The Church Needs "Vulnerable Populations"

Ms. Mary with her hands raised in the bottom right hand corner

Ms. Mary sits on the front row at Northcrest. Though she is not a member of the worship team, she is in many ways our “lead worshipper.” She is always the first to stand, the first to raise her hands in praise, the first to clap along with the songs. But Ms. Mary, like many people in our church, is in a high-risk health group. She spends three days a week on a dialysis machine, breathes through a tracheotomy tube, and gets around with the aid of a walker. That has never stopped her from worshipping, teaching children in Sunday School, and bringing a carload of guests to church with her many Sundays.

But the coronavirus pandemic has forced her to stay at home for the last five months. She knows it is not wise for her to be out, so she basically goes to dialysis and goes home now. And she’s not alone. There are hundreds of them in our church – people who, because of their age or their health or both, are not attending church services right now. They are among the most loyal members of our church, and they faithfully worship online each Sunday, while they wait for the day when they can come back.

Our church is certainly not alone. Almost every church in America is dealing with many people in similar situations right now. Most churches are trying their best to help and stay connected to these folks, because we know that they are hurting right now. It is not easy to not be able to go to a place that means so much to you. 

But if we’re not careful, we’ll miss something important. These “missing members” are hurting, but they’re not the only ones hurting. Our churches are hurting by not having them. I don’t simply mean that the numbers are down. I mean that when a church is without “vulnerable populations,” it is less than it ought to be. A church without senior adults, without people suffering from chronic illness, without the weak and the infirmed, that is not a church that anyone should want to be a part of. When they are weak, God is strong! God can accomplish more through the weak than the strong can ever accomplish on their own. It’s not just that people like this need the church – the church needs them!

It wasn’t the strongest and the youngest and the smartest and the healthiest and the richest that found Jesus most attractive. It was those who were hurting, those who had problems, those who were sick, those who were dying! And Jesus took that group of unlikely people and built his church! He’s still doing that today! And until these people can fully return to the church, the church will never be what it supposed to be. 

In the meantime, we’ll worship without people like Ms. Mary. It’s not the same, but it’s still important that we do it. But I can tell you that everyone in my church longs for the day that she and others like her will be able to walk through those doors again. We won’t be the same until they can!

Is There Anything Out There?

One of my favorite podcasts is “This American Life,” a National Public Radio show that examines different stories happening in our nation. This week’s episode was on Fermi’s Paradox, a scientific conundrum for those trying to understand whether or not there is alien life. Fermi’s Paradox asks a simple question – if there is alien life, then where is it? Why haven’t we found it? The paradox suggests that the fact that we haven’t found extraterrestrial life already might simply mean that there is none out there.

Now, I don’t care about debating whether or not there is alien life. It is not a problem for Christians if there are aliens – the Bible doesn’t offer us information one way or another about it. But for non-believers, the problem could be enormous. The scientists discussing the paradox put it this way in the episode:

David Kestenbaum: “What if advanced life like us is just a mathematical
improbability, a total fluke?”Melissa Franklin: “And then you would say, OK, if that's the case, I have
to believe in God. So that's what you're saying.”Kestenbaum: “How many physicists do you know who believe in God?”
Franklin: “Six.”

This exchange is telling. These two people are willing to consider any evidence, any theory, any possibility, except the possibility that a transcendent God actually created human beings in his own image. But Kestenbaum was troubled – he didn’t have a good answer for Fermi’s Paradox, and without actually saying it, he seemed very worried that God might be a possibility. He said that the idea that no one else was out there made him sad.

And understandably so. For the person who lives as if God doesn’t exist, to have that possibility thrust upon his life is a real problem. Because this God is someone who is above them, who transcends them, and who ultimately will make demands on their lives. 

What is the point? Even among the most skeptical among us are haunted by the idea of God. There is someone else out there. There is a God who made us in his image, and he shown himself to us time and time again. Ultimately, he has fully revealed himself in his son, Jesus – the image of the invisible God. And no matter how many times we shoo that idea away, no matter how far we push it down, it will continue to bubble back up to the surface. 

 Perhaps Fermi’s Paradox can be resolved. Perhaps we’ll discover alien life at some point. Perhaps E.T. is out there. But the questions about God won’t go away. Because Heis the answer to the questions that we all are asking.

