Don't Remember This Alamo!

From the files of wacky "evangelists" comes this article about Tony Alamo, a 74-year-old evangelist from California who has an international ministry compound in Arkansas (Why is it that every crazy spiritual figure has a compound?). Allegations of criminal activity have followed Alamo's ministry everywhere he's gone and the latest allegations are perhaps the worst. He even spent four years in prison for tax crimes int he 1990's. Now, the federal government is investigating whether or not children were abused at Alamo's Arkansas compound. In a page from the FLDS Mormons in Texas, Utah and Arizona, the allegations concern the young sexual activity and marriage of girls at the compound. Some girls are alleged to have been married as young as 12 to men more than twice or three times their age. The article I read made me shudder because people around the world consider Alamo to be a prophet of sorts who is to be trusted and followed.

But Alamo is more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is a dangerous man to both believers and unbelievers. His Gospel does not include the grace of God in Christ for the believer nor the forgiveness of God towards the sinner. He heavily leans on end times preaching and a "us-verses-them" motif towards the government, the Catholic Church, and towards other religions. He sees the devil everywhere in everything. It is men like Alamo that the apostles and saints of old warned the early church to leave on the street. Don't invite them in.

And certainly don't listen to them. If you want to read the disturbing article, click HERE.

Just Thinking...

... that the stories behind Christmas traditions, whether factual or legend, are almost as fun as the traditions themselves. I was just reading a poem I wrote about jolly old Saint Nick (when he was merely a young, shy bishop) to our writer's support group and the story is just as fun today as it was when I first discovered it four years ago. How quickly we evangelicals tend to throw the baby out with the bath water...

... that our relationships with other people should mirror God's relationship with us. We should forgive, accept, show grace, encourage, look after, etc., each other the way God does for us.

... that what I just wrote is easier said than done.

... that sometimes it is more meaningful to sit and chat with someone than to try to teach them something. Who knows, maybe through the very act of conversation, you have taught them something!

... that legalism kills. So many of my friends and associates have come from a law-driven background into the message of the grace of God but they still struggle with guilt and performance. Rules are nice and they generally keep us away from harm, but they can kill our spiritual energy and prevent us from bathing in the all-sufficient grace of God. It is only by God's grace that we stand and only into His grace that we fall.

Gentlemen, Put Down Your Swords!

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion." (1 Timothy 1:5-6)

"Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness." (2 Timothy 2:14-16)

"But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless." (Titus 3:9)

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I know of a church in which there is a great debate raging over words. These aren't words of traditional doctrine, mind you, but words of theology -- systematic theology. This church is in the midst of a self-imposed crisis, though its congregants have no idea that there is a theological controversy raging at the top. The debate is not over the Gospel message. All are in agreement over the simple message of forgiveness in Christ. The debate is not over the mission of the church, for all agree that the church exists to preach the Gospel, build up believers, and shine the light of Christ in this dark world.

The debate is over how to communicate to people that their church is vastly different from all the other churches around. It is a debate over the distinctiveness of this church's theology. And the debate is not very healthy. Pastor challenges pastor. Elder disagrees with pastor. Elder disagrees with elder. The debate concerns a system of theology that no man can completely define (and I will not attempt it here).

But within this one system of theology there are "sub-systems." Theologians argue over the commands of the apostles, the issue of confession, and the motivation for living the Christian life, among other things. And there are so many sub-systems within the main theology that arguments have even erupted inside this church between proponents of those sub-systems! There is so much hair splitting going on that the church leadership is at odds. Again, a self-imposed crisis.

It doesn't have to be that way.

What concerns me most about that church is I fear the message of the Gospel has been neglected in the midst of theological nit-picking. Paul wrote to Timothy in Ephesus that he should put an end to fruitless discussion among the overseers there. Their problem was not a theological system but the principle still applies today. It's time to refocus on spreading the message of the Gospel and lovingly building up believers in Christ. The goal of Paul's instruction was not arguments and debate over systematic theology but love with purity and a sincere faith. He said in his second letter that Timothy should charge the elders to stop wrestling over words. Paul told Titus to tell the Cretan church to avoid foolish controversies.

I believe most "sub-system" controversies are foolish controversies that usually distract churches. It is dividing the leaders of this particular church and I firmly believe their debate is hurting the whole church. Internal strife never produces growth, just as a fever is always a warning sign. Godly overseers need to refocus on the purity of the Gospel message and seek to share it with their community. The longer they wrangle over words, the more they hinder their mission. Forget about splitting hairs. Defend the Gospel. Defend your points of doctrine.

I believe Jesus would say, "Gentlemen, put down your swords and love one another!"

Quick Hits

I wanted to somehow keep the blog posts shorter than they've been recently (which was my intention when I stared TTS) so I'll periodically throw out there quick thoughts that have popped into my head during a week or two. Recently, here's what's been going through my mind...

