Milestones and Memories

Delores and I reached two milestones recently.

We celebrated 48 years together June 26. It was a relaxing observance as we enjoyed a meal at Red Robin and a day of movies here at home.

Sunday, June 30, I officially left the ministry at Camelback Christian Church in Scottsdale. No more 554 mile round trip weekends. Friend and Board Chairman Bill Moss read the following at the conclusion of Sunday's services:

• Mapquest reveals the distance between Palm Springs and Scottsdale at 277 miles (one-way). Over the 6 year tenure, that would equal 166,200 miles
• Figuring an average of 25 mpg that would be 6,648 gallons of gas.
• On average 55 oil changes or 275 quarts of oil.
• 3 1/3 sets of tires.
• Driving an average of 60 mph, you get 9.25 hours per round trip or 462.5 hours per year or 2,775  hours in a car (that is 115 complete 24 hour days in a car).

For putting up with me cooped up in a car for 115 days Delores received a lovely framed certificate marking the accomplishment. The church gave me a framed plaque complete with a chunk of asphalt from the original Route 66 commemorating the road travel.

The congregation also gave us a more than generous love offering. We've always known the level of their generosity exceeded that of many larger congregations. They proved it this time around, too.

Looking back over the six years with Camelback there are many meaningful memories:

• I remember how foolish I thought they were to call me as their minister when I lived so far away.
• I remember how fun it was to listen to and attend board meetings. Yes, there was laughter and good will displayed nearly every meeting and it always amazed me how freely they gave to missions and to those in need.
• I remember how the whole church stood by me when I needed heart valve surgery and was incapacitated for five months. The church supported us with prayers, cards, the salary, and paid a supply preacher during the months I could barely function.
• I remember how quickly a congregation of less than 80 people raised $55,000 to resurface a parking lot badly in need of repair.
• I remember with equal amazement how quickly the funds came for remodeling the worship center with updated lighting, new lighter paint, a new sound system, and replacing the chairs. 
• I remember how faithfully the leaders came together for training, discussion, and setting goals.
• I remember with joy the marriages and with sorrow the funerals observed during those years.
• I remember the support given the Christian Restoration Conferences we held and the Family Camps we enjoyed.
• I remember a few times when Delores and I could spread peanut butter and jelly making sandwiches for the Phoenix Mission.
• I remember generous families providing financial support for a young woman who needed help.
• I remember raising funds to send a Cuban refugee back to Cuba so he could spend his last few days with his family before his death.

There are so many more and I know I'll forget some here and there. Oh, there were a few bad times, too. The good memories so outweigh the bad that they are insignificant by comparison. There are too many to list those who provided encouragement and support along the way. 

I do have to mention Dr. Joe Carson Smith, though. Joe and I share a birthday June 2. Many great men were born on that day. Largely unappreciated my many younger leaders, Joe Carson Smith has been a pillar and buttress of the truth (see 1 Timothy 3 in the ESV). His and Barbara's verbal and active support meant so much over the years. Some see Joe as a rigid hard man but I know him as a man with a big heart and a love for the Lord and the Lord's church I wish his critics exhibited. He has done much for me. He has done much for Camelback Christian Church. He has done much for the Kingdom of God.

Church and State in America

Many Christians misunderstand the issues surrounding the Constitution's first amendment. That amendment says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This amendment protects the American citizen's right to the free exercise of religion. It also states that the Federal Government will not establish a religion. Christians commonly believe, and I have taught, that this simply means that the government will not name a particular denomination as a state church. Most Americans in the late 1700s knew that a national religion limited freedom of individual conscience. The European standard was one nation, one sovereign, one religion. Therefore Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed leaders held to that standard in the hope it would avoid dissension, division, and bloodshed. So it had been from the time of Constantine.

What many Christians fail to see is the fact that this amendment, added to the Constitution of 1787 in 1789, was written during a time when an overwhelming majority of the population professed Christianity. Christian values were almost universally accepted even though church membership was abysmally low in 1800. Judaism was a minority faith but it too expressed biblical values. There were those who denied the existence of a Supreme Being but they were few. Admittedly some of the early founding fathers were Deists but there were few consistent Deists and they too recognized and lived by an overwhelmingly Christian value system. I won't say there were no Muslims or Hindus or Buddhists but if they existed at all in the new world their numbers were so few they could not have any influence on American culture. The United States of America was indeed a Christian nation but that was true simply because most of the nation's inhabitants professed Christianity.

An investigation of the body of the U.S. Constitution as passed in 1787 reveals no significant mention of God.The Declaration of Independence does! Jefferson's language in the Declaration reflects his Deism and rejection of miracles in favor of the God, or is it god, of Nature. The Declaration states:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Notice the language. Jefferson uses the terms "Creator" and "Nature's God." Jefferson, as an heir of the Enlightenment, looked upon God as Creator involved in nature. While Jefferson acknowledged Christian values his faith was certainly inconsistent with biblical Christian faith. 

Do not become incensed with the term Deist attributed to those labelled as such. Deists generally believed in the supremacy of human reason, individual conscience, and individual liberty. There was as much variety in Deist thought as there is in the average Christian denomination today. There were no consistent Deists just as there are few consistent Christians. I say this with some assurance since research shows that while some 80 percent of the American population confesses Christianity only about 4 percent actually practice consistent teaching! When Jefferson speaks of "Nature's God" he is speaking of the Creator who put the universe in motion and left it to develop by the mechanistic principles He put in place.

It must also be noted that while Christianity and Christian values prevailed in America the First Amendment, by speaking of religion, left the door open to others whose conscience led them to follow religions that were anything but Christian. Jefferson spoke of the day when the Muslim and the Hindu would feel free to exercise their conscience in this land as freely as those in  the variety of those in the multiple Christian denominations.

America in 1800 was a Christian nation because an overwhelming majority of its citizens professed Christianity and at least recognized the superiority of Christian values.

This is no longer true! From 1800 to the present there has been a persistent erosion of Christianity and Christian values. Many factors conspired together to bring this about. I don't have the time to go into this to any great extent but suffice it to say the following certainly contributed to a lessening of Christian influence:

• The impact of Enlightenment thinking:
• Elevation of the individual
• Elevation of the inductive method - only that which can be tested by the senses is true
• Elevation of Evolutionary thinking
• Rejection of the Supernatural
• Rejection of God's existence by reason as untestable
• Rejection of the possibility of revelation as a way of knowing
• Destructive critical analysis of the Bible due to the rejection of the supernatural 
• Bible is seen not as God's Word but as man's growing understanding of God/religion
• Impact of immigration
• Immigration from Asia in the mid-1800s from China - Buddhism
• Immigration from Asia in the mid-1970s from S.E. Asia - Buddhism
• Immigration from the Asian sub-continent in the 1960s and 1970s - Hinduism
• Immigration from the Asian sub-continent and the Near East beginning in the 1970s - Islam

While Christianity remains the predominant religion in the United States those faiths which once had only slight influence are now able to exert sizable influence. In addition, the secular-progressive educational system has produced an increasingly secular society of which a growing number reject the reality of God, the truth of the Bible, and Christian values in general.

