Can we contend without being contentious?

Have you ever got a splinter and you couldn’t remove it so you just left it under your skin; then a week later, you’ve got a blister and infection to have drained from your hand. Or maybe you saw water flowing through a dam that is controlled; it doesn’t seem like much, after all, it’s just a small trickle; until they open the dam and flood the river. That’s how Proverbs 17:14 describes contention. The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out. (Proverbs 17:14)

Several years ago,  I heard a sermon about Galatians 5:15. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galatians 5:15. Today I was thinking about how Great White Sharks are very territorial; and they will attack smaller Great Whites if they feel they are in their territory. It made me think about how often Christians will attack another Christian for no other reason than they feel threatened. Now, I know a lot of people don't realize this, but I am not a stranger to the attacks of Christians. I’ve had people in the church to bear false witness against me and even today, Dec. 30th, 2018, my own cousin told me that his ministry was none of my business and his wife blatantly attacked me. 

However, today, this verse kept coming up. “If you keep biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Sometimes, Christians are the reason why people won’t come to Christ. They see how we are not loving towards one another, how we don’t follow Christ like we should. If we give an opinion, we are quick to attack instead of going privately to the other person. Proverbs 15:1 says "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

When I was in Ireland, I remember walking past a butcher shop. Being an American, I didn’t realize that they still butchered meat and put it in the window for people to see, but they do. One thing I noticed is that the meat cleaver was never far from the butcher. It was sharp and it only took one good swing for it to cut through the muscle and bones. As I sit here tonight, I think about how contention is like that meat cleaver when it comes to relationships. They have the power to tear friends and family apart until there’s not much left. I suppose that’s why someone “who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:19) makes the infamous list of things the Lord hates.

Today, I commented on a post on Facebook, I stated that “it shouldn't matter if a church is completely filled to the brim or only has 3-10 people that want to worship on New Year’s Eve. It’s not about man, it’s about glorifying God.” When I got home from Church, I noticed another person said “Well, if you are to continue something you start why are you not working full-time as a photographer?” To be honest, that’s a poor example of what I was trying to say. Matter of fact, instead of looking at the bigger picture and seeing what I was truly saying the commenter’s reply shows that they have a contentious heart. Contentious hearts look for things to criticize and for opportunities to tear down a person, program, or idea. They destroy the essential commodities of happy and productive relationships. When we unleash a volley of contentious verbiage, things like trust, thinking the best of each other, and loving attitudes all get buried under our contentious words.  As Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12, followers of Jesus are meant to be working as one, in cooperative harmony. Have you ever seen a body divided into several parts but still functioning well? Division destroys the reflection of God’s love among us and the power of His unity through us. Words that work against our unity as His body are the meat cleavers in Satan’s hand.

Another thing that we don’t think about is that contentions put a stop to the growth of grace. The body may as well thrive in a fever — as the soul prosper when on a flame with strife and contention. Observe Ephesians 4:15: "But speaking the truth in love," or being sincere in love, "may grow up into Him in all things." The apostle is upon a cure, showing how souls may come to thrive and flourish; and the formula he gives is a composition of these two rare drugs, sincerity and love; preserve these and all will go well. There may be preaching — but no edifying, without love. You cut off your trade with Heaven, at the throne of grace; you will be little in prayer to God — if much in squabbling with your brethren. It is impossible to go from wrangling to praying, with a free spirit. And if you would be so bold as to knock at God's door, you are sure to have cold welcome, "Leave your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

In Romans 12:6-21, the apostle Paul describes how we ought to behave toward one another. He illustrates that the body of Christ will function effectively only if God’s spirit of love is the overriding influence. In presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, we ought to strive for the harmony that is needed for the spiritual gifts to operate fully. I’ll be honest, I frequently recognize a contentious spirit in others, but seldom do I recognize those same qualities or behaviors within myself. A continual examination of our motives when a disagreement arises certainly would provide a necessary checkpoint to aid in preventing a dispute from escalating into a situation that dishonors God and disrupts the body of Christ. We ought to be willing to learn and obey the principles the scriptures teach so that we can solve disputes in a loving and Christ-like manner. 

