my feelings changed over the course of the day. The surrounding area where we worked showed plenty of damage including nearby houses and a mobile home leveled to the foundation. We weren’t at the location of someone’s house - we were in a pasture with lots of tree damage and debris and the final resting spot for the partial contents of someone’s house. The occasion to walk over dried manure was a reminder that this pasture wasn’t home to people, but to other living things… Perhaps means to someone’s livelihood.

“I still can’t seem to get my head or my heart around the things I saw and felt yesterday. Many questions continue to race through my mind…ones that come without easy answers. Do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you? What prevents people from helping others? What is most important to me? If this happened to me, how would I respond…how would I feel? How do you pick up the pieces? If someone found the contents of my life in a field what would they be able to tell about me – what judgments would they make without ever knowing me? How do you pick-up the pieces and start to function? How do you learn to walk in shoes that don’t feel like your own? You find comfort in and through the support of people that will stick by you and help you on the journey.”

More teams are on their way to do justice until Easter weekend. Feel free to pass along this secret.

Update on Disaster Relief

FBC Knoxville continues relief, clean-up efforts in Macon County

KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- First Baptist Church of Knoxville is coordinating teams of volunteers every Friday and Saturday, beginning this week, to go to Macon County and assist in clean-up and relief efforts.

Volunteer teams will depart from the FBC Knoxville parking lot on Friday mornings at 5:30 am, spend the night in Carthage, Tenn. at the Carthage United Methodist Church, and return after working Saturday. Persons interested in working only one day are welcome to provide their own transportation and meet–up with work teams from FBC Knoxville.

Marion Graybeal, onsite coordinator, is enlisting teams and coordinating work efforts. He can be reached at (865) 607-7721 or by email to disasterreliefvols@fbcknox.org. Volunteers must be prepared with work boots, gloves and appropriate safety gear for clean-up and debris removal.
The church is not receiving any donated supplies and materials at this time per the request of local officials in Macon County. Should that change, notification will be made by email and

through local media as well as on the church’s website, www.fbcknox.org.

Ongoing assessments of longer term needs are being made by the church’s disaster relief coordinating team. As details regarding what the church will do to assist in recovery and rebuilding are known, they will be disseminated through all communication channels.
Donations, payable to First Baptist Church of Knoxville and clearly marked “Disaster Relief-Middle Tennessee,” continue to be received by the church. As of Monday, Feb. 18, over $11,500 had been collected for direct relief in Middle Tennessee.

For more information, please contact Sandy Wisener at (865) 803-3093, Wanda Edmondson at (865) 567-5994, or Carol McEntyre at (865) 363-6372. Send email to disasterreliefvols@fbcknox.org.

Macon County for Valentine's Day

I am still overwhelmed with yesterday's experience in Macon County. Thanks to WBIR Channel 10, the people of East Tennessee responded to our call for supplies and cash. In one day, we raised $5,000 for Macon county relief and a 26 foot truck-full of cleaning supplies, toiletries, salt, sugar, oil, and pillows. Another 16,000 bottles of water leave tomorrow. Russell Biven with WBIR's "Live at Five" program led the charge communicating to the community all day Wednesday. On Thursday, he followed us to this hard hit area.

We were at Carl Trent's home in a neighborhood that lost 11 people in the tornado. Carl saved the lives of 3 grandchildren and 1 other child during the storm. With little warning, he placed the children under a couch and held the pillows on top of them as they rode out the storm. This picture is taken from what remains of his front porch. His house is in the rubble behind us. He was in that rubble during the storm.

I can't say what a privilege it is to be able to work with Russell, WBIR, this fine team, and this church. The group pictured with us came from Beaver Dam, Lenoir City, and First Baptist all to help. Michael McEntyre led the chainsaw team, and we helped pick up the pieces--literally-- of Carl's home and place them near the curb where the army truck could go by and haul away his stuff. After the lot is cleared, he will receive a FEMA trailer to live in while his house is rebuilt.

Go to www.fbcknox.org and www.wbir.com to view pictures and learn how you can get involved.

Macon County Relief

First Baptist Church of Knoxville coordinating collections
for victims of Middle Tennessee twisters

KNOXVILLE, TENN.—First Baptist Church of Knoxville is receiving disaster relief supplies to be delivered to Lafayette (Macon County), Tenn. for those affected by a tornado that ripped through the area on Feb. 5.

Non-perishable food stuffs and supplies will be collected on Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 6:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. at the corner of Walnut and Hill Streets in Downtown Knoxville for delivery on Feb. 14. Items requested include:

· 1 lb. canned hams

· Sugar

· Corn Meal

· Flour

· Salt

· Plastic buckets

· Laundry baskets

· Pillows

· Cleaning supplies

· Empty shipping boxes and packing tape

“The devastating loss of life and property is overwhelming to those directly affected by this disaster. Beyond praying for those whose homes were lost, we are going to do our part to help our neighbors in Middle Tennessee,” said Bill Shiell, senior pastor.