1. I went to my local Kroger and saw the latest book by super-pastor Joel Osteen called, "Become a Better You." My first thought was, "I don't want to become a better me!" In fact, I don't want to be me at all. Not in a spiritual sense. Jesus did not say, "Accept yourself, sing about the cross and watch me." He said "DENY yourself, PICK up your cross, and FOLLOW Me." Paul would say we are not being transformed into better people. No, we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I want to become like Jesus, not like John.

2. Over the past two weeks my intention was to avoid watching or reading about both political conventions that took place here in the U.S. But (due to some female persuasion) I ended up sitting through the speeches of the two top Republican nominees, John McCain and Sarah Palin. Watching those speeches reminded me of how much I hate election season and convention speeches. The negativity was deep. The demonization of the other party and nominees was deep. (I'm sure it was for the other party, too). Why do we wish to cut down those we disagree with? Why do we draw such joy and satisfaction from labeling another human (and Christian) "evil" and "demonic" and "wicked"? I'll never understand this. Truly God's party is neither Republican nor Democrat.

3. I'm thinking that Derek Webb was so right when he wrote and sang: "my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man / my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood / it's to a king & a kingdom." How often do we Christians forget that the Kingdom of Heaven and its King are real and demand "our soul, our life, our all." I wish we would remember that God is not rooting for a party. He's rooting for people, like you and me.

4. I'm thinking that I haven't heard a Derek Webb song that has not challenged the church or the individual in some way. He speaks for my generation's longing for transparency in the church (and its leaders), social responsibility (feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.), and the desire to reclaim the purity of the Gospel message, in his songs. His outspoken challenge of the church with biblical truth is a prophetic gift, in my opinion.

5. I'm thinking that relationships are way too complicated and the emotions of the human heart cannot truly be compartmentalized. There was a time in the American church when emotions were seen in a negative light and those who exercised emotion were thought of as "weak." A lie. Emotions were created by God, are used by God, and can glorify God when used properly by people. And emotions cannot be compartmentalized. They cross over to affect everything we do. And sometimes they get so complicated that they paralyze. I hate it when that happens.

6. I picked my best watermelon last week and licked my lips in anticipation of some watery goodness. The melon looked and sounded ripe (a good thump). It came off the vine easily. But when I sliced it open it was green inside with the exception of four small pink areas. I laughed. The melon reminded me of how some people can seem to be ripe and mature on the outside but are really green and undeveloped on the inside. More lessons from my garden...

Voting for Jesus

While I consider myself to be largely an evangelical, theologically, I can't help but be amazed at how many times evangelicals miss the biblical boat in their geo-social-political views. There was an article in the USA Today about how many Christians believe they have an obligation to vote in national elections like the one we're wrapped up in this summer. Some folks quoted in the article said Christians MUST vote this fall and vote only for candidates who support certain views 100-percent. Interestingly, there are some Christian groups that believe their followers should abstain from voting in all political elections. And one group of young "emergent church" believers is crossing the country to call Christians back to putting Jesus first and not politics. Fascinating.

And even though I lean towards the evangelical side on most issues, the best and most biblical quote of the whole article comes from a Catholic. The least biblical quote comes from an evengelical politician I happen to like a bunch. Lately, it seems that I've found quite a bit of truth from the Orthodox side and error from my fellow evangelicals. Maybe that's why I find the most biblical truth in the middle ground. If only we could head towards a new orthodoxy...

Anyway, click the article link to read and react.

Be God's.

Tales from the Garden: Part 2

Cucumber (Top) and Watermelon

Well... the cucumber plants are officially out of control. I planted one seedling and a bunch of seeds back in late March and now they are growing like weeds on a mission.

Just the other day I noticed that my cucumber plants (vines) had grabbed a hold of the bell pepper plant with their snaky grabbers. I was horrified. I only have one bell pepper plant and I'd like to see it produce a few peppers before it dies. But the bell pepper plant was only the tip of the iceberg. The cucumber vines had also grabbed the jalapeño plants, okra, and watermelon vines. I nearly passed out! (OK, I didn't nearly pass out but I need some drama for this post!) The cucumber vines were threatening to strangle the rest of my garden.

I had to act. And act fast.

So I started breaking the vine of its vice grip on my garden. Quickly. Gently. I didn't want to harm the cucumber vine yet I wanted to save my other plants. So I broke tentacle after tentacle until my garden was free.

A lot of Christians are like my cucumber vines -- they come to faith in Christ and grow wild. They just take off like a rocket in every direction, soaking up every bit of information they receive -- good AND bad. Sometimes in their exuberance they end up strangling other believers around them. Their intention is good. They just want to grow and serve. But they run over their brothers and sisters in the process. I've seen it happen in newer believers young and old.

So how do you deal with an overly excited brother or sister? Just like those cucumber vines, you correct them gently. Everyone needs to be sober and self-controlled. Don't hurt them. Instead, guide them. You don't want them to lose their excitement over their new life in Christ. But you also need to watch out for other believers and their spiritual lives. So correct gently. Just like I had to do with my cucumber vines.

Be God's.