We are watching the nation's Christian values erode before our very eyes. The blame however does not rest upon those who teach falsehood for truth. They play their part to be sure. The blame rests on a moribund church more concerned with relevance than revelation, with excitement than evangelism, and with personal success than the savior. Our once Christian nation is eroding because the believer no longer feels the compulsion to persuade others of the truth of God as seen in Jesus Christ.

Garry Wills points out in his book Head and Heart that the First Amendment, while recognizing the right of the individual to let his conscience guide him in his belief system, actually promoted the spread of Christianity making the United States the most Christian nation on earth. Why is that so? Because there were those who took Christ to the people.

If we wish to see Christian values restored in our communities they must first be restored in our churches. If we wish to see Christian values voiced in the public square they must be resoundingly preached in our pulpits. But it isn't values...it is the source of those values that needs the attention. So I leave you with this admonition: Preach Christ!

I'll have more to say on this in subsequent posts.

A Voyage of Discovery

The past few weeks have been a voyage of discovery for me. A person totally unknown to me left a message on a relative's "Heritage" site saying, "I knew your father." She indicated she didn't want to create a problem but if wanted to know more I should reply. Thinking it was undoubtedly some sort of con I was nonetheless curious. What a shock to learn that she was a cousin. She proved her relationship forwarding me copies of two handwritten letters from my mother. I recognized my mother's handwriting and the contents gave witness to their validity.

Over the past few weeks I've learned things I did not know and corrected things I thought I knew. For example, while my birth certificate shows my father as Joseph Willard Hines his name was actually Jasper Willard Hines. A southerner -- most like a Virginian or Marylander, not sure about that -- the name was a family moniker passed on. Either my mother, in an attempt to "hide" things or she just didn't like it, changed it. One of the half-brothers is indeed Joseph Willard Hines, but he was born in 1954 when I was 11. My cousin, my father's sister's daughter, is seven years older than I. She's known about me from the "get-go" but waited until all those directly involved were gone.

Now we all know about each other and contacts are being made. For all of us the situation is surreal. My older brothers and sister suspected I existed but to my knowledge had no direct information about me as our cousin did. While it wasn't a total shock to some of us, it has taken some getting used to for all of us.

My mother told me I might have some half-brothers or sisters "out there" but I guess I never gave it much thought. My mother wove a web of fabrications and I never quite knew what to believe. I never gave trying to locate anyone on the "Hines side" much consideration. I had no way to do it anyway and I didn't know where to start. Our cousin, however, knew my name from my mother's letters and eventually searched for it on Google. When I tried it just now my picture popped up on "MyHeritage". That's how my cousin Jane found me. Seeing the picture convinced her I am related.

I told the folks at Camelback Christian Church last Sunday that it was quite a trip to learn you had a family totally unknown to you. I likened it to a Christian walking into the Camelback church to discover a congregation of brothers and sisters you never knew existed. In a church family you can find instantaneous acceptance because you are all adopted into God's family. That's exactly how I've felt with my biological brothers and sisters newly discovered. We share our father's DNA and that makes us family. Getting to know them, finding out how we're alike and how different we are is going to be fun and exciting. I'm on a voyage of discovery and I can't wait!

Get With the Program!

Members of the GOP point fingers and begin recriminations on the recent loss in the presidential election. Purveyors of doom and gloom expound on the Internet. Those who see “signs of the times” in every event see recent events as another indication of the soon coming of Jesus to overthrow the liberal rascals and establish his millennial reign. Political pundits speculate all is lost and the Grand Old Party and our nation have died.

Don’t believe it!

God is still in control. Although weakened the United States government still has checks and balances. The USA is still a democratic republic. Well, at least for the time being.

Yes, the “anointed one” – to use one pundit’s terminology – can appoint liberal Supreme Court Justices. These justices are indeed a concern. But they haven’t been appointed yet. Yes, the great idiot in Washington can undermine freedom of speech and rule of law with his incessant efforts to circumvent the congress and the Constitution.  Yes, many bad things can happen. But they haven’t happened yet and 95% of what you worry about never happens. Fear of the future is your own worst enemy.

Come on! Get with the program. There are some definite steps you can take to help shape the future. Here are a few of them:

1.     Share the Gospel with the lost. America’s greatest need isn’t to pare the welfare rolls. America’s greatest need is to redirect sinful selfish hearts. Only the Gospel – only Christ Jesus – has the power to do that. We got where we are partly because Christ’s church sat back and whined about all the cultural shifts rather than figuring out how to communicate the Gospel cross-culturally. I mean that! Sharing the Gospel in the current American culture is cross-cultural evangelism! That means Christians must learn to speak the language of a culture of people with empty hearts and worldly minds.

2.     Live the Gospel with all your strength. George Barna reported years ago that while 80% of the American people express a belief in God only 5% of those professing God live according to biblical teaching. He pointed out the fact that about as many Christian women get abortions as those who profess no belief in God. While Christians profess family values the divorce rate among Christians matches that in the world. Christians cheat on their Income Tax, practice shoddy business ethics, and engage in extra-marital affairs just as much as their non-professing friends in the world. Don’t say anything, though, you might drive them away from the church! How silly!

3.     Get involved in your community. Christians have long had the tendency to withdraw from the world into safe little enclaves. Whether a monastery or a Christian school the attempt to withdraw to avoid interaction with a sinful world is foolishness. Come on Christian parents, why don’t you volunteer to be teaching assistants? Why don’t you run for the school board? Why don’t you inform yourselves on both sides of an issue and engage in the process? Don’t you realize you’ve withdrawn into your safe little cocoons and permitted the secular/progressives to have their day? They’ve indoctrinated children since the days of Roosevelt and you’ve let them do it. What did you expect? You think others won’t listen! Well maybe not but that’s especially true when you won’t say anything except to condemn.

4.     Make some new friends. For the most part after you’ve been a Christian for a few years church people constitute your only friends. I belong to a Rotary Club here in Palm Springs where homosexuals constitute about half the membership. I’m worried sick that rubbing shoulders with them – figuratively speaking – will cause me to become gay! NOT! Everyone in that club knows where I stand. They understand my principles even though they may not agree. At least I have access and am earning a hearing. They are my friends! Believe it or not, every member of that club – straight or gay – is concerned for the peace and well-being of others. Right now that small club is raising thousands of dollars to alleviate malnutrition among children in the horn of Africa. Is that sharing the Gospel? No, but it is meeting human need and I can participate without saying, “Be warmed and filled!”  Do I preach to them? Not hardly, but when they ask or open the door I share my faith in real terms they can understand and they know I serve my Lord Jesus. You can do that too!

Just four steps! I’ve only suggested four simple steps and you can probably think of others. What are Christ-followers for? I’m not into the “social gospel” but I am into a Gospel that results in changed hearts because changed hearts lead to changed lives and changed lives lead to a changed culture. And God knows we need to change our culture!