The church is also coordinating teams of volunteers to travel to Macon County on Thursday, Feb. 14, to work that day in clean-up and recovery. Additional teams of volunteers will be posted to Macon County as the needs warrant additional volunteer labor in weeks to come. Information about volunteers will be posted to the church’s website www.fbcknox.org.

Monetary donations will also be received by the church. All funds collected will be forwarded directly to recognized, responsible providers of assistance in Middle Tennessee. Checks should be made payable to First Baptist Church of Knoxville and clearly marked “Disaster Relief-Middle Tennessee.”

For more information, see www.fbcknox.org or call (865) 546-9661.

865-363-5345

Save us Under the Trees

In Lent, we move closer to holy week, a tradition that has been adapted from the Jewish feast of Passover. Their feast reminds us of the Exodus from Egypt to deliverance at the Red Sea. Jesus entered Jerusalem to join the Passover celelbration; and crowds hailed, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

But what do palm branches have to do with Passover? Moses did not give instructions to "take your palm branches with you." The Israelites did not wave them at the drowning Egyptians.

They were significant, but I contend they had very little do with the Passover. People used them quite often for the old Jewish festival of sukkot, or what we call the Festival of Booths. When the Israelites arrived at Sinia, people constructed booths made of wood. The roofs were made from freshly cut willow branches or palm branches that would have grown naturally in the desert oases. Their festival tradition was to go out, live in tents, and like the Israelites who made these tents and then built them at the base the mountain when God gave them a law to purify their lives. Out in the wilderness, the children would sing a song that reminded them that God would protect them. It was the song “Ho-shanna,” God save us. The children put a little celebration twist on it because for them, they believed that God would do it and had saved by providing the law. Despite being in the desert, they were ready to sing to God knowing ahead of time that he saved them.

(FMI on sukkot see Stephen Wylen, The Jews in the Time of Jesus: an Introduction, 101)

Christmas Trees and Palm Branches

It seems sort of odd that we’re at the beginning of Lent. We’re still in the shadow of the manger, aren’t we? No sooner have we broken the Christmas toys, put up the Christmas tree, and taken our stuff to the neighborhood swap meet, than we’re watching Jesus try to ride into the city of Jerusalem on top of broken palm branches.

That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be this year, and I'm grateful that Matthew understands this. The first Gospel does not get past the magi's first toddler shower for Jesus until lives are disrupted by the shadow of suffering. The magi brought myrrh-- a burial ointment-- of all things for a baby present. Ominous. Foreboding. When Herod hears about Jesus, he takes his paranoia out on every 1 year old in the neighborhood. Joseph and Mary flee as the memories of the Hebrew matriarch Rachel gush forth in sorrow.

Matthew doesn’t let us get very far into the Christmas story without reminding us that the Christ child can only be understood from the perspective of God's suffering on the cross. So if Lent seems to come a little early, don't be surprised. In Matthew's world, the cross should loom large this close to Christmas.

Acting out for Lent

“All the world’s a stage,” said Shakespeare, but Jesus knew that the moment he walked out from behind the curtain onto the global scene. He saw actors a few miles down the road in the nearby village of Sepphoris. Herod built a huge outdoor arena for the great plays of the ancient world. Actors donned the masks and became someone else. They called them "hypocrites" in Greek or our word in English "actors."

The Pharisees and religious leaders' actions seemed eerily similar to the stage of Sepphoris. The same language of the theater lies behind his warning to us in Matthew 6. It’s the language of the theater. It’s the same experience that you and I could have on Broadway and for a moment imagine a whole new reality. But when acting invades the life of the pious and religious, you have is just a bunch of rubbish.

Lent and Easter can turn into an act. Put a little ashes on the forehead, show off your good stuff, be present and accounted for the next 40 days or so. But all we’ve done is stood in front of the curtain and arranged for all to see us, masking an inner sham.

Matthew 6's secret practices of lent are prayer, fasting, and giving. They actually function as a kind of backstage pass for us. To go into the secret place--behind the curtain--and see where the real action is.

All those fancy things out front-- fancy religious language-- just covers up stage fright. Backstage, we see Jesus at work in us.

When I was on the stage crew at my high school, I learned that the actors not only performed, they built the sets. The janitor came in and fixed lights. The stage crew had to repair things. That’s when you rolled up your sleeves, and the dirt got all over you. The dirt was not just a smear on the forehead or the palm, but all over. You really hadn’t worked on the stage crew until you really were dirty all over.

The same applies for the Christian life. The backstage of life is where Jesus works behind the scenes. It was behind the scenes of the dirt of the Roman rabble, and Jewish corruption, and religious intrigue that Jesus said, "This is for the forgiveness of sins."

