We May Have To Make Some Radical Changes.

It is hard, if not impossible to be objective looking at something from within. Some how you have to back away, put some distance between you and what you are looking at, remove your experience tinted glasses and take a long hard look. That is what I have been trying to do for the past few years in looking at the church that I have been apart of for most of my life. I have also been looking at the greater religious world of which we are a part. The image I have of the church I read about in the New Testament and the image I have of the one I am apart of are quite different. I fully realize that they are separated by 2000 years of history, and the way certain principles were expressed then would be quite different today. That is as it should be. The image difference is not so much a doctrinal one, as in what we believe compared to what they believed, but it is a difference of how they went about doing what they were instructed to do. So much of what we do today is institutionally based; it revolves around what takes place at the “church building”. We worry and fret over getting our services just right, not to short, not to long. Keep things moving, don’t get bogged down. We do all of this because we want to “attract” people to us. Our programs are for the most part attractional, designed to get people to come to us. Our approach is get them to visit, influence them and somewhere down the road, hope to reach them for the Lord. It is a “Field Of Dreams” mentality, “If you build it they will come”. And have we ever built it. We have spent billions of dollars in wonderful facilities that we use a few hours each week. All of this and yet no generation since theirs has accomplished what they did. One other thing that concerns me is that we seem to have developed a separatist mentality. It is US against THEM. Some of this is due not so much to what we are against, but how we have conveyed that message. It has come across almost as an elitist attitude and not one of personal conviction as the result of a relationship with Jesus. We have not only isolated ourselves, but we have insulated ourselves against the world. We can retreat to the safety of our buildings to do our spiritual things and then when finished we rush home to the security of our homes. When I read my New Testament, I see a people on the go. They learned that from Jesus. He was constantly in and out of the lives of people that He came in contact with on a daily basis. Jesus then commissioned His disciple to “Go”, literally “as you go”, preach the Good News. It became a part of who they were, not just something they did in response to a command. Jesus used metaphors of salt, light and leaven to describe what His followers would “BE”. The New Testament letters seem to urge them to live among those who did not know God in such as way as to not get in the way of what God was trying to do. Jesus said we are to be, “a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden”. Another picture of what we are to BE. The sacrificial giving of the early chapters of the Book of Acts shows that there was urgency in what they were about. Something valuable was at stake. They were on a mission for God. I fear we are so steeped in our attractional approach to being the church that it will require a radical new direction to really be to our world what they were to their world. We are going to have to “move back into” the world, and rub shoulders with them. We need to let them see that we are real people with real personal needs and problems. We need to let them see that we don’t have all the answers, that we are on a journey ourselves. While we don’t have to participate in their sin we must find grounds on which to relate. We are going to have to let them SEE the difference that Jesus makes in our lives. Radical new direction may mean not looking at all like the church of today with its comfortable buildings and programs. It may be a store front in a not so nice section of town where people are free to come and go as they are. A simple place to gather, talk and relate. Or it may look like a nice lounge with media center, a simple gathering place with entertainment live and otherwise. I don’t know, but I do know we are going to have to be creative to reach the world in which we live. What we are doing is not working in a significant enough way to reach the world. So, what do you think?

This Will Tell Your Age

Do you know what the items above are? If you get all three chances are you are close to my age.

How You Begin Determines How You End.

Our tribe is apart of the Restoration Movement whose beginnings are attributed to Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone, among others, who had major rolls in setting us on the Restoration path. Over one hundred and fifty years have now passed. Some would claim that success was reached in the 50’s and 60’s and today seek desperately to hold on to ground claimed then for now and forever. The major accomplishments lauded by this segment of my tribe are mainly in the area of doctrines about worship, church structure and how to become a Christian. Many others in my tribe are in what I would call a state of evolution. I am apart of that segment. We are taking a new look at where we are and where we are going. Some of us are becoming more contemporary, that is as contemporary as the groups we are apart of will allow us to become. For example some congregations are beginning to allow instrumental music, but that is still a very small number in comparison to the whole. In contemporary services there is a new emotional expression that has not been apart of our heritage. Clapping of hands, hands raised in praise and movement to the music are fresh expressions of our involvement in what is happening. With that said, please allow me to think out loud with you for a minute or two. This is off the top of my head, extemporaneous if you please, so this is not in concrete, but I offer it for your consideration and comment. It appears to me that in our attempt to “restore” New Testament Christianity we started in the wrong place. I believe that doctrine is vitally important, but I am not sure that is the best place to have started. The emphasis, as I see it, at the heart of the words of Jesus was to change our hearts. He sought to change us from the inside out. That process was in turn designed for each of us to become agents of change in our world. Jesus called us “Salt” that when mingled with the world changes what it touches, “Light” that reflects Him to the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. The attention drawn to us by so living was to cause Him to be exalted and lifted up. Here is an example of what I am talking about. Among our tribe we have quarreled and divided over the “way” in which we take care of orphans and widows. We differed over the “doctrine” and then both sides did little or nothing to really make an impact on the orphans and widows among us. Note, I didn’t say we didn’t do anything; we just had very little impact on the problem as a whole. Much of the benevolence that we do is corporate in style and not individual. We give our money into a community pot and it is doled out as needs arise, and the givers seldom ever see the impact of their gift. The same could be said of how we deal with the sick. Paid staff visits the sick in hospitals and we track the progress through printed media on how they are doing. To use the vernacular of the day, the difference is institutional or missional. One says let the church do it and I will put my check in the plate, the other sees response to needs as individual – neighbor to neighbor. I realize that doctrine is involved in how we lovingly respond to others, but I just wonder, if we had started in a different place would we have ended up in a different place doctrinally. What do you think?