The next question that I started asking as another commenter took the conversation to private chat was “What is making this person disregard the basic truth?” My answer was far from me, Pride. John Rittenbaugh* of The Church of the Great God says “Only through pride does contention last. We primarily see the effects of pride because pride is frequently difficult to detect. God has shown in His Word how to detect it: by looking at the fruits. How do we know false prophets? By their fruits, by what they produce. A quarrel that could be easily settled if both parties were humble continues indefinitely when parties are arrogant. Why? Because pride plows the way for contempt for the others opinion. Pride inflames passion and wounds feelings. Because of competitiveness, also an aspect of pride, a person feels he has to fight back. And so the argument goes back and forth.”

One thing that I believe we as Christians, often forget is, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:19 “That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Since God doesn’t count our trespasses against us we can’t count them against others. Isaiah 1:18 reminds us “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

Friends, we need to heed the words of Galatians 5:15; and remember to forgive others, don't hold their sins against them and as Courtnaye Richard, would encourage "Do your part and work together as one and in unity in the body of Christ. Philippians 2:2 says, “Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.” (NLT) We need this today. So let’s serve. Let’s love. Let’s forgive. Let’s show others Christ within us. And let’s get the job done together so that we can someday hear those precious words from Matthew 25:21 which says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant…”

*The usage of quotes by does not mean author agrees with entire article written by John Rittenbaugh and does not serve to show endorsement of The Church of the Great God. 

Shallow Theology: Do we really have deep roots in the church today?

I spent a lot of time listening to folks discuss theology this Christmas.  The one thing that doesn’t improve is the shallowness of their theology. Most people think “if I can point to the Strong’s concordance in Hebrew or Greek then I can tell you exactly what the Bible says.” Yet they can’t point to any proofs of what their trying to say. Yet when I discuss theology with others, I find that they desire a deeper understanding of theology, but really don’t want to gain it due to the fact that a deeper understanding will call you out of where you currently are and out of your comfort zone.

For this, I tend to look no further than Psalm 1 and look at where this particular Psalm talks about the righteous person as being planted by streams of water who produces fruit in and out of season (Ps. 1:3). Those who are spiritually nourished have deep roots that anchor them to the shores of refreshment. This righteous person is not like the wicked who are compared to chaff that is driven away by the wind (Ps. 1:4). The contrast is stark: one is constantly fed and the roots grow deep while the fruit never ceases to grow, while the other is rootless and detached from any source of nutrition, and it is, therefore, blown away by the next wind that comes through. And while we need to be planted by streams that run deep with refreshment, we can also look at Matthew and see that sometimes it’s the soil…causing us to not take root. 

Jesus begins telling a series of parables in Matthew 13 starting with the parable of the Sower. The Sower scatters seeds on his field and some of the seed lands on different types of soil. Some fell along the path, some were devoured by the birds, others fell on rocky soil, sprang up quickly, but then were scorched when the sun appeared since they had no depth of root, and others found good soil and began producing fruit. Jesus tells us the point of this parable in verses 18-23 when he explains that the soil represents those that hear the message Jesus was proclaiming about His Kingdom, which is the seed that was scattered. According to what kind of soil the seed falls on determines the growth of the roots of that seed. One seed fell on rocky ground and began to grow. Jesus tells us, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matt. 13:20, 21). 

Ethan Renroe states “We have replaced rich, robust theology in the Church with emotional music and constant reminders that “God is love and loves you and He’s your personal Savior and loves your soul …” These words are great at bringing outsiders through the doors (because they’re true by and large) but poor at growing believers into mature witnesses with rich understanding of the deep things of God. It should not only be pastors, authors and theologians who study what they believe, but all believers. Jesus Himself stated that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27), yet we tend to overlook this last one and focus on the heart and soul. God paints an intense fate for those who neglect to grow in their understanding in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you.” It’s not too late for Christians to learn in their understanding of the holy. It’s not too late to learn the meaning and value of our creeds, doctrines, and systems. There is merit in learning and understanding the deeper parts of our faith and I say we start sooner than later.