Thoughts About the 2012 Election

I entered some observations onto my Facebook page regarding the election. I need to expand on some of that here.

First, I want to note that the best thing about being an American is the simple fact that in this country I get to express my opinion at the ballot box. With few exceptions there are no threats or efforts to intimidate. Once the vote is in there is peaceful transition. May it ever be so.

Second, the carping has begun complete with Monday quarterbacking trying to figure out why Romney lost the election. No matter the outcome, I still believe he was the better candidate. So why didn't he get elected? I became convinced after hearing the results that the main reason he lost is simply a failure to communicate his message so it could be understood clearly.

What most of us older folks don't get is the fact that the American culture has experienced a dramatic shift. In my lifetime the American culture changed several times. It is no longer the culture of the 1950s where Christianity and Americanism mixed in a kind of civil religion. It is no longer the culture of the 1960s and 70s when so many young people rebelled and focused on drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll. It is no longer the 1980s, the era of Reagan. It isn't the 1990s which is the era of Clinton. We are now well into the 21st Century and cultural change has become exponentially fast. Whether in "doing church" or "doing politics" the old methods just don't resonate any longer. Oh, those of us Tweeners (those born in the late 1930s and early 1940s) and the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1967) understand the "old ways" but even the Boomers sought change.

You can see cultural change in the way we communicate. I remember gathering around my grandfather's radio to listen to Amos and Andy. In my own home in Ottumwa I listened to radio programs -- The Lone Ranger, Straight Arrow, Sergeant Preston, Father Knows Best... Then came TV and radio was gone. I hurried home to see Pat Moleteri on American Bandstand and Annette Funicello on the Mickey Mouse Club. TV changed everything! I watched the Vietnam War unfold before my eyes. The Kennedy assassination captured all our attention as did the Cuban Missile Crisis before it. Then we began hearing about computers and the computer age burst upon us an we entered the information age. All of that has engendered cultural change occurring faster and faster. TV made us a visual culture. Computers brought us instant information and personal interaction beyond our wildest imaginations.

With every culture shift came a "new language." That new language sounded like English but the computer enabled us to instantly translate English into major world languages with a push of the button. Presidents and world leaders can watch events unfold anywhere in the world in real time. We are living in a different world.

And here's the rub: communicating the old message the old way no longer works! Traditional churches are dying because they aren't communicating. Governor Romney lost the election, not because he didn't promise to give away free stuff. He lost it because he didn't communicate. Just as the traditional church doesn't do well reaching younger generations across all ethnic lines, Romney didn't either. All of this is true not because the message isn't valid; it is true because the message has to be placed in newer forms utilizing different methods. The "old paths" are great but today they need to become multi-lane super highways.

What strikes me is the fact that when I traveled to Myanmar (Burma) I realized that to really communicate I had to have someone translate for me. Even though most of the students who took my courses spoke English, they didn't get the nuances and subtlety of the language. I needed to either learn the language or have a translator. Even then the message got blurred because my whole frame of reference was that of a different culture!

The United States is now a multicultural nation. Those who hope to get a message across today must learn to communicate in a language meaningful to those who are younger and from different ethnic backgrounds. That's true for the church; it is also true for the politicians. The message doesn't have to change! How that message is communicated does!

GETTING BACK IN GEAR

Over the past couple of years I've not paid much attention to this blog. Instead I've been writing for the Restoration Herald, a Restoration Movement publication. In fact, the series in the Herald is a serialized history of the Restoration Movement. I need to get back to that task too but I felt I needed to continue making other observations here.

 

My life is changing. Not only am I getting older -- 69 now -- but my body is showing wear and tear. I had a heart valve replacement in 2009 and colon cancer surgery in 2011. I decided to make a lifestyle change last December and have focused on retraining my eating habits. To date I've lost 46 pounds with a goal of at least six more. If I make it I'll be at a svelt 210 which is the lower than my high school senior year playing weight.

 

The focus of the articles to come will be on practical applications of the professed principles of the Restoration Movement. Many young people attending "our" Bible Colleges have no real idea the principles espoused in the movement's past. Fact is, neither do a lot of those who've been around for a while. With all of the bickering, name calling, and suspicions leveled at one another it is a wonder the movement remains as united as it is. Right! There are already three very public divisions: Non-instrumental Churches of Christ, Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (Independent), and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Within the non-instrumental segment there are numerous divisions; some say as many as 27 or more. What goes unnoticed and without acknowledgement, however, are serious fractures within the independent wing of the movement. Even the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have some hidden divisions as well. Most of the fissures in the independent wing are due to leaders who fail to properly understand the movement's principles. I'll not worry too much about the other wings because they are outside of my own range of fellowship ties.

 

Since I bexcame a Christian in 1959 I've seen continuing battles over practical issues that have nothing to do with biblical doctrine (viz. the "music wars"), a variety of fusses over baptism, arguments over whether or not the North American Christian Convention should call to the podium speakers from the denominational world, organizational structures, missions, inerrancy, and the list goes on and on. Some of these issues do have doctrinal roots and should be open for discussion. But in the words of that famous theologian Rodney King, "Can't we all get along?"

 

I'm not sure where my thoughts will take me but you are invited to come along for the ride.



I've been sorting through papers and files which tend to clutter my office and thus my brain. It is amazing what you find. The "prayer" of my previous post was just one item found when looking through my Restoration History files. It is attached to a workshop I did for someone somewhere. As I read through that presentation, I felt it might be helpful to flesh it out here for anyone still reading this blog.

The workshop focused on traditionalism in the Restoration Movement. I presented it years ago. It may date as far back as the 1980s or the 1990s. Since that time much has changed within the movement itself. Some of the change is for the better, some is not. Large segments of the movement remain tied to traditions.

Younger men and women assume traditions are bad and should be rejected. On one hand, tradition is helpful and provides beauty, meaning, and form to worship and work. Tradition can reflect encapsulated truth and needs emphasis. On the other hand, tradition becomes problematic when it obscures the truth, hinders fulfillment of the church's purpose, or contradicts biblical truth.

First, I need to make some preliminary observations about the Restoration Movement. This historic movement seeks to reach the whole world for Christ. When it began in the early 19th Century it believed division and denominationalism hindered fulfillment of the Great Commission. Thus it sought the unity of believers based on a common recognition of biblical authority. Early leaders point to Christ's prayer recorded in John 17 where he prayed that his followers would be one so that the world might believe.... 

To accomplish this vision, those leaders called for believers to:

1. Throw off unscriptural and traditional creeds dividing Christians.
2. Throw off unscriptural and traditional governmental structures designed to defend the creeds.
3. Throw off an unscriptural and traditional clergy system.

In short, their plea required submitting everything to Scripture and permitting Scripture to become the source of all doctrine and practice.

Since I presented this years ago, the churches of the Restoration Movement made tremendous strides to attain the vision. There are, however, enclaves of resistance which have become as traditional, institutional, and denominational as the denominational world. Surprisingly, though, the years since the mid-1980s have seen the beginning of thousands of congregations which would agree with all three statements above. But...they have not come to the same doctrinal convictions of the Restoration Movement. 