Worth Sharing

Loneliness: In the movie The Hiding Place, one scene portrays Corrie Ten Boom telling the Lord she wants him to use her in whatever way he pleases, even if it means in obscurity. Soon after that, she is taken prisoner by the Nazis, along with her father, from whom she is separated. Her father dies in the death camp, and then she is forcibly removed from her beloved sister. The Nazis shove Corrie into a cold, damp cell in Germany. As the scene closes, she is lying in a corner, shivering. And with tear-filled eyes she whispers to the Lord, "But God, I didn't know I would have to be alone." (Rick Ezell, One-Minute Uplift) Life observations from little ones: STEVEN (3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight, saying: "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window." BRITTANY (4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Shocked, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?" SUSAN (4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said. "It makes my teeth cough." DIANA (4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "So, how much do I cost?" MARC (4) was carefully observing a young couple hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?" CLINTON (5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?" JAMES (4) was listening to a Bible story. After his dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt," James asked: "What happened to the flea?" TAMMY (4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?

"What Can Wash Away My Sins"?

I know that some of what I write here from time to time might cause you to think that I have a problem with “my tribe” as I lovingly call them, but the reality is that I love “my tribe” and am grateful for much of what I was taught that has brought me to where I am today. One of the issues that cause us to stand out from most of the rest of the religious world is our teaching on Baptism. While I readily admit that some of our number sound like they believe in baptismal regeneration, I have never believed that, and our tribe does not believe that either. Those who would accuse us of teaching baptismal regeneration believe that we believe that baptism is a work of merit that in some way earns us salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. “What can wash away our sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus”. I believe those words with every fiber of my being. While reading Ben Overby’s blog today concerning grace and trust he made a powerful statement. “Some of us want to suppose that because of God's grace, we do nothing. The truth, however, is that because of God's grace we earn nothing. Grace is a gift ready to be taken by those who trust!” While Ben was not speaking of Baptism, the principle applies. Our response to Him in Baptism is an action of trust, not merit. Paul after spending three days in prayer, and obvious repentance, was told by Aninas, “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Acts 22:16. Baptism is a plea of trust that results in the washing away of sins. In baptism we are asking –calling on His name – to be cleansed by the Blood of Jesus. This same principle is seen in another often misunderstood verse from I Peter 3:21, “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” How does baptism save? (Holy Spirit’s Words, not mine). Baptism is an appeal to God for guilt removal that is made possible by the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead and became our substitute. It is high time for folks to get over this “water salvation issue”. I don’t know anyone who believes that there is salvation in water apart from the Blood of Jesus. The Catholics are often accused of this, but I am not sure they believe it either. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

The Year Is 1867

The year is 1867. Our country is in recovery from the Civil War; Nebraska is admitted to the union as the 37th. state; Alaska is purchased from Alexander II of Russia for 7.2 million dollars (about 2 cents and acre); Laura Ingalls Wilder of "Little House On The Prairie" Fame is born; and a new Church of Christ begins in Rutherford County TN. I preached there this morning to an audience of about 20 people striving desperately to hold on for dear life. They had almost reach 60 in number when there was a fuss. The preacher left and a few went with him. The song leader was next to leave and a few left with him Now they are trying to start over again. They are located in the middle of now where, the nearest city of any size is 15 miles away. The white frame building sits at a Y intersection with paved parking lot, a hung steeple reaching to the sky and not another building in site. What makes this even more sad is there is a thriving congregation only 2 miles away. Why is it so hard for us to let things go. This little group is on life support and no one is willing to pull the plug. I lost my very special canine friend recently. He could hardly get up and down, he had lost his appetite, and was just worn out. The humane thing for me to have done would have been to him put down. I knew the right thing to do, but I simply could not bring myself to do it. I looked out at his pen one morning and he was lifeless. It was over. I was relieved. I had such similar thoughts this morning. It is not my decision and I am glad. They have hung on for almost 140 years. Who am I to say that that is long enough. I have an opinion about what should happen, but that is all that it is, an opinion. God will decided, and I am glad.

A Smell Of Death In The Air

Leann from the Madison church called me on Thursday. A lady from a small congregation between Lebanon and Murfressboro, TN had called. There preacher left and they need someone to fill in. I said I would help on a limited basis and called the lady. Here is what I learned. They are less than fifty in number. Only two men left and one of them is the song leader. She said they wanted to keep the church there alive, but just not sure how long they can go on. Have you ever stood beside the bed of someone who was about to take their last breath? There is a smell of death in the air. I smelled it again on Thursday while on the phone. This time it was a rural congregation and not a person. I have comforted families many times before and after the death of a loved one, but what do you say to a church that is on its death bed? I don’t want to sound all doom and gloom, but reality is what it is. This situation is becoming more and more frequent. (See yesterdays post for some of the reasons.) I will be preaching for them this Sunday. It won't be a funeral lesson, but that lesson is not far away.