As much as I hate to admit it, and to admit that I even read an article by this author, Rachel Held Evans, had a couple of good points about why millennials are leaving the church—and I think her article may be why we also have a shallow theology. When discussing what churches are doing to regenerate interest in the church, Rachel says “In response, many churches have sought to lure millennials back by focusing on style points: cooler bands, hipper worship, edgier programming, impressive technology. Yet while these aren’t inherently bad ideas and might in some cases be effective, they are not the key to drawing millennials back to God in a lasting and meaningful way. Young people don’t simply want a better show. And trying to be cool might be making things worse. You can get a cup of coffee with your friends anywhere, but church is the only place you can get ashes smudged on your forehead as a reminder of your mortality. You can be dazzled by a light show at a concert on any given weekend, but church is the only place that fills a sanctuary with candlelight and hymns on Christmas Eve. You can snag all sorts of free swag for brand loyalty online, but church is the only place where you are named a beloved child of God with a cold plunge into the water. You can share food with the hungry at any homeless shelter, but only the church teaches that a shared meal brings us into the very presence of God.” (See footnote) 

I’ll conclude with Kevin DeYoung, “Our superficial world needs substantive churches. Our shallow culture needs depth in worship. Our secular society needs a whole lot of good, holy thinking.” 

(1) Article by Rachel Held Evans does not reflect my stance on homosexuality or the sacraments of the church. Article does, however, touch on why we have a shallow theology.

Judge Not...a misunderstood Bible verse

I can't tell you the times this week I have been told to “not judge” someone. It started when I posted an article about Lauren Daigle—the second time I heard this was when I commented on an article on Facebook about a man in France who is a landlord and he took the trash that a former tenant left and dumped it on the tenants new yard. 

In Lauren Daigle’s instance, I have said “We must be ready to give an answer at all times; and that answer should be ‘All sexual immorality is wrong.’” However, when we, whether ordained or laity, won’t stand, it brings up the church-wide authority problem we face. When theological training is de-prioritized and even avoided, then our celebrities become our experts. In the case of the landlord—the site was saying that the landlord was doing the right thing and teaching “Do unto others…”, My response was “I can’t believe anyone is saying that the landlord is correct in his actions.”

Needless to say, I was quoted Matthew 7:1 and Matthew 7:3-5. These are phrases that bring us comfort regardless if we are believers are unbelievers. It’s a phrase that is used all the time during conversations when a person is contentious or defensive. 

Eric J. Bargerhuff states “Those who mishandle this verse often use it as a “shield for sin,” a barrier to keep others at bay, allowing them to justify living as they please without any regard for moral boundaries or accountability. Their objections sound like this: “Aren’t we all sinners? What gives us the right to make moral judgments about someone else? Isn’t that God’s job?”

Let’s look at Matthew 7:1-5 

“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Jesus here was not opposing church leaders rebuking and correcting others. Instead He was opposing anyone who sets themselves up as the Final Judge instead of Him and His Word, and anyone who judges others about certain sins while refusing to turn from similar or worse sins. What a lot of people don’t understand is that in this verse Jesus isn’t telling us to not judge, He’s actually getting us to not judge improperly.

As a matter of fact, if we look at scripture, you’ll notice that in Matthew, Jesus gives us instructions on how to judge. In Matthew 18:15-17, Christ instructed us to judge the sins of our brother in a particular way: “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” 

God is not going to judge parents, teachers, police, human judges, juries and governments for them fulfilling His delegated authority to judge others who are in their area of God-given responsibility. Instead God will judge them as to whether they have judged rightly or wrongly according to His standards and whether they have rejected their God-given responsibilities to judge as His delegated representatives. 

Many Christians today just take one verse out of the Bible without even poring over its whole context - and at times not going through the whole story. This practice is tantamount to isolating the taken text from its co-text. It's imperative for readers to read the whole chapter and the succeeding verses - not just one verse - for us to get what the Bible really wants to convey to us.

In verse 5, we can clearly see that the Bible is actually teaching us not 'not to judge' - but 'how to judge righteously'. It says that, for us not to be called hypocrites, we must cast out first the beam that is in our own eye before we cast the mote out of our brother's eye.