Many of these resisting congregations have become entrenched in attitudes that keep them from successfully fulfilling the Great Commission. For example:

1. They are more related to the church as an institution than they are to God.
2. The churches become more concerned with their continued existence than with its mission.
3. They can't separate means from ends...means become ends and ends become means. They retain some practices even though they no longer achieve their reason for existence.
4. There is more concern with correctness of belief than quality of life.
5. They have lost the spirit of Christianity retaining only the form.

Such congregations retreat into a de facto denominationalism that ruins their message. They are functionally denominational. You can see this in:

1. Exclusive cooperation.
2. Suspicion of churches that are growing when they are not.
3. Stress on what is wrong with "outsiders" than what is right.
4. Expecting everyone else to "join their group."
5. Boycotting meetings of others with whom they have disagreements.
6. Blindness to one's own weaknesses and deafness to outside criticism.
7. Isolation.
8. Ignorance of others and listening to the criticism of others without personal investigation.
9. The idea that righteousness is determined by belief.
10. The insistence on official or sanctioned literature.
11. The belief that unity can only be realized when there is complete doctrinal agreement.
12. Greater desire for conformity than for unity.
13. The establishment of de facto creeds.

I'm fearful that all churches within the Restoration Movement allow some tradition to become encrusted until it hinders outreach and fulfillment of unity through a restoration of biblical authority. I see it in the realm of church leadership.where congregations express one of several traditional models. I see it in an over-emphasis on certain theological issues.

Is there a way to escape this treadmill? Here is a suggested methodology for evaluating belief and practice in today's congregations.

First, submit every teaching and practice of the church to Scripture. After all, Scripture is the inerrant standard against which measurement can occur. I'm assuming that in doing so, such a study of Scripture will use sound hermeneutics -- interpretative methodology. Once recognized, these truths must be preached fearlessly. This preaching must not only deal with Scripture's explicit teaching but its practical appliation as well. Growing churches preach doctrine! 

Second, submit every belief and practice against the church's purpose. In doing so there are two principles to keep in mind. There is the principle of expediency. Is it helpful? does it help accomplish the church's mission? (See Proposition 13 in Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address.") There is the principle of inference and deduction. Realize that only that which is clear and explicit should be made a test of fellowship. Care must be exhibited in those doctrines or teachings which are inferred or deduced by human reason. (Seee Proposition 6 in Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address.")

When congregations and their leaderships understand these things they can evaluate tradition and suggested changes with wisdom. There are two standards to be considered when evaluating harmful tradition or bringing about change in a local assembly: biblical teaching --is it faithful to the Scripture -- and purpose!

A Prayer for Change

But Lord,

    I've always bought brown sugar

    in square boxes

    with grown letters on the box.

 

I saw the plastic bags of sugar in the grocery store yesterday.

 

I could tell by looking that this was a better way.

    The strong, air-tight bags would keep the sugar soft and usable.

But I've always bought brown sugar in boxes.

    And I reached for the box.

 

Now, back at home, I wonder why.

 

Lord, why are we…

    why am I…

    so reluctant to change old ways?

    Some old ways are valid,

    but some need changing.

And I cling to square boxes with unthinking tenacity,

    Just because I've always bought square boxes.

 

That is not reason enough.

Times have changed – and are changing

    so fast it makes my head swim.

I am obligated to face my days intentionally!

    The container that brown sugar comes in is no great thing.

But there are other, weightier matters

    That require rethinking – and perhaps revising.

If I am going to live significantly,

    I must make my big decisions purposefully,

                    Comprehensively.

 

"New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth.

They must upward still, and onware, who keep abreast of Truth."

 

Forgive my square boxes.

 

        Amen.

 

From Bless this Mess and Other Prayers, by Jo Carr and Imogene Sorley. Taken from Sharpening the Focus of the Church.

The Church, Gospel and Culture

Congregations seem to have a tough time adjusting to the culture in which they exist. Missionaries adapt quickly or fail in their effort. Missionaries spend time learning the language, cultural values, trends, and preferences in order to gain a hearing for their message.

Bob Kuest, our team leader, spent substantial time with us helping us learn about Myanmar's culture before and during our first trip to Asia. Sometimes these instructions seemed simple and unimportant, but failure to acknowledge these cultural differences build walls that may never be taken down. Like most Asian cultures, for example, the Burmese (people of Myanmar) look upon the bottom of the foot as dirty. Showing the bottom of a shoe or foot, then, is an insult. (The throwing of a shoe at President Bush was intended as a terrible insult.) In Myanmar, you beckon another with the palm down and pulling the fingers toward you. The "thumbs up" sign is insulting. Refusing hospitality or a gift is insulting. Western visitors to Myanmar become ineffective when they neglect or forget these and other simple cultural issues. Then add to that the considerable communication difficulty due to the language barrier (multiple tribal tongues), government restrictions, diet, musical tastes, and more and you can see how important it is for the missionary to adapt to the culture. The missionary should never compromise the message but he/she must often clothe it in forms acceptable to the culture.

It is no different in this country. Christians must get it into their thick skulls they are working "cross culturally." The American culture transformed into something different in the 1960s and 70s. It changed again in the 1980s. It continues to undergo major cultural shifts. Although English is still spoken, the English language uses multiple new words and old words took on meanings unknown 20-30 years ago. Technology dramatically transformed the American culture. I remember when the few businessmen who immediately got on their cell phones upon lighting from an airplane seemed almost ridiculous. Sit on any airplane today and as soon as the wheels hit the runway you'll hear cell phones chirping everywhere. Television transformed the culture. The digital age with projection technology, instantaneous communication, and an intensely graphical medium transformed the way we get messages across.

Christians must see they are increasingly taking the Gospel cross-culturally. Sadly, however, too many churches remain locked into the models of the mid-20th century. Their message, although sound and solid, simply does not resonate with the contemporary culture because it seems foreign and strange. They simply don't speak the language of contemporary culture!

Does this mean the "old style" has no place? Not at all. Can there still be traditional churches? Absolutely! But...they must learn to adapt their "language" and their "practice" so it communicates. For example, there are many who yearn for a church "like grandma and grandpa" attended -- the church gathers in a building that looks like a church, the singing is accompanied by organ and piano (and other instruments), and it has the feel of the older style. Churches must learn the difference between form and substance! Avoid the ritual and repetitiveness of the mid-20th century style, sing more praise hymns (yes out of the hymnal or projected), use digital technology, do things well, cut out "dead spots," and be upbeat. Doing so will retain the feel of the old but use the best of the new. Furthermore, it will communicate!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Perhaps some occasional readers of this blog wonder if I'm dead or alive. I'm very much alive, thank you very much!

