No Outet

For those of you familiar with our Regional Office, our driveway used to provide access to West Main St. and Dorset Rd.  Cars who missed the light at the corner would continually cut through our drive.  We’re talking 20-30 cars per day.  We decided it would be a good idea to close off the exit to West Main Street.

We installed a sign that said, “No Outlet.”  Do you think that stopped the cars from attempting to drive through anyway?  Not at all!  The sign is out there plain as day, yet drivers either didn't believe it or paid no attention that it was even there.

Even now, after two years, we’ll see cars drive around, do a U-turn by our main entrance and then head out the way they came.

You know, God’s Word is kind of like that “No Outlet” sign.  It’s there for our benefit to make life easier.  It’s there to guide us on the straight path to keep us safe.  Yet how many of us fail to read His Word or worse yet, read it, but pay no attention to what it says.

I think some drivers think our sign is out there because we don’t want cars driving through our property.  They don’t really believe we are telling the truth, so they drive through anyway to see for themselves.  So too with some of us; God said it, but did He really mean it.  Or maybe we fool ourselves into thinking, “God’s warning signs don’t really apply to us.  It’s there for the other guy.”

With just a cursory reading of the Bible, one can see that God’s directives often come with a warning for what happens when they aren’t followed.  God gave a warning to Adam and Eve in the Garden, as well to Noah regarding the flood.  He warned Pharaoh in Egypt to let His people go and the people of Israel when they began asking for a king.  When people refused to obey His law, He sent prophets to deliver a warning shot to turn back to Him.  He sent Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah to warn the people of Israel.  He sent Jeremiah to warn the people of Judah.  He sent Jonah to warn the Ninevites and Daniel to warn the Babylonians.

Today, He warns us through His Word and His Holy Spirit.  Are you listening to His leading in your life or are you running through the warning signs, refusing to turn back?  Be sensible and obey God’s signs.  It will get you where He wants you to go, and could actually save your life one day.  To refuse to follow His signs may result in your getting mauled by a lion [1 Kings 13:24] or swallowed by a big fish [Jonah 1:17] or some other disastrous end. Don’t let that be you.  “No Outlet” means “No Outlet.”

Taking a Knee

Published by Jeff Gerig · September 23 at 2:33pm

Taking a Knee

Whether you like football or not, everyone seems to have an opinion on San Francisco's second string quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, refusing to stand for the national anthem; choosing to kneel instead, to draw attention to issues that are important to him.

When asked why he wasn’t standing, this was his response. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game, "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." He added that he is going to continue to sit until he sees real change happening towards how people of color are treated.

I don’t tend to be a real controversial person or plan to wade too deeply into this discussion but I do have several observations that I think have some parallels to our Christian walk.

Kaepernick took a page right out of most church policy manuals which reads, “to get what you want, draw attention to yourself by criticizing or disrespecting something people hold dear, threaten to continue the disruption unless you get what you want, and make people choose sides as to where their loyalty lies.” It seems kind of selfish to me.

Church members have their own way of drawing attention to themselves to push their agenda through, whether it be withholding their tithe like a ransom, covering their ears or refusing to sing during the worship time, walking out when the pastor gets up to preach, refusing to serve the rest of the church body with their spiritual gifts or by sowing seeds of discontent by publicly speaking negative comments about church leadership, not to mention a whole bunch of whining and complaining. 

This mindset permeates our American culture. We distrust our leaders and champion the cause of the underdog that dare takes on the establishment. Rarely does this strategy end well though.

I have also learned from past experience that most often the means used to create the controversy is long remembered and the initial message is not. Most people have only a general idea of why Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem. I had to go back and pull up the interview myself. Many say they have joined the cause because they want to show a sign of support for all he is going through. For others, it has become the “trendy” thing to do. Some say they disagree with what he is doing but they respect his right to do so. While that seems like the “high road” to take, all it does is change the narrative from a civil rights issue to a free speech issue. 