Lent tells us you can’t be out in front of the curtain until you've understood the power of dirt. You can’t preach, teach, worship, or put on your Sunday best without rolling in the dirt, understanding your sinfulness, and then a receiving a good spiritual bath of forgiveness that no one can see. You wouldn’t want them to see that anyway. That’s just between you and God. Behind the curtain.

Keeping Secrets

Down here in the real world, it's not the Super Bowl or Super Tuesday, it's Lent. 40 days of slogging through the wilderness of repentance. Secretively. Christians did not make the news again on Wednesday. We were too busy praying for Union University and other tornado-ravaged areas. But for the next few weeks, please don't pay any attention to us. We'd prefer to just go about this business in private.

In Matthew 6, Jesus suggested three practices of the heart that could be verbal icons (to use Charles Talbert's term) into faithful piety. They are giving, praying, and fasting. No doubt Jesus observed their abuse in 1st century Judaism. The public squares were full of the giving for donor recognition, praying at ball games, and fasting for the biggest loser. So Jesus listed them with one condition-- do things that you cannot tell anyone about.

Pray in the closet, and don't come out of it.
Give with such poor communication in your body and organization that your left hand doesn't even feel the right hand.
Fast so that others never recognize it.

No doubt there will be more calls to pray, give, and surrender something over the next 6 weeks or so. But Jesus-- who wasn't much for making headlines-- says, if you pray so much publicly, how long do you need to pray behind closed doors? 7 times, 70 x 7 hours? And if giving is about the IRS and plaques on the wall, how much can you give anonymously this time of year? Can you send the flowers without signing the note? And on the fasting bit, you might need to fast from something chic like email or cell phones. That will certainly inconvenience everyone else-- and they'll know about it. But if you want to do it secretively, try fasting from a sin, addiction, or lust that only you and God know.

Can you keep all that a secret until Easter?

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are.........

2500 Muslims in Knoxville
http://mumford.albany.edu/census/BlackWhite/muslimsortlists/muslim-sort.htm

300-500 Hindu families
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/jun/16/for-many-hindus-home-worship-as-integral-as-time/

1800 Jewish people Knoxville
250 in Oak Ridge
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:xaj0lfCkOvIJ:www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/2001_6_USDemography.pdf+jewish+population+knoxville+tennessee&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us

What Christians Don't Know Might Help Them

"Know it all Christianity" is about as dangerous as scribes and teachers of the law standing around talking to Herod in Matthew 2. So Christians have to be mindful of speaking about what they know and avoiding what they don't.

Here's what we know-- we believe that Jesus is the way, and we believe that individuals who believe in Jesus have the free gift of eternal life in heaven. It's an individual choice, and the decision is between that person and God.

What we don't know is the spiritual condition of others. When we overspeculate and pretend to know we move toward what Jesus warned about in Matthew 7-- judging others.

Jesus talked about 2 things that would happen but left out signifcant things as well.

He talked about his return but did not tell us when it would happen. We believe he'll return, but we're terrible at predictions.

He described heaven but did not tell us who would be there. He did tell us three things.

1.) That believers would be surprised they were part of the sheep (Matthew 25:40-46)

2.) Nonbelievers would be surprised they were the goats (Matthew 25:40-46).

3.) Not everyone who says the magic words "Lord, Lord" will qualify (Matthew 7:21).

When watching a rich ruler struggle with a decision to follow, an exasperated Peter said, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus gave us the best answer of all, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

We live in the tension of believing in Jesus and trusting that God knows the "roll called up yonder." Until then, we share our faith with humility, without judgment, believing that God does the work of salvation. We're just grateful to be a part of that salvation, and the magi give us some indication that God works even through pagan religions to draw people to Christ.

The gospel always surprises. Chuck Swindoll once said that there would be surprises in heaven:

1.) Who's there
2.) Who's not there
3.) That you're there

Book Recommendations

Here's my suggested reading list for Home by Another Way.

This journal provides excellent articles.

Don't miss Billy Graham's comments in Newsweek.

The Challenge

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Other than “For God so loved the world,” no statement of Jesus commands more attention and captures the faith of believers over the years. Since the first century, Christians have believed that Jesus is the only way to heaven and lived beside people of other faith traditions. Long before there were Muslims and Mormons, there were Pagans, Polytheists, and Priests. The Romans thought the followers of the “Way” so odd that they labeled them as “atheists” because they did not believe in enough gods.

In the first century, Christians were faithful to their beliefs but remained civil, hopeful, and active in “overcoming evil with good.” From Peter in Cornelius’ house in Acts 10, to Paul on Mars Hill in Acts 17, they shared practices of hospitality, dialogue, and listening that provided platforms for a true Christian witness. We can learn so much from the time when Christianity was the minority religion and people of faith were struggling to gain a foothold in a very secular society. What we learn from the first century speaks volumes to us about how we live with Jesus as the way today.