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Source: National Public Radio. This American Life: Episode 617: Fermi’s Paradox. May 19, 2019.

What I Don't Know, and What I Do Know, About What is Happening Right Now

I will freely admit that I'm lacking in wisdom when it comes to dealing with the cultural moment that we find ourselves in - that we found ourselves in over the weekend. I honestly do not know what it will take to put the divisions that we see in our nation back together. It began Friday when President Trump called football players who kneeled during the national anthem SOB's and said they should be fired. It continued when more of those players responding by kneeling during the national anthem. And then it really got bad as people were all over social media on both sides yesterday - ramping up the rhetoric even more. I don't know how this is fixed - it's a microcosm of what we are as a nation right now. We're divided along so many different lines that it's hard to keep count.

So, I said I don't know how that will be fixed - but let me walk that back a little bit. I don't know exactly how it will be fixed, but I do know that this moment calls for Christians to act like Christians. There are a lot of different ways people will read that statement, so let me be clear. Some see Christianity as a political movement - and that our primary purpose in the culture is to win elections or get laws passed. Though that's not unimportant, it's not what Christianity is. Others see Christianity as a social movement - designed to get people to act right. Though that's not unimportant either, it's not what Christianity is. When I speak of Christianity, I'm talking about a group of people who are dedicated to living out the gospel in their lives and in their cultures, because of what Jesus has done for them, and what he has commanded them to do. They live it out through their witness and through their actions. Jesus and Jesus alone has the power to fix what ails us as a nation, but he will not do it through political or social channels. He will do it the way he always does it - by using the radical love found only through the gospel. So though I don't know exactly what this will look like, I think we can find some guideposts that will show us a way forward.

Divisions are healed when Christians choose to listen more than they speak. We have an awful lot of talk in our culture today, but very little listening. Most people don't listen so they can understand - they listen so they can respond. But Christians must be different. The apostle James said this: "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak." Now, we don't have to be told to listen more and speak less when we're talking to people we agree with. This specifically comes into play when we're talking to someone we disagree with. Christian, have you really listened to people you disagree with? Have you tried to understand why they think the way they think, why they believe the way they believe, why they're acting the way they act? Have you put yourself in their shoes? Even after you listen, you may not agree with them. But you may find you have more common ground than you originally thought. And most certainly, you will be better able to empathize with them. Here's a good practice - every day, read an article or talk to someone with whom you profoundly disagree. And as you do it - look for common ground. You might be surprised.

Divisions are healed when Christians admit they were wrong. It's funny - for a faith that says that every single person on the planet is deeply affected by sin, and even believers still battle a sin nature, we sure have a hard time saying we messed up. But all of us have flaws in our thinking. Some of that is sin, some of it is ignorance, and some of it is a lack of wisdom. But a big first step to peace is admitting that you're not sure about everything - that you might be wrong on issues that are not of first importance. A little humility goes a long way.

Divisions are healed when Christians choose to love their enemies. It constantly amazes me how this clear command from Jesus, repeated numerous times through the New Testament, is consistently ignored by people who profess to be believers. But it's there over and over again: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:28) "But love your enemies, and do good." (Luke 6:35) "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." (Romans 12:14) "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink." (Proverbs 25:21). The witness of scripture is that we should love, pray, and do good for those with whom we disagree with. Can you imagine the difference that could made in our culture right now if Christians chose to listen to and then pray for and then love those with whom we consider our enemies? I mean, instead of going onto social media and putting them on blast.

Divisions are healed when the gospel is taught and lived by Christians. You see, the reason that we are called to all of this is because this is what Jesus did. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) If you are a believer in Christ, you are a reformed enemy of God. You were once his enemy, and he loved you enough to do what you could not do for yourself - he sent his son to die for you. Jesus loved his enemies so much that he was willing to go through the hellish torture of crucifixion - but more than that, he loved his enemies so much that he was willing to endure separation from his father. And in doing so, he reconciled those enemies to himself. I pray that includes you. If it does, he has now called you to a ministry of reconciliation - helping others be reconciled to God. And when people are reconciled to God, then they will be reconciled to one another. The gospel is the only thing that has the power to bring people with such profound disagreements together. But when it is preached right and lived right, you will see people who otherwise couldn't be in the same room together living as brothers and sisters. So, the question for you is this - do you love your enemies enough to try to make them your friends, the way Jesus did it? 