One of the major reasons I've contributed little to this blog over the past year or two has been a simple matter of time. Serving as minister to Camelback Christian Church and teaching online have taken far more time than I could imagine. In addition to the church, I now teach for the Christian College Consortium for Distance Learning, Dallas Christian College, and Manhattan Christian College. Furthermore, I write small group questions for Journey Christian Church in Florida. Frankly, part of my hunger for writing is satisfied when writing my monthly column for the Restoration Herald. If you count up, that means I'm balancing six different writing or teaching/preaching responsibilities. I'm actually working harder than I did before I turned the ripe old age of 60.

Something remarkable -- at least for me it was remarkable -- happened last fall. I happened across the Facebook page of an 8th grade classmate who was a great friend in the day. My mother taught all six of us in the 8th grade class in Rutland, Iowa in 19--, dare I say it, 1955-56! There were two girls -- Sandy Albertson and Joyce Thorn -- and four boys -- Gilbert Hood, Jim Mayall, Roger Coltvet, and I, in the class. Gilbert Hood told me Roger Coltvet lived somewhere in Phoenix. A simple Facebook search discovered him and his wife in north Phoenix. We subsequently got together for an evening dinner and he told me he was occasionally in touch with Dianne (Thorn) Christiansen and Rachel (Lewis) Nickelson. Dianne was a 7th grader in the same classroom (there were three classes in one room) and Rachel, an 8th grader who grew up in Rutland, had moved to Fort Dodge. Her mother continued to teach grades 3-5 in Rutland that year. As a result, Rachel and I became good friends and corresponded through high school and the fall of my freshman year in college. Re-establishing relationships with these four terrific people has been extremely rewarding and brought back many memories.

These renewed contacts encouraged me to write a series of recollections about my growing up years. I've been working on that project since November 2010. This collection of memories, with pictures, is undergoing a rewrite and has reached more than 200 pages. So far, my memories have taken me from my grandfather's farm near Mark, Iowa, to my current home in Palm Springs, California. It is, for me, a labor of love realizing that few will ever read let alone be interested in these tidbits from my life. It has been fun, though, and, oh, the memories! Some happy, some sad, some bittersweet ... some extremely unpleasant. Even those, however, have been cathartic as I unwrapped some of the things in my past that created hurt and pain. All of it ... all of it, and all of them who are part of my story, made me who I am. I confess, I'm not much, but I am His!

Well, maybe just to keep this blog open and expanding I'll lift some of those stories out and present them here. We'll see!

The Graying of the Convention

Indianapolis hosted this year's North American Christian Convention July 5-9. I'm writing this in the Indianapolis airport awaiting a 5:14 flight to Detroit and then to Phoenix. Although I don't go to the annual convention each year I noticed something quite interesting about this year's gathering. Maybe I'm wrong but there didn't seem to be a plethora of young preachers attending the convention. There was, however, an increasingly large number of "graybeards" -- not literally of course.

For years now the NACC has been in the hands of the Baby Boomers. The convention reflects their music preferences, their interests, their methodology and more. From what I saw the dominance may be fading. If the makeup of the crowd becomes typical it will no longer reflect their dominance and it is possible it might not exist at all. When their dominance is gone look for a shift in music styles, workshop emphases, and main speakers.

I keep hearing that younger people want to return to the style and the music of their grandparents. The slick professionally choreographed services in most megachurches are written off as shallow, trite, and sometimes pathetic. They still want excellence but they've not made it their god. We may have had a taste of what's coming in this year's music. In addition to the rock choruses there was a sprinkling of the old hymns. These older hymns, however, we sung to newer instrumentation, projected graphics, and revised arrangements. Nonetheless, unless the music is loud enough to raise the dead it could appeal to some of us older types. What may be amusing, however, is the mashed cat complaining the Baby Boomers will do when music styles change. But then, what come around goes around!

I always enjoy the connecting and renewing of relationships that occur during the convention. Most of the main sessions are challenging even when I don't agree with everything said. It was gratifying to hear a message on discipleship and teaching. Brian Jones said many things I said almost a decade ago. Thank God, someone is seeing some of the weaknesses in what's been happening and pointing out the need for change.

Indianapolis did give me an unwelcome gift -- a horrible cold. My nose is dripping, I'm coughing my head off, and there's a multitude of sneezes. The pile of used kleenex is increasing. I know! I know! That's more than you wanted or needed to know but, hey, its the truth!

On Blood and Bacteria

Looking over my topics I find I haven't commented here about what happened last summer -- the summer of 2009 which turned out to be the "summer from hell."


Not long after my birthday in June I awoke on a Saturday morning with severe back pain. It took my wife nearly an hour to get me up so she could take me to the hospital ER. After a brief exam the doctors at Desert Regional Medical Center gave me some Vicodin and sent me home. The next morning the pain was worse and we ended up in the ER again. This time they referred me to a Pain Center here in the valley. 


At the Pain Center the doctors discovered several things I didn't know. For example, I had some scoliosis in my lower back. After some preliminaries I received the first of three epidural shots for the pain. The first did nothing for me and I spent two weeks taking Percoset and sleeping in a recliner in the living room. A second epidural brought some relief but the pain was still excruciating.


Our family doctor had some other concerns for me during this painful period. Even before the back pain I was experiencing low grade fever and night sweats. That was a concern to our doctor and she couldn't put her finger on what was causing it. Cat Scans, X-rays, and blood tests revealed nothing. She finally referred me to a Rheumatologist. Since I didn't have rheumatism I couldn't figure out why. This new doctor, however, was very thorough and during a lengthy interview asked if I'd had a blood culture. My answer was negative. She immediately prescribed a trip to the lab on Thursday, July 16, so they could work up a blood culture. We headed out for Arizona over the weekend so I could speak at Camelback Christian Church. We returned home Sunday evening to find the message light on our phone flashing to tell us we had a message. It was the lab calling to tell me the blood culture revealed some bacteria in my blood and I was to call in if we got home before 6 pm. We got home at 6:15 so we had to wait another day. 


I had an appointment for a third epidural Monday morning, July 20, so we headed out to the Pain Center for that shot. We returned home in the early afternoon to find two voice mails on our system. Both told me to go to the hospital ER immediately where I would be admitted to the hospital. Upon arrival tests were begun and by evening I was awaiting a room assignment.


Tuesday the doctors began running me through a battery of tests -- CAT Scan, MRI, Echocardiogram, and a host of other tests. By Wednesday a diagnosis was reached, a surgeon selected, and preparations were underway for surgery on Friday. The diagnosis: endocarditis. The tests revealed two clusters of bacteria lodged on my aortic valve. The bacteria had eaten through the valve and, as the doctors told me later, I was in heart failure and had been for some time. Had either or both of those two clusters broken off from the valve and hit my brain I would be either an invalid or dead. For that reason the doctors did not wait and on Friday, July 25, an excellent heart surgeon gave me a "bovine valve" to replace the damaged one.


I didn't think about it at the time but later I realized that to perform the surgery, the doctors had to stop my heart so they could work on it. Even now I shudder to think that the doctors literally had my life in their hands. 