The way Ligonier Ministries gives this example:

Jesus is actually warning us to be fair and humble when we make our evaluations. Human beings are naturally prone to focus on the failings of others and ignore their own heinous sins. Consider David’s reaction to Nathan after he slept with Bathsheba and had Uriah murdered (2 Sam. 11:1–12:15a). The king did more evil than the man in Nathan’s parable, but David wanted to chase after the speck in that man’s eye, so blinded was he by the plank of his own sin. Today, church leaders who have gossiped might come down mercilessly on someone who has occasionally used lewd language. This latter sin is real and inexcusable, but we have done wrong when we who judge do not hold ourselves to the same standard by which we judge others (Matt. 7:2).

John Chrysostom says, “Jesus does not forbid judging but commands that one first remove the plank from one’s own eye” (Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 23.2). We must be harsher on ourselves than we are on others. Let us make sure our consciences are clear before we judge our brothers and sisters. 

Called, Traditionalist, and the feeling of being Blacklisted: A View

I haven’t spoken much about the current state of the United Methodist Church. As many people know the UMC is going through some major changes. The Council of Bishops has called a Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church to be held February 23-26, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. The purpose will be to receive and act on a report from the Commission on a Way Forward based on the recommendations of the Council of Bishops. The 32-member Commission was authorized by General Conference 2016 and appointed by the Council of Bishops to examine paragraphs in The Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and exploring options to strengthen the unity of the church.

There are three plans that the church could decide to follow. Traditionalists value marriage between one man and one woman, and sexual activity within this relationship. Traditionalists also seek greater accountability at every level of the church. Contextualists want to translate the gospel into the varied settings in which God places us. They see this as a missiological calling, and believe that the work of the church can be adapted in a global church. Progressives value full inclusion of all persons in the life of the church, at every level, and this includes the LGBTQ community. They also believe that the church can celebrate same-gender marriages.

As many may be surprised at this discussion that the UMC is having, it has placed significant stress on Candidates, such as myself. If you know me, you know that I have a pretty traditional view of marriage. Unfortunately that puts me at odds with many people in the United Methodist Church, including many of our ministers and those we have elected to represent our conferences and even our district committees on ordained ministry (dCom). 

When my dCom was over, I spoke with my pastor and decided that it would be best to fly under the radar—in other words, just stay silent until I passed through dCom. However, as I have often said “Sometimes your best officers come from your enlisted ranks.” In other words, while it is the officers that should be doing the discussion, and showing the way, sometimes our lay speakers, candidates and students that do the speaking and leading. As a Christian, who is called to minister the gospel, it is my job to declare, “Christ born, Christ died, Christ risen from the dead and Christ coming again.” It is also my job to honor the Word of God as written by helping people understand what the Bible says as infallible. In his sermon on “The Means of Grace,” Wesley says, “The same truth (namely, that this is the great means God has ordained for conveying his manifold grace to man) is delivered, in the fullest manner that can be conceived, in the words which immediately follow: ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God;’ consequently, all Scripture is infallibly true; ‘and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;’ to the end ‘that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works’ (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)” 

Unfortunately, when I am writing as I am now, and commenting on anything that is considered “traditionalist” in view of the Bible, current Book of Discipline, I am being watched. Call it paranoia, because many will, being conservative in today’s United Methodist Church isn’t popular, and I am sure that I am “blacklisted.” 

According to “Our Daily Journey” A few years ago, a prominent Christian group removed the word Christ from its organization’s name. The organization defended its name change, citing research which revealed that 20 percent of non-Christians were alienated and offended by the name of Christ. A mere 20 percent of non-christians are offended; but what happens when it is those who believe they are Christians that are ashamed, alienated and offended by the name of Christ. I know that Matthew 10:33 states but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Sincerely, that is what these committees are doing when they write off, or refuse to pass people due to their traditionalist/conservative views. They are denying Christ to those who need Him and His salvation.

Even though, like many others, I am seen as a traditionalist and a threat to the progressive movement within the United Methodist Church, I take comfort in Matthew 10:16-18; 22. 16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 

So while I feel hated by those who can’t understand my call; I was never called to accept the world’s view and definitely not called to fit in!