During this year’s Winter Bible Study, I invite you to journey “Home by Another Way.” The title, taken from the magi’s journey home in Matthew 2, expresses the hope that God has for the world and the challenge for all of us as we live in a pluralistic world. The difficulties are many: we share this planet with people who worship much differently than we. We work and learn beside people from across the globe. How do we work together with all people and at the same time tell the story of Jesus? We know this story has been used for good and evil purposes. How Christians go about living with Jesus as the way makes all the difference.

This conference will discuss several key questions that face our world and the followers of the “Way” today:
Is everyone worshiping the same God?
Should we dialogue with people of other religious traditions, and if so, how?
How do I have a conversation with someone who is from another religious background?
How did the magi (and other pagans in the scripture) find God?
How can people from other faiths come to know Jesus?
How do I keep my religion from becoming evil?
What did Jesus mean when he said, “I am the Way, the truth, and the life?”

On January 12-13, let’s journey together and return home by the Jesus Way.

What Shepherds Do

Shepherds are protectors and seekers. In ancient Israel, they were the gate of the sheepfold. They laid down at the entrance of the pen at night to protect sheep. In the day, they sought out the missing.

Jesus does the same in John 10. Not only does he protect the sheep but he climbs over the fold to seek out ones that no one expected to be in the pen--not even the other sheep.

For ancient Jewish 1st century disciples, Jesus described how he would go about welcoming us--the gentiles-- into the fold. People who would not normally be welcome into the full breadth of temple customs, sacrifices, and other rituals would now by welcome because he was the good shepherd today.

How quickly the Gentile church of today forgets that Jesus is still leaping over our walls to gather in more lambs. Who are they, how is he doing this, and how might that change how we interact with those people we have labeled as "outside the fold"? These questions, and many more will be discussed at "Home by Another Way."

Jesus: the Way

When Jesus said, "I am the way," he told troubled Jewish disciples that through him they would be taken care of when they died. For guys who relied on the temple their entire lives, this was indeed good news.



When Christians say today, "Jesus is the way," it can range from a bumper sticker on the back of a car to an invitation to dialogue with a nonChristian. How we say what we mean, mean what we say, and still show that "God is love"? I will address these questions, and many more, at Home By Another Way.

Home By Another Way Sessions

Home by Another Way: Jesus’ Invitation to the World
January 12-13

First Baptist Church

Trentham Hall and Sanctuary

3:00 p.m. Saturday-12:00 noon Sunday

Session 1: No God but God
3:00 p.m. Saturday
God is One and God is Love, but Father Abraham had Many Sons
Genesis 12, Romans 1
What kind of God is revealed among the various religions of the world? Are they pursuing the same truth? And why should all this matter to Christians?

Session 2: Home By Another Way: How the Magi Come to Jesus
Matthew 2
4:15 p.m. Saturday
What the journey of the magi from pagan astrology teaches us about people of other faiths today

Supper- 5:30 p.m.

Session 3: Keeping Religion from Becoming Evil: The Way we Go About this Matters
6:30 p.m. Saturday
An overview of the major Christian views on the way people come to Jesus and their effects on our lives

Session 4: What Sheep Need from a Shepherd: I am the Way
John 10, 14
8:42 am Sunday
Jesus’ statement “I am the Way….” gave abandoned disciples the information they needed so they did not have to return to Judaism after he left.

Session 5: How Faith in Jesus Teaches us how to Treat Nonbelievers
10:00 a.m. Sunday
Relating to someone who does not share your beliefs using the ancient Christian practices of dialogue, liberty, civility, and toleration.

Session 6: Light for the Way
Acts 20
11:00 a.m. Sunday
How Paul witnesses in Athens changes how we share faith today in Jesus’ Name

Home by Another Way

The Bible is full of people outside the mainstream who inform and change how people come to God.

The Spirit of the Lord falls an ancient sorcerer or magus named Balaam. He blesses Israel and refuses to curse his enemies in Numbers 24.

Midianite priests give Moses advice in Exodus 18.

Magi, successors to Balaam, arrive in Matthew 2, giving gifts to Jesus.

All of these characters participate in pagan religious rituals prior to their role in God's story. All of them enter the story at pivotal times in the history of Israel and the church. Balaam, the Magi, and by implication, the Midianite priests live differently after their contact with God and his people. In each case, the people of God learn something from outsiders that enriches their journey, changes their lives, and affects the world. Both the insiders and the outsiders go "home by another way."

God is always at work drawing people to God's light. How does God go about this process? How does God use the people of God today to be his agents in this process? What can we learn from the outsiders that can help us as we share that light? All of these questions and more will be part of my study entitled "Home by Another Way" at First Baptist Knoxville, January 12-13.