Recovery time went fairly well. I had a couple of incidents of atrial flutter that slowed things down a bit, but overall the folks in Cardiac Care got me up and about fairly quickly. I returned home to continue a month of inter-venous antibiotic treatments. Following that I began collecting fluid around and in my right lung. This necessitated the draining of that lung. This is accomplished by running a needle through your back and into the lung. The first time doctors drew off 1,440 cc of fluid; the second time it was over 2 liters and they still didn't get it all. So, I was on prednizone which quickly cleared up any inflammation contributing to the fluid build up. 


At this point the recovery continues. It's been slow -- at least it seems like it to me. I still tire easily. Nonetheless, I am pretty much back in the swing of things. I've got students in my history courses from Manhattan Christian College, Dallas Christian College, and the Consortium of Christian Colleges. I preach each week at Camelback Christian Church in Scottsdale, AZ, and I started teaching a Bible School Class the first of the year.


It has been an adventure but one I'd just as soon not repeat. 

Back Again

After months in the doldrums I've decided to pick up this blog again. I shut it down for a while but Blogger maintains it anyway. My reasons for shutting it down and starting it up again are enumerated below.

1. I am writing a monthly column for the "Restoration Herald." The RH is an organ of the Christian Restoration Association and published monthly in Cincinnati, OH. This column gives me ample opportunity to present my observations drawn from the contemporary church culture and Church history. I didn't think I needed another writing spot to siphon off my attention.
2. I had open heart surgery this past July enabling doctors to transplant a bovine valve in place of my aortic valve. Bacteria took up residence on my original valve and chewed through it creating heart failure. The surgery put me down for nearly two months and I'm still regaining strength in recovery.
3. I decided to start up again because there are observations I'd like to make from time to time that don't fit well into my column in the RH. My daughter says I'm negative ... and I suppose I am from time to time ... but my reactions are more than just being cranky. I still think someone needs to point to danger signs and act as a "watchman on the wall."

So spread the word, I'm online again through this blog.

Just a Few Shots

The Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) during the 6th century. Built on the basilica style, the sheer size of the structure can't be imagined until you walk in the doors. Constantius, the son of Emperor Constantine, constructed the first church building on this site but it and the structure that replaced it were both destroyed by fire. When Islam conquered the region the minarets were added and the frescoes and mosaics, such as the one below, were covered. Today it is a museum and the Christian art is being restored.

On Relics and Things

My wife and I are in Istanbul, Turkey as I write this. It has been an interesting two days here. On day one we saw the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, a huge cistern, and Korah Church.

Of greatest interest to me was Hagia Sophia. The present iteration of that church owes its existence to the Emperor Justinian. Two previous buildings occupied the spot prior to the current huge domed structure. Constantius, the son of Constantine, built a church with a wood roof on the site several hundred years prior to Justinian's structure. That building burned and another erected. It, too, burned when riots broke out following chariot races at the nearby Hippodrome. The present building served as the patriarchal church for the bishop of Constantinople until the city fell to Islam whereupon it was converted to a mosque.

Today we visited the Egyptian spice market, sailed on the Bosphorus, and visited Topkapi Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans. This immense structure is home to much of the finery attached to the sultanate. One display featured religious relics associated with Islam. As we viewed the exhibit we saw Moses' rod that budded, Joseph's turban, and the forearm of John the Baptist. We also viewed Mohammed's footprint and other relics associated with the Kaaba and Mohammed. If you believe those things are what they say they are I have a bridge to sell you located in Arizona near the Colorado River!!!

I always assciated the collection and worship of relics with Roman Catholicism but I'm sure it exists to some degree in many religions. Frankly, I think it is a lot of superstitious nonsense, but hey, I saw the rod that budded! Someone once said there are enough Catholics with a piece of the cross to reconstruct dozens of crosses. Relics were a big deal before the Protestant Reformation and, for some, they are a big deal today. Consider for instance all the stuff that goes on about the Shroud of Turin or those who brought splinters back from the Ark on Mount Ararat. I guess if that's the sort of thing that turns you on it is just the sort of thing you'd be interested in.

I certainly don't need some stupid relic -- real or imagined -- to bolster my faith! I have the testimony of reliable witnesses in "the Book." Its testimony to the resurrection of Jesus in space and time is enough for me!

Now, having said all of that, my wife and I leave Istanbul tomorrow for a trip to Cappadocia followed by a tour of "the seven churches of Asia." Read the first chapters of Revelation for a comprehensive list of these churches. I'm looking forward to visiting Ephesus, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and the other churches in the list. I'm not looking for relics! I'm looking for a better understanding of the historical settings for the early church. I'll tell you more about it as we go along.

Silence isn’t golden

Bob, the president of my civic club, met me as I headed toward the restaurant doors to ask if I would offer the "thought for the day" (read prayer). I gladly agreed. Over the years I've belonged to three well-known civic clubs. Because of my choice of occupation, I guess, I almost became the "official prayer" in each club. No one ever suggested I should edit my prayers or compromise my convictions … until today.

After I offered the prayer I closed as I always do invoking the name of my Lord Jesus. Once we returned to our plates of bacon, pork sausage, eggs, and potatoes, one of the club members sidled to my table to offer me some "friendly advice." I shouldn't pray in Jesus' name at club as there are Jewish members. Evidently the bacon and pork sausage doesn't offend them, but a prayer in the name of a Jewish Rabbi does. Go figure!

It strikes me again how negative our culture's attitudes toward Christians and Christianity have become. Christians are to tolerate and respect the views and convictions of others but rarely is that same toleration and respect extended to believers. Christians who hold strong convictions must compromise those convictions so not to offend those who have no convictions, few convictions, or, at minimum, different convictions. It didn't matter that by telling me, in a friendly manner of course, what I could or could not pray I was offended. I mean, after all, I've opened sessions of the Idaho State Congress and no one told me I couldn't pray "in Jesus' name." I offered prayer on an almost weekly basis at the clubs I joined in Boise, ID, and North Canton, OH, and no one criticized me or told me I couldn't or shouldn't pray "in Jesus' name."

Oh, by the way, all these clubs had Jewish members as well as those who held no religious beliefs whatsoever. But, then, this is, after all, California. You might know that in the nation's most liberal state (except for perhaps New York) you are free only to express views that don't offend anyone else. You see, that's one of liberalism's strongest characteristics – intolerance.

More Christians have died because of others' intolerance than for any other reasons. It has been so since the days of the Roman Empire. Rome tried to stamp out Christianity for its intolerance. You see, Christians dared to say the only way to God was through commitment to Christ. So with the chopping block, the Romans refused to tolerate the intolerance of those who lovingly spread their message by word of mouth.

In honesty, I have to acknowledge that a few boneheads over the centuries tried to spread Christianity at sword point. Charlemagne conquered regions and races at the point of the sword forcing "conversion" at sword point. These conversions were rarely, if ever, heartfelt or genuine. Genuine Christianity can't be forced upon someone; it must come as a response to the "good news."