Words, Words, Words

I work in the outdoor lighted sign industry. The signs that we sell are not only state of the art in quality, they are very innovative with a strong emphasis on graphics to help the motoring public see the nature of a business in pictures, not just words. On the left is a Before and After picture of a business we helped. (Stay with me, there is a spiritual lesson ahead.) Most of the signs you see today are just words, words, words. They are seldom noticed, much less read. The idea behind words on signs goes back to the horse and buggy days. When you went into business you “hung out your shingle”. Most of the people who saw your sign were either walking along window shopping, or they were moving slow in their buggy or that new fangled horseless carriage. You could put allot of words on the sign and there would still be time to read it. Ok, fast forward two hundred or so years to present day. Businesses are still using the same “type” of signage today. The world has moved into the twenty-first century, but much of the signage of today, especially for independent business, is still trying to communicate as they did in the horse and buggy days, words, words, words. This type of signage is totally useless today given the speed limits and the fact that people hardly walk and shop anymore. That is where my company comes in. Graphics and visuals is where it is at because it only takes to seconds to communicate what your business is about with our signs. My tribe’s roots are in the Restoration Movement. A movement to point people back to the basics of New Testament Christianity. But our journey got, as Ronnie Millsap sang, “stuck in the 50’s”. Much of what was tradition back then, is considered as sacred today. Gospel Meetings, Sunday Night Services, and the type of hymns we sing, just to mention a few. My tribe fears change. We are told that change is bad and sinful. In fact the new catch phrase for the old term “liberal” is now “change agent”. There is a subtle message behind a fear of change. We fear change because we believe in our heart of hearts that we have arrived at the final destination and our job now is to hold the line against change. It is an arrogant message! It points a bony finger at others and says, “We are the standard, we have arrived, conform to our standard or no admittance!” So as with most business signs today, people pass us by. They aren’t ignoring us; they just don’t know we are there. Businesses continue to use words, words, words, and my tribe continues to hold those “Gospel Meetings”. Business continue to go belly up at the rate of 90% in the first five years, much of it due to a lack of effective signage, and we continue to sing songs that were popular when the King James Bible was translated. And our numbers continue to shrink, and more and more churches are closing their doors each year. Cultural change is nothing more than “becoming all things to all men” as Paul said. Yes there are some things that should not change, and this post is not about them. The change I am talking about is the change that allows us to relate and speak to the world in which we live. I am talking about communication. I don’t care how loud and long you tell your message, or how correct it may be, if it is not understood by those who hear it, your efforts are useless. The reality is, change or die! Businesses continue to pour thousands of dollars into useless signs. Churches continue to use outdated methods the same way. The outcome for both will be the same, unless we are willing to adapt and change.

A True Gentle-man And Servant Of The Lord

A week ago today Fred Bare departed this life and went home to be with the Lord that he had served for so many years. During my first full time work in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania back in the early 70’s I had the honor of appointing Fred as one of the first two elders for the church in Glen Rock. He and Irene were substitute grand parents for our children, and a tower of strength to Barb and me in our first preaching ministry. Fred was married to Irene for almost 59 years. He was a builder by trade and loved to play volley ball. Originally from Piney Flats, TN, Fred moved with his father Dewey to Glen Rock, and they with a few other families began to meet as the church of Christ in Glen Rock. Fred was retired and he and Irene split their time between Florida and Pennsylvania. He only recently learned of his cancer and it took only a matter of weeks to take his life. Our love and prayers are with Irene and the children left behind. We rejoice that he is now with the Lord that he loved and served for so many years.

On The Lite-er Side

Think you are having a bad day? Just remember, it could be worse..... 1. The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both. 2. A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places. Until that moment he had been happily listening to his Walkman. 3. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn Germany. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death. And finally... 4. Iraqi terrorist, Khay Rahnajet, didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with "return to sender" stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb he opened it and was blown to bits.

Ben and Kim's Final Service At Ft. Benning

Ben Overby is blessed to be married to Kim. They are the adoring parents of JT and Alex. The Overby's live in Hamilton, Georgia. Ben's a native of Greenbrier, Tennessee. Kim's a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland. By the grace of God, Ben is privileged to tell the story of God's love to trainees at Ft. Benning each Sunday...That is until last Sunday. Please take a moment to read his words about their final service... Please keep this talented couple in your prayers. They are looking for the new work the Lord has for them.

Unity

In a Peanuts comic strip, Lucy tells Linus “I finally figured out how to prove to everyone that my religion is right.” Linus asks, “How do you do that?” “It’s simple,” says Lucy, “I hit ‘em over the head with my lunch box!” Regardless of appearances, a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. Lucy reminds me of a fellow I heard about one time. He was stranded all alone on a desert island for years before he was finally rescued. His rescuers asked him what the three structures were that he had built on the island. Three buildings seemed perplexing for just one man. He said one was his house, one was his church, and one was where he used to go to church before he got his feelings hurt! I am convinced that unity is a matter of attitude, not perfect agreement. Are there two human beings that agree 100% on every thing? Surely the most legalist among us would agree that a definition of 100% agreement will never fly. The attitude of which I speak was illustrated so beautifully by two famous preachers of the 18th Century Evangelical Revival, John Wesley and George Whitefield. Sadly having been great friends at Oxford, they fell out over the Armenian/Calvinist debate. There was quite a bit of animosity between their followers. Once one of Whitefield’s followers said to him, "We won’t see John Wesley in the heaven, will we?" To which Whitefield humbly replied, "Yes, you’re right, we won’t see him in heaven. He will be so close to the Throne of God and we will be so far away, that we won’t be able to see him!" What a great attitude Whitefield had. Despite profoundly disagreeing with Wesley, Whitefield recognized John Wesley as being a man of God. Indeed the respect for the other was so great that when Whitefield died in the United States, John Wesley preached at George Whitefield’s memorial service in London. While neither man changed their position, they had the wisdom to respect the study and honest search for truth of the other. That is the “attitude” of unity of which I speak.