Making Love Happen

(The following posts were originally published for www.followingthestar.com)

Matthew 11:7-11

Love begins when we realize that we cannot make it through life without looking back. When we turn around, we see significant people who made it possible for us to be who we are today.

John the Baptist made Jesus’ ministry effective. John, who was part of Jesus’ extended family, did things that Jesus did not come to do. Like Isaiah’s, he opened doors, prepared hearts, and preached sermons that people had not heard in a long time. He wore just camel’s hair for worship and used the Jordan River for a sanctuary. If Jesus had been that person, few would have believed him. After John’s disciples left, Jesus gave credit to the giant on whose shoulders he stood.

Who made things happen in your life? Who was the person who shared Christ and life with you and made you who you are today? More than likely they sacrificed a great deal of money, resources, and fame so that you could live, breathe, play, and enjoy.

Take time to share love this Advent season with someone who has made it possible for you to live the way you live today. Tell them personally through a note, email, or a personal word of thanks.

Prayer: Thank you, God, that we are not alone and that others have prepared the way for us.

Minding Behavior

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)

Matthew 11:2-6

Mind-reading. It happens all the time. People love to take a few actions, tie them together, and “Wa-la!” You know what they’re “thinking.” You hear it in phrases that begin with “Everybody thinks.” “Everybody thinks that I’m a……” “They think that he’s a……..” “She thinks that we’re going to…….”

John the Baptist’s followers were playing the “everybody thinks” game about Jesus. They assumed Jesus was trying to be like him. Jesus reminds John the Baptist’s followers that no one is a mind-reader. You can only read behavior. Here are his actions—healing the blind, curing the lame, treating people with health conditions as people, and sharing good news. Love your mind during Advent, and give your mind a gift. Let someone else read minds, and you focus instead on behavior. No matter what “they think,” there is a world to discover just watch by watching others’ actions. That will tell you everything you need to know about a person.

Prayer: I confess that I’m more concerned about what people think rather than what they do. Help me to see the behavior of others and love them as you do.

The Next Best Thing

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)

James 5:7-10

We’re always waiting for the next thing. The semester to end, Christmas to come, school year to break, life to begin. We say, “I can’t wait until…” or “When I get out of school.” James says that while waiting for the next thing, we need the discipline of daily obedience to God.

James uses the example of a farmer who is patient intentionally. He does not throw seed on the ground and hope that the sun and rain will do their thing. He is deliberately patient. He takes responsibility for the land, fertilizing, weeding, tilling, and nurturing. He repairs his equipment, works with the tools, and does everything that he thinks is necessary to be prepared for a good crop.

Like a farmer, we have work to do while we patiently await the “next” thing—graduation, college, marriage, career, etc. We can easily get caught up in the “when I get to…” mode and forget about the gifts of responsibilities.

The gift of showing love rather than gossip to the person who shares a locker. The opportunity to sow secret seeds of kindness to a child or a senior adult. The chance to treat parents with respect and gratitude rather than grumbling and arguing. The next thing you know, we’ve arrived.

Prayer: As I seek your patience, help me focus on today, God, and the gifts that are in front of me.

On the Way with God

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)
Isaiah 35:8-10

The hardest thing about getting a driver’s license is waiting for the test. The longest season of life seems to be the months between learner’s and driver’s permits. Our parents watch every move we make. We can’t even back the car out of the driveway with mom or dad or both getting tense.

In a world without motor vehicles, Isaiah imagines another kind of highway that God has created that we have free access to. It’s the Way of God. Like getting a learner’s permit and waiting for the license, as believers we have joined God on the way in this life and await the life that is to come. We drive on this spiritual road through our belief in God, but we do not do so with total freedom. We are not allowed to live with whatever behavior we want to. God invites us on the way of holiness, governed not by the rules imposed by society but from a relationship with a living God who invited us.

This Father is not tense or worried; he enjoys the ride with you; and invites you to continue the journey. The Way lasts a lifetime and ends at an eternal destination.

Prayer: Father, thank you for being the calm presence on the stressful highway of life.

Leaping with the Lame

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)
Isaiah 35:5-7

In the ancient world, physical disabilities signified spiritual problems. If you were lame, people assumed your parents did something to cause it. If you could not speak, you possibly said something wrong to mute your tongue.

We might laugh and assume “we’d never do that.” The Facebook world, however, gives into the same mentality. On the surface, you on see what a person looks like but can not know the complete story. We see someone who is obese or gaunt, and we might presume gluttony or anorexia. We look at someone’s ethnicity and presume “good athlete” or “smart student.”