The media has pushed this story because it makes for interesting news but I have yet to hear of any plans made by Mr. Kaepernick to simply go beyond taking a knee during the anthem or making random statements.

So too in churches, many gripe about what they don’t like about their church but they have no clear idea of how they would go about solving the problem themselves. As a result, feelings get hurt and a church becomes more divided and problems are never resolved. It isn’t enough to identify problems, they must be addressed and solved to everyone’s mutual satisfaction.

We live in a great country, one of the best on earth. I know there are inequalities and struggles among a myriad of minorities. As an evangelical Christian in this country, I now find myself in a minority group. Yet where on this earth could one go where minorities are treated better… Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Middle East? What about Russia or India or Pakistan? Where could one go and enjoy the rights that we enjoy here in the United States? 

So if America is one of the best places in how they treat their minority people groups, wouldn’t a better strategy be to recognize the progress that has already been made and then discuss how we can make things even better. Why must there always be a crisis point to spark change? Is it because we aren’t listening to one another? Why must we always take one step backward to move two steps forward. Creating division in an attempt to gain a favorable outcome always comes at a high cost.

This idea of creating conflict to be heard and move an agenda has divided and destroyed numerous churches in our region. It must stop. We are not to be about making church exactly what we want it to be but rather to make disciples who in turn will make disciples for Christ’s church.

I predict nothing will come of this “kneel in” because it is now four weeks and there is still no game plan set as to how to “move the ball forward,” [pardon the pun.] As a nation, and as churches, we will become even more divided and less caring toward one another, unless somehow Christians again become the light to a darkened world.

You Are the Weakest Link… Good-bye!

September 9, 2016

You Are the Weakest Link…  Good-bye!
Have you ever seen the game show, The Weakest Link?  In it, contestants work together to build up money in a bank by answering questions correctly.  After each round the contestants have a chance to vote off the one they perceive to be the weakest link, the one giving the stupidest answers.

There’s an old expression that goes, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”  In fact, most of us learned this to be true at an early age by playing the game Red Rover, where children take turns trying to break through the other team’s human chain.  To insure success, a team would target the other team’s weakest players.

As we mature, we see the “weakest link” principle played out in life in many different ways.  Anywhere teamwork is necessary; there always seem to be a “weak link in the chain” that works against the mission of the team and often is exploited by others.

As you might have heard, our region is going a different direction in terms of how it communicates with those in the region.  Instead of our monthly Leader’s Digest publication, we are transitioning over to an e-newsletter called “Link,” which we will send out via email as well as post to Facebook.  [Be sure to like Missionary Church East Central Region on Facebook.]  While I will no longer be writing articles for Link, I plan to post a blog on Facebook and our website, www.ecregion.org, hoping to spark some discussions on a myriad of topics.

When you receive your first Link e-newsletter, you will notice links across the header.  These represent our churches, linked together to form a missional chain of churches making disciples that make disciples.  In a way, the links also represent you, the people who make up our churches.  If a church or region is to move forward in doing great things for Christ, we need everyone to be strong in their faith and in their witness.  As most of you know, one disgruntled parishioner can do a lot of damage in a local church and undo the ministry work of many.  Often when a church finds itself in decline, it is the work of a few exercising their selfish will over the honest desires of the many.

So my question for you today is, “Are you the weakest link?”  Does your compromised lifestyle hurt the testimony and ministry efforts of others who would call themselves Christian?  Are you helping or hindering the ministry of your church?  Is your spiritual mediocrity affecting your family dynamics in negative ways?

When a link in a chain breaks, whatever was being held up usually comes crashing down, along with other strong unbroken links.  Romans 15:1-2 tells us, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.   Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”  By helping the weak become strong once again, we also, at the same time, keep ourselves from becoming weak.  It’s a win-win endeavor when as Christians we stay firmly linked together in Christ.

Up for Discussion…  “What should that look like today, the strong bearing with the failings of the weak in order to make them strong once again?”  Post your thoughts.