Father's Day and The Father Who Really Knows What Is Best

Yesterday was a wonderful Father’s Day. My son Allen picked up the tab at the Blue Star Chinese Restaurant, one of my favorite places to eat, and my daughter Joyce bought me two DVDs, “Through Gates of Splendor” and “End of the Spear”, just released this past week. She knows how much the story behind both of them mean to me. Most of all on this Father’s day I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who allowed His Son to give his life for us. When we talk about the death of Jesus on the Cross so much of what we say has to do with salvation, or His death for our forgiveness and rightly so. But His purpose in His death was much more than forgiveness. His goal in our forgiveness was our transformation from futile existence to one full of purpose and meaning. A large segment of people who believe in Jesus as the savior today see the cross as one dimensional. They see it as bringing salvation, something they could not do for themselves, but nothing more. God seeks to change not only our eternity; He wants to change our here and now. He wants to change us into the image of His Son. “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.” Rom. 8:29 LNT. Rob Bell said, “If we only have a legal-transaction understanding of salvation in which we are forgiven of our sins so we can go to heaven, then salvation essentially becomes a ticket to somewhere else. In this understanding, eternity is something that kicks in when we die”, “Velvet Elvis” pg 108. The message from scripture is not only how to be saved, but how to live. He is the ONE Father that always knows what is best.

It Was Thirty Years Ago

Thirty years seem like such a long time ago. Gerald Ford was president and Jimmy Carter is elected to replace him. The US celebrates its bicentennial, marking the 200th anniversary of its independence. George W. Bush is arrested and fined for driving under the influence of alcohol. Cincinnati Reds won the World Series. Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars. Charlie's Angels and The Muppet Show premiere. And last by far from least, my dad went home to be with the Lord on June 20th - Father’s Day - 1976. Tomorrow will be the 30th. Father’s Day without him. The picture is a four generation picture - I am the little guy (-: From left to right, Miles William Hodges, Great Grand Father. Marion Ollie Hodges, Grand Father. Thomas Lee Hodges, Sr., Father. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

When I Get Where I am Going

I think that I have mentioned before that I sing with a group from Madison for funerals. We sang for one today. We sang old favorites like, "Amazing Grace" and "I'll Fly Away". But today the service opened with a recording of the Brad Paisley song, "When I Get Where I Am Going". The lyrics touched me so that I thought I would share them with you for my post today. When I get where I'm going On the far side of the sky The first thing that I'm gonna do Is spread my wings and fly I'm gonna land beside a lion And run my fingers through his mane Or I might find out what it's like To ride a drop of rain [Chorus] Yeah when I get where I'm going There'll be only happy tears I will shed the sins and struggles I have carried all these years And I'll leave my heart wide open I will love and have no fear Yeah when I get where I'm going Don't cry for me down here I'm gonna walk with my grand daddy And he'll match me step for step And I'll tell him how I missed him Every minute since he left Then I'll hug his neck So much pain and so much darkness In this world we stumble through All these questions I can't answer So much work to do But when I get where I'm going And I see my maker's face I'll stand forever in the light Of his amazing grace Yeah when I get where I'm going There'll be only happy tears

Which Character Are You?

One of my favorite movies is "The Princess Bride" So I just had to do this:

Which Princess Bride Character are You? this quiz was made by mysti

Rejoicing With The Angels

My oldest grand daughter, Emily, obeyed the gospel last night. I can remember holding her for the first time when she was just weeks old. She was the first grand child, so that experience will always be special, but not as special as last night. I have baptized a lot of people through the years, but last night will always stand out among them all. Paul didn't remember all those he baptized, off the top of his head, and I can relate to that, but I will never forget last night. Emily begins the fourth generation of Christians on my Dad's side of the family, and the fifth on my Mom's side. She has been talking to us about this decision for about a year now. She has given it a lot of thought. I know she is young and has a lot of life ahead of her -- a lot to learn and deal with, but she is off to a great start. Oh, for those who read my post from yesterday--he was there too, and I am glad.

Who Is On Your Prayer List?