Isaiah imagines a different kind of world-- where water springs up in dry places, when pools are built in the Sahara. This kind of world causes believers to see the lame, mute, physically, mentally, socially, and culturally disabled and to look past the surface of their lives. Isaiah says, “You can’t judge a book….or a person….by her cover.” What we see on the outside is an invitation to us to leap with the lame, to see to the mute, to listen to the blind. And when we do, our hearts are the ones that are changed.

A Drought of Love

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)
Isaiah 35:1-4

A full grown tree drinks 200 gallons of water in a region of the country that needs all the water it can get. The simple solutions is to remove trees, right? Unfortunately, the tree is a common nesting ground for the endangered willow flycatcher. Local government is prohibited from removing the trees that drink the water. Unfortunately, when the city of San Angelo dredged the local lake to create a larger place to catch runoff rain water, the sludge held the seedlings of future salt cedars. The workers deposited the gunk along the side of the lake and literally planted seeds of trees that consumed the water.

The water of love can be drained like a Salt Cedar planted beside a lake. When we withhold love from certain neighbors, friends or enemies, the water of love is consumed by the trees of mistrust, hate, and vengeance. In Isaiah, God corrects us with his own purifying love. God uproots the hate, vengeance, and mistrust so that we can be free to love again. Spiritual renewal requires God’s corrective love. Water and love flow when there are no barriers between ourselves and others.

Prayer: Holy God, I confess the deeds that have drained my life of the water of love. Lord, have mercy.

Loving the Alien

(This post was oringally published at http://www.followingthestar.org/)
Psalm 146:5-10

Dora the Explorer was just a cartoon character on Nickelodeon until she became the face of Psalm 146:9 for me. I met her during our Latino Vacation Bible School in 2005 in our gymnasium. When I introduced myself to this young mother with a baby she said in simple English, “I’m Dora…you know like the Explorer.”

Dora accepted Christ at that Vacation Bible School and was baptized that week. At the time, we did not have a Latino pastor in Knoxville; but we promised to take care of the new believers.

A few weeks later, Dora was admitted to a local hospital with pneumonia-like symptoms. The physician told her she needed a heart valve. With no immigration papers, no insurance, and little money, the hospital discharged her. That’s when a church member became the hands and feet of God. She contacted friends in Washington and found a federal grant that would pay for the surgery. A few days later, Dora was re-admitted to the hospital and received successful surgery.

Every Sunday when she worships, she is living proof that God watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless. And most of the time God does it through us.

Prayer: God, give us eyes to see and hands to touch the aliens among us.

Safe Stories

At the beginning of the film, the Never Ending Story, a young boy named Bastian finds himself in an old bookstore, inquiring of the bookstore owner about a special book that he has noticed. “What’s that book about?” asks Bastian.
“Oh this is something special,” says the bookstore owner. “Well, what is it?”
“Look your books are safe,” the owner says, “By reading them you get to become Tarzan, or Robinson Crusoe.”
“But that’s what I like about them,” says Bastian.
“Ah, but afterwards you get to be a little boy again.”
“What do you mean?” asks Bastian. “Listen,” says the man.
“Have you ever been Captain Nemo, trapped inside your submarine while the giant squid is attacking you?”
“Yes,” says Bastian.
“Weren’t you afraid you couldn’t escape?”
“But it’s only a story!”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” says the man. “The ones you read are safe.”

I've treated the Christmas story in years past like a book in a used bookstore. Each year, I have read it, reenacted it, preached it, and imagined it. And I have put it safely back on the shelf and become the person that I always was. But for the story to have any meaning, I must, like young Bastion discovered in the movie, enter the story and become part of it.

Matthew invites us to do just that. He mentions three groups of 14 generations in Matthew chapter 1. The first group is from Abraham to David, the second from David to the exile, and the third from the exile to Jesus. The only problem numerically is that there are only 13 generations listed in chapter 1 of Matthew from the exile to Jesus.

Some scholars suggest, however, that the 14th generation is the church--from the 1st century forward who completes the story. They listen, imagine, and then enter the story, from the moment of Immanuel-- "God with us" until the times is fulfilled while Jesus "is with us always until the end of the age."

Call from the Unwanted

Vocation, or one's calling, as Frederick Buechner reflected, is the place where "Your deepest longing meets the world's greatest need." After studying Joseph's decision this Advent, I would add another layer to the definition. For Joseph, Mary's difficult circumstance became an awakening to a decision to a new kind of righteousness.

Matthew 1:18-25 tells us that Joseph was already known as a righteous man before he chose to be Jesus' earthly father. He was righteous because he abided by the Old Testament purity laws like every other faithful devoted Jewish male. But the purity laws usually forced people to withdraw from the defiled and profane. Mary was viewed by the culture like Bathsheba, Rahab, and a long line of other sinful people. But like these women, their circumstances awakened the call of God in their lives. In Joseph's case, he redefined righteousness for all of us. Instead of withdrawing from those deemed "impure" by the religious. He walked into the place and lived with the person whom the villagers would surely disgrace (as the text says).

