Strep Throat Sunday

Well, I’ve been down with strep the past couple days. On the bright side, I’ve gotten all caught up on my sleep – and then some! So this morning, Jane and Junior went to church while I stayed home with Joy. One thing I wanted to do was listen to a sermon. I decided to listen to one from Imago Dei, the Portland church Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) attends and raves about. I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Pastor Rick”, but I tell ya – it was a good sermon, built upon Romans 10-11. I don’t think I could summarize the sermon that well, so instead, I’ve transcribed a very brief portion of it for you. Enjoy!

We’re afraid to preach the Gospel. We’re afraid to declare the grace of God.

And what’s odd about that is, for us, in America, our individualism is so heightened. And our feelings, you know, “I don’t want my feelings to get hurt.” That sorta becomes the great sacrifice for us.

I think of my friend Celestine who, every time he goes back to Africa, he gets thrown in prison and gets his butt kicked for the Gospel. And we wanna equate that suffering with like, “Someone threw an orange at me when I prayed around the flagpole.” And you’re like, “I don’t know that that’s persecution.” You know what I’m sayin’? Or…”I mentioned Christ to my neighbor and he kinda shunned me.” So “Oh my gosh, poor…” Ya know? Like, “Look at me, carrying the body, the marks of Jesus. I got shunned. By a neighbor.”

But we do that, don’t we? And I’m not sayin’ that we should go out and be the most obnoxious people in the world. What I’m sayin’ is: Be the normal people that you are, but be a very peculiar type of normal. You know what I mean, which is what’s so beautiful about that statement.

Fascists for Christ

Thanks, Drudge, for highlighting this story about Christians in San Francisco being condemned not only by “counterdemonstrators” but by City Hall itself.

It seems there was a youth rally at AT&T Park in San Fran, attended by some 25,000 teens. Organized by Battle Cry, the purpose of the event was to raise their voices “against ‘the virtue terrorism’ of popular culture.” After additional events in Detroit and Philly, Battle Cry hopes to turn loose a slew of youth pastors into the communities in these areas, to find new ways to bring the gospel to those without Christ. But they haven’t received the warmest of welcomes from the City.

Assembleyman Mark Leno said, “they’re loud, they’re obnoxious, they’re disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco.” The city’s Board of Supervisors even passed a resolution which condemned the “act of provocation” by what it terms an “anti-gay,” “anti-choice” organization that aims to “negatively influence the politics of America’s most tolerant and progressive city.”

One thing that bugs me is that the Christians were called “fascists” by the counterdemonstrators. This worries me because it is a clear attempt to use inflammatory language to identify Christians with commonly-accepted “bad guys”. And it’s a misuse of the word to begin with – they clearly have no idea what fascism even means. Sheesh.

At least one of the counterdemonstrators had a sense of humor. Totally soaked from the rain, someone called out, “And next time, come back in summer.”

P.S. Battle Cry plans to announce the launch of some sort of Christian answer to myspace.com. Keep your eyes peeled for that – might be interesting.

Sometimes It’s Just Dumb Kids

A month ago I called the spate of church fires in Alabama persecution. Perhaps it was because the believers reacted as if they were persecuted: they continued showing up for church, unhindered in their worship of God, walls or no walls.

But sometimes what appears to be a hate crime is not, and what appears to be persecution is not. But you can count on one thing: drunk college kids will do dumb things.

Small-Scale Suffering

One other thing about the Ash Wednesday service last night; specifically, some thoughts running through my head during the Lord’s Supper:

At our church, communion is held around the altar. People kneel in the front, and others stand behind them. Jane and I are always in that back group, since we’re usually each holding a kid. Since we attended the Ash Wednesday service child-free, and since we were already sitting near the front, we ended up kneeling at the altar.

I immediately remembered that I hate kneeling for long periods of time, as it’s quite uncomfortable. I chose the less uncomfortable (and less pious) position, “standing” on my knees as opposed to leaning back on my feet. Even then, it only took a minute or two for my body to start protesting. I almost changed positions – in fact, I might have – and then had a thought: People around the world are suffering in the name of Christ. They are being beaten, tortured, starved, humiliated, separated from their families and killed for Jesus and his gospel. And now I’m taking part in the Lord’s Supper, when we are to remember the sufferings of Christ, and I can’t stay in a kneeling posture for five lousy minutes?