Who is on your prayer list? As I think back over my list the majority are family, friends and members at Madison that are facing health challenges. There is only one person on my list that does not fit into the groups that I just mentioned. Jesus never told me to pray for my Mom while she was with us, nor did He tell me to pray for my kids, even though I do daily, but he did tell me to pray for this guy. "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matt. 5:44 NASV. He did not hurt me directly, but through my daughter. Some times those are the worse kinds of hurt, those done to your loved ones. The sad thing is that he continues to try from time to time to bring more hurt and pain through his words and actions. While it can be the hardest part of my prayer time, it is often the best. You see each time I pray for him I am reminded of my own sinful and rebellious heart. I am reminded that while I was an enemy of my Lord He died for me anyway. The world’s response to those who hurt us is revenge, hatred and anger. Jesus says, pray for them and forgive them. Freedom from hatred and anger is the wonderful gift of forgiveness. “The word forgive in the Greek language actually means “to send away”. People hurt us and harm us, and we end up caring around these debts they owe us wherever we go. To forgive is to refuse to carry those debts anymore.” Rob Bell, “Velvet Elvis” pg.60. Those burdens can mount up and become unbearable. Not only are we left with the pain of the original hurt, but now the pain is compounded as we smolder under the burden of anger and frustration. We are never more like Jesus than when we forgive. We were covered by His words from Calvary, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" Luke 23:34 NASV. Forgiveness does not remove the responsibility of the one who hurt us, but it removes the burden it put on us and “sends it away.” Many of those on my prayer list are dealing with Cancer. Cancer can fill your life with pain and eventually cut it short. So can un-forgiveness.

"...anything else is just commentary."

The goal of my tribe, if I have understood it through the years, was to restore the New Testament Church of the first century in our century. While we accepted that there were some cultural issues that were for them and not us, for the most part the goal, as I understand it, was to have a First Century Church in our day. While this may be a worthy goal in some ways, I think we need to rethink it. Rob Bell in “Velvet Evis” makes a valid point. “The point in the book of Acts isn’t the early church. The point is the God who is at work in and through the early church to change the world. When we take the Bible seriously, we are taking God seriously. We believe that the same God who was at work then is at work now. The same God in the same kinds of ways. The goal is not to be a “New Testament church”. That makes the New Testament church the authority. The authority is God who is acting in and through those people at that time and now these people at this time. “ The book of Acts is just the first chapter, so to speak, in God’s story of what He did, and what He continues to do in the church. God continues today to work through His Body, the Church, as He has done down through the centuries. I know to some that I sound like a heretic when I say that, but if we could but step out of our inherited pattern theology for a moment, and see that the Bible is simply a record of God at work in the lives of His people at that time. We are reading their mail. What they did is not nearly as important as why they did it. Their actions were the result of their relationship with the Father. Their goal was to be like Him and to accomplish His will, not to establish some institution to be duplicated century after century. Not only was the restoration of the New Testament Church of the first century a goal, some from our tribe even believed that they accomplished the mission! All others interpretations of scripture are now judged right or wrong by their own. To them and others of a similar mind set I simply say, “The Bible is the inspired word of God and anything else is just commentary.”

"End Of The Spear" Debuts Tomorrow

The is such a powerful movie. If you didn't see it when it was in theaters back in January, or even if you did, the DVD will be available tomorrow -- buy it and share it. The sacrifice of these men and their families is a story that NEEDS to be told. Here is the announcment: Worlds collide and tragedy strikes as a missionary group journeys to the heart of the Amazon jungle in search of the Waodani, a tribe of fierce warriors on the brink of extinction due to revenge killings. When five of the missionary men are speared to death by tribesmen, their families are left husbandless and fatherless. Undeterred by their tremendous loss and spurred on by hope, the families decide to remain in Ecuador, and risk living among the Waodani. But the effects of that first encounter have yet to subside: A young boy, struggling to unlock the secret of his father’s death, must learn to accept a tragedy he cannot change in this powerful true story of sacrifice, courage, and reconciliation. Available on DVD from Fox Home Entertainment starting tomorrow (June 13), End Of The Spear takes viewers deep into the heart of darkness to discover that faith and forgiveness can transcend the senseless acts of violence that stand in the way of cultural understanding. Use this powerful true story of forgiveness and reconciliation for ministry, outreach, or simply to share with your friends and neighbors. Go to your local video retailer, or visit the following links to purchase End Of The Spear DVD's tomorrow: bestbuy.com , walmart.com or amazon.com ! Share the story that has touched the hearts of thousands around the world! DVD Special Features:The End Of The Spear DVD features both widescreen and full screen versions of the film, and is presented in English Dolby Surround 5.1 with English and Spanish subtitles.

The Death of Zarqawi and Legalism

The two things mentioned in the title of this post really have nothing to do with each other. Zarqawi is dead, and I am glad. I hope that doesn't sound unchristian to you. I was going to write this eloquent post about it, and then I read Patrick Mead's post for today, and well, he said it better than I would have so, have a look. Legalism is not dead, but I wish it was. Apparently a legalist took an anonymous pot shot at Jeff Garrett and his response in his post for Friday the 9th. of June was so simple and too the point. Jeff is a recovering alcoholic, a minister, and a wonderful Christian. I love his attitude, and again his comments are so much better than mine would have been, so take a look. You know, now that I look back, as I close these thoughts, maybe there is a common thread that binds the Zarqawis and legalist of our day. An absence of Love.