Vocation can also be then the moment when you see the world's greatest need, and despite your upbringing, you enter the world of the needy to be the righteousness that they need. What a calling, what a privilege, what a challenge.

When someone in our family or network chooses a lifestyle that scripture deems as "sinful," or when a friend makes a mistake that he will later regret, we have two choices for righteousness-- one that withdraws from them back to the Old Testament view. Or another kind of righteousness-- the kind that causes us to join the crisis. Their choice (or maybe our choices) awaken the call of God on our lives to enter the unwanted, difficult circumstance. And in that moment there is "Immanuel-- God with Us."

And when we are the ones who have made the choice, mistake, and have sinned, the very act of making the mistake can awaken God's call on our lives. It can be a moment-- much as experienced by Bathsheba, Rahab, and many others who have found God in their brokenness, and even God found them.

Harold the King

I've learned that the Christmas story has some prominent and not so significant characters. Each one is important not only to the story but also to the way we have seen the story re-enacted at the Knoxville Nativity Pageant. Not only do you get a few characters you expect-- shepherds, Mary, and Joseph, but according to Parker, Herod the King is better known as Harold.

First Baptist members and many others in the community began this event years ago. We saw the Nativity Pageant this year at the Colisseum in downtown Knoxville. This event has become part of our Advent celebrations because Parker responds to the live action, drama, simplicity, and even the friends he sees playing a part. As parents, I'm thrilled by what it does not have-- no blood, no guts, no gore. It's not overdone, overpreached, overemotionalized, oversentimentalized. It's a nice cominbation of the accounts of Matthew and Luke with the arrival of the magi conveniently at the manger so we can go home in 45 minutes.

There are a few welcome liberties taken. Not only do you see the traditional characters, but a few others that have taken on a new role at the Shiell home. Parker's buddy Zeb played a villager. He was thrilled to see that Zeb not only played a significant role-- walking in the village-- but he did two things. (1) He laid on a mat during one scene; and (2) A soldier pushed Zeb. I've checked the footnotes, checking to see if there is a pushing scene in Luke, but alas there is not. But according to Parker, because Zeb was pushed, "it's there."

When we arrived home, Parker was ready to perform his own pageant. I asked him if he wanted to be in the pageant one day. "No, Dad, I'll just do my own in the neighborhood."

"Who's going to be in it, I asked?"

So he made a list of all 14 characters that he needed and began recruiting them. Some in the Bible and some others, well, in the imagination.

Guys who get pushed- 2
Soldiers who push the guys- 2
Shepherds- 3
Magi- 3
Mary- 1
Joseph- 1
Angel- 1
Harold the King- 1

The Christmas story invites us not only to observe but to re-enact the meaning in our lives. Whether or not we don costumes, we see the imperfect characters who weclomed Jesus and realize everyone can have a part to play. We share God's perfect love with an imperfect world even if all we can remember are the moments we fall down.

Christmas Musical

The film that captured Parker's imagination was not found in theaters. You could find it on the Disney Channel. High School Musical--2-- surprised everyone in my home. It was even better than the first. I know this not because I actually watched the first movie. I listened to the music (over and over in the car), heard the stories told, and was informed many times how I needed to "get with it" and watch the movie. So when "2" came out, I squeezed in a few minutes and realized that Disney knows as much about Christmas as I do.

The two movies reflect themes needed at this time of year. The first is about a group of teenagers brought together by a musical, despite their varied interests in sports, the arts, or the nerds. Everybody has a talent to offer even if they did not realize they can sing, dance, or play and instrument.

The second goes further. When the teens are off to work at a resort for the summer, they learn that no matter their economic place in life, everyone is important. We need each other to survive.

Christmas invades our world again along similar lines. The shepherds, magi, and teenagers have a part to play even if they had no idea what the Christ child truly was. It takes all of us-- including the outcasts and insiders-- to survive. It's a storyline worth telling, and singing, again and again.

The Unwanted Baby

Maybe I was mistaken, or perhaps I turned off my brain in seminary. I think I heard the words "unplanned pregnancy" associated with the conception of Jesus for as long as I can remember. After 10 years of ministry in Texas and now 3 in Tennessee, unplanned and pregnancy I guess go together pretty frequently in Baptist life.

Preaching is heard and spoken through all kinds of filters. In a nod to all the unwed, troubled, and ill-timed conceptions, "unplanned" fit one motif of Mary and Joseph's relationship. The biggest trouble with searching for the new inside the old story is that you tend to come back with motifs that fit your culture. The "unwed" "unplanned" labels note a moment of grace and hope for redemption.