So I decided to remain in my first position, and to use the discomfort I was feeling to remember that Christ suffered so much more than this for me, and also that others around the world were experiencing far more suffering than I was at that moment. As if in “reward” for this new attitude, my hamstrings started cramping up. Okay, it’s moving from discomfort to pain. I’m such a wimp. After a minute or so of this new affliction, I realized that with a little focus, I could relax my hamstrings so that they didn’t hurt anymore. In fact, I felt a renewed ability to continue kneeling without the discomfort I had been feeling!

And then I thought that perhaps I was getting the very tiniest idea of what it was like for those suffering for Christ. For I’ve read the stories of many who are persecuted in Jesus’ name, and a recurring theme is that they are always given extra grace and ability to endure what seems to us to be unbearable torture and suffering. In my case, I suffer little and am given a little grace; others suffer much and are given much grace.

Please don’t think I’m considering myself in any way similar to martyrs or those who are truly persecuted. But I do think I understand in a small-scale way how those who are persecuted can bear it with God’s help.

Pull My Fingertoe

Hey y’all, Josh over at Fingertoe.com just posted his review of The Heavenly Man. Go on over and read it!

Alabama Church Fires = Persecution?

HT: Persecution Blog

A spate of churches (nine, by last count), comprising both black and white congregations, have been targeted by arsonists over the past couple of weeks. Hate crime? Maybe. Persecution? Yes.

But like other stories of persecuted believers, I am encouraged by the response of those targeted: they keep showing up to worship. All five of the churches burned last Friday showed up on Sunday regardless, and pledged to rebuild on the same site. Not only that, they are exuding forgiveness to any reporter they see.

At first, I was thinking to type here, “Be in prayer for these believers in Alabama as they deal with the loss of their church and the insecurities they must feel.” But then I thought that like other persecuted believers whose stories I read in books and online, perhaps our brothers and sisters in Alabama are more blessed than we are right now, having gotten a taste of sharing in Christ’s sufferings – at least more than I have. Unsurprisingly, persecution has done nothing but strengthen the believers.

So let’s be in prayer that the testimony of our stalwart congregations in Alabama might encourage and embolden the rest of us, to worship and share our faith without fear and shame. I have a long way to go myself.

Clarification

I want to clarify one thing regarding my last post. I love Voice of the Martyrs and have been a fan of that ministry for a long time. I do not intend to malign them in any way, shape or form because of their stance on this military chaplain issue.

It’s just that I feel very strongly that this is not a legitimate persecution issue, having had an intimate knowledge of the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps from my prior service as a chaplain assistant.

That’s all I want to say. Voice of the Martyrs rocks; this chaplain doesn’t.

Whoop-dee Stinkin’ Doo

The chaplain I mentioned recently who has been battling the great “persecution” of being told he couldn’t say the name of Jesus in his prayer has ended his 18-day fast/hunger strike. The chaplain has declared a victory despite the fact that everything is pretty much the same as it was before his strike.

When Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt failed in getting an executive order allowing chaplains to pray however they wanted in any type of function, he decided to change his ultimatum. He said that if he would be allowed to pray in Jesus’ name in uniform in front of the White House, he would end his fast. Permission was granted, so long as his big show didn’t extend beyond “a bona-fide religious service or observance.”

This is consistent with what I’ve already said; a military chaplain is free to conduct services and pray in a manner consistent with his faith practice in a religious ceremony. In a public function such as a change-of-command ceremony, the chaplains are expected to use inclusive language in their prayers, since they are serving people of all faiths in that function. I wouldn’t want a Muslim chaplain praying a prayer in Arabic during my installation as commander, nor would I want a Pentecostal slapping me on the head while yelling in tongues. It’s common sense that in these circumstances, a little common courtesy would have a stronger witness than bullheadedness. Hey – be happy that they’re letting chaplains pray at all!

Sadly, the Voice of the Martyrs has picked this story up as an example of persecution in the United States. I see it as a sad story which, trust me, will not improve his testimony when he returns back to the unit he serves.

If You Only Read One Book This Year…

…make it The Heavenly Man by Paul Hattaway. I just finished it moments ago and plan on reading it again.