Times Change

“Times change. God doesn’t, but times do.” “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. I am sure that Rob is not the first person to say that, but when I read it this morning it really struck me as profound. Barb and I preached in Pennsylvania for over 20 years. Where we lived was not that far from the Amish farms of Lancaster County. I was always amazed at how a people could maintain the “simple” lifestyle in the midst of one of the fastest growing counties in the State. Commercial and residential development all around them, and yet they were still in the horse and buggy days – literally. What struck me today was how much my tribe is like the Amish. We have not been as consistent as they. We have done a little picking and choosing when it comes to what we hang on too and what we leave behind, but in many ways we are a lot like them. Some how we have to deal with the mentality, that change is bad. The far right of my tribe, for lack of a better term, is throwing around the term, “change agents”. To them that is a bad thing. And yet, our movement was birthed by change agents by the name of Campbell, Stone, and others. Back then change was good, but now somehow it is bad. While their’s was a movement “back” to Biblical principals, ours is a movement toward application, in real ways, in real life – 21st. Century Life. If we are learning and growing we will always be in a state of change. When you think you have arrived you become stagnant and eventually you die. One of our Shepherds last Lord’s Day during communion made the comment that if someone from the first century church were to come into our assemblies during the Lord’s Supper they would not have a clue as to what we were doing. That is true, and at the same time, there is nothing wrong with that. But don’t we need to follow their example? Yes, very much so, in principle. We need to love, give, care, show compassion, preach the Gospel, etc., with the same heart and devotion they did. We need to allow the Gospel to change us and do for us what it did for them. We need to become change agents like they were change agents to our Century.

Blogger On The Fritz

Blogger has been having a lot of problems in the last two days. So instead of a post today here are a two more links to pictures of Family Day 2006 at Valley View Camp. Amber Stacy's site and Todd Hibbs site. It was a wonderful day of fun and fellowship.

What If?

What if, in stead of a blueprint for every facet of the church, the Bible was a book of Holy principles? What if what we read about the church and its actions was simply a group of Christians living out those principles as they applied to their world? What if God expects us to live and look like Christians of the 21st Century instead of Christians of the 1st Century? Here are three quotes I just picked up from another blog. This is my next book purchase. Read them and let them sink in – this is food for thought! "We can no longer afford our historical sentimentality, even addiction, to the past. Christendom is not the biblical mode of the church. It was/is merely one way in which the church has conceived of itself. In enshrining it as the sole form of the church, we have made it into an idol that has captivated our imaginations and enslaved us to a historical-cultural expression of the church. We have not answered the challenges of our time precisely because we refuse to let go of the idol. This must change! ….It will require that we adopt something that looks far more like the early church in terms of its conception of the church (ecclesiology) and its core task in the world (missiology)." - page 15 "How much of the traditional church's energy go into adjusting their programs and their public meetings to cater to an unseen constituency? If we get our seating, our parking, our children's program, our preaching, and our music right, they will come. ….The missional church recognizes that it does not hold a place of honor in its host community and that its missional imperative compels it to move out from itself into that host community as salt and light." - page 19 "All the tinkering with the existing model of church that's going on will not save the day. Simply making minor adjustments like replacing pews with more comfortable seating, or singing contemporary pop songs instead of hymns will not reverse the fundamental decline in the fortunes of the Western church… Or think of the church as a VCR. If you have newer DVDs, you can't play them on your old VCR - you need an entirely different device." - pg 35 “The Shaping of Things to Come “ by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. Do you think that this just might be one the reasons that no group since the first century has preached the Gospel to their world?

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

Well today is the day everybody has been dreading – 06/06/06. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia the fear of the number 666. It is mid afternoon and as far as I know the sky isn’t falling. The job that I am now doing for my company has me quoting prices for our sales people and running credit applications for approval. Today I had a classic approval number for today. Our approval code has my initials followed by today’s date, then the Fico score and an A for approval or a D for decline. This is the code on the last one I ran about an hour ago. You won’t believe it! LH-060606-666-A. Can you believe that? Am I worried? Not at all. I just think the Lord has a wonderful since of humor. I shared this with the other reps I work with and there were all kind of OOOHs and Awwws. One regional manager wanted to know if it was one of his guys. Not sure why he was so concerned. When it all shakes out I am not worried. I read the last chapter of the last book and we win.

What A Weekend!

What a great weekend! Saturday was Family Reunion time. It was so great to see all of my blood relatives. The food and the fellowship were excellent! Sunday began with a great Bible Class, followed by a wonderful combined worship service and then we all went to Valley View Camp for the 2006 Family Day. I don’t know how many were their but I would venture a guess that there were well over 1300 if not more. The food tent was filled to overflowing on to the basketball court. Kiddy pools, two of those huge blow up thingies for kids, face painting, dunk tanks, paddle boats, three legged sack races, pie throwing and eating contests…whewww! The entertainment lived up to our reputation of being, Music City USA. Roger Ferguson’s Mercy Beat Band, later joined by Jonas, of “Uncle Phil’s Diner” Fame, and boy can he play a Sax. By the way Roger has a new CD out. Check out his site. Bluegrass Gospel highlighted by Keith Lancaster, playing guitar, and Eric Bright on the Madelyn. Anthony Lancaster, Keith and Sharon Lancaster’s son played the keyboard and sang for a set. The entertainment was closed by “Through A Glass” Christian Rock band led by Jeremiah Barnes, son of Phil and Kim Barnes, Madison’s Minster. As we were leaving we ran into my niece Sonja and Lavern Vivio (better known as U-turn-Lavern, traffic reporter for WLAC 1510 Radio in Nashville), who at the top of their lungs sang Happy Birthday to me. Now that was a trip in and of it self. If you would like to see pictures from the day I have some posted and a few more to come. Just click here! Both of these events were held at Valley View Camp. Valley View Christian Camp is owned and operated by the Madison Church of Christ. The camp is located in the center of 66 acres of rolling Tennessee hills, just 35 minutes north of Nashville Tennessee and 3 miles off Interstate 65. What a blessing this purchase has been to this church and others churches in our area.