But I need a stronger word, something that really gets at the root of all this. I don't want to overreach, but as I understand this moment somewhere between Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:47-2:4, Jesus' arrival was worse than an unplanned event.

Unplanned is a bit too staid and sterile. The word reminds me of an event on a calendar that could have worked better with enough committee meetings, staff meetings, or medical equipment. Unplanned is the holiday guest that calls. We can make room for her. Not a big deal. Unplanned is the sound going out in the middle of the sermon. Inconvenient, yes. Fixable, yes.
You can adjust for the unplanned.

Planning was the last thing on a 12-or-13 year old girl's mind in 1st century Israel. Parents did that, and they decided to wed her to the carpenter's son Joseph. It was a good economic arrangement for both parties, and the rites of 1st century betrothal were in place. Money was exchanged, and Joseph prepared to be married to a woman that he would try to fall in love with later. First marriage, then love.

The last thing you would want in the middle of all this would be a baby. They had not courted. What was dating to a 1st century person?

What you want is that Joseph will have enough money and room in the house for Mary when she comes to lives with him during the period of betrothal. What you want is for Joseph to stay alive and not leave Mary widowed. What you want is that this family can just have a nice normal start. Baby, yes, but that's for much later.

So when an angel arrives on the scene and becomes both Joseph's nightmare and answer to his prayers, the angel assures Jim that the greatest gifts in life are the most challenging, unexpected, and at the moment, unwanted presents. When an angel conveys similar information to Mary, it's no wonder she left town. The omission of a family support network on Mary's side shouts from the silence in the Gospel of Luke just how undesirable these circumstances really are. Mary needs time, Mary needs to go alone in the silence to her relative Elizabeth's home. Only then can this news become good.

Signs of the Season

The portable warning lights flashed on Morrell Road last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Normally reserved to warn you about accidents or other oncoming hazards, the sign warned of impending doom in the parking lot of West Town Mall. It read,

“LOCK YOUR DOORS”
“HIDE ALL YOUR VALUABLES”
“TAKE YOUR PURSE”
“REMEMBER YOUR KEYS”

Far from a happy seasonal greeting, the mall’s marquis gave me a sign for Advent. Some see the season prior to Christmas as warning and gloom. They are bred by fear, grief, cynicism, and apathy that accompany the madness of the mall.

“DON’T BE MATERIALISTIC”
“AVOID TALKING ABOUT GRIEF”
“WATCH OUT FOR HOLIDAY THIEVES”
“BE CAREFUL NOT TO RUN YOURSELF RAGGED”

This season, we’re writing new markers to prepare our lives for Christmas. Instead of fear, apathy, cynicism, and grief, we’re replacing them with new signs of life. They are hope, peace, joy, and love. Instead of flashing on the highway, we hold them proudly on our hearts, in our lives, around our homes, and in our worship. When we come together as people of God we sing,

“O COME, O COME EMMANUEL!”
“I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY”
“JOY TO THE WORLD! THE LORD IS COME!”
“LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS”

Looking for signs of the season? You’ll find one posted here at First Baptist.

Ministering in the Center of the City

John 4 tells a very interesting story that if we will let it live in us, can show us how to live as Christ in our community.

You know the story, it’s the story of a Samaritan woman. Her encounter with Jesus challenges our church to ask questions that lead to relationships for Christ.
Everyone knew she was thirsty.
¨ She could not worship at the Temple, and she was thirsty for a place to worship.
¨ She had five husbands and was thirsty for authentic relationship.
¨ She was a sinner, and she was thirsty for a Savior.

But Jesus was just as thirsty as she.
¨ He needed a drink of water.
¨ He wanted a relationship with her.
¨ He wanted to show her authentic salvation.
Instead of showing her first how He could meet her need, He asks her to meet His. Jesus asked the woman. “Will you give me a drink?”

In the center of our city, Knoxville, are all kinds of people: students, creative class, empty nesters, the poor. All are thirsty—some who know they are, many who don’t. They are thirsty for authentic relationship. We desire to know them. As a church, First Baptist Church of Knoxville must focus on asking questions that allow us to enter the story of these city dwellers’ lives.

Over the next few days, I will be posting several steps we are taking to minister in the center of the city.

Zambian Vocal Group

The Zambian Vocal Group will perform in the Sanctuary at First Baptist Church of Knoxville on Wednesday, November 28, at 7:00 pm. The public is cordially invited to this free concert. This group is comprised with seven young men who have brought a new definition to the word “a cappella.” They came half way around the world from Zambia, so we may experience the unique combination of traditional African rhythms, vocal percussion, and complex vocal harmonies. First Baptist Church of Knoxville, founded in 1843, is located at 510 West Main in downtown Knoxville. Parking is available in the Bank of America Parking Garage located on the west side of the church. Nursery provided.