The Heavenly Man is about the life of Brother Yun, a Chinese pastor who has endured much persecution and hardship along with an equal measure of the joy of the Lord. Not only that, his life has been filled with miracles and clear demonstrations of the power and presence of God. But what strikes me most about this brother (who is still alive and well in Germany, as far as I know) is his dedication and sacrifice for the Lord, as well as his love for the Word of God.

When Brother Yun became a believer in China, there were an extremely small number of Bibles known to even exist. He knew of only one person who had a Bible, but this old man was afraid to let Brother Yun even see it lest he get into trouble. Instead, the old man told Brother Yun to fast and pray for a Bible. Several months later, after much prayer and fasting, two people came in the middle of the night, gave him a Bible and immediately left. (Later, Brother Yun learned that this Bible came from an evangelist who had been told in a dream to give his Bible to Brother Yun, and was told how to get to his village as well.)

Brother Yun showed his thanks to God by devouring the Word, putting so much of it into his heart that verses liberally sprang up into his mind when imprisoned or otherwise being persecuted. I am truly in awe of this brother whose hunger for the Word was so great.

His life also challenges me greatly in how willing he was to suffer persecution. Despite being beaten, mocked and tortured, Brother Yun says, “I was with Jesus and had overwhelming joy and peace in his intimate presence.” He winces at people who say they want the Communist government in China to collapse so Christians can live in freedom. In Brother Yun’s opinion, that would lead to couch potato Christians. Those weren’t his words – what he actually said was, “Don’t pray for the persecution to stop! We shouldn’t pray for a lighter load to carry, but a stronger back to endure! Then the world will see that God is with us, empowering us to live in a way that reflects his love and power. This is true freedom!”

You can listen to Brother Yun’s firsthand account here.

The Right to Pray in Jesus’ Name?

Through the mighty Drudge, I was made aware of a problem some military chaplains are facing. According to a recent story, chaplains are being shackled through the prohibition of using Jesus’ name when they pray. One Navy chaplain, allegedly facing the sack for using Jesus’ name in prayer, is holding “a multiday hunger strike” outside the White House grounds.

This multiday hunger strike (which just sounds like shock value language for “fast”) is being staged to persuade President Bush to issue an executive order allowing military chaplains to pray in accordance with their faith practices. Some 173,000 signatures have been gathered for a petition, and seventy-three members of Congress have jumped on the bandwagon. But I have to say: They’ve got it wrong.

Before you hit the “Comments” link, know this: For four years, I was a Chaplain Assistant in the United States Army. I’ve served with Catholic, Protestant and Jewish chaplains. I know what I’m talking about here. Every company-level unit (around 100 persons) has one chaplain and one chaplain assistant. During the week, the chaplain serves his (or her) unit primarily to provide moral support, encouragement and counseling to the soldiers in his company. He also (usually) serves one of the base chapels through conducting services in accordance with his faith practice.

A Protestant chaplain is never expected to do anything outside of his faith practice. For example, he would not “do confession” for a Catholic soldier; instead, the chaplain assistant would arrange for the soldier to meet with a Catholic chaplain. Same goes for a Muslim or Jewish soldier who wants spiritual counseling. Or for a Protestant soldier in a unit which has Buddhist chaplain.

For the same reason, it is a good thing if the chaplain does not push his faith practice on the community outside his chapel service. If a chaplain is giving an opening prayer for, let’s say, the installation of a new unit commander, it is appropriate for his prayer to be general. Leave out talk about Jesus, leave out the cross – just keep it general, “to God.” After all, how would a Christian commander feel if the invocation was given by a Muslim chaplain in Arabic (the prayer language used by Muslims)?

Once again, contemporary Christians are picking the wrong battles to fight. A chaplain is sitting in front of the White House, actively protesting his Commander-in-Chief (which is a big no-no) for what – the right to say “injesusnameamen”? Dude! Do you not understand that you can pray in Jesus’ name without saying those words? Do you not know that you can have a much greater testimony to the military if you live out the gospel to your soldiers rather than whining if you’re asked to be considerate of the non-Christians in your unit?

EDIT (1/10/2006): The Persecution Blog has picked up this story as well, with a couple other links for you – but I’m sad to say that they seem to have missed the point as well.