Does Yahoo Know All???

Yesterday was my birthday. The praise team has a Yahoo Group set up that automaticly sends out Happy Birthday messages on everyone's birthday. Here is the message as it appeared on the Yahoo site. Lee Hodges Birthday Sunday June 4, 2006 All Day This event repeats every year, until Wednesday June 10, 2009 That last line made me ask, "Does Yahoo know something I don't"??? (-:

Soapes Reunion 2006 Today

Reunions are a blast. Most families don't have them any more. The only time, other than reunions, you get to see a large number of your relatives at once is at a funeral. Reunions are allot more fun! My mother's maiden name was Soapes, so the reunion today is from her clan. Edgar and Orpha (Stone) Soapes had six children. Four are still living and will more than likely be at the reunion today. My Grand father used to say he performed a miracle when he married my grand mother. He turned Stone in to Soap-es. We called my grand parents Pop and Sissy. My grandmother never wanted to be called grand--anything, so she tried to get all the grand children to call her sister. The closest the first grand children ever got to saying sister was sissy, and that stuck. The clan is aging. One of my aunts, three of my cousins and myself all turned 60 last year. Won't be long until we are the leaders of the clan. It will be a fun day. Reunions kinda give you a hint at what it will be like for the BIG Reunion one day when we are all with the Lord. Boy, is that ever going to be something!

Are There Limits to Religious Toleration?

