“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
~ Joshua 1:8
We’ve been working through some big decisions lately, haven’t we? We’ve been thinking about our new student ministries direction. We believe we have a moment of ministry opportunity, but we want to be wise in how we respond to it. We don’t want to be pulled in foolish directions or, worse yet, be pulled away from each other as we struggle to discover what “seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” This isn’t an easy conversation if we’re doing things right.
We’ve also got some big decisions to make as a nation this fall. We have the privilege of choosing new leadership for our nation. We have to wade through a sea of propaganda, sleazy spin, and falsehood and try to discern for ourselves what is best for our nation and our future. While we may or may not be satisfied with the political options available, it is our responsibility to do the best we can to properly steward the influence Almighty God has graciously allowed us. This political decision will affect not only our nation, but the entire world.
But how do we decide these and other very important things? Are right and wrong determined by polling data and the fickle winds of popular opinion? Is it now passé even to think in terms of absolute right and wrong? Are we hungry to behave as the people of God, dutifully, boldly, happily and graciously holding out the Word of the Lord, or are we just struggling to be better politicians? Are we Christ-bearers or commodities brokers? Sometimes I wonder…
I found a thought-provoking cartoon in my Star Tribune newspaper this morning. It depicts Moses coming down the mountain with the Ten Commandments saying to God: "I'll run all this by the focus groups and get back to you, Sir!" It seems even funny page cartoonists can discern the relativistic spirit of the age. What are we doing with Moses coming down the mountain today?
By the time this Forecaster arrives in your mail box, we will be halfway through our Affirmations class here at Elim Church. This class, a discussion of the basic biblical affirmations of the Baptist General Conference, has been a good discussion of what we believe and why we believe it. While there is still all sorts of wiggle room in these affirmations for questions God has chosen not to clearly answer, this class has been a good foundational reminder that we stand on solid ground. We are not spiritual, ethical or moral politicians! We are the people of God, living in relationship with God, by the power of God, standing firmly on the Word of God. While teachers always get more out of any class than the students, I hope this class has been beneficial. I will hopefully teach it again next year.
This fall I’m going to teach a six-week class based on the School of Urban Ministries relatively new study series, MissionShift: Reaching The World Next Door. This series, produced in and focused heavily on the Twin Cities, highlights the explosive changes faced by the church as the world rapidly transforms around us. We all know what is going on. We see it every day. Last week as Monica and I finished yet another long walk down Central Avenue, I happened to notice we were the only Caucasian pedestrians for twelve blocks! And then I remembered Monica was Hispanic! This is not your daddy’s America! We are now a fast growing Islamic nation, the fourth largest Hispanic nation in the world, a UN refugee magnet and many other challenging things. And with every culture shift comes spiritual challenge of one sort or another. The Christian church cannot operate as it always has. We must very intentionally and very constantly allow Moses to come down from the mountain. We must listen to his words afresh. We must meditate on and obey his words.
As the Church finds itself increasingly challenged by wildly diverse and frequently sinful beliefs and behaviors in the coming years, we will need to cling to the Word of God as never before. We are not practicing a “focus group faith.” We cannot stand strong in focus group faith. The focus group is just confused to lead us anywhere…
May the LORD speak loudly among us! May this oasis truly be solid ground!
Amen.