What would happen if Christians in this country decided to live out these truths - putting them before every other competing truth claim? We say that the reason we believe the gospel is because it is the way the world actually works. Maybe the reason the world is not actually working right now is because we are refusing to live out the gospel the way it was meant to be lived. I do not have all the answers - but I know where the answers are found. Will you be an agent of peace, and pray that God will show us those answers?

Christian, Don't Join a Facebook Posse

About two years ago, when I was working at WTOK, we missed a story that a lot people thought we should have covered. It happens. No one is perfect. Someone posted something on our Facebook page complaining, and I owned up to it. I apologized and told them we would do better in the future, and were taking some specific steps to do better. In the past, that more than likely would have been the end of it. But not in the era of social media. The post was shared hundreds of times by people who were angry we hadn’t covered the story. I was blasted from every conceivable angle. And at that moment, I discovered what it was like to have a Facebook posse come after you. Let me tell you – it makes for a rough few days. I hope my mom didn’t see some of the things I was called.

Since that time, I’ve watched again and again and people have taken part in what looks a lot like what the guys in the picture above used to do – frontier justice on a digital scale. One person is upset about something. They don’t like the way they were treated at a business. They are frustrated by a person they see in a news story. They’re angry at a politician. They hear a rumor that a mother whose child died might have been involved in the death. They see someone taking pictures at a park and assume he’s a pervert. And they want the whole world to know about it – whether it is true or not. There are real world consequences for digital justice like this. Reputations are destroyed. Real people are hurt. It’s like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube – there’s no way to get it back in once it’s out.

Christian, don’t join a Facebook posse. And certainly, don’t start a Facebook posse. No good can come from this. Today I want to give you four reasons you shouldn’t take part in digital justice like this.

1 – You usually don’t know for sure whether it is true or not. The vast majority of the time that you come upon a post that has been shared numerous times about some kind of injustice, or about some person who has wronged another, you only have one side of the story, and you have no idea whether or not that side is true. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” (Proverbs 18:17) In a worst case scenario, you are simply slandering someone by telling lies about them – whether you realize they are lies or not.

2 – It is usually nothing more than gossip. This is extremely important. The apostle Paul includes gossip among a long list of sins that prove the absolute depravity of man:

“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

We don’t treat gossip that way – we treat it like something we know we shouldn’t do, but is simply a guilty pleasure. But notice that last part – “they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” When you participate in a Facebook posse like this, very often you are participating in gossip – spreading rumors for no other reason than the rush you get from talking about it. And by participating with others, you are giving approval to the others who take part in it also.

3 – It shows a lack of grace in your life. Many times, situations like this include people competing to think of what the worst punishment for the person involved can be. “Throw him in jail!” one says. “No, throw him under the jail!” says another. “He doesn’t deserve a trial! Forget jail! Someone needs to take care of him right now!” screams another. Christian, this is no way to live. Even if the person is guilty, it shows a lack of grace to scream for this kind of justice. “But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47) Those without grace need to check their hearts to see if they have received it.

4 – It will hurt your witness for Jesus. Think of the last time you went off on Facebook about someone. If you come face-to-face with them today, will you be able to tell them about Jesus, with a clean conscious? Even more so, would they be willing to listen to you if they knew what you said about them? Paul said, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:16) What does he mean? God wants us to first see people not simply as who they are – but as who they will be for eternity. He wants us to mainly see them as people who are going to live forever, and desperately need the grace of God. If you think of someone this way, it will be very hard to go off on them on social media.

So here is what I’m asking. Before you post, think: do I know this is true? Is this right? Is it slanderous or libelous? Will it hurt someone? Am I showing grace? Am I trying to dispense my own kind of justice? Am I only writing what I am writing for the cathartic release? (And yes, I’m asking myself these same things as I write this.) Your witness, your soul, and the souls of those who are being hurt are all at stake. I beg you – don’t join a Facebook posse.