While the following article is a little long for this blog, it is well worth it. By Gary DeMar 6/01/2006 Nearly every social commentator appeals to the conservative Christian community to be tolerant of other religious traditions. After all, we live in a religiously pluralistic society. The assumption is that religion is a benign choice, little different from picking one car model over another. Therefore all religious traditions should be tolerated and accepted as valid expressions of faith. Of course, in terms of the religious pluralism paradigm, I have blasphemed. I have insulted today’s pantheon of gods and goddesses, whoever or whatever they might be. The gods, in addition to being crazy, will also be angry with me because I dare to proclaim without reservation that all religions except biblical Christianity are false, no matter how well intentioned. Jesus made it clear that there is one God, and He does not share His glory with another. All those who claim to be gods or goddesses are usurpers who have no more a spark of divinity than does a block of wood (Isa. 40:20). We have to return to less halcyon days to understand what the fuss is all about. How would today’s religious pluralists have responded to Montezuma and the religious beliefs of the Aztecs? Can you imagine Montezuma appealing to Cortez based on pluralist ideals?: “Can’t we all just get along?” While Cortez’s arrival caused Montezuma fear and dread, it gave hope to many of the Indian tribes who suffered under Aztec rule. The Aztecs had raided neighboring tribes for years, capturing thousands of victims for human sacrifice, a central part of Aztec religion. Cortez and his men were horrified at the Aztec’s slaughter of countless human lives. Aztec temples were stacked with human skulls. So when they made their way toward the Aztec capital, local tribesmen who feared and hated Montezuma followed after the conquerors urging them to attack without mercy. When Cortez spotted the center of religious worship, the sacrificial pyramid, he made his way up the hundred and fourteen steps with some of his best soldiers following close behind. Montezuma was at the top waiting for him. What Cortez and his battle-hardened men saw there shocked them like nothing they had ever seen before. Montezuma had just sacrificed some boys to keep the gods happy, and there was blood everywhere. Bernal Diaz, an eyewitness, describes the scene: “All the walls . . . were so splashed and encrusted with blood that they were black, the floor was the same and the whole place stank vilely. . . . The walls were so clotted with blood and the soil so bathed with it that in the slaughterhouses of Spain there is not such another stench.”1 Cortez left the blood-drenched temple to compose himself in the fresh air. Speaking to Montezuma through an interpreter, Cortez told the Aztec leader that he could not understand how such a wise ruler could believe in these pagan gods. They were not gods, Cortez admonished him, but rather devils. Montezuma was outraged. “We consider our gods to be good. They give us health and rains and good harvests and victories in war.” Of course, the gods were not good to the thousands of victims sacrificed every year. As the Spaniards climbed down the temple pyramid and made their way through the city, they saw more unspeakable horrors. They passed rooms where the bodies of sacrificial victims were being prepared for feasts. They saw racks that held more than a hundred thousand human skulls. Aztec society was built on blood, the blood of thousands of helpless victims. This senseless slaughter had to end, and Cortez believed that he was called by God to accomplish the task. Cortez vowed to rid Mexico of paganism. He preached the gospel to the tribes throughout Mexico. People who knew that they could become human sacrifices to false gods were amazed to hear that the God who made the world had sacrificed Himself for them, shedding His blood for their salvation. But Cortez did more than preach. He toppled the idols and burned their temples. The first pagan temple to go was the one in the center of Tenochtitlan. The idols were removed and the priests were forced to scrub the bloodstained walls clean and whitewash them with lime water. So much for religious toleration and pluralism. Attempts by historical revisionists to paint the Aztecs as peaceful natives who dwelled in the splendor of an unspoiled Eden is a gross corruption of the historical record. In ancient Mexico, human sacrifice was an offering to the gods of people’s most precious possession, their blood. The custom that most startled the Spaniards, ritual cannibalism, was in fact the attainment of a spiritual idea: It was a true communion.2 Aztec priests threw their victims down on a sacrificial stone, opened the chest with a flint knife, and pulled out the still beating heart, which was then burned in a stone urn. “Each year thousands of Aztecs had their hearts cut out of their living bodies and offered to the Sun god, who was also3 their god of war. Thousands more were burned alive, skinned, and drowned as offerings to other gods.” How would today’s historical revisionist explain the daily bloodletting? I can just see it now. “The Aztecs were a highly advanced culture, especially in the area of medicine. Open heart surgery was practiced on a regular basis. Rarely if ever did a patient live, but it was the courage of the Aztecs to attempt the impossible that set them apart from their Spanish rivals.” Like the Aztecs, the Inca Indians had a culture steeped in blood. Yet, we’re told that the “Inca were never that bloodthirsty. When they needed a special favor from the gods, hundreds were sacrificed.” Hundreds, thousands, what’s a few sacrificial victims between religious pluralists? We need to be more tolerant of their beliefs since the Incas were not malicious when they sacrificed their victims. Actually, the priests were doing them a favor. Terrible as human sacrifice seems to us, we should remember that the Inca thought it necessary to their well-being. Sacrificial victims were not being punished for any crime; they were being rewarded for their beauty. The killing was done as painlessly as possible and without anger or hatred. Being sacrificed was, indeed, an honor that guaranteed eternal life with the gods and thus a “favor.”4 The above was written in the spirit of pluralism and toleration of everyone’s religion, even ones that encouraged digging out your heart with a flint knife. If you’re one of the most favored, you might be drugged with coca (to ease the pain), dressed in fine clothes, and strangled with a rope before they tear your palpitating heart from your chest. Certainly the Catholic Conquistadors had their faults. Even so, their exploits, both religious and military, nearly eradicated ritual human sacrifice from Central and South America. It was Cortez’s repudiation of religious pluralism that liberated those tribes who suffered under the Aztec’s bloody religion. William A. Hamilton, who formerly taught Western civilization at Nebraska Wesleyan University, offers a much needed antidote to the misguided efforts of today’s multiculturalists: The point is not to put down pre-Columbian culture. But before the politically correct multiculturists assign Columbus to the ash heap of history, let us not dismiss the conquistadors as less civilized than the natives they encountered. They ended massive ritual human sacrifice.5 1. Quoted in Albert Marrin, Aztecs and Spaniards: Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico (New York: Atheneum, 1986), 111. 2. Serge Gruzinski, The Aztecs: Rise and Fall of an Empire, trans. Paul G. Bahn (New York: Harry N. Abrams, [1987] 1992), 49. 3. Albert Marrin, Inca and Spaniard: Pizarro and the Conquest of Mexico (New York: Atheneum, 1989), 34. 4. Marrin, Inca and Spaniard, 34–35. 5. William A. Hamilton, “The conquistadors were not all bad,” USA Today (October 8, 1992), 15A. Gary DeMar is president of American Vision and the author of more than 20 books. His latest is Myths, Lies, and Half Truths.

Putting The Go Back In The Gospel

I got to Prayer and Praise early last evening and was sitting in the lobby reading and going over a lesson I am working on. The sky turned dark and we had one heck of a thunder storm on top of us. As the rain started to pour a couple pushing a grocery cart from Kroger came running under the drive thru. The wind was blowing so badly that they pushed their cart into the lobby and sat down beside me. Body odor was quite strong from walking in the sweltering heat and now drench by the shower. I struck up a conversation and we began to chat. They were not married. They found the basket in our parking lot. Her dad died at 49 and mine at 48. She said she used to attend here at Madison, though I really doubt it...maybe as a child. She apologized for smelling like smoke. She wants to quite but it is so hard. The guy with her is here boy friend. Amazing how people open up when someone shows an interest in listening to them. As we were talking I thought about my last post here. Nice cars were pulling up and people dressed casually, but nice, were coming in. Some gave us a glance and then that quick turn away, like “I wasn’t expecting to see that”. They were not being rude; it was just a knee jerk reaction to an unfamiliar situation. We don’t know how to react because of our lack of exposure to people that are different from ourselves. Jesus never said go into all the world and build church buildings and invite people that are like us to worship. He said, “Go into the entire world, (literally, as you go…) It was a commission to “every” creature – every person of every ethnic group. Somehow we lost the “go” of the Gospel, and we are surprised when someone from “out there” shows up, especially without an invitation. The rain finally stopped and the couple went on their way. Barb came in as they were leaving and the lady said, “I bet that is your wife”. I ask her how she knew. She said, "you look alike." “You know they say the longer you live together the more you look alike". Then she said, “You love each other very much; I can see it in your eyes.” I just hope she could also see the love of Jesus for her in our eyes.