Christians are losing the "culture war" in this nation as revealed in the increasingly bold suppression and oppression of the Christian message, Christian values, and Christian people. For years now Christians have been the subject of a concerted effort to stifle their talk and their walk. The message to believers is, Keep your faith private and shut up in the walls of your home and your church and don't bug us.

Dear readers, I hope you see this for what it is – a blatant attempt to silence the message. Perhaps we need to hear once again the words of Peter the other apostles, "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:20) With the words of the Great Commission echoing in your ears, obey God!

Losing our Freedoms

Each election cycle endangers our freedoms. This is particularly true for Christians in this election. Recent news out of Arizona reports that Flagstaff is considering raising sexual preference to a protected status. By ordinance, then, the Flagstaff community would accord homosexuals the same protection as that afforded minority ethnic groups.

If this ordinance is not defeated it will have serious ramifications for the traditional Christian community. Jim Dorman, minister of Christ's Church of Flagstaff, reports that while churches would be exempt of the expectations of the ordinance the exemption only applies to ordained personnel. Members, unpaid ministry staff, employees of Christian schools, and even church janitorial services would not be exempt. The ordinance, if passed, would effectively impact a church's right to set membership standards or practice church discipline. Dorman points out that in certain cases church leadership would have to go before a Human Rights Commission to communicate why the church is choosing to be an agency of "discrimination." In worst case scenarios, the Commission could label the church "an agency of discrimination."

This is not just a problem for Christians in Flagstaff. If passed in Flagstaff, other Arizona communities will enact similar ordinances. Regardless of what promoters of such ordinances say, the result is a form of persecution against those who hold a reverence for clear biblical teaching which condemns homosexual behavior.

Other states are well down the slippery slope of decadent acceptance of deviant behavior. This year the California Supreme Court, one of the most liberal state courts in the country, determined that marriage could not be denied homosexual and lesbian partners. Palm Springs is marketing itself as the Gay Marriage Capital in the hopes that homosexuals from throughout the nation will come to the Coachella Valley to "get married." Christians and those favoring traditional marriage are promoting Proposition 8, which will call for legislation to clearly state that marriage is a union of one man and one woman. As of this writing, Proposition 8 is on shaky ground even though the state approved a similar proposition in a previous election. Similar legislation is on the ballot in several other states this year and I predict that most will fail. I pray I'm wrong!

In my opinion, there is a relationship between according sexual preference the recognition as a minority and permitting same sex marriage. Both are attacking the so-called equality issue as seen by the gay rights movement from different directions hoping to catch Christians and traditionalists in a pincer.

Once gay rights activists attain "equality" they will demand that anyone or anything standing in opposition to them be charged with discrimination and punished. The ultimate result will be the removal of tax exempt status from Bible-believing churches or the forced closure of these churches. Preaching or teaching that God condemns homosexual behavior will become discrimination and punished just as it is in Canada today.

Christians must stand up and be counted in this and future elections or the church of Christ will become as persecuted as the church elsewhere.

Standing for Something

While attending the NACC this summer, I saw numerous friends and acquaintances. Even though I don't think the program has been much to write home about, I always enjoy seeing friends I've known for years.

Invariably, they want to know what I'm doing and where I've been. When I mention that I'm serving Camelback Christian Church their eyebrows go up. Camelback has a reputation! I suppose it's a deserved reputation. Dr. Joe Carson Smith, the founding minister, remains a conservative icon in the Restoration Movement. Camelback is seen as one of those "hold out" congregations that remain traditional in worship, philosophy, and theology.

Then, when I remark that I'm preparing a series of articles for "Restoration Herald," I got the same response. Mark Taylor, editor of the "Christian Standard," remarked something to the effect that I should try to get CRA to be less combative. You see, the Christian Restoration Association has long stood for the traditional Restoration Movement values and has, at times, been just that – combative.

My response in both cases has been, "The Restoration Movement needs churches like Camelback that aren't afraid to take a stand for biblical truth and the traditions of the Restoration Movement. The brotherhood also needs the CRA because someone needs to challenge the thinking that leads to directions destructive of the movement's values and purpose. All too often "the blind lead the blind" and everyone falls into a ditch. There is nothing wrong with change, but not all change is good, beneficial, or helpful. Someone has to challenge the thinking of those who would lead the churches, leaders, and brotherhood of the Restoration Movement down a primrose path leading to its destruction.

As I thought about all of this, there were several things that came to mind:

1. Truth is often seen as negative. Those who "tell it like it is" are simply unpopular because truth cuts … and sometimes it cuts deeply. In our day of political correctness, tolerance, and "politeness" it isn't acceptable to simply tell the truth. Nonetheless, someone has to do it! Speaking about some of the challenges raised by the CRA one fellow wisely said, "Well, even the person who is consistently wrong is sometimes right!" Frankly, during the CRA's history its editors have been more right than wrong.
   
2. There is a definite need to keep issues alive and open for discussion. Years ago during the inerrancy controversy, there were those prominent scholars and leaders who would have swept the whole discussion "under the rug." Had they been successful, the issue of biblical reliability would be more seriously questioned than it is – and it remains in question in certain circles. It has been said that "silence is not always golden; sometimes it is just plain yellow!" That is nowhere more evident than in upholding the movement's principles and values.
   
3. Those of us who still believe in the Movement's values must remain vigilant. The agents of change will always be with us. Change is indeed sometimes good. Change can also be expedient or helpful. To take an approach, however, that anything that works or seems for the moment to be helpful is good is fallacious. Just because "it", whatever "it" is, works does not make it right! There are almost always unintended consequences and those who refuse to consider that enact changes that destroy. It is right for churches like Camelback, leaders like Joe Carson Smith, or agencies such as the CRA to speak out! All it takes to destroy a nation or a movement is for "good people to do nothing!"

I am happy to be associated with Camelback Christian Church and its heritage. I am happy to be invited to share insights with the readers of the "Restoration Herald." Do I always agree with everything? No, but then I sometimes don't agree with things I said or wrote a month ago! Still, I like what CCC and the CRA stand for. Frankly, I'm not too sure what some of our supposed brotherhood biggies and agencies stand for these days.

Future of the NACC

For my readers who may not read Christian Standard or attend the North American Christian Convention this entry relates to both.

I attended the recent convention held in Cincinnati. Although the convention was not well attended (there were about 4,200 in attendance), it was probably one of the better conventions of late. I did not attend every session, but those I did enjoy those I did attend. I did not hear the two morning speakers because I tried to catch up on some grading for my summer Restoration History course. With only one exception, the evening speakers were interesting, easy to listen to, and had a decent message. Cam Huxford and Ben Merold were outstanding. Jud Wilhite is a smooth speaker and kept my attention, but I really didn't get much from his message. Honestly, though, I found it hard to listen to him because I kept thinking about the fact that the church he serves no longer maintains a weekly observance of the Lord's Supper as a central focus on their morning worship. As one might expect, eighty-two-year-old Ben Merold emphasized traditional Restoration values including the important place of baptism as the means of "putting on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).

The July 6 issue of Christian Standard features an interview with former convention director Leonard Wymore. The printed interview was not the complete interview. To get the full interview, readers must access Standard's web site – www.christianstandard.com. I found Wymore's evaluation of the NACC insightful. He attributes some of the convention's dropping attendance to the fact that convention leadership seems to have forgotten the needs of the smaller and mid-size church.

I would add that this is inevitable given that upper echelon leadership is nearly always drawn from the larger churches. In the past, larger churches were usually those with attendances of over 300 or more. Until the rise of the mega-church, congregations of that size were considered large, especially west of the Mississippi. As congregations grew larger NACC leadership tended to come from the growing mega-churches.

Although we will continue to have growing mega-churches with us for some time, there are still hundreds of small and mid-size churches in small towns and rural areas. Their needs get ignored by the mega-church leaders. I haven't done the research, but I often wonder if that is because there is a tendency to think these smaller churches aren't significant. While many may be dying, others are hugely significant in their communities and often see many won to Christ. They do not always fail to grew because they are stagnant or insignificant. Sometimes they fail to grow simply because movement from small towns and rural areas continue to swell the cities – and the mega-churches, I might add.

As long as the NACC aims its program to the large dynamic mega-church, the leaders of smaller churches will continue to lose interest in the convention. It cannot be assumed that smaller churches always want to emulate the methodology of the mega-church. Such methods often simply do not work in smaller towns and rural areas.

In the interview, Wymore also indicated that rising registration prices make it less likely that leaders from small to mid-size churches will attend. At this year's convention, in spite of $75 for early individual registration there was a $150,000 short fall in meeting convention expenses. Convention leaders made offering pitches at four sessions with offerings totaling $132,000 by the morning of the last day. In addition, sponsors funded workshops and ancillary sessions. Frankly, I hate to think what the convention's total cost was. Although I didn't listen to Jud Wilhite all that carefully, I did pick up on one thing he said that I thought convention leaders need to heed. Wilhite said that he and his congregation – Central Christian Church in Las Vegas – discovered they didn't need more resources; they needed to be more resourceful!

When I served with First Christian Church in Canton, OH, I also participated as a board member of the Ohio Christian Education Association. This inter-denomination group put on an annual convention second to none. The OCEA convention featured hundreds of workshops, a major speaker, excellent music, and tremendous resources. Everything about the OCEA convention was first class. More than 3,000 attended the three day event held in Akron, OH. Registration was generally less than $20 per person for early registration. Earlier this year the OCEA was literally snowed out and the convention lost $30,000. Still the resourceful leadership that plans the annual convention still had an equal amount in reserve for the 2009 convention.

In addition to the large church emphasis and the financial issues, I think there is at least other factor to the drop in interest in the NACC. Many conservative leaders are convinced the NACC leadership is no longer concerned with sound doctrine, biblical preaching, and cherished principles of the Restoration Movement. That may or may not be true, but with few exceptions the workshops continue to feature authors from outside the Restoration Movement. This fact and the multitude of book signing events lead to the conviction they all they want to do is sell books. It is thought that the "big name" draws, but for those of us who hold to the movement's principles there is little interest in hearing Bill Hybels or other big name denominationalists. Where once the convention featured Bible studies and delved into theological issues, the focus is now on pragmatics.

I hate to say this, but I am convinced that the days of the NACC are numbered. I think this is true for several reasons including all of those mentioned above. First, there is a decision to hold conventions to Cincinnati, Louisville, and Indianapolis with an occasional excursion west of the Mississippi. While this region is the heartland of the Restoration Movement it conveys the idea that churches in the west are unimportant. Second, rising transportation costs will only worsen participation from great distances especially for leaders from small and mid-size churches. Third, an ever-widening gap between the needs of mega-churches and smaller churches will continue unless the mega-churches and convention leadership effectively demonstrate their faithfulness to the principles of the Restoration Movement.

As Lee Mason, editor of the Restoration Herald, has said, "We need the NACC." Ben Merold has said, "If we didn't have the NACC, we would need something just like it." It would be a shame if a convention beginning in 1927 as a gathering of individuals would continue to degenerate into an assembly of leaders who only want to congratulate themselves on their successes.

On the Role of Elders

With apologies to my friend "Kent" of "Kent B. True," I just have to point out some stupidity found in the pages of a recent Christian Standard. It seems one of the brainiacs wrote an article on the role of elders. In the article, the author stated that we can discern from Scripture what an elders is "to be," but we don't much understand what an elder is "to do."

The author says that it was easy to understand the elder's role as shepherd in the first century or in rural America. Now that we live in the 21st century in mostly urban cultures we have to ask, now what? The rest of the article was the result of some reasearch on what contemporary elders do. What they do in the city is serve in an advisory capacity to the staff. Where do you find that role in the descriptive passages of the New Testament elder. Here is what I wrote as a letter to the editor of the Standard.

So we know what elders are but do we know what elders do? Apparently not! Not since we live in a 21st century culture that is often urban and can't identify with the role of shepherd. I have a theological word for that thought: balderdash!

Perhaps it would be a good idea for the author of the article to read They Smell Like Sheep and the Bible. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that a church is comprised of people who are often as dumb as sheep. They still need someone to look after them and to minister to their needs just as much as they did when they lived in rural areas. Maybe those urban sheep need even more shepherding.

The issue isn't that we can't figure out what elders do, the real issue is that elders have abandoned their God-given responsibilities to a group of people who are at best an expedient for their roles are nowhere seen in the New Testament. The New Testament Church didn't have "a staff," it had elders. For a movement that began with a desire to get away from the laity-clergy distinction, our contemporary elders have permitted just such a distinction to exist. Why "the staff' is even using the title "Pastor" which rightfully belongs to an elder. Maybe what we need to do is adopt the denominational practice of letting "the staff" be the elders and the elders be the deacons and the deacons just be just another brand of peon in the church. We seem to be adopting all the other denominational stuff that seems to be so inviting!

Everywhere we look in the once biblically-oriented Restoration Movement we see the abandonment of principles taught in Scripture regarding the New Testament Church. I'm not much into patternism, but I still think there are principles that mean something and can be aptly applied to the contemporary church. We've supplanted the biblical principles of leadership for corporate practices complete with a Board of Directors (Elders) and a CEO, COO, CFO, and so on. We've replaced biblical principles of leadership with the pragmatism of so many irrefutable laws of leadership (with proof texts rather than real biblical support). I don't think elders should micromanage, but I think they should be overseers and superintendents who know what's going on and who know the difference between sound doctrine and false doctrine.

Okay, I now get all the perks of a senior citizen so you can write off my meanderings as the ranting of an old man, but you can't escape the fact that in the qualifications of elders listed in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and Acts 20 you can find out what an elder is supposed to do. Their servant leadership is implicit in their qualifications. Maybe ... just maybe ... our folks need to spend more time in the Bible than in John Maxwell's tomes!

Michael Hines
Palm Springs, California